a guess, I’d say that not one word that came out of those pretty little lips was the truth.”
Tannis’ jaw dropped open. “What?”
Rico shook his head. “You are so gullible.”
“But you were drooling all over her.”
He licked his lips, breathed in deeply, and smiled. “She smelt divine. I’m not saying I wouldn’t like a taste, but that doesn’t mean I believed a word she said.”
He tapped the control pad on the couch’s armrest, activating the monitor on the wall to the right. Skylar Rossaria’s face filled the screen, and he changed the setting so they could see all of her. She appeared quite relaxed. Which was odd in itself. El Cazador had a reputation and not a good one—he’d made sure of that. It encouraged the rest of the bad guys to keep their distance. She also had a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
“She looks legit to me.” Tannis sounded disgruntled—she hated to be wrong about anything.
Skylar stood up and wandered round the room, wincing as though in pain. She slumped down in one of the chairs and slipped off her shoes, gently massaging her foot. A look of relief washed over her face. She peered down at herself, and a frown of disgust replaced the relief as she attempted to tug the silver dress over her very impressive breasts. Rico felt his cock stir in his pants and shifted in his chair, savoring the feeling.
But he recognized there was more to Skylar than his usual attraction toward a beautiful woman. Maybe it was the mass of contradictions he sensed seething just below the surface. Whatever—he knew he wanted the chance to explore it further.
Tannis made a low noise beside him. “Hungry or not, could you get your mind off your dick for one second and tell me if you have any proof. She’s offering good money. Better than good—brilliant, and I need that money.”
“My guess is, she’s never worn high heels in her life. She’s not at all comfortable in that dress, and she’s got calluses on her palm from holding a laser pistol. I’d bet my right fang she’s more at home with a gun than a lipstick.”
“Christ, I wish you were wrong. I’d love your right fang. I’d wear it on a chain around my neck.” Tannis sighed. “But much as it pains me to admit—you’re never wrong.”
He grinned. “And don’t you hate that.”
“Yeah. Damn, but I wanted that money.” She punched the comm unit on her wrist. “Daisy, fire up the engines, we’re out of here as soon as the power’s up.”
Tannis listened to Daisy’s reply, a frown forming on her face. “I don’t care where. Just away from here.”
Rico waited until she’d closed the connection. “You know, there’s no guarantee we could have done the job anyway. As you pointed out, no one has ever been broken out of Trakis One. Though it might have been fun trying.”
He turned back to watch the woman on the screen. It was a long time since he’d felt a hunger like this. He licked his lips. “How about she gives us the money anyway.”
Tannis’ eyes lit up at the prospect.
“Give me an hour alone with her,” he continued, “and she’ll be begging to give you every credit she’s got.”
Heat stirred in the pit of his belly at the thought. He didn’t kill often; he kept that particular hunger tightly leashed, but it was always present. He had his own set of morals, and he did his best to stick to them, but this woman had crossed the line. She obviously had another agenda, which no doubt involved double-crossing them in some way, and that made her fair game.
Tannis narrowed her eyes, but he could tell he’d piqued her interest. “You’re a sick bastard, Rico.”
Rico didn’t try to deny it, and he waited while Tannis mulled the idea. She was captain, after all. Finally, she shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t work. Not with level-one verification protocols in place. You could get her to make the transfer, I’m sure, but it would never pass the screening. The voice recognition sensors would pick up any signs of coercion.”
She sat back, drumming her fingers on the arms of her chair, deep in thought, watching the woman on the screen while Rico watched her. He liked to watch Tannis, liked the clean lines of her face and body, the luminous skin with a hint of scales. Her cold, reptilian eyes. There were very few people he counted as friends, but once, long