Page 11 of The Quoram Effect

The blond gestured for me to enter the compact, square space. Hesitation stalled me, and before I could decide my next steps, he snatched at my wrist and tugged me forward, snapping the curtain shut behind us. Inwardly, I cursed, shaking my arm now drenched in half my drink.

A soulless chuckle rumbled from the corner, freezing me to my core. I swivelled, my heart dropping like a lead balloon. Sitting with his back to the curtain was none other than the infamous Nikos Russo.

With slicked-back salt-and-pepper hair, a devilish grin, and dressed in a tailored suit that was probably worth more than a Puran biodome, he emitted an aura of obnoxious arrogance. The wretched man was a renowned Puran gangster, and even though he supported the welfare of his people—to a selfish extent—he was ruthless, intimidating; demanding. The type of Puran who gave his people a bad name. Proudly sexist, he only negotiated with men, so with me being here on my own did not bode well.

Taking a deep, stabilising breath, I straightened, cursing myself for not wearing the black dress I almost chose, with the less revealing neckline. His dark gaze inspected every inch ofmy body, and my stomach churned and roiled with sickening repugnance.

Pushing forward my impassive mask, I inclined my head. “Russo, nice to see you.”

“Is it?” He smirked, his stare still roving my body. “I was expecting Benoit.”

I didn’t miss the contempt in his tone, and I bit back, “I was expecting Chaz.”

“I confirm Chaz Habba is aboard the Argentum. We followed him here. He said he’d arranged to meet with Benoit, but I’ll guess you’ll do.”

He’d followed Chaz?

The thought tightened another knot in my gut. Though Russo occasionally aided our Puran supply runs, he was not trustworthy, nor was he from the same faction as Chaz. Everything he did was to aid himself and his wallet. The fact he’d tailed Chaz, clearly prized information out of him, and now Chaz was nowhere in sight, meant Russo was upset about something. My instincts blared inside my head with alarm.

Russo motioned to the cushioned chair across the booth from him, and hiding my reluctance, I obliged.

Placing my half-spilt cocktail on the black tablecloth, I eyed the several whisky glasses spread across the table before me—it was obvious Russo had been waiting a while. I clocked Russo’s blond henchman standing behind him, blocking my only exit. Built as tall and as broad as Saul, he could become a problem if things got messy. Only Torz knew I was here, and with him keeping a low profile and confining himself to Delta Ring to avoid speculation from his unwanted visitor; whatever happened here, I was on my own.

“Nice ship Benoit’s gifted my elusive friend.” Russo lounged deeper into his chair, his head tilting in mockery. “It’s no wonder Chaz has been evading me for months. Looks like he’s beenevading the law, also. His ship’s logs state it arrived from the Amethyst. Clever. Never once has it transmitted a trajectory that enters Puran aerospace. If anything, our friend should have a travel restriction against him…”

So should you.

Russo was a Puran as much as Chaz—a known felon. How he’d evaded the authorities and successfully docked on Alpha Ring today baffled me. Perhaps Alpha Ring wasn’t as clued up on security as we previously thought.

“Your boss is clearly showing his favouritism,” Russo sneered.

“Favouritism has nothing to do with—”

“Are you sure about that?” His burning gaze swept over me again, lingering on the swell of my small breasts, sending cold fire through my veins. Uncomfortable was not a strong enough word for how he made me feel. My disgust for this greaseball had my fingers twitching towards the bag in my lap, readying to snatch my gun up and shoot a bullet in his leg.

“Benoit gifts Chaz an ultra-tech ship. He sends his bit of pussy to liaise with him—”

I’m sorry, what?

“—He offers Chaz first dibs at supplies.” He leaned forward, narrowing his dark eyes with disdain. “He promised me five dozen crates of Q last week, yet I haven’t received an ounce.”

Five dozen? Torz would never agree to—

Understanding hit me like a hard slap across the face. I closed my eyes in despair, recalling the mission I’d instigated last week. Torz had called in a favour from Russo to keep me safe.

Gods, why would he agree to such an unrealistic amount of drugs to be delivered to a drug lord? Five dozen crates of Q would not go unnoticed. As well as being highly illegal, Torz was at risk of revealing his under-the-radar dealings with the Purans. Perhaps that was how Zuli had caught wind of Torz’s smuggling.

“Where is it?” Russo’s agitated tone roused me from my internal quandary. His venomous scowl was like an ancient, poisonous snake readying to strike.

“There’s been a delay,” I replied robotically. “We’re working on the issue.”

“Issue? I don’t want to hear about issues. I want my stock. I held up my end of the deal. Delays are not acceptable.”

“Commander Benoit sends his apologies.”

With a snide coldness, Russo chuckled. “Don’t try to soften me up with your pretty wiles, woman. Is there a delay with Chaz’s supplies as well?”

“Yes.”