Mass Effect™: Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn Read Free Book Online

even if they stayed together for the rest of Grayson’s life, she would live on for hundreds and hundreds of years after he was gone. Her developing any serious emotional attachment to him wouldn’t just be unlikely … it would be tragic.
    “I’m fine,” he said with a shrug.
    “Maybe we should go somewhere quiet.”
    Normally he would have jumped at her suggestion. Tonight, however, it felt wrong for some reason. Like he would be taking advantage of her somehow.
    “I think I’m just tired,” he said apologetically, looking for a way to let her down easy. “Maybe I should go home and get some rest.”
    “You were talking to her again, weren’t you?” Liselle said with a wan smile. “Your mystery woman. You always get like this after you talk to her.”
    Grayson had never told Liselle anything about his past. She didn’t know about Kahlee, or Gillian, or his time with Cerberus. But there had been occasions when he’d mentioned the need to make a private call, and obviously Liselle had pieced some things together.
    She’s a lot more perceptive than you give her credit for
.
    Again, it was clear Liselle wasn’t angry. She seemed a little disappointed, but she also seemed to understand and accept his reaction. Which only made Grayson feel even worse.
    “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, not sure what else he could say.
    Liselle leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.
    “If you change your mind tonight, give me a call.”
    And with that she was gone, disappearing back into the crowd of dancers, where she was quickly consumed by a wave of eager admirers.
    No longer in the mood for the club, Grayson returned to the entrance on level three. One of the asari at the check counter winked at him. He nodded politely in response, then headed back out into the street, still wondering if turning Liselle down had been self-sacrificing or simply selfish.

FOUR
    Kai Leng waited patiently in the line of patrons waiting to enter Afterlife. Though it was unlikely he’d run into anyone who’d recognize him on Omega—even Grayson had never met him—he’d still taken steps to hide his identity. He’d dyed his black hair blond and darkened the pigmentation of his skin. The signature ouroboros tattoo on the back of his neck—a snake devouring its tail—was covered with a temporary design of a Celtic knot.
    Based on the length of the line, it would be several more hours before he reached the door and was allowed to enter Afterlife, and that was fine by him. He was here to wait, watching patiently for Grayson to reemerge.
    Since tracking the former Cerberus member down on Omega nearly two weeks ago, Kai Leng had studied his routine from afar. He was learning Grayson’s patterns, familiarizing himself with his routine.
    He had been surprised to discover that Grayson was working for Aria T’Loak; he had risen quickly through the ranks until he’d become a valuable minion of Omega’s most powerful crime lord. That complicated the extraction. Cerberus couldn’t just grabhim from a public place and make a break for one of the spaceports. Aria’s influence spread too far on the station; someone would report the abduction. They’d end up having to fight their way through the Pirate Queen’s people to try and escape, and Kai Leng didn’t like those odds.
    Secrecy was the key. Capture Grayson alone, where nobody would notice him missing. Get him off the station before anyone even knew he was gone. And make sure nobody could trace it back to Cerberus.
    This had proved to be much harder than it sounded. Grayson was careful; he rarely went out in public unless he was on a mission for Aria. The club, a busy grocery store, and the apartment of his asari whore were the only places he ever seemed to visit.
    Taking him at his own apartment was the preferred option, of course, but he lived in a secure district. Any attack on Grayson would have to involve some plan to first get past the guards protecting his neighborhood.
    It would have been