Silver Tongued Devils (17 page)

Brom ducked his head, equally
surprised, embarrassed, and irritated that Na’varr had caught him
at such a raw moment.

Raesa looked up at Brom with hope
shining in her eyes. He could deny her nothing.

***

Raesa stood in front of the
full-length mirror. She stared at her reflection with a wide eyed
silence Brom hoped translated to awe and not horror. He stood
behind her, twitching in nervous anticipation.

“I never learned how to do stuff like
this with my hair. You are amazing.”

The elegant dress she wore was low cut
and stunning on the curvy redhead. He knew intimately how many
weapons, tools, and other gadgets she’d hid on her body. Only a
seasoned pro would catch three of them with a glance. The rest
would be captured by her beauty.

With a brief spurt of pride, he
admired the spill of her hair he’d weaved into an intricate braid
that accentuated her pixie face and highlighted the unique copper
highlights of her tresses. For a brief moment he flashed back to
another woman’s hair. Greasy. Black. Filled with chemicals so foul
it made his senses reel.

Pain darkened his thoughts and he
forced himself to sweep it aside. Hiding his past from Raesa
brought more problems. He’d promised to tell her a little more
every day, though he feared the moment she would view him with
disgust.

“One of my former owners liked to have
her hair styled by her slaves.” He narrowed his gaze on Raesa’s
hair and worried she’d make him take it down after his
revelation.

Tension almost vibrated from her skin.
He didn’t have to look in the mirror to know she was angry. Her
scent changed, shifted from sweet to spicy—she was
upset.

Raesa touched his hand. He glanced
away from her hair and with an iron will, forced his gaze to meet
hers in the reflection. “I don’t want to make you relive painful
memories. It truly is gorgeous. You made my hair look so
beautiful.”

He drew her arm up and placed a soft
kiss on the inside of her wrist, flicking his tongue against her
pulse in a tender caress. “You are helping me replace painful
memories with good ones, Raesa. That is more than I could have ever
hoped for.”

She turned in his arms and his lips
touched hers in a lingering kiss that soothed him. His little
Raesa. In such a short time she’d dug her way deep into his soul
and curled up in places he didn’t know he had.

Her chest rose with her slow
inhalation and she smiled up at him. From one breath to the next,
her worry melted away as if it had never been. She squeezed his
hand. “Let’s do this.”

Unable to trust his voice to speak, he
nodded. He ran fingers over his cheek. It was smooth from his
shave, cooled by air. At Na’varr’s command, tonight Brom would walk
around without a hood. Clean cut. Shaven. Exposed for all to see,
his stripes would make them a target.

“You’ll be fine,” Na’varr said as he
strode in the room.

He was decked out in dark finery with
scarlet accents. He looked every inch the gentleman pirate from the
top of his hair to the tips of his well-oiled black boots. Na’varr
fiddled with his cuffs and Brom pushed Raesa forward with a kiss on
her hand. She hesitated a moment and then helped the captain finish
getting dressed.

Na’varr smiled down at her. The true
warmth in his expression was something Brom never expected to see.
The innocence their little thief radiated softened the edges of his
friend. Light to his dark, she complemented him in every aspect.
They had an elegance his former masters and mistresses had tried
and failed to attain. Their royal bloodline set them apart. And he
was there to keep them safe.

He owed Na’varr a blood debt, but it
was more than that. He was given the choice to serve or live free.
No other man he’d met would have given him that choice.

“Renegade Falls is one of the few
hybrid freedom platforms in the sector.” Na’varr’s gaze lifted to
his. “You don’t have to lay low here.”

Brom’s skin prickled at the thought of
wandering around in plain sight. Maybe it was his past or the cat
inside him, but instinctively, he wanted to stay in the
shadows.

Raesa glanced between both men. “This
seems really important to you, Na’varr, but Brom is obviously
uncomfortable.”

Na’varr inclined his head toward
Raesa, but his gaze was firmly locked on Brom. The hybrid wondered
if he was missing something.

“You were right, my friend. It’s time
to make our move.”

Brutal satisfaction brought a grin to
Brom’s face. “You’re serious?”

“Completely. We need to step out in
public as an entourage.”

They were going to take on the
bastards who were systematically shutting down their
operation.

“We’re countering your uncle’s
attacks.” Raesa was definitely sharp. She’d need to be for the
future they were building.

“Yes.” Na’varr set her hand in the
crook of his arm. “We’re stuck here until morning. Why don’t we
make the most of it by creating a stir? The Lost Andovian Prince
and his princess have arrived.”

He and Na’varr would work out their
bullshit later. “What do we call you in public?”

“The same thing you always call me.
Captain or Na’varr.”

“Good. I don’t think I could get used
to calling you Naesha. That’s just a weird name.”

Na’varr looked insulted. “I’m sure it
was an important name from some ancient relative of mine who did
great things.”

“Yeah, great things like doubling
taxes on orphanages to pay for a new manicure.”

“Fuck you, Brom.”

Raesa stifled a giggle.

“You’re right. He probably spent the
annual budget on building an unbeatable hedge maze.”

“Keep it up,” Na’varr
grumbled.

Brom continued slinging insults, but
his mind spun with all the complications coming out in the open
would cause.

“Hey, you ready?” Raesa touched his
cheek.

He realized he’d stopped talking and
both of them were watching him with concern. He ignored his worries
and savored, for the moment, that they would have the protection of
the public eye. Political asylum would be next, making it more
difficult for Na’varr’s people to attack from the dark. It wasn’t
perfect, and the way they were going about it would probably cause
more trouble than it helped, but it was enough for now.

“Let’s go to the festival.” He
abruptly turned on his heel, ignoring the stifled chuckles behind
him.

***

Brom prowl through the cherry blossom
park, awe and joy so powerful on his face that it brought tears to
Raesa’s eyes.

She cleared her throat to dislodge the
lump of emotion wedged there. “Did you know Sakura means cherry
blossom? Our outpost had three of them many years before my father
and I arrived there.”

Glancing up at the pirate prince, she
was amazed that he seemed more at ease in the public than ever
before. Once the ground crew found out who Na’varr was, they had
pulled out all the stops. The mayor of Renegade Falls wanted to
throw them a party, but they’d declined due to travel
fatigue.

Brom received the biggest surprises.
He was accepted as one of them, dragged into hugs and hand shakes
that left the poor guy ready to climb a tree to get away from it
all. He hadn’t relaxed until they’d reached the park.

“It’s peaceful here.” Na’varr sounded
disappointed.

Raesa smirked at his lack of
enthusiasm. His sense of adventure far outweighed any ideas of
settling down.

“We’re seeing the festival, right now,
and the outward appearance everyone is willing to show. I’m sure
there’s plenty of piracy, thievery, and other shadow games we could
get caught up in if you’re bored.”

Na’varr chuckled. “I’ve got you and
Brom at my side, how could I ever be bored?”

Lingering affection tinged his
expression. With solemn grace he took her hand and brought it to
his lips. “Thank you, Raesa Daw.”

It was hard to find her voice at his
tender touch, in public, no less. “For what?”

“For that.” He nodded his head beyond
her and she turned to watch Brom.

A breeze sent the branches of the
cherry trees swaying. Blue, violet, pink, and crimson petals
fluttered on the wind, swirling around the hybrid like a
dance.

Sometimes he seemed more feline than
man. She watched his hands tremble and wondered how hard it was for
the cat inside not to pounce or chase them.

The twitch moved to a quick strike and
Brom captured two petals in his hand. She and Na’varr both bit back
laughs.

At home the trees at the Sakura
Outpost only bloomed pink. Seeing so many different colors was a
new level of heaven.

Her head ached from the braids, but
she’d never let a single complaint slip through her
lips.

Brom stood beneath a blue cherry tree
one with his eyes partially closed and a blissful, raw expression
on his face. For just a moment, he was all theirs.

Na’varr took her hand and brought it
to his mouth. The warm press of his lips unraveled some of the calm
she’d managed to keep together. “I have never seen him so happy.
You did this.”

She stared at him with skepticism.
“This was your idea.”

“Before you came on board, Brom would
never sleep through the night. He rarely strayed from my side.”
Lines deepened around Na’varr’s mouth and he seemed trapped in his
memories. One day she would ask what they’d gone through. Or maybe
wait until they were ready to tell her.

She let her gaze wander to Brom,
surprised to find him watching them with an unreadable expression
on his face. Curious, Raesa moved toward the hybrid, bringing
Na’varr with her.

“How important is this birthday thing
to your people, Na’varr?” Brom stood with his arms crossed and his
feet planted.

Raesa covered her mouth with her
sleeve to hide her grin. The big bad hybrid wasn’t quite so
intimidating with pink cherry tree petals in his hair.

“The birthday celebration is very
important in our society. It’s how we honor the good and bad of
life. To remember where you came from, acknowledge where you are,
and reflect on where you wish to go.”

Brom glanced at Raesa. “This birthday,
then. I can choose any day I wish, right?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t keep the laughter
out of her voice.

“I choose today.”

Her smile faded and she held her
breath. “Why today?” Raesa’s heart slammed in her chest and emotion
knotted in her throat.

“It is my best memory so far.” He held
out his arms. “This is a beautiful day to celebrate.”

Na’varr stared at Brom and the hybrid
laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. Raesa could see Na’varr was
just as shell-shocked as she was.

Brom shifted his attention to her.
“Come Raesa. I feel the need to dance with my woman.”

Her soul soared with sheer joy. She
put her arm through Brom’s, letting him drag her away from the
trees and to the boisterous party that would soon be celebrating a
hybrid’s first birthday in freedom.

***

Renegade Falls

Dusky Falcon

The lumbering giant hobbled into the
bar, pissed as hell at having to come all the way to Renegade Falls
to report to this snot-nosed shit. Three months and he’d have
enough ore to barter his way out from under those Andovian pricks.
Then he’d hunt down Na’varr to the ends of the universe and sell
him in pieces to a body part collectors. Maybe he’d keep the
bastard’s head for shits and giggles.

That grim thought brought a smile to
his face. A grin that immediately caused his cracked lip to reopen.
The room was barely lit and his contact would be in the rear booth,
near an exit, like always.

He reached the booth, unsurprised to
find the dark haired Andovian already in place.

“Hello, Yates. I heard you ran into a
little trouble with a certain member of the royal house.

Ignoring the irritating gibe, Shawn
sat on a metal stool the man had provided.

“Would you like something to drink?”
The man known as Kellon raised his eyebrows. “Oh, that’s right, you
had your insides recently redone, didn’t you? How long until you
can digest anything other than pisswater?”

“Let’s cut through the idle bullshit.
You got the ore. The prince showed up like you said. Where’s my
money?”

“He got away, though, didn’t
he?”

Yates leaned forward and smiled.
“Keeping him, alive or dead, had nothing to do with our
agreement.”

“Of course.” The slimy bastard smiled.
Perfect even teeth, white as pearls and just as fake as the rest of
him. He’d seen the fangs before they’d been filed down. Worthless
hybrid.

“Change your appearance
again?”

“Your fuck up at Deadgate made it
necessary to remain discreet.”