Ivar's Escape (Assassins of Gravas #2) - N.J. Walters Page 0,7

amount of money tucked in a pouch around his neck, a bit more in a hidden pocket in his thick belt, and more in his boot. Not a very trustful fellow.

There was nothing to give any indication of his identity. The only personal items were his knife, which was ordinary enough, and a pendant he wore around his neck. She studied it, but it was nothing more than a symbol carved into a thin wooden disk. It was a symbol of protection. It had failed.

Grabbing him under the arms, she dragged him out the door and two streets over before leaving him in an alley, propped up beside a rain barrel, his back to the wall of a dwelling. She removed her knives from his chest, wiped them on his dark pants, and returned them to their hidden sheaths. There was nothing to hide the bloodstains spreading across his shirt. But there was surprisingly little blood because it was a straight heart wound. She hoped he’d sit there for a while, people assuming he was drunk before they discovered differently.

To add to the illusion, she placed his knife in his hand and left his money and necklace on him. The scavengers could have it. Taking nothing that could link him to her, she returned to her room and shut the door.

The blanket on her cot had been disturbed. As if she’d put something under the mattress. There weren’t many hiding places, but people always did the expected. They looked around and down. Very few ever looked up.

Using the tiny indents in the wall, she went up one side of the wall and removed the stone she’d loosened. It had taken her little time to carve a chunk off the back of the stone so when it was replaced, there was a small space behind it the size of the piece she’d removed.

Her extra money, her garrote bracelet, and a spare knife were there. She retrieved them and returned the stone.

After heading into the small room that passed as a bathing chamber, she opened the water cistern on the primitive toilet and pulled out the watertight bag she’d stuffed in there. It contained a change of clothes, makeup, and a small stash of credits—things of no real value.

Hurrying, she stripped off her clothes, pulled off the head covering, unwound her hair from the short braid, and washed in the trickle of water from the waterspout mounted in the wall. It was the reason her room was so expensive—it included what passed for a shower. Once she was clean and all the makeup was removed, she dressed, this time donning leather leggings and a short tunic. She pulled a skirt on over the leggings.

The ragged boy who’d dragged the body into the street was gone. In his place was a tough female mercenary. Weapons strapped on and everything else packed away, she slung her bag over her shoulder. Time to move to a new location. She’d hit up the local bar, get something to eat, and listen to the gossip. Then she had to contact Spear and give him the news.

As she left, she finally allowed herself to think about Ivar. Even malnourished and beaten, he exuded a vitality, a strength that drew her.

She had a soft spot for the underdog.

“Don’t get involved,” she muttered in Zaxian in case anyone overheard her. She hadn’t seen anyone from her home planet of Zaxus here, but that didn’t mean another didn’t speak the language. Best to keep to Alliance Standard, as that was the most commonly spoken.

Still, there was a slight spring in her step. She’d be seeing Ivar again and soon. The faster she could come up with a plan, the faster they could both leave this godforsaken place.

Chapter Three

“You want to go to your ship?”

“Aye.” Delphi used the old Terran slang word that was often used by pirates. It was a favorite on Tortuga. They really took this whole pirate thing too far. “Imagine my surprise when I was told I needed permission.” She’d gone through the invasive process of getting into the settlement, submitting to a body scan. No blasters, no communication devices, no tech.

But no one had warned her about this.

Balthazar sat back in his chair and grinned. It was the middle of the afternoon, and she’d been waiting for several hours for him to show up at the Smuggler’s Paradise. He owned the bar in the center of the settlement and often held court here. It was a place