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“I want to test something. I want to see if anyone really was here, waiting. Or if we actually caught the galaxy blindsided, this time. It’s possible someone’s still hiding out and just not acting on it.

We can both look. It shouldn’t take long.

You can cover the expanse of private coastline here.

I’ll do a sweep of the house. Use the ORA.

No one will see us even in a worst-case scenario. We can get out fast.”

Elliott stared at him, scowling now. Niko swallowed, expecting him to see right through his bizarre and insistent request. “Is it really necessary to? If someone is here, we should just go , not spend time looking around. You said yourself if anyone else were here, they’d be quite aware of us by now. ”

“I know. I did. But there’s also a chance some of his victims might be around too, you know? Since we’re hitting homes now and not just big events. So, we should do a sweep for them, too.”

That last part wasn’t a lie. Niko prayed to any cosmic entity that might take mercy on him that they would find nothing even close to that.

It seemed to sway Elliott slightly. He could see something stubborn give way in the other man’s eyes. His frown didn’t let up, though. “Out on the beach, Niko? Let’s just look in the house—”

Niko sighed in nervous frustration. He ran a gloved hand through his hair. “Just trust me, babe, okay? I won’t ask anything like this again. I just want to see. I want to make sure nothing is amiss.”

“Then we should do this together, not split up.”

“We can cover it faster if we’re split up. It’s fine. With the ORA, we won’t be seen.”

Elliott shook his head. “This is a weird request, Niko—” Niko sagged slightly. It wasn’t going to work. He was a shit liar, and always had been. “—but since you’re so insistent, fine.”

He perked back up. Elliott only shook his head at him again, but reactivated his ORA. Niko could hear his footsteps trailing back down the entry hall and outside of the house. He breathed out a long sigh of relief, then glanced around. To make this work, he’d have to move fast.

Elliott wouldn’t be gone long.

He reactivated his own ORA and did a speedrun check through the house.

He wanted to skip it entirely, but what he’d said might actually turn out to be true—if he missed a hidden assailant or victim in need of aid due to sloppy carelessness, Niko would never forgive himself.

Each luxurious room of the house turned out quiet and empty, though, to his great relief.

Cnrys’s bedroom made him pause at the threshold, unwilling to cross through the doorway. The huge room was as pristine and perfect as everything else here, but all of the Xermotl’s horrific videos had taken place there. He backed out, leaving that one alone.

The basement proved host to an entire vintage alcohol rack, fully stocked.

Score . Niko grabbed some of the bottles, examining them, before quickly deciding on a champagne that would have probably cost a year of his bounty hunting salary. And he’d been paid quite lucratively when he had been active.

He hoped Elliott took his time on the beach.

Maybe the other man’s paranoia and attention to detail would be to his benefit this time around.

Better yet, Niko hoped he paused for a quiet moment to himself to just actually take in the beauty and splendor of having a moment alone on one of the most beautiful beaches in the galaxy.

He liked the thought of Elliott having a brief respite like that.

As he made his way back towards the kitchen, Niko paused and did a double take, mouth agape. Hanging on Cnrys’s living room wall was the single greatest treasure in the entire mansion: a delightfully tawdry wooden sign.

Elliott is going to fucking love this.

He pulled it from the wall, feeling a little giddy at the anticipation of getting to gift him something.

His exploration revealed a few extra prizes along the way, too—a supply closet that had candles and a lighter, and a pantry full of fresh herbs and spices. He grabbed them all before rushing back to the kitchen.

Niko placed the candles along the grandiose dining table, then laid the sign across the seats, hidden away for a later surprise.

Then he paused. There was one more thing left ruining this whole plan—rubbery, spade-tipped arms (or were they legs?) peeking through the doorway to the sunroom.

He stepped inside and hastily pried the ornately woven area rug out from under Cnrys’s body, then tossed it over him, so that all that remained visible was an awkward lump.

And four walls splattered ceiling to floor with purple alien blood.

There. Out of sight, out of mind. Kind of.

It would have to do, and he didn’t have time.

After that, he dug right into Cnrys’s refrigerator, which seemed to primarily contain a mixture of various imported seafoods.

Niko grabbed a fresh package of tilapia, thought on it, then snatched a few limes, an avocado, and sour cream.

The pantry provided the touch of chili and garlic he needed to complete this.

It was time to cook.

He deactivated his stealth and threw the fish into a cast iron pan with a dash of olive oil and lime, and seconds later, it was already sizzling.

Niko had briefly worked his first job as a line cook for a greasy mom and pop burger joint when he’d been in high school.

Years later, he still knew how to cook quickly and efficiently under pressure.

His heart hammered in his chest as he worked.

Given the ORA, he’d be unable to see how near or far Elliott was, but hoped he could finish before the other man returned.

Niko would be able to hear his eventual approach, at least.

With the fish underway, he got started on making avocado crema to drizzle over it.

The kitchen was already beginning to smell like citrus and seafood now, a bright scent combination that had always evoked the essence of sunlight and warm places in Niko’s mind.

Once he’d made good headway on the crema and had flipped the tilapia, he moved back to the table and lit each candle.

It was almost ready now.

He was taking Elliott on a date.