At Star's End Read online

  He rubbed a hand over his stubble-covered cheek and she thought the color in his face deepened. “Something like that.”

  “This is the last place I’d expected to see you, Eos,” Niklas said.

  She lifted her chin, forcing her mind off the distracting treasure hunter beside her. “I need your help. I want to hire you.” She let her gaze move over them. “All of you.”

  The brothers traded a quick glance. She marveled at the fact that such a quick look and they all seemed to understand each other. Some sort of sibling shorthand.

  “Let me get dressed.” Dathan strode to an adjoining room. “Why don’t you guys take the doctor to the living area?”

  The living area was section of the warehouse adjacent to the bedrooms. Lived-in furniture was clustered around a bank of large screens. A tiny kitchen was tucked against one wall.

  Zayn called out a command and the screens flickered to life—showcasing the latest sporting craze, VelocityBall. Eos was not a fan of the new version of football with a powered ball. Niklas sat in a leather armchair and she watched him extend the superthin palm-sized Sync communicator until it was tablet size. He flicked at information on the clear touchscreen while Zayn prowled to a nearby cold unit and plucked out a drink. He glanced her way. “Want one?”

  Eos shook her head. “No, thank you.” She wandered to a window. Through the glass, she saw the shimmer of the huma-dome. “Pretty interesting setup you have here.”

  “We do what we can,” Niklas said.

  She’d had a taste of what it was like without the Institute’s large resources this last week. “You miss your work at the Institute?”

  “No.”

  She sensed...something. “Why did you leave?”

  Something stirred in his dark blue eyes. “Dathan needed me. Our father had died and...it was time to come home.”

  She cast an eye across the cavernous warehouse. “You have pieces in here that should be in museums. Pieces we could learn so much from.”

  Footsteps.

  “Locked away for the rich and educated to admire? Gathering dust in some storeroom somewhere?”

  She turned. Dathan looked just as good clothed.

  Worn jeans hung low and his white shirt was unbuttoned, giving glimpses of that sculpted chest. His ink was hidden, though, and she was sorry she couldn’t see it.

  She looked away. It was dangerous to stare at him. Dathan Phoenix wasn’t just legendary for his treasure hunting. “In the hands of people who will ensure their proper preservation.” She wanted to reinforce the galactic laws, but she needed to hire these men, not alienate them. She bit her lip instead.

  Dathan shoved his damp hair back and raised an eyebrow. “Yet I’m guessing since you want to hire us, you need us to take something for you?”

  He had her there. Her jaw locked. No, she was nothing like this man. “Yes.”

  “You going to share, darlin’?”

  “It’s Dr. Rai.”

  Niklas coughed. Or maybe laughed. “Eos is one of the foremost experts on Terran artifacts.”

  “You won’t get us anywhere near Earth,” Dathan said. “No one who goes there ever comes back.”

  Eos longed to explore Earth, but she knew the radiation levels from the nuclear fallout of the Terran War were off the scale. Besides, rumors were that something had survived down there...and it didn’t welcome visitors.

  “I’m not after Earth.” She lifted her chin. Okay, here goes. “I need you to help me find the last remaining piece of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.”

  Silence.

  All she could hear was the gentle whoosh of the internal environmental system. It made her nerves stretch tight.

  Dathan threw his head back and laughed.

  “I’m serious,” she snapped.

  He shook his head. “We only take jobs that have a sure payout. The Mona Lisa was destroyed when Earth’s inhabitants turned their planet into a nuclear wasteland.”

  “No. It’s at Star’s End.”

  Dathan laughed again, grabbing his stomach. Eos felt a burning urge to kick him.

  “Star’s End is a myth,” he choked out.

  Zayn leaned back against the wall, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. “Legend. Fable. Fairy tale.” He blew another bubble.

  Niklas shook his head. “Star’s End and the Lost Treasure of the New Louvre have become so muddled with pseudohistory and garbage no one can be certain it’s even real. No one really believes the director of the New Louvre sent the museum’s most precious treasures on an expedition to set up a distant colony.”

  “It makes sense,” Eos insisted. “Earth was on the brink of destruction. The United Countries of the Americas and the Northern Federation were decimating the planet in their bitter war. Lots of people were leaving Earth with the hope of finding habitable planets to set up new colonies, to make new homes. What better way to preserve the Earth’s greatest historical treasures?”

  Dathan shifted. “It’s the Holy Grail of the crazy.” He tilted his head. “You crazy, Dr. Rai?”

  “No.”

  He stalked closer, circling her. “What’s a fine upstanding astro-archeologist like you doing searching for something that could ruin your career?”

  He was getting too close. “Finding the last fragment of the Mona Lisa would be a crowning achievement.”

  Niklas leaned forward in his chair. “The Institute thinks the expedition never left Earth.”

  “My research indicates otherwise.”

  Dathan watched her. Silent. Like a predator.

  “I found a journal.” Well, partial records of a journal but they didn’t need to know all the detail. “Written by the daughter of one of the head colonists. She didn’t want him to go.”

  “Maybe he never did.”

  Eos held his gaze. “She talks about how much she missed him.”

  “Plenty of Star’s End hoaxes out there.” Dathan shrugged. “I think I have a record of a man who opened the first strip club at Star’s End.”

  She ground her teeth. “I’ve seen an archived document from the New Louvre that shows they packaged the last known fragment of the Mona Lisa ready for transport. It was loaded onto the starship New Hope, which was headed for Star’s End.”

  Silence again.

  She knew it was big.

  Dathan raised a brow. “You’re telling me you have a verified document that links the New Louvre to Star’s End?”

  She huffed out a breath. “No. I couldn’t take it—”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “I’ve heard of the document,” Niklas said. “Institute ruled it a hoax. The last fragment of da Vinci’s masterpiece perished when Paris was nuked at the beginning of the Great Terran War.”

  “It isn’t a fake.” God, they were her last hope. She knew it’d be a hard sell, but she didn’t think treasure hunters would be worried about verification of documents.

  “Didn’t your mother work on the original authentication?” Niklas asked.

  “Yes.” Dr. Asha Rai had been one of the Institute’s most talented. “She never believed it was a fake but bowed to pressure from her team. That belief led to her death.”

  “How?” Dathan asked.

  Eos felt the familiar tightness of grief. “She went on an expedition to find Star’s End. She was killed by space pirates.”

  Dathan leaned closer and her chest tightened. “I’m really sorry about your mother, but do you really want us to scour the galaxy searching for a mythical old Earth colony?”

  She smelled him now. Some citrus-scented soap and warm male. “I hear you’re very good at finding things.”

  They stared at each other.

  Zayn snorted, breaking the moment. “Not so good at holding on to them, though.”

  Dathan flashed his brother a narrow look before he turned back to Eos. He caught her chin. “Why isn’t the Institute backing you?”

  Oh, she really didn’t want to go there. She tried to jerk away from his touch. “They don’t have enough evidence—”

  “I want the truth, Doc. You smell a little of desperation.”

  Her spine stiffened. “It’s an old promise I intend to keep and the Institute isn’t interested. Now, do you want to hear what other information I have or not?”

  His eyes narrowed and he moved closer. His chest brushed against her. “Not really. This is already more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “I can pay you.”

  One dark brow rose. “How much?”

  She thought of the last e-creds in her account. It was more than most people saved in a lifetime, but she knew it was no fortune. “Five million.”

  He snorted. “Not enough to tempt me.”

  Eos had to convince him. “I have more information that helps narrow down the location.”

  His gaze was so sharp it felt like it cut through her skin. “I’m listening.”

  She shook her head, ignoring the heat coming off him. “I won’t tell you until you agree to take the job.”

  “That’s asking for a lot of trust, darlin’.” Dathan stepped closer still. They were plastered against each other.

  Something told her he was seeing what would make her back away. She stayed where she was and lifted her chin. “I guess trust isn’t a commodity you have in abundance.”

  Those intense eyes burned through her.

  “You can trust us, Eos,” Niklas said.

  She shook her head. “Trust the most notorious treasure hunters in the galaxy? Not with Star’s End and a Da Vinci relic worth a trillion e-creds.”

  Dathan’s grip on Eos’s jaw tightened, the rough calluses on his fingertips abrading her skin. She felt like he was staring straight inside her.

  “You have a location,” he said.

  She swallowed. Heard Niklas’s chair squeak and saw Zayn straighten behind Dathan.

  “Look at me.”

  She obeyed, caught again by those eyes.

  “You know the location of Star’s End, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Two

  Dathan fought back the electricity winging through his body.

  Star’s End. A repository of the most fantastic Terran treasure in the galaxy. It would be the biggest haul of his career.

  The Mona Lisa. The one thing his father had always wanted.

  But Dathan had learned one lesson the hard way: things that seemed too good to be true often were. The woman wasn’t telling him everything she knew.

  She smelled good, though. Like some exotic flower from the hothouses of the planet Incensia. It matched her appearance.

  Eos Rai wasn’t tall, her head topped out just below his chin. She had a curvy little body but he saw the tone in her arms. She kept in shape and the boots she wore had scars. She wasn’t an astro-archeologist who stayed behind a desk or simply walked the vaunted halls of the stuffy-assed Institute.

  Long dark hair with a hint of curl fell halfway down her back. Pulled back it bared a face that whispered of desert oases and warm winds. Her skin was darker than his, a beautiful smooth tan that looked good enough to lick. Her eyes were large, tilted at the corners, and were the brightest gold of a stellar flare. They made him think of the ancient gold coins he’d discovered on the ocean floor of Aurum.

  But most tantalizing of all were her markings. A trail of black scrolls wove from the tip of her longest finger up the back of her hand to wind around her delicate wrists. Intricate with a vaguely floral pattern, they were stunning. He also saw a hint of the same design on the side of her neck, hidden by her shirt collar. Made him insanely curious to know where it went under the blue fabric of her shirt.

  Dathan knew that unlike his own ink, she’d been born with the markings. A trademark that gave away her race.

  Most of all, he saw bright intelligence in those golden eyes. God save him from smart women. They were so much trouble, but oh so irresistible.

  But his hunting instincts were humming.

  She had die-hard archeologist written all over her, even if she did manage to drag herself out from behind a desk occasionally. He sensed her disdain a quadrant away. He doubted the righteous doctor would be happy with him auctioning off any treasure they found.

  And what the hell was a woman like her doing bargaining with him rather than leading some Institute expedition? What was really driving her?

  “Imagine if we found Star’s End?” Zayn said.

  Dathan shook his head. Zayn was always willing to dive into the craziest of hunts. He hadn’t learned yet that you could never outrun old ghosts. “This is a complication we don’t need.”

  Niklas stood. “I think we should check it out.”

  Dathan spun. His conservative older brother was the last person he expected to agree to this. Niklas was usually the sensible Phoenix brother. Then Dathan realized. “You’re willing to risk our resources on a harebrained scheme all so you can give the finger to those Institute bastards who tossed you out like garbage?”

  Eos gasped. “I thought you resigned?”

  They ignored her. Nik’s darker blue eyes narrowed. “I thought you’d be all over this. Given your little fetish.”

  Sometimes it sucked having brothers who knew you too well. Dathan felt Eos’s scrutiny but didn’t look at her. “You don’t know shit, Nik. And I think the doctor has her own agenda.” He looked at her now. “Something makes me think the doc isn’t going to let us take a share of the treasure.”

  Her lips pressed into a flat line but she didn’t say anything.

  “Well, Doc? You going to hand over the Mona Lisa fragment if I find it?”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “Of course not—”

  Niklas stood. “We can negotiate salvage rights. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  Dathan had had a shitty day. Today’s treasure hunt had gone spectacularly wrong and he’d lost the Terran timepiece he’d wanted. His father had dreamed of acquiring a Terran timepiece. Of course Brocken Phoenix had also dreamed of finding the famed last fragment of the Mona Lisa. Dathan’s jaw clenched. His father had done a whole lot of dreaming and not a lot of doing.

  What Dathan didn’t need right now was brothers turning on him. He’d had enough. “All I want is the timepiece back. We know where it is and what it’s worth.”

  “What timepiece?” Eos asked.

  “The Terran timepiece I risked my ass to get off Lumina before it was stolen.”

  Eos’s mouth dropped open. “You went to a planet that turns to molten lava during the day? That’s crazy.”

  Yeah, he’d had enough. Especially of beautiful women who screamed trouble.

  Dathan flexed his hands. “It needs all three of us to agree to take a job—” he speared Eos with his gaze, “—and I vote no.”

  Zayn groaned. “Dath—”

  “I’m not going to let Darc get away with electrocuting me with a Tase stunner and leaving me to fry on Lumina.” He’d never let anyone willingly get the best of him. Not even his father on one of his drunken rampages. Dathan shot his brothers a look. “I would have thought you two would feel the same.”

  Eos cleared her throat. “Who’s Darc?”

  “A soulless treasure hunter who works for the highest bidder. And isn’t picky on how dark and slimy they were.”

  Niklas raised a brow. “And if Darc’s sold the timepiece to someone we shouldn’t mess with?” He gripped Dathan’s shoulder. Squeezed. “There are other treasures, Dath.”

  “I want this one.” Had to have this one. Dathan shoved his hands on hips. “You content to let her get away with it?”

  A pause. “No.”

  “That’s what I thought. Us Phoenix brothers, when we want something, we go after it until we get it.”

  That was a lesson they’d learned themselves. Their father certainly hadn’t taught it to them.

  Dathan turned back to Eos. “Like I said, Star’s End is a no.”

  * * *

  Disappointment cut through Eos like a laser blade. The Phoenix Brothers had been her last chance.

  She’d worked so hard achieve the dream that had killed her mother. Eos had staked her career, her savings, her entire life on finding Star’s End.

  Her hands fell to her side. Now she had nothing. Just like that horrible day when her world had been torn apart.

  “Dathan, you need to reconsider.” Niklas slashed a hand through the air. “This is just like you. You finally have a chance to go after something that really matters and you wimp out.”

  Eos felt the energy in the air amp up. She saw a glint in Dathan’s eyes as he rounded on his brother.

  “You need to shut the hell up.” Dathan’s voice held a hard edge.

  Niklas shook his head. “I’m sick of staying quiet about this. I can never work out if you’re trying to prove him wrong or prove him right.”

  Eos didn’t know who they were talking about, but Dathan’s gaze turned lethal. The hairs on the back of her neck rose.

  Then Dathan launched himself forward.

  Dathan tackled Niklas’s larger frame like a VelocityBall linebacker. They crashed to the ground.

  Eos watched wide-eyed as they rolled across the concrete floor. When Niklas landed a punch to Dathan’s face, the thud of flesh on flesh made her wince. Her home world was a matriarchal society. They didn’t solve their issues with violence.

  Zayn pushed past her. Good, he was going to break them up.

  When he dived into the fray, she gasped.

  Unbelievable. She felt the burn of anger now. She needed these three supposed professional treasure hunters to help her.

  She watched Dathan pummel his younger brother. One of them was cursing like a space freighter.