Ivar's Escape (Assassins of Gravas #2) - N.J. Walters Page 0,45

here since the jailbreak. Just pure chance I happened to be here. Lady Luck smiles on me, she does.”

“Then why do I have a buyer for him and you don’t?” Delphi interjected, drawing their captor’s anger.

She’s doing it on purpose.

All the breath whooshed from his body in a single breath. She was lying, only not to him but to Balthazar. All this was about buying them time while doing her utmost to protect him.

Sweat dripped into his eyes, the salt making them sting. The sun’s rays burned his skin. There were twelve men and Balthazar against the two of them. Those were slim odds.

He was the liability. She was healthy and capable. He wasn’t anywhere near top condition and had no idea what skills he possessed. In hindsight, this was something they should have considered before venturing out of the cave.

As long as they were alive, the possibility of escape existed.

It was a huge leap of faith. His mind argued he was seeing more than what existed between them, giving her more credit than was due. What had she said about his memories? She wouldn’t tell him anything so he wouldn’t make false ones to match whatever details she doled out.

Was that what he was doing here? Creating the ideal situation, believing in her when every word out of her mouth contradicted that? The whole spear reference could be nothing more than pure coincidence.

Only he didn’t think so.

Balthazar used his grip on Delphi’s hair to shake her. “Tell me what you mean by time?”

“You want to ease up on the hair.” Her matter-of-fact tone seemed totally out of place, given the situation.

Baiting Balthazar wasn’t a good idea. Being familiar with the man’s temper, Ivar feared she was pushing him too far. He softened his knees, ready to spring into action if an opportunity presented itself.

“Don’t try my patience, little girl.”

Delphi was slender and about five and a half feet tall, but she exuded an energy and confidence that made her appear much larger. Next to the bulk of her captor, she appeared tiny, almost fragile.

“Listen, you like business. I like business. He’s worth ten million credits, if you know who to contact. I’m willing to cut you in on the deal. But it’s time-sensitive.”

“Ten million. Do you take me for a fool?” He glowered down at her.

“You’re nobody’s fool.” That seemed to placate him, as he released her hair. She ran her fingers through it, patting it back into place. Ivar bit the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling at her audacity. Even with all the armed men surrounding them, she seemed in control of the situation.

“Who would pay that much for him?” Ivar unflinchingly met Balthazar’s doubtful gaze.

“He had Gravasian tech in his possession. Who do you think wants him?” The soft question hit with the force of a blaster.

Was he wrong about her? Was this truly all about money? Idiot that he was, it didn’t matter. He wanted her safe.

“You expect me to believe the Gravasians contracted you?” The skepticism rolled off Balthazar, but it made Ivar wonder the same thing. Why her?

“I worked for Artemis.”

Balthazar took a step back and some of his men began to mutter and shuffled back a step, staring at her as if she was an unstable nuclear bomb.

Who the hell was Artemis? And why were these men so afraid of the name? There was something familiar about it, but he couldn’t pull up the memory or connection.

“You said worked?”

She nodded. “Sadly, Artemis tried to buy the Gravasian tech you put up for auction. Their assassin took out her and everyone else who showed up to buy. If I were you, I’d be a might concerned. Wouldn’t be a bad thing to offer up your captive to them, get on their good side.”

“If their assassins are so bloody good, why send you?” Balthazar’s jaw was tight, his thick brows lowered. The guards shifted restlessly, some of them seeming more interested in the ground than what was going on around them. The air filled with a restless energy that was tinged with the sour stench of fear.

“There’s no way any single male of unknown origins would have been granted passage onto Tortuga without intense scrutiny.” She fluffed her hair and cocked her hip. “But a lone woman in a rusty ship would be welcome.”

“Clever girl.” He rubbed his beard and nodded. “So they hired you?”

“To have a look around to see what I could find.” She flashed a smile.

Ivar’s shoulders bunched, the