Page 28 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars

Aiken

Margot and Emily are in danger. That realization makes the blood in my veins turn molten. My Margot. In danger.

I loom over the body of the so-called “stylist” in the darkened alleyway. A memory of snapping that Slitheron’s neck only a short year ago pops into my mind. Xavian was always too soft to do any of the actual killing—left it up to me to get my hands dirty.

But I don’t enjoy this, either. The woman’s body is still warm, but she’s broken, clad in her black leathers. Her bright red lips were laced with some kind of poison, and I pulled several needles from her nest of hair. No idea what’s in them, but I’m sure they aren’t filled with liquid candy. This woman was armed to the teeth and ready to take out Emily, and she sure as shit would have killed Margot, too.

The thought of my Margot clutching her chest in agony as the toxin slowly shuts down her nervous system sends me into another fit of rage, and I throw my fist into the wall behind me, knocking a few bricks loose.

Xavian turns the corner into the alley and stops short of me and the stylist’s body.His timing couldn’t have been more perfect, because if he’d taken a few seconds longer to get here, I’d be tempted to dismantle this entire building brick by brick.

“Holy shit,” he mutters, taking in the woman’s body. “What did you?—”

“She put up a hell of a fight. Well trained. Definitely an assassin,” I grind out.

Xavian nods as he glances down at the needles in my hands. “She was carrying poison,” he says.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Didn’t hurt you, did she?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Nah.”

“Good. And they’re still at Em’s place? They haven’t moved?”

I shake my head again. “Still there.”

Xavian isn’t a bounty hunter anymore. He shouldn’t even be here.

“Let me,” I say, and bend over to pick up the body and toss it over my shoulder. “I’ll take care of it. As always.”

“I’ll go with you,” he says.

But I turn away from him and say, “Nah. Go to your girl. She needs you.”

After disposing of the body in the usual place in the Latrixia City sewers, I trudge up to Margot and Emily’s apartment. When the door slides open automatically, a black stiletto pelts me between my eyes.

“Ow.” The shoe falls to the ground at my feet, and I let out a phlegmy wheeze as I rub the sore spot. That’s going to leave a mark.

“Shit! Margot, you just hit Aiken!” Emily shrieks and runs to throw her arms around me. Normally, I’d be over the triple moons of Zandolv to receive fussing from my favorite pop star, but I’m too stressed out about the near assassination attempt. That, and my nose hurts. I rub it again and let out a groan.

Xavian winces over at Margot, who stands completely still by the window, her arm still extended from throwing the heel.

“Damn, woman,” I rasp. “Why do you have to have such good aim?”

Margot ignores my comment and lets her arm drop to her side. Emily heads over to the tiny kitchen a few steps away to fetch some ice and wraps it in a towel, then hurries back to press it against my nose.

“Thank you,” I murmur. The cool sensation of the ice feels good, but you know what would feel even better? Gratitude. Specifically expressed by the taciturn, dark-haired woman who just beaned me in the face with her shoe. Not going to happen, but I imagine what it would feel like to get a genuine thank-you from her. Or a kiss. It’s not like I saved her life or anything. The pain radiating throughout my skull dissipates at the thought of her lips on mine.

Xavian arches an accusatory brow at me. “Why are you smiling like that?” he asks.“She couldn’t have hit you that hard.”

I blink, then quickly wipe the grin off my face. “N-No reason. Just thinking about Margot’s aim. Maybe she should think about a career change. Become a bounty hunter. I could use a new partner.”

Margot lets out a bitter, dry laugh and tosses her hair over her shoulder. The urge to grab her hair is still going strong, it seems. “Yeah. Not a fucking chance of that happening,” she mutters. “Enough stalling. What’s the deal? We heard you caught an assassin?”

Emily and Xavian sit down on the sofa in the middle of the room and wait for my explanation. I grumble and dab the towel lightly to the bump that’s now forming on my forehead. “Killed her,” I grind out.

The three wait, their eyes wide and curious.

Their silence gets annoying, so I say, “What?”

“Is that all? That’s all you’re going to tell us?” Margot says. “You’re really bad at debriefing. Why the hell are you so popular in the bounty hunter’s guild?”

I snort. “Just need to be good at killing, little snake. Not talking. Anyway,your fake stylist had a sizable bounty on her. Was wanted in several galaxies for various crimes. Murder. Larceny. That sort of thing. Not a problem anymore, though.”

Xavian works his jaw and looks down at his fiancée, who seems more worried than before. She lets out a soft sigh and says, “That’s … good. But that can’t be all.”

I don’t want to tell them my plan where I run around the galaxy tracking down the folks who hired her. She was a trained assassin. They don’t come cheap or pop out of thin air. Someone has it out for Kallista the pop star, but until I know more about the situation, I don’t want them all worrying themselves stupid.

“Nope. That’s all,” I lie. “All taken care of. Just a one-off. A crazed fan who resented your retirement.”

Margot lets out a deep sigh of relief and places a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “That’s good news, right, Em?”

Emily smiles, but it’s weak and barely reaches her eyes. When she looks at me, her lips part slightly. She knows I’m lying but isn’t about to tell them that. “Y-Yeah. It’s good news. Thank you, Aiken, for your help.”

Xavian’s gaze hardens on me as he crosses his arms. We’ve been partners and friends for years. There is zero chance he thinks I’m telling the truth, either. None. But if he does have an inkling of what my plans are, he doesn’t let on.

“Yeah. Thank you, Aiken,” he says as he continues to stare at me. “You did us a huge favor.”

I wave a hand. “Nah. Favors imply a transaction. I did this because you’re my friends.”

That part is the truth, whether they believe me or not. And when Margot looks at me with those deep, chestnut eyes of hers and smiles at me … well, it’s hard not to feel like a hero.