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  For a man who hated killing, it hadn’t taken him long to get into this fight.

  Ace looked at the woman he now knew by name and opened his mouth to say something, when someone grabbed him by the back of the shirt. His hat flew off his head as he whipped around quickly, kicking his feet low and ducking out of a third man’s punch. Ace shoved him aside with a fist to the face, sending him flying across the bar until he hit the other side of the wall and slid down to his ass.

  When he turned back, Ely wasn’t there anymore.

  Damn! Ace decided he might as well help Colt finish this off, but he was fist-fighting with a different man. It looked like an even fight and no one else had joined in.

  Brynn sidled up beside Ace and took his hand. “This isn’t going to keep us anonymous.”

  “No, it’s not.” The one he’d sent flying was still unconscious, but the man who’d fallen off his barstool held a blade in his bleeding hand. Without thinking, Ace yanked out of Brynn’s grip and charged forward, kicking the man’s wrist to send the blade spiraling in the air. He was about to deliver another punch when he noticed it wasn’t a man at all.

  Ace held his hand steady, still gripping the woman’s shirt between his fingers.

  The bartender peered over the bar and yelled, “Hey, a fistfight is one thing, but no one uses a blade or a gun in my place. You and your two friends need to get the hell out of my bar!” He wiped the bench casually, dropped the rag and reached below to pull out a rifle. “And don’t come back.”

  Colt slammed his palm against the nose of the man he was fighting and a gush of blood slid down his nostrils. It looked like he’d managed to break two-out-of-three noses within five minutes. The man took an awkward step back, and for a moment Ace wondered just who the bartender had kicked out. When his beady eyes squinted at the injured man and he pointed the barrel of his rifle, Ace knew and was relieved that at least the bar would still be open to them.

  The wounded man grabbed a hold of the ugly woman and Ace let go of her shirt. The two stumbled toward the other guy. Together, they lifted then half-dragged him and themselves out of the bar without so much as another word or insult.

  “I’ll get those three beers for you, son,” the bartender said to Colt with a curt nod. “The name’s Mike and I’d like to thank you and your friend for helping me clear out the garbage.”

  “Any time.” Colt straightened his shirt and wiped at the corner of his bloody mouth with the back of his hand.

  Ace regretted missing out on his chance to meet the lovely Ely, but at least they hadn’t started a bar brawl or gotten themselves blacklisted yet.

  “What the hell happened?” Brynn said as she sidled up to Colt on one side and Ace on the other.

  “Nothin’, they were just scum, that’s all.”

  The bartender, Mike, dumped the first beer in front of Colt. “He’s bein’ modest. Those three were discussing how best to ambush a pretty blonde and take her home.”

  Brynn’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it.

  “Yeah, babe, the pretty blonde was you. But don’t worry, we showed ’em.” Colt slung a clumsy arm over her shoulders and chugged some of the beer down, wincing.

  Ace accepted his beer with a short “Thanks” and wondered if it was really going to be this easy to get those three off their backs. From his experience back on Sullen, once a man fixated on a woman, it was hard to break the obsession. And if one was challenged, it made the prospect much more enticing. He’d seen many men fall because of it.

  He downed his own beer and enjoyed the feel of the cold liquid racing down his throat and stomach. They’d just have to be more careful, that’s all.

  A shiver raced down his spine. He wasn’t sure if it was foreboding of things to come, or because of what had just happened.

  When he raised his nose, trying to capture the singer’s scent, he was glad it still lingered all around him. He might have missed out on meeting Ely tonight but he knew where to find her next time.

  Chapter Three

  Ely yanked one of the chairs she kept in her dressing room and dragged it in front of the dresser. She sank onto it, leaned forward and stared at her reflection in the mirror until it blurred.

  Nothing in here was hi-tech, robotic or technologically-advantaged. She’d decided—along with her business partner, Mike—to keep things as simple as possible. It wasn’t just to keep the cost down. She had all the luxury of advancement where she lived. Here, she wanted to keep things as simple as they used to be on her home planet.

  She sat back and ran her fingers over the rim of the cowboy hat sitting on her lap.

  The alluring dark-haired stranger had dropped it when he’d been attacked near the bar. It looked to her as if his friend might be a bit of a troublemaker. She knew the type all too well. Still, the one she couldn’t get out of her mind had impressed her. Something about his movements seemed familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on why. She’d seen that same fast and brutal fighting technique applied somewhere before.

  With her own arsenal of combat skills, she could appreciate someone with such precise strength and control. Not like the ones who’d started the fight. They’d been bar thugs and probably only used dirty tactics to get results. The nameless man had a certain skill—raw and feral. Coupling his moves with the intensity in his stare made him even more appealing.

  Ely shivered, still able to feel the heated caress of his dark gaze all over her body. It felt good and intimate.

  The temptation to step outside and search for him stormed deep inside her, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Not even the fact that her strange attraction had deepened with every one of his reactive moves. Was she really this pathetic, so sick and perverted that the way a man fought got her heart racing and her lust meter rising?

  What had Jenks turned her into? And where the hell was he? Maybe tonight she’d stay in this room and not bother to head back into the city proper.

  The light on her wristband caught her eye. It continued to flash where she’d left it discarded on the dresser, but she ignored it. Instead, she thought about her successful performance. She’d held the crowd in the palm of her hand, especially that one man. The glow in his dark eyes remained trapped inside her mind. The way he sat back all casual and hot, watching her with interest. She’d been around the block enough times to know there was something mutual flowing between them, and she desperately wanted to follow it through.

  Why not see where it takes you?

  “You did great out there tonight.”

  She looked over her shoulder and the hat slid from her fingers.

  Mike stood inside the doorway, his long hair graying at the sideburns as much as on his beard. He was still dressed like a damn cowboy and chewed tobacco. His jeans were faded and fit his long legs nicely. The denim shirt he wore was coarse and splotched with as much alcohol as his pointy-toed cowboy boots.

  “You scared me.”

  Mike snorted and rolled his eyes. “I doubt anything scares you anymore, Ely.”

  He was the only person who knew all of her secrets. Mike knew who she was while in here, and who she became the moment she stepped out the door and headed for the concealed arena in Clash. He also knew how much blood was on her hands and that no matter how much she wanted to leave the hopeless life inside the arena, she couldn’t walk away.

  Even then, in all the years they had known each other, he’d never given up on her. He helped keep her grounded, offered a place to fall, and reminded her that one day freedom would be hers. She wanted to believe it was true so badly, she sometimes fantasized about being a free woman, something she’d never been.

  Mike helped Ely keep her sanity. She hadn’t always despised being a part of Jenks Maine’s legion of assassins, but now she couldn’t stand it.

  I want so badly to get out. But with a chip implanted in her head, the odds were stacked against her.

  Ely knew Mike would never give up trying to find a wa
y to deactivate the chip. He wanted to save her, like a father who desperately needed to get his daughter away from a crazed boyfriend. Unfortunately, Jenks was much more than a possessive boyfriend. He owned the souls of those below him, and the lives of all the others.

  She finally shrugged in response. “I guess you’re right, not much scares me anymore.” She’d had plenty of fears when she was younger, but that was a long time ago. Ely might technically still be young in age, but her spirit wasn’t.

  Mike stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. When he stood close enough, he picked the hat up off the floor, gave it the once-over, and dropped it onto her lap. “This is a great hat, top of the line. Custom made.”

  “You should know,” she said with a laugh. He had a stash of cowboy hats in his room upstairs. Sometimes he’d wear them behind the bar but mostly he didn’t. He claimed it interfered with his ability to read people.

  “This here also belongs to one of them chaps, doesn’t it?”

  “Maybe it does.”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  “Okay, okay, I picked it up after it fell off his head while he was fighting. Are you happy now? I intend to give it back to him.” She avoided his eyes. “I know how much you admire these damn hats. I’m not going to ruin it. He’ll get it back in pristine condition.”

  “He’s still out there with his friends. There’s still time to catch him.”

  “Not right now, I need a breather.” She turned back to face the mirror and he stepped in behind her, pressing both hands to the back of the chair. “What happened out there, anyway?”

  “They cleared out the scum, that’s all. They were threatening women inside our establishment and needed to be dealt with,” he answered with a sneer.

  She met his eyes in the mirror. Mike despised men who threatened women. It was one of the reasons he tried so hard to help Ely out of her predicament with Jenks, even if every attempt ended in failure. He’d lost his wife to a group of men eager to sell her off as a sex slave. By the time he’d found out where they were keeping her, Meiling was gone. She’d managed to leave Mike a message written in her own blood: It’s not your fault. That hadn’t stopped him from blaming himself every waking hour. His gift had failed him. Cost him so dearly he’d drunk himself into a stupor for years.

  When Ely met him, he’d been trapped inside the arena dungeons, waiting to be called in to fight, but she’d gotten him out. She’d suffered painful migraines afterward from the inhibitor chip, but it had been worth it. Mike had come from the northern part of Fray, but he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here. They’d been friends ever since and had pooled their money to start this club. She never asked where he got the money from and he didn’t ask her.

  Ely considered him her best friend. The only person she could trust on this damn planet. And she knew he looked at her like a daughter.

  She finally found her voice. “So, you didn’t have anything to do with the fight?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, come on, did you use your thing to provoke either side?”

  Mike sighed and looked away. “Maybe I read some horrible intentions in someone’s head and decided to make sure the right person heard about it.”

  “Maybe, huh? I’m sure that’s exactly what happened. So, what can you tell me about the mysterious trio who just stormed into town? Are they here to cause trouble, are they dangerous?” If Mike wanted to make other people’s inner thoughts audible, he could. It was probably what prompted the cowboy’s friend to strike. Still, Mike wouldn’t do it unless it was necessary. Working behind the bar gave him access to a lot of thoughts from the scum of this town, and he took great pains to ensure none of the evil-intentioned acts were carried out to fruition.

  “What makes you think that?” He seemed so innocent but Ely knew better.

  “I already know why they’re here. They must be well-off for Jenks to have invited them to the Recast event.” She paused to sigh. She’d just realized this had to be the reason, and it made her stomach clench. She was attracted to someone willing to watch the carnage unfold inside the arena. “The way those two cowboys cleaned up wasn’t your run-of-the-mill tactics, they knew what they were doing.” She placed the hat on the dresser, on top of her blinking wristband before Mike took notice of it. He’d been enjoying her momentary freedom while Jenks was away as much as she was.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  Too late, he’d noticed. “In a sec, we’re in the middle of something here. So, stop trying to avoid my question and tell me what you read.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t hear nothin’, Ely. You know I’ve got shields up.”

  “Yeah, and I also know those shields miraculously come and go.” She crossed her arms over her stomach. They usually ended up in the same argument. She couldn’t understand why he bothered to deny her claims. They both knew he only interfered for a good reason.

  At least Jenks had never found out about Mike’s real talent. Jenks had stuck him in the arena for the purpose of fighting to the death, but if he’d known about Mike’s psychic talent, he would have snapped him up and inserted a chip inside his head as well.

  Mike laughed as he looked at her in the mirror. His light eyes were shiny. “Don’t pout, it doesn’t suit you.”

  “What the hell did you come in here for, anyway?”

  Mike shrugged and pressed his hands down on her shoulders while leaning forward to meet her reflection’s gaze. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I noticed you left before the action heated up and wanted to let you know you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Well, I’m fine, everything’s fine. Thanks for keeping me posted.”

  He nodded, dropped his hands and took a step back. “In case you’re interested, he’s staying in town for a few days.”

  “Who’s staying in town?” she asked, trying to sound disinterested.

  “The man who owns the hat, of course.”

  She nodded and waited for Mike to back out and leave her alone again.

  Ely steadied her breath, holding a hand to her chest. What the hell was that reaction all about? Was it excitement or fear? She could understand being excited at the prospect of seeing the strange man again, but what was the fear about? Maybe she resented the instant attraction making her skin buzz so much it felt as if the music was still playing, consuming her. Or maybe it was the fact this mysterious man happened to be here for the latest Recast event.

  Ely closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. She let it out slowly and plucked her wristband from beneath the hat. She pressed the button and it stopped glowing, but it accessed the mike. “Yeah, it’s Ely, what do you want?”

  “Hello, sorry to bother you but I thought you should know that Mr. Maine’s ship has been detected. He’s returned to the planet.”

  She winced at the respect this person was willing to give Jenks. It had to be a new guy. She didn’t recognize his voice. “Has he landed?”

  “I believe he has, although he seems to have made a stopover on the outskirts of town.”

  “Whereabouts?” she asked.

  “Uh, I’m not sure. For some reason the location’s scrambled,” the voice returned.

  “Okay, thanks for letting me know. I’ll be back in the arena as soon as I can.” She dumped the wristband and prepared to change out of her slinky dress and into her usual attire of tight, one-piece suits. It was the only way to ensure she could move, fight and protect herself effectively. She twisted and tied her long hair into a bun at the nape of her neck and prepared to leave.

  Too bad she had to go. She’d been looking forward to spending the night in the middle of nowhere.

  No need to say bye to Mike. He knew where she went.

  She ducked out through the back door, and on the way to her vehicle couldn’t help but wonder what the hell Jenks was up to this time. The asshole always managed to have some scheme up his sleeve, and scrambling his location was something he did on
a regular basis.

  Ouch. Sharp pain pierced into her skull.

  Ely decided to check out the desert area before heading for the arena. Maybe she’d track Jenks down before he was ready to be found, and would catch him out in his latest secret.

  Chapter Four

  Colt might be a stubborn SOB but he had the right idea about where to start with their plan for taking down the Clash Arena. It was the only way they could stop any more of the used-up Recast from being dumped on Harrow. As well as reduce the place to rubble so no one could use it for the barbaric act of forcing warriors against each other for selfish gain.

  They’d destroyed Jenks Maine. Now they needed to take out his base of operations.

  After a restless night inside a dingy room in one of the few motels in Grit, Ace felt as exhausted as he had when he’d first laid his head on the thin pillow. His rigid body craved more rest, and his unfocused mind could only concentrate on one thing—the mysterious Ely, the beauty with the smooth voice singing for a crowd of wanderers, though he’d imagined every tune she’d sang was for his ears only.

  The woman was driving him crazy. She’d somehow gotten under his skin already.

  This type of thing didn’t usually happen to him. He’d never found it this easy to want someone so much. There were too many factors in his past that kept him from allowing himself the liberty.

  On some level, he felt like a fool. Hadn’t he been the one who’d accused Brynn of acting childish about the situation in the first place? Yet, here he was, continually memorizing every curve of Ely’s body, the way her lips quivered when she extended a particular note, and that luscious smile. Oh yeah, he’d love to see her smile beneath him as he positioned himself at just the right angle, ready to—

  “Ace, what the hell are you daydreaming about now?” It was Colt who asked the question, but Ace met Brynn’s smiling face. She seemed to know exactly what was on his mind. Was it women’s intuition or was he easy to read? He didn’t know, but could hardly keep his mind out of a fantasy situation always ending the same way.