“What do I need to know about tonight?” I asked.
“I lied,” Byron said with a smirk. “Kind of.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, Mate,” he said as the blonde woman whispering in his ear turned her face to stare at me. “The cops think I’m meeting with the gang leader of the Bettas tonight. I was trying to see if you were working for them. You didn’t know anything about it. We are meeting tomorrow, over breakfast. Where are you staying?”
“We have a room here,” I said.
“Good!” he exclaimed. “That means you both will be able to party with us all night!” The gangster raised his hand and waved to one of the casino staff across the room.
“We actually need to get some res--” Z began to say, but I squeezed her hip, and she stopped mid-sentence.
“We want to drink with you,” I said, “but if we have business tomorrow. I prefer to stay frosty so that I can watch your back. I won’t drink much.”
“Ahh, so serious,” one of the blondes said with a sigh.
“But I guess that is why Byron is paying you the big bucks,” said the other woman.
“Two more glasses and another bottle of vodka,” Byron ordered when the waiter appeared.
“Very well sir,” the man replied and then he turned to fetch the booze.
“What about your girl?” the bald man asked me. He didn’t even look at Z.
“I’ll drink,” Z said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Now that we are friends and all.”
“Yes,” said one of the blonde women.
“We are the best of friends,” finished the other, and they both looked at me hungrily.
Chapter 7
Z and I spent the next three hours drinking with Byron and the two blonde concubines who I thought were his bodyguards. The bald man got rather drunk, hit on Z more than a few times, and ended up almost passing out on the couch. As soon as he began to doze off, one of the women prompted him to give me instructions for tomorrow, and the man told me to meet him in the lobby of the hotel fifteen minutes before nine in the morning.
Then one of the blonde women specified that I needed to come alone.
I’d nursed only two glasses of vodka for the entire three hours, but Z partook of five, and I could tell she was buzzed by the way she rubbed my shoulders, leaned against my chest, and giggled every time I said something close to funny.
She’d been able to walk fine in her high platform heels, and it seemed like most of her buzz had faded by the time we cashed in our chips and returned to the hotel lobby. We used our winnings to book two more nights and then walked to the elevator that would take us up to our room. We had both been silent during our walk, but I imagined she was thinking the same thing I was, and I wasn’t surprised when she opened her mouth to speak.
“So …” she started to say as soon as the elevator doors closed.
“Why did you kiss me?” I asked.
“Uhhh. Didn’t you see what was going on there? Fucker wasn’t happy that we lied to him, and those kitties on his arms looked like they wanted to rip my face off. Something about them was all sorts of crazy.” Z leaned against the opposite wall of the elevator and closed her eyes for a moment.
“I was about to explain--”
“Why did you kiss me back?” she interrupted me.
“You were right. It worked out after we did it,” I said.
“Ugh, you sound like you didn’t like it,” she said.
“Does it matter if I liked it?”
“What if I say it does?” Her blue eyes opened and stared at me. “What if I say that I loved kissing you, and that I thought you returned my kiss, and that I’ve never felt closer to a man than I have with you, and when you kissed me I never wanted it to end?”
I returned her stare for a few moments and carefully thought about what to say.
But I couldn’t think of anything immediately.
“What’s ah matter? Cat got ah your tongue?” she asked before she started to giggle. Her words were slurring together, and a trace of her Trappist - 1e accent was coming out.
“You are drunk,” I said.
“No.” She stopped laughing, and then the elevator door opened.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we walked down the hallway toward our room. Then she did stumble a bit, and I reached out to hold onto her arm.
“Damn shoes,” she hissed, but I didn’t say anything.
We got to our door, and I took out the keycard to open it.
“Why is there just one bed?” she asked as she pulled free of my grasp and walked to the bathroom.
“I didn’t ask for two, sorry.”
“Of course you didn’t. It’s okay,” she said as she closed the door to the bathroom.
I took off my new shoes, coat, shirt, pants, and then hung everything in our closet before putting on my jeans again. I didn’t really have any pajamas, and I realized I didn’t know the required attire for the meeting tomorrow. The Yakuza had a specific dress code that entailed a sports coat over a loose dress shirt and slacks. Byron’s men all wore suits, so I’d probably have to wear the same outfit tomorrow.
“Adam?” I heard Z call out to me, and I walked to the bathroom.
“Yeah?”
“I need help with the dress again, sorry.”
“Not a problem,” I said as she opened the door.
I stepped into the bathroom, and the beautiful hacker turned away from me. I slid open the back of her black dress to expose her bare skin, and Z let out a sigh. She was facing the mirror, and our eyes met in the reflection.
We stared at each other for much too long.
“I’m going to sleep on the couch.” I cleared my throat and stepped out of the bathroom. Fuck, what was wrong with me? I knew I had feelings for Eve. Why was I getting all flustered around Z? Was it the kiss? I had kissed plenty of women in my life, but I hadn’t really felt this way with any of them, except for Eve.
That was when I knew she was the woman for me. I’d never been much of a romantic, but kissing the dark-haired beauty made my heart soar, and I’d thought I knew exactly what I wanted.
But now I’d kissed Z, and I was really confused.
I checked the transponder the redhead woman had given us and saw that there was a missed message. A quick toggle of the buttons played it across the speaker, and I sat on the couch while I listened.
“You are supposed to check in every night. Better make it quick. My jail is filling up,” the woman’s voice said. I checked the time, and the message had been left two hours ago.
“Shit,” I growled as I called the woman who imprisoned Eve.
“Took you long enough,” she said.
“I don’t know your name,” I replied.
“Good.”
“Good?” I asked.
“Yes. So if you fuck up and get caught, you won’t have anyone’s name to give them,” she said with a dry laugh.
“I can just say the sexy redhead in upper management. I’m sure there aren’t many of you.”
“You think I’m sexy? You aren’t bad looking yourself,” the woman replied.
“You are threatening to kill my friend,” I stated.
“Who are you talking to?” Z asked as she leaned out of the bathroom. She was wearing a silk kimono she must have found hanging by the showers. I waved to her and pointed at the transponder. The blonde hacker frowned and then walked over to stand next to me.
“I haven’t killed your friend,” the redhead said. “What news do you have for me?”
“We met with Byron Jacobs. I have a job with him now.”
“A job? What kind of job?” the woman asked.
“Bodyguard, or muscle. He’s having a meeting tomorrow morning for breakfast. Something about this gang named the Bettas out of District C.”
“Good info, not what I’m looking for, but you’ll get something out of the meeting. Call me tomorrow night and update me.”
“Is that all you want?” Z asked.
�
��Is that all the news?” the other woman asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Then you better get a move on. The clock is ticking for your friend. I might just decide to seize your ship as well.”
“Why would you do that?” Z asked with obvious rage in her voice.
“Because I can? You know, I used to be a pilot. Pretty damn good actually. Then I ended up on Queen’s Hat, and my captain did a bunch of stupid shit. Got himself killed along with most of the crew. Authorities took my bird, and then I got a job here.”
“So you’ll do to us what someone did to you?” I asked.
“No,” she answered. “Get me what I need, and I’ll let your ship and friend with the red eyes go. I’m done talking now.”
“Fucking bitch,” Z said after the transponder went dead. “If she tries to take Persephone, I’m going to ruin her if it is the last thing I do.”
“Agreed,” I said as I looked up at the blonde hacker. We stared at each other a few moments, and then Z’s face turned red.
“I’m uhhh. Gonna go to bed. You need to get ready?” she asked as she turned from me.
“Yeah. I’ll brush my teeth,” I said as I walked into the bathroom.
A few minutes later I was done brushing, and I returned to the main room. I’d turned off the light and found a comfortable spot on the couch, but I didn’t fall asleep instantly, and I heard Z toss and turn in the bed on the other side of the room.
“Adam?” she said after ten minutes.
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t answer me during dinner. Or in the elevator.”
“I thought you were drunk.”
“I wasn’t at dinner, and I was only a little buzzed in the elevator,” she said.
“Ahh,” I said, and I felt my heart hammer in my chest.
“That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I had everything figured out when we first docked in Queen’s Hat. I’m the damn captain. I need to keep a level head during all this,” I said.
There were a few more minutes of silence.
“That’s not really an answer either,” she said.
“Did you mean what you said in the elevator?” I asked, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were the wrong ones.
Unless she said no.
“About what?” she asked.
“I think you know about what,” I replied.
There were a few more moments of silence, and I heard Z toss and turn again in her bed.
“Yes,” she whispered, “and I feel both elated and terrible at the same time. I hate myself, but I don’t know how to stop it.”
I realized my eyes were open, and I closed them and took a few long breaths.
“You are quiet,” she said at last.
“What do you want me to say?” I asked.
“I want you to tell me why I’m here instead of Eve. I want you to tell me why you two didn’t sleep together during the seventeen days we were in hyperspace. I want you to tell me why you are always protecting me. I want you to tell me why you kissed me back.”
“None of the answers will help us,” I said.
“Help us? Or help you?”
“Help you,” I said.
“I’m a big girl. I’ve had my heart broken before,” Z said. “You were there last time.”
I didn’t answer for a few moments, and my mind tried to put together the right answer that wouldn’t hurt her feelings, but also wouldn’t progress our relationship to the point where we couldn’t turn back. I wasn’t good with this kind of stuff. I was good at punching people, either with my fists or my bullets.
“This bed is big enough for both of us. You don’t need to sleep on the couch,” Z whispered.
“That would be dangerous,” I said.
“Is that a yes or a no?” she asked.
“What would you tell Eve?”
“I wouldn’t need to tell her anything. She’d know what was in my mind and my heart,” Z answered, and it was probably the wisest words I had heard her say since I had known her.
“That is why we didn’t sleep together in hyperspace. We didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” I admitted.
“Then why did you kiss me so passionately?”
“I had to make it convincing,” I said.
“You have me convinced, and you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I thought this mission would be easier with Eve, so I asked the woman if she could come with me, but she thought that meant Eve was my lover and you weren’t,” I admitted. “She wanted Eve as the leverage.”
“Oh,” Z whispered.
“I’m always protecting you because you are my friend, and you would do the same for me.”
“Yeah,” Z whispered.
“I kissed you because it felt amazing, and now I don’t know what to think, or feel.”
Z didn’t say anything, and I waited impatiently for her response. I was almost about to ask her, but she sat up on her bed and stared at me. The room was dark, but my eyes adjusted as soon as the lights to the bathroom turned off, and I guessed hers had during the time we had been speaking.
“That couch is too small for you. You can’t even lay out on it.”
“No,” I said, but my knees were pulled up to my chest.
“Come here,” she said as she flipped the covers over.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“You mean you won’t?”
“We both know what will happen. Let’s leave it at that. I love Eve.”
“And I love you, and you love me. Or so your kiss said.” Z sighed and then lay back down in the bed. “We’ll talk about it when we get her out of jail.”
“Agreed. Let’s focus on that,” I said as I felt the tension in my shoulders melt.
“Good night, Adam.”
“Good night, Z.”
Chapter 8
One of the blonde twins had said to meet at nine, but I was waiting in the hotel of the lobby at eight. Byron and his two women came in at the exact time specified, and I stood from the lobby couch to greet them.
“On time. I like that,” the bald gangster said. “Did you get some rest last night?”
“Yeah,” I lied. Even after Z and I had said goodnight to each other, we both tossed and turned for another hour. The hacker finally fell asleep, and she hadn’t awoken when I prepared to go.
“Here’s the deal, Mate,” Byron said as he pulled his arm from one of the shoulders of the twin girls so he could point at me. “My girls are going to sit in the back of the room while you sit up with me. I’m gonna do all the talking. When things turn sour, you do your thing.”
“When?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, Mate. I’m expecting these fuckers to try something.” Byron rubbed his hand over his oily face and then yawned.
He didn’t seem concerned about the upcoming meeting, or the possibility of a fight. I guessed it was because of the women. They were both wearing dresses, but I’d guessed last night that they were the man’s real bodyguards, and I wondered what sort of weapons they had concealed in their skirts.
“We still meeting at the smoke shop?” I asked.
“Naw. That was a fib to test if you were working for the fucking cops, but you aren’t. You have a good time with your woman last night?”
“Sure,” I lied again, and my mind drifted back to the conversation with Z. I was glad I hadn’t gotten into bed with her, but I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t have strong feelings for her. I also had them for Eve, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about my relationships with both of them.
My feelings didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that I got this mission finished so Eve would be released.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Coffee place down the road. Let’s take a walk. One of my girls is going to pretend to be yours, I’m only supposed to bring one
guard, but we’ll tell them we were out partying all night. These guys don’t care about dames.”
“Okay,” I said as one of the twins disengaged from Byron and wrapped her left hand around my right bicep. I glanced down at her nails during her movement and did see the flash of metal under her claws.
“He’s got nice muscles,” the twin who held my arm said with a sigh. Her perfume was thick, but it smelled of gardenias and it was very pleasant.
“No shit. Don’t be getting any ideas, girl,” the gangster said as he shot the woman a stare.
“Awwww,” she sighed, but then she let out a light chuckle that was slightly mocking. The sound was odd, and I felt a chill run down my spine when I began to suspect that the two women might not actually be Byron’s guards.
They might actually be in charge.
Either way, it never hurt to be pleasant to women, so I smiled at the pretty blonde one on my arm, and gestured to the door of the lobby.
“This way, my lady. I’ll escort you.”
“Oh, and polite. I like you,” she whispered as the four of us exited the hotel.
The street was busy with pedestrians, and I found myself a bit distracted by the clothes everyone wore. I didn’t know how they convinced everyone to dress with this Victorian theme, but I estimated that nine out of every ten people walking the streets were wearing outfits similar to ours. The few that weren’t dressed fancy wore what I would have expected: space jumpsuits, or utilitarian pants and armored jackets. The people I did see dressed in “normal” clothes seemed to be a bit confused by their surroundings, and most of them were checking their transponder maps so they could navigate the streets.
“How do you like our corner of Queen’s Hat?” the woman on my arm whispered to me as we strolled behind Byron and his girl.
“I kind of like the clothes, and the styling of the buildings. Reminds me of the ancient movies I’ve seen of England.” I glanced over at the twin and saw her studying me intently. “How long have you lived here?”
“All of my life.”
“I heard a few million people live here. How many districts are there?” I asked.
“There are eight. Districts A through H,” she answered.
Zeta Hack: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure (Star Justice Book 3) Page 8