"Joanna Wylde - Saurellian 5 - Jerred's Price" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wylde Joanna)

burning, roiling feeling in his stomach. Was he sick? His head hurt… Shot?
“He’s waking up,” a deep voice said. He opened his eyes and saw the big bartender
standing over him, both arms folded across his chest.
“I don’t know how you did it,” the man said, face filled with anger. “But you
brought a blaster into my bar. Nobody messes with Manya. You’re lucky I didn’t kill
you.”
“Back off, Manya,” another voice chimed in. Jerred rolled his head to one side,
focusing on a man dressed in a station security uniform. By the Goddess, he thought in
disgust. He’d thrown everything over for that damn witch. The last thing he needed
was Imperials breathing down his neck. What had come over him?
If he had blown his cover over her, Nicolai would kill him.
Hell, if he’d blown his cover over her, he’d kill himself and save Nicolai the time.
“Sir, you’re been hit on the head,” the guard said, his voice carefully neutral. “It is
illegal to carry weapons such as your blaster into an establishment that sells alcohol.
Further, it is illegal to disrupt or disable weapons detectors on station.”
No mention of the girl, he realized slowly. Why hadn’t she come forward and
accused him of something? Did she want to avoid the uniforms as much as he did? Or
was she just too smart to get caught in the middle of something like this? Probably the
latter, he thought in disgust.
“What is the penalty?” he asked, his voice sounding shaky and foreign to him. In
the background he could hear people whispering to each other. Hell, now he was
providing entertainment for the entire bar. So much for keeping a low profile. Fuck.
“That’s for the magistrate to decide,” the guard said piously. “Of course, it may
depend in part on whether you’re prepared to pay damages for the trouble you’ve
caused.”
Money, he thought, feeling hopeful for the first time. If they were interested in
money, he might be able to buy his way out of this one. Manya snorted in disgust.
“I think I could arrange that,” Jerred said slowly. The guard’s gaze sharpened.
“We’ll take care of it after we’ve taken you into custody,” he replied, the tone of his
voice warming.
Jerred smiled, and then closed his eyes. They wanted money to make this go away.
That was something he could arrange.




12
 Jerred’s Price


*****
Giselle watched as they hauled Black Leather out on a floater. She stayed in the
background as the station guards took names and contact information from the various
bar patrons. There were a few who looked uncomfortable, but for the most part the
situation was routine. A few of their more concerned patrons had slipped discretely
into the storeroom for the duration. Free drinks would be served and damages would
be paid. In a week, nobody would remember what had happened.
“How you doing?” Manya asked gruffly, coming to sit beside her. “I’m sorry I left
you hanging out there for a moment, but I didn’t want him to know we were on to him.
You looked kinda scared.”