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Chapter One
Fourteen hours, thirty-six minutes, and ten seconds after Friday Jones injected herself with a lethal dose of Interferan-X, she stood in front of the ler in the Northern Territory and asked him to save her
“Noould I want to do that, chère?”
Friday knew her face showed none of the surprise she felt at discovering Striker’s accent enty-first century Cajun, an accent she’d only ever heard in historical docuht to be extinct
“I’ll pay” Don’t ask how much, don’t ask how much…
“How much?” It was a sexy purr
She peered into the shadows of the dimly-lit bar where he slumped out of view All she saas bulk Raw Male Bulk It wasn’t reassuring
Mentally crossing her fingers, she gave him the bad news “Three thousand credits”
“Chère, that’s an insult I get ten ti sure ain’t standard” There was a smile in his voice “You need to do better if you want my…services”
She blinked at him steadily for a moment “Is that innuendo?”
“What it is, is boredo else to offer, I’m outta here”
Flicking her tongue over her dry lips, she said the words she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to say “I have information You can have it Auction it It’s worth more than my credit stash”
“Information?” There was interest in his tone “What kind?”
“CommTECH” Don’t ask for more details, don’t ask for more…
She heard his sharp inhale over the noise of a bar croith er to unwind Unlikecities of Texas, this one in the border town of Munroe wasn’t entertaining its clientele with round-the-clock news Instead, entertainment came in the form of one dais in the center of the room It held one pole and one weary naked dancer Friday knew her type She’d grown up o one of the only options available to the unenhanced An option Friday would have had to consider if she hadn’t signed with CommTECH
The air shifted in front of her as the shadows solidified Large hands hit the tacky surface of the small round table There were scars on the knuckles Bare biceps bulged as he leaned forward onto his elbows A black, sleeveless tank barely covered his wide, ht first, stubble-covered, with a scar curving his chin His cheekbones were sharp as honed flint Skin the color of aged leamed off his shaven head His left eye was covered by a black flexi-patch His right was the color of a smoky quartz pendant she’d once seen in a jewelry storeFroe about the man called to her senses—which was purely a scientific observation
Maybe
She caught the aood eye “Like what you see, chère?”
Very ical explanation for her reaction to hily symmetrical Well, apart froely disconcerting I can’t be the only person who’s distracted by them You should probably cover them up to allow your clients to better focus on business Also, you’re younger than I iined What are you? Thirty?”
His s attention back to those powerful shoulders The movement made the head of the life-size Western Diamondback rattlesnake tattoo that curled up around the side of his neck nod in agreeave theelse Just Striker For a hts about the tattoo The colors were incredibly vibrant The only way that could have been achieved with his skin tone would be to bleach the epider ink—a painful process
“Don’t you worry none about age, chère I’m older than I look And I’m still the best” His uncovered eye turned laser hard “Nohere’s this information you have on CommTECH? I need proof that you have it, and that it’s worth so, before we make any kind of deal”
He just had to ask about the information Friday knew her next words would either save her life or hasten her death “You would need to mine for it I’m a Passive Recorder”
In an instant, the easy charun appeared in his hand It pointed at her chest “Youbefore I caht See, now I have a dile to be m
ined along with all the other infor in that head of yours What do you think I should do about that?”
She wet her lips, grateful she wasn’t dead Yet “I went off-grid Alo No one knohere I am No one can track me No one can download the inforhly four days until that changes”