Page 24 of Venomous Lust
Then it hit her. She knew what mission Khal was on. She knew also that she should keep quiet, but shutting up had never been her strong suit.
“Roohl was right, you’re going after Knut.” Her face felt numb as she spoke, terror at the thought of chasing the monster that had ruled over her life coming back with a vengeance. “That’s the mission Prime Councilor Aav gave you.”
“Let this go, Hazel.” There was a warning in the Eok’s voice, one Hazel knew she should heed. Khal turned his impressive body around then took a step closer. He loomed above her like some all-powerful God, his skin shimmering under the harsh light, all those tiny bumps showing in a dizzying reminder of who he was, what he was capable of doing. Any creature capable of cutting into their own skin thousands of times and keep going wasn’t one she should upset.
But Hazel was a cornered animal. She had no choice.
“But why? Why would you of all people go on a mission like that?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But she did. In truth, she had known all along. Hazel’s mind spun out of control and she wasn’t sure how she was still able to stand.
“There’s a bounty on Knut, the biggest bounty ever placed on a single person. The worst of the bounty hunters are after him, that’s why Roohl boarded the Myrador. He wanted to take out the competition.” Hazel spoke calmly, her words clear and loud as her mind swam in a thick ooze of fear. Khal watched her, missing nothing of what she said, his face a mask as smooth as stone. “You’re not after the money. Eoks aren’t like that. No, you’re after something else, something more.”
Khal’s eyes shone with a dangerous glint as rumors about a past she’d rather forget rushed back to her. Rumors of a weapon hidden on Aveyn, one that could wipe out all of the Ring’s government in a single blow.
“It’s the bomb, isn’t it?” Suddenly, she couldn’t stand anymore. Her hands reached blindly behind her and she fell into a chair more than she sat. “You’re not just after Knut. You’re after that damned bomb.”
Silence, heavy with meaning, answered her question.
I chose the wrong ship to hide in.
She had escaped Bobbie and his fists only to find refuge on the one ship in the entire Ring that was not only going to hunt down the ex-Trade Minister who had enslaved her entire people, but which was leaving the safety of the Ring’s civilization in order to retrieve a weapon so formidably destructive, it could plunge billions of people into a civil war.
I’m a total idiot.
The sheer absurdity of her situation made her chuckle. Her mind swam, and laughter soon bloomed in her chuckles’ place. Hazel laughed and laughed at the ridiculous turn of events.
“I’m going to die. We’re all going to die out here.”
Khal watched her, his face expressionless no more. Instead, an embarrassed kind of worry spread over his masculine, broad features.
Yeah, this one can deal with a murderous bounty hunter, but he doesn’t know what to do with a girl gone mad.
The thought only made Hazel laugh more, but soon, the hilarity gave way to something darker. Something close to despair. Her laughter turned into sobs and she pulled her knees up to her chest, then bent her head, hiding her face as her short hair fell forward.
All the helplessness she’d felt over the months after her flirtation with Bobbie turned into a nightmare rushed to the surface, and Hazel let it swallow her. She had been alone for so long, had fought all that life had thrown at her without ever falling.
But this was just too much.
She cried quietly until a large, warm hand closed over her shoulder. Strong arms reached under her knees and she found herself cradled against the impossible strength of Khal’s chest.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Khal whispered into her hair in a soft voice, much softer than she’d ever thought he could have. “Now, let’s get you some rest. You’re exhausted.”
As much as she wanted to protest, Hazel felt her entire body shut down as she drank in Khal’s warmth, Khal’s strength, burying her face in his neck, inhaling his clean male scent.
He walked her all the way to his sleeping quarters and tucked her into bed after removing her boots. As she watched him through the fog of a sleepiness induced by shock, his blue eyes seemed to gleam. She didn’t want to sleep. She knew it was absurd, but her mind and body were shutting down. After the almost sleepless night in the cargo container, her fright at finding herself in space, and then the boarding from the Mother’s bounty hunters, her mind was pulling the plug.
Hazel tried to fight it. She moved, pushing the blanket away.
“Sleep now.” Khal brushed her cheek gently, effortlessly pulling the blanket back up to her chin. “You will be back with your sister; this I vow to you.”
As Hazel finally closed her eyes to the world, she realized that for the first time in her short, brutal life, she actually trusted someone other than her sister. She believed.
And it was all because of an Eok warrior whose eyes were too blue and whose mouth she wanted to kiss so bad it hurt.
Chapter 8
