Page 21 of Synnr's Ride

"And a very fine Zulir at that." Jursor's friend grinned lasciviously.

Jori lunged forward and grabbed the man's lapel, the zipper digging into his palm. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He held up his hands. "Nothing to it. Just appreciating someone from the old country."

Jori let him go. Jursor clamped him on the shoulder. "Enjoy your drink, soldier." He nodded to his friend and they left him alone.

First contact made. Jori watched them as they took their seats at Kark's table. Jursor's was still empty, but the other guy had to eject one of the hangers-on from where he'd been sitting. Jori thought he recognized the guy from the research file. Wrake. Or possibly Malo. The young man slunk up toward the bar with slumped shoulders, his moment passed.

Jori didn't look for Hanna. She was playing her part and he wouldn't overdo it.

But he was already ready for this job to be over.

* * *

Slinging hard liquor to drunk bikers was easy, so long as Hanna remembered to jerk her hips out of the way before they could grab her ass.

Few people wanted anything fancy, and the one time some kid slumming it from the university had come in and tried to order something with more than three ingredients, Zilly had kicked him out on principle.

Zilly didn't fit. Hanna had names for all of Kark's gang, and she'd even shared a few words with the man himself. He was a brute and about three seconds away from laying Zilly out on his table and taking her in front of all his men, just to prove his masculinity.

Hanna figured the sexuality of the place should have bothered her more. Each night she'd worked, she'd caught more than one couple fucking in the back hall. And those were the discreet ones. On her last round of the bar, she'd caught a man on his knees between his girl's thighs while she bit her lip to keep from making a sound. A man beside them had his hand on his cock.

If this place weren't home to a gang who bombed innocent people, she might have found it kind of hot.

An interesting thing to learn about herself, and an inconvenient place. But she could explore the fun of watching or being watched when she wasn't three wrong moves away from death.

"We're getting low on the whiskey," Zilly warned as she carefully placed an empty bottle in the discard bin.

"I thought I saw a few bottles in that cupboard." Hanna was busy cleaning glasses, but she had to keep basic inventory in her head. She might have been in the bar under false pretenses, but the bartender gig was legit.

Zilly rolled her eyes. "That's Morn's special stash. He had it imported from—" she cleared her throat. "Anyway, it's all expensive and only for his guys. Not sure why he has to fill up my space when he has a nice big office to store it."

"Men have never been known for their logic." It was the right thing to say, even if Hanna had never quite understood those kinds of things. But she needed to bond with Zilly, and playfully complaining about their men was a sure way in. It was true on Kilrym and on Aorsa, and Hanna would be willing to bet it remained true on any planet where people formed romantic bonds.

Zilly opened a new bottle of whiskey and poured two shots, sliding one to Hanna. "You are a wise woman," she said as she downed hers.

Hanna toasted and drank, turning away as she did so and deftly dumping three quarters of the whiskey down the drain. She couldn't let her senses get dulled, and right now that was her biggest risk. Zilly poured free drinks like it was going out of style, though the alcohol never seemed to make her stumble. She just went and sat on Kark's lap for longer and longer, until she was flushed. Then she'd pull him into the back hallway and leave Hanna to handle the bar alone until she came back, hair mussed and with a big smile on her face.

Zilly didn't look like the kind of woman who belonged in a bar like The Docking Station. With a pang, Hanna realized why. Zilly reminded her of Luci. It wasn't in looks. Zilly had dark hair while Luci was blonde. Zilly was Zulir, Luci human. But they were both small and young and had an irresistible air of innocence to them. Even if it was clear that Zilly's innocence was... well, she definitely liked sex. As for naivety, Hanna wondered just how much she'd be stealing from this young woman before the job was over.

"Take these over to that table by the window, will you?" Zilly slid a tray of drinks Hanna's way.

Hanna picked it up and balanced carefully. If she was going to spill a drink on someone, it would be on purpose. And spilling a loaded tray of merchandise was likely to get her fired.

Three guys in rough clothes with rougher expressions sat at the table by the window. They didn't glance at Kark's table except for when his guys got loud. These weren't members of the gang, just locals who liked to drink.

"You're new, baby," said the first guy as Hanna started dishing out drinks.

"They're really upping the decoration," said the second.

The third slid a hand around her waist and Hanna had to stop herself from breaking fingers. She twirled around his hold with a laugh she hoped didn't sound forced and took a step back. "Enjoy the drinks, boys." Then she escaped before they could make any requests.

She could feel Jori's eyes on her as she sauntered back to the bar as if she didn't have a care in the world.

She risked flashing him a warning look. He couldn't be her savior. Yes, they wanted Kark to know they were an item, but she had to establish herself here on her own two feet.

Jori gave her a smile and pushed himself to his feet. What was he doing?

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