Kyler's Justice (Assassins of Gravas Book 3) - N.J. Walters Page 0,48

Was anyone with them or were they alone?

Taking a risk, she slowly peered around the edge of the metal post facing the deck. There was no one in sight. Time was moving slower than a Darkatan silkworm. The back of her neck itched and her unease grew. Something was wrong.

Nerves stretched to the breaking point, she was about to move when she heard a male shout. Her heart jumped, even though she knew it wasn’t Kyler. He was too disciplined to yell.

“Damn it.” She left the relative safety of her position and hurried as fast as she could across the docking station. As much as she tried to keep her footsteps silent, the slight metallic sound seemed to echo in the cavernous space. How did Kyler do it? The man moved like a ghost.

Four down. She counted off the rows. The shouting grew louder the closer she got. This wasn’t good. Back against a docked vessel, she peeked around the edge and was caught by the scene unfolding before her.

A blade honed to a lethal edge, Kyler cut through the group, taking down four big, tough men as though they were standing still instead of trying to kill him.

There was a deadly beauty to the way he fought. One of his attackers raised a blaster and fired. He took it right on the chest. She almost cried out before she remembered the battlesuit he wore beneath his clothes. Even with the protective body armor, that had to hurt.

It didn’t even slow him for a split-second.

Six bodies littered the ground, the first two having already been there when she’d arrived. Blood seeped from the downed men, turning the floor red.

She swallowed heavily. Now was not the time to lose it. Those men would have killed him. They’d kill her if Balthazar demanded it. Not to mention what they’d do to the girls. She hardened her heart, smothering any pity she felt for them. They were adults, and they’d made their choices.

So had she.

Was she any different? She’d drugged a man knowing Balthazar would harm him. Her only goal had been to protect her sisters. Maybe these men had families they were trying to protect.

“Damn you, Balthazar.”

A strong arm wrapped around her neck, and she was dragged back and up until she was balancing on her toes. “You shouldn’t curse me, sister.”

Oh, fuck, he’d found her.

“You also shouldn’t lie to me.”

A knife tip dug into her cheek, the cut burning. She clamped her back teeth together to keep from crying out.

His laugh was low and evil. “So brave. I wonder how long that will last. Will you trade your life for his, I wonder?”

“You should just leave.” Anything to get him away from here. She prayed the girls truly were safe aboard Kyler’s ship and out of Balthazar’s reach.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’re taking a stranger’s side over family. That’s not very nice.”

He didn’t sound angry, which scared her all the more. He was unpredictable at the best of times. Cornered, he’d do anything to stay alive. “It’s your fault I’m involved in this mess.”

“No, it’s yours. No one made you drug the stranger all those months ago. You did that on your own.”

“To protect the girls,” she protested, even though her stomach cramped at the truth in his words. The guilt she harbored from that single act had haunted her since, compounding as time went on.

“Will you protect them now?” He removed the knife from her face and wrapped his arm around her waist so the blade was against her side. Using his strength, he maneuvered them to the center of the aisle. The way her shirt fell, it appeared harmless, nothing more than a hug from a brother to a sister.

There was no taking Kyler off guard. He was already facing them, that blasted hood covering his face. “I knew you couldn’t hide forever.” There was a mocking edge to his voice. Balthazar’s arm contracted around her, squeezing the air from her lungs.

“The Gravasians sent you, didn’t they?”

Kyler inclined his head.

“There was a misunderstanding. I didn’t know the tech I took from him was Gravasian, only that it was sophisticated and would find a buyer.”

He tilted his head to one side. “Lie.”

Balthazar was breathing heavily. He was scared. She’d never seen him truly afraid of anything before.

“All right, I suspected the tech was Gravasian, but he stole it to begin with, not me.”

Was her brother really trying to bargain with Kyler? Then it hit her. He didn’t know Kyler