Marauder Kronos: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Mating Wars) by Aya Morningstar Read Free Book Online Page B

over and attack someone – taking away his chance to profit.
    “There are so many Seraphim and Marauders here,” I say.
    For every human shade of tan or black or brown, there are ten shades of pink or purple.
    “Human pirates can dock on all the other habs to trade,” Kronos says. “The habs don’t like to advertise that they do business with pirates, but every pirate knows it. A human only comes to New Rotterdam if he’s got specific needs.”
    “Like the summer sun being injected into their veins?”
    “Yeah,” Kronos says. “Or maybe they need the blackest of the black markets. They need to sell – or buy – something that would be totally illegal and off limits….”
    Kronos trails off and pretends to be distracted by something happening on the street.
    “Like my suit?” I ask. “That’s why we’re really here, right? You’re trying to sell off my suit.”
    He pricks his ears up at me, but I stop walking.
    The crowd starts to wash over me like a rampaging current, and Kronos shoves people out of the way, then grabs hold of my wrist.
    He shoves his way down the street, and I see Delphie trailing behind us, her eyes rolling the whole time.
    We reach the side of a building, and Kronos angles himself to keep the swell of the crowd off of me.
    “Minna,” he says. “Tell me why you want to keep the suit. You’re hiding something from me.”
    I look down at my feet, stalling for time.
    “As much as I want to make bank off of selling that thing,” he says, “if you losing the suit puts you in danger, or if there’s some other reason you absolutely cannot sell it, tell me , and we can change our plans.”
    For a moment I consider telling him the truth. But I worry that Kronos would not be swayed by the idea that this biosuit is a living thing.
    “It’s…,” I say, the excuse solidifying in my mind. “It’s years of my life, Kronos. This suit started as sketches on a napkin when I was still in college. And dozens and dozens of prototypes later, this one suit is all I have. How would you feel about losing your ship?”
    He narrows his eyes at me, then he looks at Delphie. She shakes her head slightly.
    “You’re still lying to me,” he says.
    “How the hell can you be so dense at reading Delphie,” I snap, “but suddenly you can read me like a book?”
    He smiles. “Delphie read you, not me.”
    “Sorry,” Delphie says. “I’m not going to help you lie. And I need that thing to sell so that I can get paid.”
    “I’m telling the truth,” I say.
    “You are,” Delphie says. “But you’re hiding something, too. You’re giving up the easy truth to hide the difficult one.”
    They’re both looking at me with those stupid pink ears angled in toward me, trying to pick my voice out over the constant buzz of the crowd. I feel like I’m being interrogated.
    “It’s my fucking suit!’ I shout. “You assholes attacked the security company I hired to escort me and my suit to Venus. You basically kidnapped me, and now you’re trying to act like I’m the bad guy because I’m not telling you everything?”
    “Hmmm,” Kronos says. “Let’s call a truce on this for now, at least until we’ve eaten.”
    “What if I am done?” I ask. “Give me my pay for cooking and let me go.”
    Kronos pulls out a few dirty sheets of smart paper and hands them to me.
    “What the hell is this?”
    “New Rotterdam Gilders,” he says. “You worked for me for about twelve hours. I’ll ignore the fact that you ate ten times this amount in rations, and you get this.”
    I count the bills. “Eighty gilders? Is that a lot?”
    “No,” Kronos says. “It’s enough to stay the night somewhere. If you really want to go, I can give you more. I can give you enough to make it to Mars...just know it’s more than I really have to give. But I’ll give it gladly.”
    “You told me just last night that you can’t afford to pay me!” Delphie snaps. “Now you have enough for her to get to Mars?”
    “I