Chapter One
Xavier stood in a warehouse, surrounded by bodies, blood pooled around them. On the wall behind him was a gang symbol with a red X over it.
It was a gold crown for the Kings, who were extremely well known on Nathea, where they originated from. However, members spanned over a good few planets.
One had to be extremely brave to take them on.
Or extremely stupid.
This was the thought that ran through Onyx Lauristen’s head as she stared at the bounty that currently occupied her laptop screen. The initial shock from finding the bounty had worn off but the questions remained. What had Xavier gotten himself into?
Why would you do something so incredibly idiotic?
The Kings were feared and for good reason. They had no regard for those around them. If someone was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it was considered their fault, not the gangs’.
Scrolling down, Onyx looked to see who had taken out the bounty. It had been posted two days prior by the leader of the Kings, who stated that this was an attack headed by the leader of the Warriors, another well-known gang from Nathea.
For reasons unknown, the two gangs hated each other with a passion, and it sounded like whatever Xavier had signed up for had finally been the tipping point. If it wasn’t an all-out gang war before, it was now.
Groaning, she leaned her head back and placed her hands over her face. She didn’t know how to feel about any of this. She’d just spoken to him a week ago and everything had seemed fine. If he were in trouble, he would’ve said something.
She sat up straight, a thought dawning on her before she leaned over and grabbed her commlink from the table. If he wouldn’t tell her then there was someone else he would have told.
Pulling up Sebastien's’ contact information, she quickly put the call through, praying he answered quickly. After the fifth ring, she received his voicemail, which was quick and to the point. Ending the connection, she tried again, mumbling that she would keep bothering him until he answered.
“Hello?” she heard after the third ring. His accented voice was low, and his breathing was labored. It didn’t take a genius to know what he’d been up to.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Would it make a difference if I told you yes?”
“No, not really.”
She could practically hear the eye roll before he replied. “Alright, then no, you’re not. Would it be too much to ask if we can make this quick, though? I have a woman here who is very impatient.”
“Tell Ava I said hi,” she said with a small smile. “I’ll try my best to let you get back to her, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll be in the mood once I tell you this.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice growing serious.
“Have you heard from Xavier lately?”
“No, why?”
“He would tell you if he was in trouble, right?”
“That’s a dumb question.”
“True. Has he said anything to you about being in trouble?”
“No? Why? What’s going on?”
Onyx copied the bounty as she answered. “I need you to find a computer now. You need to see this.”
“Is he in trouble, Onyx?”
“He’s more than in trouble. He’s probably buried six-feet under right now and we wouldn’t know it.”
She heard some rustling and Ava ask what’s wrong in the background. She heard what sounded like a quick kiss before Sebastien told her he wasn’t sure yet. “Alright, I’m at my computer,” he said a moment later.
She sent him the bounty, waiting quietly for his reaction.
“Holy fuck,” she heard him mumble.
“Yeah,” she said softly, running a hand through her hair. “Did he say anything about associating with either the Kings or Warriors? He didn’t say anything to me, but I figured out of the two of us…” Her voice trailed off.
“That he would’ve told me,” he finished for her.
She nodded, realizing quickly that he couldn’t see her, before saying anything. “Would he do anything like this?”
“If he really had to? Yes.”
She sighed softly. “Is Ava willing to try and get a hold of him?”
Sebastien repeated the question to his partner, who was quick to oblige. They waited patiently as she tried three times and failed, sounding a little panicked as she spoke. Onyx could hear her voice in the background but couldn’t quite make out the words.
“She tried getting through, but none of the calls would continue after the second ring.”
Onyx’s blood ran cold as a feeling of dread washed over her. Xavier could be dead and there would’ve been nothing they could do about it. She’d already seen the names of a few well-known bounty hunters signed onto his contract. If one of them had already gotten to him…
She pushed the thoughts away and leaned forward, signing her name electronically to the bounty. If there was a small chance that he was alive, she was going to use every resource her job got her to keep him breathing.
She also knew it wouldn’t take long before the other bounty hunters realized who she was, and if they had heard the story about how they’d taken down the Blades, they would know right away that she wasn’t about to turn him in. Once again, she would be hunted by her own people.
She let out another small sigh.
“Onyx? Are you still there?”
Sebastien's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “I just signed on to the bounty. I need everything I can to make sure others don’t get to him first.”
He was silent for a moment. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was, but she was willing to optimistic this one time. She had to believe that Xavier was alive until she saw the body for herself.
“Alright. I’m going to see if I can find any information on this attack. Whatever I find I’ll send your way.”
“That sounds good to me. I’m going to make my way to Alistoria. Someone needs to do the hard stuff.”
“Be safe,” he said before ending the connection.
Shutting the laptop down, she stood and stretched her arms over her head, making her way to her room. She’d been pretty lucky with the apartment she had. It wasn’t extremely big, only two rooms and a bathroom, along with a small kitchen, but it was nicely decorated and had the perfect amount of room for her to feel comfortable.
She made her way to her closet and pulled out her leather jacket and new boots, throwing them on the bed before she began digging through the top drawer of her dresser, pulling out a few knife holders and her gun holsters. Within minutes, she was geared up and ready to go.
Leaving the building, she hastily made her way to the hangar, wasting no time getting onto her ship and leaving Nathea. Once the ship was on autopilot, she tried getting ahold of Xavier but groaned when she’d received the same thing as Ava.
She didn’t know what she would find when she arrived at his place. Maybe he’d be asleep in his bed, completely oblivious to the fact that his head was wanted on a spike, the price so high that the king of Alistoria himself would faint.
Or maybe she would find his headless body, his apartment a murder scene. A gruesome reminder that she hadn’t arrived in time.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment.
It was the first time in a long time that she’d genuinely prayed for something.
