Final Protocol Read Online Free

they even sell something that will cover up that lizard smell. You could almost pass for humanoid as long as one didn’t look at you.”
    A low, ugly hiss escaped the Vagarian, and I dodged to the left just in time to avoid having his claws punch through my spleen. Sliding him a smile, I waggled a finger. “Now, now. You know how the boss is. He doesn’t mind if I’m broken, but he’d rather me not be bleeding when you throw me at his feet.”
    Dahm opened his great maw, flashing wicked teeth and treating me to a faceful of breath toxic enough to kill a dead pack animal. Fortunately, I knew better than to breathe in. Vagarians had been known to stun people with that stink of their breath alone, and if you got enough of that rot in your lungs, it could render you sick. His flat, black eyes flicked over me and I spun the staff I’d brought with me, smiling.
    “Want to dance?”
    “He waits,” Dahm said, his forked tongue dragging over the s .
    “Yes. I’ll be sure to let him know you wanted to chat.”
    He snapped his jaws at me and pointed past my shoulder.
    We were done. Dahm wouldn’t risk angering the man who held the controls over his seal, either.
    None of us wanted to do that. Well, I did. But most of them weren’t as close to crazy as I was.
    I doubted any of them hated the man who controlled this portion of Jakor as much as I did. One of the more depraved colonies of New Earth, it was a forgotten, fucked-up piece of hell and my keeper ruled over it with an iron fist.
    It wasn’t just the miles that he owned, or the clubs, or even the land outside the city of Jakor. He had his hands in the pockets of officials; he knew secrets that could destroy the government. People smiled to his face and behind his back, they dreamed of his death.
    I doubted any of them wanted him dead as much as I did though. I was almost crazy enough to try for it, and screw how many others it damned.
    Almost. But I wasn’t there yet .
    The night was young though.
    Depending on what happened in his offices tonight, it was entirely possible I might end up crossing that line before the twin suns crossed the horizon.
    The pulse and throb of the music assaulted me as I went inside.
    I mean… assaulted me.
    He ran a den of sin and the music was little more than a form of rape, taunting the brain and teasing the area that brought about arousal and made you think of sex and sweat and bodies rubbing together.
    My eyes adjusted to the pulsing silver-and-purple lights enough to see that many of the bodies packed inside his club were already rubbing together. As I passed by one table, one of the hustlers came up to one of the couples, tapping the male on his shoulder. The couple was odd, a bulky, leather-skinned Cragorian and some other humanoid—she had blue skin and winglike appendages instead of arms—rather pretty, really. The two of them were directed to one of the skin booths, and when the male of the pair balked, the hustler simply stared him down.
    They’d pay, or they’d hurt.
    Nobody would do anything about it, either.
    Not here.
    Not anywhere in the Mihor quadrant, the slice of land all but ruled by one very depraved king. Perhaps he wasn’t a king in truth, but he might as well be.
    “If you’re in the mood to watch, he might let you. After he’s done.”
    I looked away from the couple to find Garner staring at me with his dark, dead eyes. “Watching isn’t really my thing, Garner.”
    “No. You prefer to fuck my brother and try to play cunt-games with him.” He leaned in, the smell of synthetic garlic heavy on his breath. “The games don’t work. But it’s fun to watch you try.”
    My gut rolled. Play with his brother. If only I had much choice in it. I’d stay on the other side of the galaxy if I had any say in the matter. But I didn’t mention that. If either of them had any idea just how deep my revulsion ran, it would become a tool, a weapon against me. Instead of showing how I felt, I reached up and touched a