Phantom Warriors: Linx (5 page)

She
sunk lower into the booth. "Taylor always liked the boys with bad
reputations. It started out innocent enough, but soon she was sneaking out of
our bedroom at night to meet up with them. By the time I enrolled in college,
she'd been through a string of hot losers." Tabby put her cup down.
"It was like she couldn't get close enough to the danger. You know?"

He
did, but Linx didn't say so. Much of his childhood had been spent courting
danger and bedding women. Each was dangerous in
their own
way. It seemed that he and Taylor had much in common. The only difference being
he was as deadly as the danger he courted. "So how'd she meet
Sergei?"

Tabby
ran her fingers around the edge of her coffee cup. "She applied to be a
cocktail waitress at one of his clubs. He told her that she was 'star' material
and would be wasted waiting tables. He convinced Taylor that all her problems
could be solved by dancing." She snorted. "What a crock!"

"So
your sister started dancing for him?"

Tabby
nodded. "Yes, but it wasn't long before they were dating. She introduced
me to him at a charity event. Until that moment, I didn't know who'd she had
been seeing."

"What
about you?" Linx asked.

Tabby
frowned. "What about me?"

"You've
mentioned your sister's colorful social life, but you haven't mentioned
anything about yourself."

*
* * * *

She
fidgeted. "There's not much to tell. I went to school and worked full time
to keep a roof over our heads. There was no time for socializing. Not
really." Tabby cringed as the words left her mouth. She sounded pathetic. Like
she didn't have a life.

An
ache started in her chest and blossomed as the truth spread.

"I
dated. Some."
God, that
sounded even worse.
"Listen, this isn't about me. We're here to help Taylor."

Linx
sat back. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You
didn't upset me," she snapped.

His
lips twitched. "I can see that."

Tabby
crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you have family?"

Linx
hesitated,
then
said, "Not in the manner in which
you speak."

"Then
you have no idea what it's like. When you have family, you’ll do anything to
keep them safe—even if it’s from themselves."

"I
am trying to understand."
You're not
making it easy
was left unsaid.

"Sergei
is a dangerous man. People who are around him for long end up getting hurt or
worse. It's only a matter of time before Taylor draws the short straw,"
she said.

Linx’s brow furrowed in confusion.
"Short straw?"

"Before
he hurts her, too."

“Ah.”
Linx looked at her, his blue eyes unreadable. "Is that why he sent men to
your house?"

Tabby
nodded. "Sergei knows that if I get access to my sister, I can talk her
into leaving him. He doesn't want that to happen. His ego couldn't handle
it."

"From
what I witnessed, your sister wasn't being held against her will," he
said, watching her closely.

She
met his gaze. "I love my sister, but sometimes, she's an idiot and doesn't
know what's good for her. This is one of those times."

“Sometimes
we have to let the ones we love learn from their mistakes,” he said.

“True,”
she said. “As long as it doesn’t cost them their lives.”

Linx
looked at her. Really looked. For the first time in her life, Tabby felt like
she was being seen. It was both exhilarating and disconcerting. She tried not
to squirm in her seat, but Tabby failed. She’d never had a good-looking man
focus his attention on her. She had no idea what Linx saw when he looked at
her, but he seemed to reach some kind of conclusion because he said,” I take it
that you have a plan.”

Could
she trust him with her secrets? God, she wanted to trust him. Something about
the man drew her like a lodestone. Tabby found herself wanting to tell him
everything, when she’d never really been a sharer.

Sure,
he'd helped her escape Alexei and Viktor, but how well did she really know
Linx? The answer worried her. It was one thing to drive through town in order
to escape two assassins, it was quite another to let him in on her slightly illegal—okay,
very
illegal—plan to stop
Sergei.

"I
appreciate all the help you have given me, but you've done enough," she
said. Tabby couldn't risk telling Linx the truth.
Too much
was riding on her success.
What if he went to the police? What if he
was
the police? What if he wasn’t and he
went to Sergei with her plans? She shuddered and picked up her now cold coffee.
She couldn’t take the chance.

His
dark brows lowered dangerously over his eyes. "Are you dismissing me again?"

It
was Tabby's turn to frown. "I wouldn't call it dismissing."

He
turned to face her. "Then what would you call it?"

"Saving
your life." She blew out a heavy breath. "I won't be responsible for
your safety." It was hard enough being responsible for her and Taylor.

His
jaw clenched. "I never asked you to be."

"No,
you didn't.” She shook her head. “But I'd still
feel
responsible if I brought you in on my plan," she said.

"So
you do have a plan? I knew it," he said triumphantly.

Tabby
scowled at him. She hadn't meant to admit that much.

"I
think tonight proves that you're in over your head. Even the best warriors
sometimes rely on others," he said.

"All
tonight proves is that I'm getting close and Sergei is worried," she said.

Linx's
humorous expression vanished in an instant. "Sergei is not worried about
you. You annoy him. He wants to rid himself of the annoyance."

Tabby
trembled and rubbed her hands over her arms. "How do you know that?" Only
someone close to Sergei would have those kinds of details. The thought sent ice
slicing through her veins. Dread filled her, making her feet feel like lead.
Why had she opened up to him? It was as if she couldn't keep silent. And now,
it might cost Tabby her life.

"I
overheard him talking," Linx said, but didn't elaborate.

Was
he reading her mind or had he spoken the truth? Tabby had never been good at
poker. She couldn’t bluff. She also couldn’t tell when someone else was
bluffing. That was the most difficult thing about being around professional
liars. She stared at him, attempting to divine the answers. She’d have had
better luck trying to read a Sphinx.

She
needed more time, but that was the one thing she was out of. Tabby had to get
proof of Sergei’s criminal activities before he made another attempt on her
life. Everything was riding on her success.

It
pained her to admit it, but Linx was right. She couldn't do it on her own. She’d
tried going to the police. She’d tried sneaking in. Nothing had worked and it
had only made things worse.

Alexei
and Viktor had come close--really close to stopping her for good. Tabby wasn't
sure if they'd been sent to her home to kill her or just make her wish that she
were dead. Either way, she had no intention of giving them another chance to
get their hands on her.

She
met his unflinching gaze. "Tomorrow night I plan to break into Sergei's
club and search his office for proof that he's a criminal.”

*
* * * *

The
woman was insane. Linx had pegged her right the first time he laid eyes on her.
She was determined to get herself killed.

"And
exactly how do you plan to do that?" he asked.

She
looked away. "I've been practicing my lock-picking skills. I have a book
and the right equipment. I know I can get into the club through the back
door."

“You’ve
done this before?” Maybe he’d misread her completely. Was he dealing with a
thief who only played the part of a righteous innocent?

Tabby
glared at him defiantly. “No, but I know I can.”

Linx
inhaled deeply, allowing his beast to discern the truth. She was serious. There
was no doubt. Even if her expression betrayed her, she couldn't hide her scent.
Her
delicious
scent.
He inhaled again and smelled...
cookies
. Linx’s stomach growled.

Since
when did she smell like cookies? He glanced around the coffee shop, thinking he
must've caught a whiff of something behind the counter, but other than scones
and a few pastries, there were none.

"Were
you eating cookies earlier?" he asked.

Tabby
looked at him like he'd sprouted a third nostril. "No. Why? Are you
hungry?"

Not
for food. Linx shook his head and snorted to get the aroma out of his lungs,
but like the crazy woman beside him, it refused to leave. The aroma wrapped
around him, until his head began to spin. He looked into his coffee cup. Had
she somehow drugged him? The creamy pale elixir held no answers.

How
had he gotten himself into this mess? He'd come to the planet determined to
experience all of its delights and he'd succeeded until this afternoon. Now he
was on the run from something called the Mob with a woman who had no concern
for her own safety. It was insane. Ridiculous.

And the most fun he'd had
in years.

"I
can't ask you to do this with me," Tabby said. "It's illegal."

"You
don't have to ask," he said. She couldn't keep him away if she tried.

"What
I'm going to do is dangerous," she said, her voice pleading.

"All
the more reason for me to come with you." He gave her no wiggle room.

She
glared at him. "I don't want you to come."

Linx
glared back. "Too late for second thoughts now."

Tabby
growled like an angry kitten. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a pain
in the butt?"

“Yes.
Quite often as a matter of fact.” Linx grinned and winked at her. She flushed
like a ripe apple. "But I grow on you."

"Yeah,
that's what I'm afraid of," she muttered and looked out the window.

*
* * * *

It
was one thing to risk her own life, quite another to risk... She glanced at the
smoking hot stranger beside her.
His
life. It would be a waste for all that loveliness to end up bloodied and
lifeless.

“What
if you can’t find proof?” He looked far too casual given the seriousness of
their conversation.

Tabby
couldn’t even consider the possibility. Sergei had to be hiding something in
his office at the club. “I will.” She sounded petulant to her own ears.

“I’m
sure,” he said. “But what if you don’t?”

“Then
I’ll have to think of something else.” She hated the idea that Linx might be
right. What if Sergei was smart enough not to keep incriminating evidence lying
around? What then?

He
sat back in the booth and crossed his hands behind his head. “Let’s say that
you do find what you’re looking for. What then?”

“I’ll
grab Taylor and run,” she said. There had to be somewhere on this planet that
Sergei wouldn’t look. But even as the thought filtered through her head, Tabby
knew it wasn’t true. If she managed to get something on Sergei, he’d move
heaven and earth to find them and kill them. Nowhere would be safe. They’d have
to spend the rest of their lives moving from place to place.

Linx
tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “And if your sister doesn’t want to
come with you…what will you do then?”

Tabby
bit her lip. She really hadn’t considered that Taylor might refuse to come with
her. It was inconceivable. “I’ll kidnap her if I have to,” she said, knowing it
was the truth.

“You’d
risk your freedom, your life, death, everything for your sister?”

She
glanced at him. “Yes, wouldn’t you?”

Linx
pinned her to the booth with his sharp blue eyes. “I’d risk everything to gain
what I most desire.”

The
intensity glowing in those dark depths scared her silly. Tabby could barely
breathe as she nodded in agreement, though at that moment she didn’t think they
were talking about the same thing.

“I’m
curious,” he said. “Would your sister do the same for you?”

She
opened her mouth to respond,
then
slowly closed it
without saying a word. The answer in her heart hurt too much to utter aloud.

*
* * * *

Chapter
Five

Tabby's hand shook,
causing the glow of the flashlight to skitter over the pavement. Linx's leg
shot out, his foot tapping at the schizophrenic beam of light. She stopped to
look at him. "What are you doing?"