Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nera and Niklas pushed through the fighting throng. Nera took down two security team members, knocking them unconscious before they could attack more Rumin. “You think they’re trying to take the gold?”
“Avril wouldn’t do that,” Niklas said. “She wouldn’t do this.”
Finally, Avril appeared through the smoke. “If you can’t subdue them,” she yelled at the agents surrounding her. “Kill them.”
“Avril?” Niklas strode forward. “What in the hell is going on?”
When Avril turned, Nera stiffened. The woman’s face was set in hard lines, her blue eyes flat.
“We are subduing the Rumin and removing the Inca treasure.”
Niklas looked as though she’d punched him in the gut. “What? It belongs to these people. It isn’t just some unclaimed ancient treasure lying around waiting to be discovered.”
“I’m not leaving it here with these backward savages.” Avril’s face twisted. “They can’t look after it, and they certainly can’t appreciate it.”
Niklas’ face hardened. “That’s not your real reason, is it?”
Nera looked between the two of them.
Avril lifted her chin. “Of course it is. I care about the artifacts staying in mint condition—”
“No, I don’t think you give a shit about the artifacts at all.”
“Fine.” A dark smile lifted Avril’s lips. “I have buyers lined up. They pay well, and I promised them Inca treasures.”
Nera barely controlled her flinch. Avril? She was behind all of this? “You’re part of the Institute black-market antiquities ring?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised. And I’m not just a part of it, I’m the head of it.” She shot Niklas a smug look. “It was in its infancy when you stumbled across it and got yourself tossed out of the Institute. I was a fairly new recruit, and I saw an opportunity to gain power, prestige…”
“And e-creds,” he spat.
Avril chopped a hand through the air. “Oh, enough with the righteous tone. I’m a realist. The Institute needs funds.
Every year, the number of artifacts we house gets larger, the digs get more numerous, the museums more expensive to run.
Who cares if a few artifacts are sold off to private dealers? ”
“I do. Those artifacts are pieces of history to be studied, researched, and admired…by children, scholars, the general public. And don’t tell me you ‘vet’ your buyers. I know you sell to scum.”
“Just like she does.” Avril stabbed a finger at Nera. “That doesn’t stop you from getting into her pants as often as you can.”
“Burns you, doesn’t it?” Nera said, silkily.
Avril jerked a shoulder and kept her focus on Niklas. “I tried to project the exact image of what I thought you wanted. A smart, fresh astro-archeologist. I was attracted to you, and I thought we’d make a great team.”
Nera’s stomach turned over.
“You don’t understand me,” Niklas said. “The Institute never understood me either. And she—” he looked at Nera “—is nothing like the reputation she’s carefully crafted.” He shot Avril a contemptuous look. “You made yourself look good, but beneath the gloss, you’re rotten.”
Avril jerked like she’d been hit by a prod.
“Nera…she lets everyone think she’s black to the core, but beneath it all…” Blue eyes met hers. “She’s everything.”
God. Nera swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t begin to imagine what he saw when he looked at her. No one had ever looked at her the way he did.
“Enough,” Avril shouted. “There are hundreds of thousands of artifacts moldering away in the Institute archives. I did what I thought was best for the entire organization.”
“And none goes in your pockets?” Nera asked.
Avril’s chin lifted. “A reasonable and perfectly fair percentage for my hard work. The Institute pay is ridiculous.” She looked at Niklas again. “You could still join me, be a part of it. Help me manage this, and you could fund whatever digs and research you wanted.”
Nera’s heart hit her ribs, then her pulse evened out. Avril really didn’t know Niklas at all.
“I’ll never help sell off history to the scum of the galaxy, or help people like you line your pockets. I may be a treasure hunter, but I have my standards.”
Nera stepped up beside him. “The Inca gold belongs to the Rumin.”
“Mutated freaks.” Avril shook her head. “They’re a step backward in evolution. They don’t deserve it.”
“That’s not for you to decide,” Nera said. “It’s theirs. It’s always been theirs.”
“Look, last chance, Niklas. Join me. Forget your…involvement with Darc. Take your rightful role at the Institute. A man of your dedication and intellect could go so far. You deserve so much more than being a treasure hunter.”
Nera raised her brows.
Niklas stepped closer to her, that infinite blue gaze meeting her own. “I love you.”
God. Her throat tightened. “Not going to toss me over for the Institute and a smart, fresh bitch of an astro-archeologist?”
“I’d have you by my side any day.” He flicked at her hair. “Ready?”
She nodded. As they turned away from each other, he was drawing his laser pistol, and she yanked her sword from its scabbard.
“Get them,” Avril yelled.
Her agents moved forward.
Nera dived, rolled, and came up in the middle of the group. She slashed out, cutting two Tase prods in half, before attacking the security agent that jumped at her.
She rolled the man beneath her and slammed a fist into his face. He flopped down on the ground. She turned her head and saw Niklas firing at Avril. The astro-archeologist ducked behind some rocks.
Rumin were fighting against some agents. Nera yelled at those closest to her. “Aim for their weapons.” She gestured and pointed.
A few warriors nodded and followed her instructions.
Nera reached to her belt and pulled out three throwing stars.
She threw them with practiced precision, and even over the commotion, heard the agents she’d targeted cry out.
She saw laser fire coming and dropped, sliding along the ground.
She bent backward, circling her sword and came up, slicing into an agent’s arm.
The woman screamed, dropping her pistol and clutching her bleeding wrist.
Nera spun and saw three more agents converging on her. Out of the smoke, a figure appeared before her. The Sapa. The woman held a spear tipped in poison and looked very comfortable holding the weapon. She caught Nera’s gaze and nodded.
Together, they attacked.
The agents went down, and Nera turned, searching for Niklas. She spotted him, the ground littered with agents clutching laser burns. He was still trying to get Avril. She was firing back with her own pistol from her cover in the rocks. Nera wrinkled her nose. The woman wasn’t a bad shot.
Then, as she watched, she saw a stocky figure in the smoke. Sneaking up behind Niklas.
Gunn.
“Niklas!” She didn’t remember moving. She sprinted, not thinking, not planning.
Just then, laser fire hit Niklas’ shoulder. He jerked and dropped his weapon.
Nera tossed her last grenade, a smoke one, in Avril’s direction. It exploded, filling the air with more smoke.
Gunn raised an arm, a large thermo knife in his hand.
Niklas spun. “Should have known you were working with Avril all this time.”
“Yep. She’s paying me a juicy little bonus to keep you distracted and to kill you.” Gunn sneered. “I’m going to enjoy shoving this in your gut, Phoenix.”
“Come on, Gunn. This has been a long time coming.”
The men rushed at each other.
Nera reached them and skidded to a stop. God, Niklas was injured, and Gunn, for all his failings, was strong.
The men twisted and turned, trying to overpower each other. Gunn’s knife was still held above their heads, Niklas’ hand wrapped around his wrist.
Nera raised her sword, searching for an opening where she could safely take down the stocky treasure hunter.
Then the men tripped and rolled across the ground. For a heart-stopping second, Gunn was on top. He shoved a hand at Niklas’ wound, and Niklas’ face contorted with pain. But then he heaved and the two rolled again.
Nera circled them, her heart pounding.
Suddenly, they both staggered to their feet. Niklas was holding the knife, aimed at Gunn’s gut.
“Always hated you,” Gunn spat, backing up. “And those brothers of yours. The fucking Phoenix brothers.” He dodged away from the knife. “I’ll kill you, leave you here to rot, then I’ll go and find your brothers.”
Nera took a step forward.
Niklas didn’t look at her but said, “Stay back. He’s mine.”
Gritting her teeth, she stepped back. She knew he could take care of himself, but it went against everything in her not to protect him.
Niklas made a vicious sound and swung the knife at Gunn, who leaped backward. “My brothers were threatened once before and I stayed quiet to protect them. Not this time. This time I’ll take action to protect them.”
Again, Niklas parried with the knife, and Gunn jumped backward again.
Right onto a sharpened stake that formed part of the Rumin defenses.
The stake burst through Gunn’s chest, the ugly, black poison dripping onto his skin.
Gunn’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth, blood dribbling from his lips.
Nera moved forward now. “Niklas just gave you everything you deserve, Gunn.” Maybe once, he’d been an innocent, wronged by life.
But she knew now they were all the choices they made, whatever their pasts had thrown at them.
Gunn had made his choices. The wrong ones.
Nera bent her head. “Alarah’s free now.”
Gunn made a gurgling sound, then slumped forward, his chin hitting his ruined chest.
Niklas stared at the man resolutely, then closed his eyes. He fell to his knees.
“Niklas.” She skidded to crouch beside him. “Are you okay?”
Lines of pain bracketed his mouth. “Fine. Bleeding like hell and hurts even worse. Can’t use my arm.”
“Hold on.” She heard footsteps and spun. She snatched up Niklas’ laser pistol and took down two agents. “We’ll get to cover and I’ll take a look at it.”
“Nera. You need to take down Avril. If she gets back to the ship…”
She’d leave them here in a heartbeat. Stranding them on a planet that would kill them before help arrived. Nera gripped his uninjured shoulder. “Cover first.” Damn, he was bleeding badly.