Born of Rage (League: Nemesis Rising) Read online

  The kind they were doing their best to avoid. Shit!

  He reacted instantly. Grabbing Dakari before she could think to protest or even scream, he shoved her into a closet, then pushed Eve, Jayne and Jedi in on top of her and locked it.

  Panicking and confused, she expected them to fight or curse. Do something.

  Anything.

  Instead, they motioned for her to be quiet as they took up positions in the small room and holstered their weapons. Completely baffled, she listened to the sounds outside as their pursuers caught up to their location.

  “Damn it! Where’d they go?”

  “They must have veered off before they came this way.” The man’s voice was calm and heavily accented.

  “I saw them come in here!”

  “You must have been mistaken. I’ve been here the whole time. No one entered before you.”

  “But—”

  “Want to keep arguing with a Top Ass or you want to find your target, Agent?”

  “Sorry, sir.” He rushed off.

  Even more perplexed by it all, Dakari frowned at the delighted look on Eve’s face, especially given the next words they heard that didn’t detract from that happy expression at all. “High Commander Shadowborne. Building one, clear. If the subs head this way, I’ll take them down with extreme prejudice.”

  If that was the assassin’s intentions, then why were Eve and Jayne smiling while Jedi smirked? Why bother to hide them when he intended to kill them?

  None of this made any sense.

  Why were her “protectors” so comfortable with a League assassin standing just outside the door, talking to his colleagues about their murders? The League wasn’t exactly known for using soldiers or agents other than its own military personnel.

  Charged with keeping the peace over all the existing worlds and outposts, they were their own legal system that controlled everyone with an iron fist. No government was safe from them.

  Their assassins were judge and jury for anyone stupid enough to get in their way, especially when someone, like her, had a kill-warrant issued against their life. Then anyone around them was deemed an acceptable loss. No assassin could get into trouble for taking out what they deemed collateral damage. Being around someone they wanted dead was your mistake.

  No one would care.

  There wasn’t even anyone to complain to.

  That man standing outside could do anything he wanted to all of them and no one would be able to stop him. So why were the others so calm and nonchalant?

  Her answer came a few minutes later when the door slid open and the assassin tsked at them. “One simple task, Evara. Is that too much to ask?”

  Arms akimbo, Eve walked seductively toward him. “You’re a fine one to talk, given the number of times I’ve saved your cute little ass. I do believe you still owe me.”

  Against all League rules and protocol, a smile broke across his handsome face. “Always, mi amita.” Pulling her against him, he kissed her.

  Dakari was so stunned that it took her a second to realize that the assassin had spoken his endearment in Euforian. My dearest. It’d been so long since she last heard her native tongue that she’d all but forgotten it.

  Along with the sound of his accent. That was why it’d seemed so familiar.

  No wonder she’d liked hearing it. It made his voice seem even deeper.

  Sexier.

  And that explained why Eve was so drawn to him.

  Every bit as tall and muscular as Jedi, he had long, white blond hair. Like hers. Only his was braided down his back, in the fashion of all high-ranking League assassins.

  A rank doubly confirmed by his black battlesuit as all lower ranking assassins wore maroon uniforms. To earn a flat black meant that this man had personally murdered over two hundred people at the League’s callous command. And half of those lives would have been decorated kills, meaning that they were either other League members or high-ranking political officers.

  Scratch that . . .

  Her eyes widened as she saw his sleeves in the faint light. Each one held a line of crowned daggers embroidered in blood red. The same blood red piping that marked his collar. There was absolutely no mistaking this man’s rank. He was a First Rank Command Assassin.

  A high commander. The so-called Top Ass.

  And that was terrifying beyond all reason as less than one percent of League assassins were able to obtain his rank. A rank that meant he’d personally taken the lives of over five hundred assigned targets—with at least one hundred of them having been fully trained assassins.

  Her stomach lurched at the very thought of what this man was capable of.

  To call him deadly was an understatement. Yet Eve seemed perfectly at ease with someone who could kill them all and sleep like a baby.

  Not that she blamed her. The man was gorgeous. His features were chiseled and harsh. As if the gods had wanted a perfect masculine specimen for this elite killing machine. Like cuddling up with a rabid lorina. A beautiful wild cat that could lick your hand one second, then rip your arm off the next.

  In direct violation of League protocol and rules, Eve pulled the opaque sunglasses from his face. Assassins wore them so that no one would be able to tell where they were looking, or who they were targeting.

  Dakari also had a feeling that they were required to wear them in order to look more intimidating, because without them, he appeared almost kind and good-spirited.

  Indeed, he had a pair of eyes that were the clearest, most vibrant shade of cool steel . . .

  Eyes that had haunted her since the last time she’d gazed into them.

  I’ll always protect you. Don’t worry, Dakaboo. I’ve got you.

  “Jinx?” Dakari choked on the name as it lodged itself in her throat. She was too afraid to speak it in case she was wrong and that somehow her eyes were deceiving her in the dim light.

  He nodded.

  A sob broke as she rushed forward to embrace the brother she’d assumed for all these years was dead. Just like the rest of their family.

  How could he be alive?

  And an assassin?

  “Um, hate to break up the family reunion, but we’re not clear yet.”

  Jinx tightened his arms around her. “Tweedle’s right. We need to hurry.”

  Dakari slapped his arm as he let her go. “Damn you! Why didn’t you tell me you were alive? Why did you let me think you dead for all these years?”

  He gestured at the League uniform he wore. “You’ll be killed if they find out you survived. Or I will be.”

  Because assassins weren’t allowed any weaknesses. If the League ever learned of any, it was instantly removed.

  Should an assassin become maimed or unable to fulfill his or her role, they were executed. Plain and simple. There was no such thing as a retired assassin.

  Retirement for them meant death.

  They weren’t allowed any kind of attachment or family. No friends.

  Agents of death, their jobs were to be soulless monsters sent out to terrify and intimidate everyone in the universe.

  She had no idea what they’d done to her brother to turn him into such a creature, and honestly, she didn’t want to know. She’d heard enough stories about their brutal training. Most assassins never survived to wear any uniform at all.

  Jinx had risen up through all their ranks . . .

  That took more than just luck. It took ruthless skill and unbelievable intelligence.

  Most of all, it took his soul.

  Tears filled her eyes as she glanced to the name on his uniform. “Shadowborne?”

  He swallowed hard. “I would never dishonor our parents by using their name for what I do. Tibon sent me to my death, but I was reborn in the shadows as the monster he only thinks he is.”

  Eve laughed bitterly. “Yeah, if payback’s a bitch and revenge is sweet, then I must be the sweetest bitch you’ll ever meet.”

  “Fuck that,
” Jedi said. “Payback takes way too long. I’d rather beat the shit out of them myself as soon as they need it. I swear, karma’s a bitch asleep at the con, most of the time.”

  Jayne nodded. “Yeah, I got a long list of names karma’s missed.”

  Dakari more than understood their feelings. She’d like to lay hands on Tibon right now and hand deliver to him her own justice that was decades overdue.

  But she didn’t want to think about him at the moment. Her real brother was much more important. “How did you survive?”

  “Piss and venom, little sister.” He winked at her. “Rule one. If you’re going to make an enemy of someone who used to love you and attack him in the middle of the night when his guard’s down, then you better make damn sure he doesn’t survive.” Jinx stroked her pale hair like he used to do when they kids.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You were the one and only thing that was keeping Tobin alive. So long as he kept you safe, I was willing to sit back and let karma have him. Now . . .” He kissed her on the forehead and gently handed her off to Eve. “You know what to do.”

  Eve nodded. “You stay safe, my shadow.”

  “Don’t worry. I know if I do something stupid, you’ll punish me by sending Jed in after me.”

  Jayne laughed.

  Jedi shook his head. “You only find it funny because your sister doesn’t make you go fetch her idiot when he’s doing something profoundly dangerous.”

  Jinx gave him a dry, annoyed glare. “Oh, for the number of times I have to whisper to myself . . . you’re not worth a death sentence.”

  Jedi laughed. “Love you, too, big guy.” Stepping forward, he hugged Jinx.

  Dakari didn’t miss the true affection they had for each other. Jinx was as much a part of their motley family as Jedi was.

  He clapped Jedi on the arm. “Take care of my ladies.”

  “Will do, Top Ass.”

  Eve returned the sunglasses to his hand, then kissed him. “Remember your promise.”

  “I won’t make you cry.”

  But the way they clung to each other brought tears to Dakari’s eyes. There was no missing how much they loved each other.

  Damn the League and Tobin for keeping them apart. The League would never let Jinx go and if anyone ever found out about Eve, they’d kill them both.

  For that matter, Jinx would be killed if they ever learned he’d helped her. Which was why he took a moment to scan outside the door and listen in on the others.

  As he started to leave, Dakari caught his arm. “Will I see you again?”

  He covered her hand with his and smiled, then glanced to Eve. “I’m always with you, Dakaboo I told you that. No one will ever hurt you on my watch.”

  Then he was gone so fast and silently that she could barely process it. Swallowed by the shadows he’d named himself after.

  “Remember, Jinx!” Eve called out in a low tone. “When I asked, ‘How stupid can you be?’ It wasn’t meant to be a personal challenge!”

  A low laugh answered them from the darkness.

  “You better stay safe,” Eve growled.

  With a deep sigh, she offered Dakari a smile. “Come on, princess. Time to find you safe place to stay.”

  Yeah, but there was no such place for her. Not anymore. “They’ll be coming for me. It’s a League contract. They won’t rest until I’m dead.”

  “And that’s your brother at your back. He’ll make sure that you’re cleared.”

  Dakari stared in the direction where Jinx had vanished. “You really think so?”

  Eve nodded. “Your brother is just like me. How far will I go to protect what I love? All the way. Rain hell down on me and I will return it with interest. It’s what makes him so lethal at what he does.

  “And my sister,” Jayne added. “We don’t call her Eve of Rage for nothing.”

  Dakari scowled. “I thought she was known as Eve of Destruction.”

  Eve smirked. “You’re both wrong. I’m Eve of Shadow’s.”

  J

  inx paused as he saw his half-brother sitting at the desk that had once belonged to their father. No sooner had Tobin slaughtered Jinx’s parents and sold him off to the League thinking they’d massacre him before he hit puberty than Tobin had moved himself right in and taken over as if this was his right.

  How sickening could one man be? To destroy those who had never harmed him. Those who had loved and cared for him, given him any and everything he’d ever wanted. Even before he asked for it.

  And for what? Pride? Greed?

  Stupidity?

  Jealousy?

  Jinx still didn’t understand what had caused his brother to snap and lash out at the entire family in such a hate-filled rage.

  Nine years older than Jinx, Tobin had thought himself their father’s key advisor and helper. With lies and subtle manipulation, he’d isolated their father from everyone around him, including his own wife, Jinx’s mother.

  Tobin’s worst fear had been that Jinx would one day replace him in his father’s heart, or that Jinx’s mother might break the spell he held over their father. That Jinx and Dakari might somehow take a cred from his greedy, slimy palm before he could spend all of their father’s money.

  And yet for all his greed and insistence that he was smarter than everyone else in the universe, including their father, within a year of their father’s death, Tobin had driven their once rich and thriving empire into bankruptcy. That was just how stupid and delusional Tobin had been about his “skills.” It wasn’t enough that he lied to everyone around him, he’d also lied to himself. Convinced himself that he could run their empire just as easily as their father had.

  Now Eufora was one of the poorest, rundown districts in the Nine Worlds. They were reliant on loans and charity from other governments just to function. And it was minimal functioning at that.

  Their father would weep to see the damage Tobin had wrought on his beloved empire. Perhaps it was best that he was dead, after all.

  Too bad Tobin wasn’t man enough to kill himself and do them all a favor.

  As if anyone would ever miss so worthless a piece of shit.

  But then cowards never did anyone for favor, except themselves.

  Useless from beginning to end.

  Tobin’s “bright” answer for reinvigorating what he’d destroyed had been a rich, political marriage for Dakari to a man older than their father. His way of saving his ass, without having any regard for her or anyone else. Then when she’d refused to be his pawn, Tobin had put out a hit on her, thinking he could at least have the money from her life insurance.

  His second mistake.

  Funny how the ghosts of the past always came home to roost. We are all the architects of our own demise. His father’s favorite quote.

  Too bad Tobin hadn’t remembered that.

  His father had created his own death by spoiling a brat and praising him when he should have kicked Tobin in the ass and to the curb. Gereon Tievel should never have allowed Tobin to think or believe for one instant that he was something that he wasn’t. That he actually had a single functioning brain cell in his head.

  Now . . .

  Jinx skirted past the bed where Tobin had a woman chained to it. Naked and alone for the moment, she lay with a pillow to her face so that she could muffle her sobs. Her back was covered with bruises and vicious handprints.

  Disgusted by his brother’s perversions, he wanted to free her, but better to leave her there so that no one could accuse her of his brother’s death. Not that it wouldn’t be justified.

  Still, the poor woman had obviously been punished enough at Tobin’s hands. She didn’t need to suffer because of his death that was too long overdue.

  Silent as the shadows he’d named himself after, Jinx crept into the room where his brother sat alone in his infinite misery, drinking and imbibing the drugs that used to make their father have to bail him out of jail.
/>   Dressed in a bathrobe that he’d pulled over his naked body, but hadn’t bothered to belt, Tobin looked exactly like the aged piece of miserable shit he was. His thinning hair had gone stark white and his face appeared much older than his years.

  Be careful what you court as your companion, my son, for you will one day wear it for all the world to see. The body rots from the inside out, and your sins will devour your soul. Eventually, those sins will find themselves on the surface and the lines on your face will mark all the evil you’ve done. People will see and know exactly who and what you really are.

  How weird that he’d only had a meager eleven years with his father and yet he remembered his wisdom so well. Meanwhile Tobin had been lucky enough to have him for twenty years and seemed to have forgotten everything.

  Maybe evil made people stupid as well as blind.

  It certainly made them twisted. And Jinx couldn’t help but sneer as Tobin laughed at the video he’d taped of himself abusing the poor woman who was in his bedroom.

  I should have done this years ago.

  But an unsanctioned League hit against any political target could get him killed.

  Then again, breathing while being a slave to the League could get him killed.

  What good were his skills if he didn’t use them to take out the trash once in a while? Let them come for him if they must.

  Let his defiance redeem him.

  “Is she dead yet?”

  Jinx froze as he realized Tobin was on his comm, talking to someone.

  “They’re still hunting the little bitch. I swear, she has more lives than a lorina.” That was Jessel’s voice, Tobin’s half-sister. While Jinx and Tobin shared a father, Jessel and Tobin shared a mother.

  He remembered the snotty bitch from their childhood. With frizzy brown hair and a hateful smirk that made everyone want to slap her within ten minutes of meeting her, she’d been born resentful.

  For reasons no one had ever understood, Tobin’s mother used to send her to their home to visit with them any chance she could. Personally, he’d always thought it was to get back at his father and mother.

  Surely there was no greater hell than being forced to tolerate Jessel’s whiny, incessant complaints and insults.