Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,7

simply wish to hire your services.”

“And I wish to return to my planet.” Need to return.

“Such a shame that your ship will be impounded for at least a week. Of course, if you were to complete our request more quickly, I might be able to…hurry that along.”

Aidon snarled, allowing his true nature to emerge, and saw the Hothian tense, although he made no other move. Hanna also tensed but once again, moved closer to him rather than away.

“I do not respond well to blackmail.”

“I understand. Under other circumstances, I would not pursue such a course, but time is short and we are desperate.”

He suspected that it had cost Njkall to admit how much they needed his help, and he relaxed slightly.

“Go on.”

“There is a female—a much beloved member of our cave. But she is young and as the young often are, foolish. She has abandoned her cave and taken up with an alien male.”

“You want me to hunt down a runaway girl?”

Njkall’s claws tapped together. “If she truly left of her own accord, we would be concerned but we would accept her decision. But in this case…”

“Young females do foolish things. Why do you think this is more than that?”

“Because she is with Chotgor.”

The name dropped into the room like a stone in a still pond. Although Aidon had never met him, he knew of Chotgor. A former gladiator who had battled his way to wealth, he had become a notorious slave trader, famous for his fighting pits. His fighters were usually slaves, the fights were always brutal, and they were always to the death.

“Why is he here?”

“Supposedly, he is trying to recruit fighters. I suspect he was attempting to see if he could steal some of our people. We have a certain reputation for fighting skills.” Njkall bared his teeth, and Aidon had to suppress the instinct to respond in kind. The male would be a worthy opponent.

“Why would your female go to him?”

“We heard a rumor that one of us had been encountered in a fight pit. He is Zemma’s brother. She may have been foolish enough to think she could get information from Chotgor.”

“Why don’t you go and get her back?”

Njkall tapped his claws again. “We have a contract with the Empire. Port Eyeja is a free zone operating under Imperial rule. In return, they leave the rest of Hothrest under our control. If we breach that contract, they could attempt to exert their rule over the rest of the planet. We would fight, of course, and we would cause great loss, but in the end, we would lose.” Glowing blue eyes met Aidon’s. “If I knew for sure that she was being held against her will, I—we—would take the chance, but it is possible that she is there of her own accord. He has a reputation for great charm.”

“I’m not a godsdamned nanny.”

A small, cold hand crept into Aidon’s. He looked down to see Hanna biting her lip.

“It’s a terrible thing to be a slave, to be taken away from everything you know,” she whispered.

He covered her hand with his own. “I know.” The memory of those first few months after he’d left Pardor for the first time washed over him. Fuck.

“You just want me to get her out of there?”

“If she is willing to go.”

“Don’t worry. If she’s foolish enough to want to stay with a bastard like Chotgor, I’m not going to risk my neck for her. Where is he?”

“He rented a large establishment on the outskirts of town. You should have no difficulty gaining entry—he holds a party every night. Gambling, females, liquor. Anyone with sufficient credits is welcome, except for Hothians, of course. We already tried a more conventional approach. I doubt he would take kindly to a Kaisarian priest either.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Or at least, he hoped it would not.

“What of your female? She is welcome to stay here with us.”

“No!” Hanna’s hand tightened around his. “I want to go with you.”

“They will assume you’re my slave.”

“I don’t care.”

He didn’t like this. Based on Njkall’s brief description, he already knew it was not the kind of place he wanted to take her.

“You would come to no harm with us, human,” Njkall said quietly.

“Thank you, but…” She looked up at Aidon, big eyes pleading. “You’re the only alien—the only male—who has treated me as a person. You make me feel safe.”

“Safe?” Didn’t she realize that he could kill her in ten different ways without leaving his seat? No one came