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expected he knew things about Thaegan even the
alien’s ex-wife hadn’t known. Thaegan felt the
restlessness as much as Dallas. It was no doubt why the Ka’al
had stopped over. But it seemed neither of them could pinpoint the
source of that apprehension.
    He
checked his watch. Another twenty minutes and Grebetz should be
arriving. Another hour after that, if nothing unusual happened, he’d
call it a night, head back to the hotel room and leave a couple of
his men to tail the alien.
    Dallas
sipped his ale. It wouldn’t look right for a human to keep
pounding down the Regent’s without showing the effects. It
would surely call attention, and that was one thing he didn’t
need tonight.
    “ Gamma
one reporting.” The voice hummed low in his ear. “Heads-up,
boys. It’s showtime. Gamma four reporting. The mark is coming
in. Repeat. Mission is a go.” The alien on the roof across the
street ran through the team’s check points. “Gamma three,
do you have him?”
    “ Check.”
    “ Gamma
two?”
    “ Ready,”
Thaegan said from the corner where he’d settled in.
    “ Team
leader?”
    “ Ready
on your go.” Dallas spoke softly before turning. Leaning his
back against the bar, his foot still propped up, and the stein of ale
in his hand, Dallas looked like any red-blooded human male checking
out the female patrons.
    But
he’d chosen this spot not for the view—though the sensual
sway of the female Ickbata on the crowded dance floor certainly added
to the scenery—but from his vantage point at the corner of the
bar, he could just see through the revelers to the door. So when it
opened, he nearly choked on the ale he was drinking.
    That
sure as hell wasn’t a Znedu sashaying through the door, looking
to quench his thirst.
    * * * * *
    The
inhabitants of Garalon Five certainly enjoyed their nightlife. The
tavern had been busy before she’d left with Dallas, but the
crowd appeared to have doubled in the time it had taken Lilly to
screw the human, take a useless cab ride around the city streets and
take down an Ickbata. And all before she did some major bounty
hunting.
    Lilly
maneuvered through the crowd, pleased she slipped past the males with
barely a glance. After the encounter with the alien in the alley, it
had taken some real effort to bring the energy down to a manageable
level. Of course an explosive orgasm or two would have completely
dropped her levels, but Lilly had made two promises to herself when
she’d discovered what genetics had given her. Never physically
hurt anyone with her gift. And never—no matter how bad her
nipples ached and her body thrummed— never satisfy
herself in public.
    Sex
with someone else? Now that was another story.
    It
pissed her off that her gaze skimmed through the crowd in search of
the man who’d left his stubble burns on her breasts, even more
so when a mop of brown hair at the bar made her heart rate jump. But
when she glanced back to the spot, there was nothing but a Ka’al
female flirting with the bartender. Dallas wasn’t here. The man
had gotten what he wanted and no doubt wasn’t mooning over her.
She really needed to get her head in the game. The twenty-five
hundred credits Dallas had given her wasn’t going to be enough
to buy this month’s groceries. Her empty wallet depended on
bringing in this bounty.
    Taking
down a criminal, she’d learned, required little brawn, plenty
of brain and a whole lot of her body. But timing her approach was
everything. From her visits to the tavern over the past few days, she
knew the best way to see everything was from the bar or the dance
floor. Having no desire to fend off would-be clients happy to buy her
a drink, Lilly chose the latter.
    Filled
with species and sexes of every variety, the dance floor offered both
anonymity and a view of the front door. Lilly undulated her body,
blending in with the crowd and smiling invitingly when bodies brushed
against hers. She needed to look as if she belonged. With one eye on
various