Tyrant. Scrapper. Part 5. Damantha Makarova

woman leaned closer to him, landing a very soft, yet short kiss to his lips:

      «Deal.» she said with a smile, stepping towards the door.

      Lindon watched her leaving and felt like it wasn’t at all a good idea to let her go out on her own, but trusted in her words and that nothing would happen to her. He also hoped she would return in a couple of hours or, at most – by morning.

      He knew that this could have been caused by her meeting the mysterious client that wanted them to take some job, but Serena spoke very little about what sort of a contract he was offering. Lindon found it suspicious that she was acting so secretive and had little to say about this. For some reason he thought that she might be wary to take the contract at all. Something didn’t add up and it made him worry for the woman. He didn’t want to see her running-off again.

      Watching through the window nearby, he saw her jump into a hover car that she must have ordered ahead of time and took off, leaving the man all alone with his thoughts.

      As for Serena, she wasn’t really sure where to go to have some time to herself. At first she was driving aimlessly all around the massive resort, taking in the beautiful architecture and the various themed villages that this region offered for the people that stayed there.

      Seeing the late night partygoers and the groups of drunken people all around, she couldn’t help and think that humans and Veluthians weren’t very different when it came to taking time to recharge and rest after whatever work they had back where they came from.

      Though, she definitely missed the typical Veluthian occurrence – the duels, which were quite common on any Laithorian vacation resorts. She didn’t mind their absence, but would be happy to see her people engaging in such a fun and exhilarating activity.

      But, choosing Essara, she was thinking of her human part of the crew most of all – she wanted them to enjoy the vacation just as the others, so this planet was a perfect fit for them all to enjoy some time off.

      Finally, she decided to head to the Entertainment Centre, where she could wander around and think things over or head to one of the multiple various establishments to get her mind off things.

      Leaving the hover car on one of the parking lots, she started her stroll, lazily stepping through the chilly evening air and thinking about the contract she’s been offered by Elijah. The man was definitely not what he tried to seem, and this made her wary, but the fact that she could easily fulfil his contract and see who exactly he was looking for, was intriguing.

      She wondered why he needed a Veluthian mercenary on a relatively easy search that will take at most a couple of weeks. Any Terran or human from the Terran colonies who was a good enough mercenary would be able to do this sort of work.

      These questions were on her mind, when she stepped into one of the restaurants to have a late night meal and have a drink, before choosing where to go next.

      As she received her food, she already hated the place – of all the clients in the establishments, she caught eyes of most of the men there – even those on dates with women or having dinner with their wives. She realised that eating alone was a bad idea, but still stayed until she finished her meal and drink, before exiting the restaurant – already approached by a couple of men, who wished to join her.

      Some of those turned around as soon as she shot them a bored, uninterested glance, others tried to coax her with charm and smiles, hoping that their small talk would make her interested in them. But every single one left, denied.

      One, though, tried to follow her out, but as soon as he grabbed her wrist, wishing to stop her, the woman whipped around, catching his clothes and shoving him against the wall – hard enough to prove a point, but not as heavy as she could, too cautious not to leave the man injured, which could cause her and her crew problems.

      «No means no.» she said to the man, squinting angrily into his eyes, filled with shock and fear.

      As she let him go, he almost slipped down, but caught himself upright, cleared his throat and hurried away, straightening his clothes.

      Serena thought why the men were so into her – she wasn’t at all giving them any reason to count her an easy target for anything at all. And even more puzzling was their interest since she had an eyepatch covering her left eye, which shouldn’t be such an attractive thing – at least, as far as she knew.

      Veluthian men could easily be turned on by a battle injury that was healing, but Terrans were so caught up in their vanity that this little detail should be making her unattractive, and not the other way around.

      Serena stopped next to a fountain, suddenly thinking about Lindon.

      Was he so attentive towards her because he had loved her for so long? Or because he found her attractive while her eye was regenerating?

      She sighed, feeling the strange mix of emotions drowning her.

      On one hand, she thought, she wanted to make up with Hunter, but on the other – she loved Lindon as well, though her love towards both men was a little different.

      Being a free mercenary that she was – she could have easily shared them both if they were open to the idea. And if Lindon was used to that, being a Veluthian, Hunter would never accept her having another man if she were to be with him.

      The woman watched the water running down the beautiful composition of statues and lights that danced on the streams, and wondered if Lindon will really wait for her as long as it takes. If Hunter will be with her again like they used to – will that make Lindon jealous? Or will he be just as courteous and respectful towards them both?

      Knowing how long he waited for her ever since they met for the first time, Serena realised that, in fact, he was quite the man to keep his word. Even after he thought she was dead he wasn’t really into any women at all, taking up one or another for a little while, but never engaging in a more serious relationship at all.

      The time they spent altogether on MSS Lyssandra definitely brought them closer and they reconnected so easily, that she felt he would really be the greatest pick if it ever came to marriage.

      Serena took a deep breath, her thoughts returning to Hunter.

      «Fuck…» she sighed, realising that this was a very hard topic, and her mind was already flooded by everything that had happened.

      She glanced up from the fountain and saw an advertisement of a night club not far from the place she was at. Feeling the urge to clear her head, she headed to the address, hoping that a bit of dancing would help her settle her thoughts.

      And even though the music was loud and the people there were inebriated and caught in their own fun, Serena found herself slowly falling into the pleasant melodies that the local DJ was offering, exciting the visitors with an energy-filling playlist.

      Unlike most dancers Serena could easily avoid clingy drunkards and overly interested men and women that wanted to become friends – or something else she didn’t really care about – and slipped away, quickly hiding in the crowd without even breaking her dance.

      A few hours into this mindless fun, she decided to step away from the dance floor and head towards the bar to have a drink before returning back to the mansion.

      Fortunately, she caught a spot at the very end of the bar, where no one would disturb her, and settled down drinking in solitude.

      «Serena! What a pleasant surprise!» she suddenly hear Elijah’s voice, when she was about to finish her second drink and order another one.

      The woman turned and saw the man approaching her with a charming smile on his lips.

      «Elijah.» she nodded to him politely, even though she wanted nothing to do with him at that moment and thought it suspicious him being there at all.

      «Why are you drinking all alone?» Elijah glanced around. «Aren’t you here with your