Free Dark Runner: LodeStar 3.5 by Cathryn Cade Page B

spawned finned creatures.
    But New Seattleites knew he was the man to come to if they needed protection. And he gave it, in return for loyalty. To be under the awning of his gang meant to be safe from the sentient trash that prowled the city, alert for any weakness, ready to use and destroy the innocent, the vulnerable, the helpless.  
    Once it was known they were Darkrunner’s, they were no longer the last two. And since he’d never had the luxury of innocence himself, he had little patience for it. It was better given up, so a being could get on with life.
    He found himself picturing a pair of golden eyes that glowed with defiance which couldn’t quite hide the shadows deep within. He reckoned it had been a long time since Scala Raj had been innocent. What string of events had ripped that veil away for her?
    Tal rose, shaking his head in irritation. Fuck, he was in danger of becoming sentimental here. What did he care about a Serp warrior with wounded eyes? Time to get to bed.

Chapter Six

    Failure.
    That was what Scala had feared the most when she set out on this mission. The kind of fear that turned her guts turned to jelly and her legs to rubber. Failure to keep Tal Darkrunner occupied and away from his empire in the streets of New Seattle, Earth II. Failure to gain the thing she wanted more than anything else—her freedom.
    Once she’d met the ganger in person, her fears had shifted to include his wrath. If he ever learned why she was really on the Zharrdul , he might kill her in a cold rage. A man who tossed a female off of a gangplank to see if she’d land on her feet didn’t know the meaning of the word mercy.
    Just when she’d convinced herself she could handle his expectations of his crew, her fears had widened another notch, to encompass the very real worry that she’d give in to the sensual temptation he cast like an aura. He radiated danger and sex—a combination that was her personal kryptonite. She couldn’t afford to make a fool of herself over another man who dealt in coercion.  
    Those fears were all swept aside just now by the one that had, for two years, trapped her in an endless cycle of risky employment in space. The nightmare where she at last dared to set foot on a civilized planet, only to be accosted by IGSF or local cops who carted her off in restraints after her chip alerted them to her illegal presence.  
    If that happened, she’d no longer have even the cold comfort of travel. She’d be dropped onto the prison planet, Deep Six, where prisoners tended to expire from violence or exposure. As a Serpentian, she hated being cold with a passion. Freezing to death was one of her worst nightmares.
    So of course, when the Zharrdul landed at the large and bustling space port in Sunspot City, Solaria, Tal Darkrunner announced, “I’m meeting a contact who may have some information for me. Place called the Black Hole.”
    Scala had been to the Black Hole in years past, with her Orion guard mates. Solaria was a small satellite planet that revolved in tune with Serpentia around their brilliant sun. It was used mainly as a jumping off spot for long space flights, and storage for risky fuels and freight bound for its much larger sister planet. There was no farming or settlements other than the ports and depots.
    The inhabitants were a tough, hardened lot living their lives as if there was no tomorrow, and their favorite watering hole reflected this lifestyle. She thought about warning Tal and the others to watch themselves, but on second thought, that was like warning a serpent to watch out for the local lizards’ sharp teeth. The serpent would be just fine.  
    Leaning against the bulkhead beside the passage to the rear of the ship, she shrugged. “Okay. I’ll be here when you get back.”
    He shook his head. “You’re coming with us.”
    Scala blinked. He had a short memory. “Sorry, but no. I’m not.”
    “You are,” he said implacably.
    “Look, I get you don’t care if I get