Page 2 of Vex (Dragon Brides #12)

Luisa hated working with amateurs.

The message from her contact had been sparse on details, but crystal clear on one thing: she'd have a partner. A partner she'd never worked with, never vetted, never even heard of in the networks that kept track of who was competent and who got people killed.

If she'd known about the partner when the offer came through, she would have turned it down flat and walked away. It was what any self-respecting loner would do.

She scoffed. Yeah, right. Like rent wasn't due and her accounts weren't teetering between low and empty.

There's an easy way to fix that, a traitorous little voice whispered in her mind. It would take nothing to fix her money problems. One computer terminal, a few clicks of the keyboard, and voilà, an unending stream of credits.

Her fingers twitched. The old hunger stirred, that electric thrill of cracking open a system and watching numbers cascade across her screen.

Luisa refused to entertain the idea. The allegedly unending stream of credits tended to end at the end of some goon's bat or in a cell. There weren't laws on Aetis, not really, but separating rich people from their money led to bad things.

Very bad things.

She'd seen what happened to thieves who were unlucky enough to steal from the wrong mark. The memory of broken fingers flashed through her mind before she could stop it.

Luisa was reformed. She didn't need to steal to make a living, not when the Intergalactic Dating Agency was out there offering a ludicrous amount of credits to someone who could retrieve their stolen data.

And that she could do.

But she hated the undercity.

The neon-slicked streets stretched out before her like a fever dream painted in electric blues and poisonous greens.

Holographic advertisements flickered against crumbling concrete walls, promising everything from synthetic highs to flesh that would love you for an hour.

The air tasted of desperation, thick with the exhaust from hover-bikes and the sweet cloying smell of whatever they were cooking in the food stalls.

Bodies pressed past her in the narrow alleys, some putting on elaborate fronts of wealth they didn't possess, others so beaten down by the weight of survival that they moved like ghosts.

A woman in a torn sequined dress leaned against a doorway, her smile bright and brittle as she called out to potential customers.

Two blocks down, a man sat slumped against a wall, and he didn't look like he'd see tomorrow.

She reached the edge of The Veil, that slim slice of the undercity clinging to respectability or clawing its way out of the muck, depending on who you asked.

Here, the streets were wider and somewhat clean. Corporate security guards in crisp uniforms stood at strategic corners, their presence a reminder that someone with money cared enough to keep the chaos at bay.

The lights were softer, more tasteful, advertising legitimate businesses alongside the questionable ones. But the streets were nearly empty, as if the sanitized atmosphere had sucked the life out of the place along with the obvious crime.

The Veil was an illusion. Give her the grit of the undercity any day.

But Undertow didn't suck.

It was one of the seedier bars in the Veil, with digital gaming tables in the back that were always busy with patrons.

The porn machines in the back room were even busier.

A middle-aged man in an expensive coat emerged from that back room, his face flushed with shame but his stride carrying just a hint of swagger.

He avoided eye contact with everyone as he hurried toward the exit.

The swill out of their taps was drinkable, and she'd never gotten food poisoning there. It was a good place for a first date.

She snorted.

But working with a partner was a bit like dating, and she had to feel out her amateur before they got to the show.

Her contact at the IDA had been scant on the details.

Dating profile data had been stolen. That data included information from high rollers across the galaxies that could be used for blackmail, or worse.

Luisa wondered what people were putting in their dating profiles that could get them blackmailed.

Then again, people were ashamed of the strangest things. She glanced back toward the porn room, where another patron was trying to look casual as he slipped inside.

The bar's interior was dimly lit, dark shadows and flickering holo-displays showing sports feeds from a dozen different worlds. Conversations buzzed at a low level, the kind of careful murmur that suggested everyone was keeping their own secrets.

Undertow was full of its usual mix of patrons, which made her contact stand out like a piece of gold in a trash dump.

He was … elegant.

Dark hair swept back from a face that belonged in a corporate boardroom or a government building, not a dive bar in the Veil.

His suit was perfectly tailored, the kind of understated luxury that cost more than most people made in a year.

Everything about him screamed money and breeding, from his straight posture to the way he held his hands.

Three different street thieves she recognized were already eyeing him like he was their next meal. Rory was closest, his fingers already twitching toward the knife he kept hidden in his sleeve.

If the amateur escaped with his wallet, he'd be lucky.

This job was going to suck.

Luisa marched up to the table and put herself between the amateur and Rory. "We're not talking out here," she said.

The man looked up at her and raised one perfect eyebrow. She was struck by his eyes, a deep hazel with flecks of gold in them.

Hells, even his eyes were rich.

Her pulse kicked up a notch, heat spreading through her chest in a way that had nothing to do with the stuffy bar. This was not good. This was the opposite of good. She was supposed to be the professional here, the one who knew how to handle herself in any situation.

No funny business on the job.

He didn't say a word or try to move.

Just sat there watching her with those impossibly composed eyes, as if he was cataloging every detail of her appearance and filing it away for later analysis. The silence stretched between them, and it was getting uncomfortable.

"Come on." Luisa nodded towards the back. "There are ears everywhere."

Still, the man said nothing.

His stillness was unnerving. Most people fidgeted when they were nervous, especially in a place like this. But he sat like a statue, perfectly controlled and calm. It was either the mark of someone with serious training or someone too naive to understand the danger he was in.

Had she called it wrong? She'd be grateful if her partner wasn't this … mark. But no one else in the room fit the bill.

"Are you interested in antiquities?" the man finally asked. His voice was low, cultured, with just a hint of an accent she couldn't place.

The goddamn password. Right.

"Only if they're alabaster," she said through gritted teeth.

The man stood. "Vex."

Yes, she was vexed.

No. That was his name.

"Luisa."

He nodded. "You said there's somewhere we can talk?"

She pointed back towards the gaming tables and porn bots.

Vex's gaze followed her gesture, taking in the flashing lights and the steady stream of patrons moving in and out of the back rooms. He looked at her, eyes flicking up and down.

The assessment was clinical, professional, but she felt it like a touch.

Luisa tried to ignore the way a flash of heat surged through her. There was nothing hot in his eyes.

She'd never known hazel eyes could be so cold.

"I'm here for a job," he said, "not … that."

Nevertheless, he followed her back to the biggest porn booth.

The machine was currently unoccupied, its screen cycling through advertisements for various fantasy scenarios.

Naked women flashed on the screen behind them, and Luisa did her best not to touch any surfaces.

Who knew when that thing got hosed down?

"Already you take me to the most interesting places," Vex murmured. There was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

"I can show you a world of …" Luisa couldn't figure out how to end the sentence. Heat crept up her neck. What was wrong with her? She shook her head. Time for business. "My contact said we're going to the Mountain. That's where the info's coming out of."

The Mountain Gate Casino Resort was a legend among Aetis's impossible venues. It was a playground for the highest of high rollers. There weren't any roads up; you arrived by air or not at all. And the minimum cost of a room was more than Luisa had in her bank account at the best of times.

Vex looked like he could afford it. But he also looked more like a scholar than a gambler.

"I was sent the dossier on our identities.

Are you going to be able to pull that off?

" The cover story was predictable and insulting in equal measure.

Of course she had to pretend to be his arm candy.

For some reason, people that were Mountain-rich never believed someone like her could bring in the money.

Vex gave a single nod.

Not a man of many words.

"Look, this is going to require trust," she said. She leaned closer, lowering her voice. The booth's walls were thin, and sound carried in places like this. "I have to get physical access to their system to start scanning for our intel. That means you're my shield. If they don't buy—"

"They'll buy it," Vex assured her. His voice carried absolute certainty. "This is not my first assignment."

She took in his suit, his haircut, his … everything. "So it's your second?"

That got a small smile out of him. The expression transformed his face completely, turning him from coldly handsome to devastatingly attractive. Her stomach did something complicated and entirely unprofessional. "I will trust you if you trust me. Are you ready to go?"

"What? Now?" She thought this was a meet and greet, not that she was going to run away with him.

"The sooner we start, the sooner this is all over."

The faster she could complete the job, collect her payment, and get away from her mysterious partner, the better.

On that they could agree.