Starfall (Starflight #2)(82)

At once, Kane’s senses snapped into place.

Oh god. What had he done?

He’d attacked a guest! The Redshirts would punish him, maybe even change his work assignment. That would mean no more Gold. He didn’t think he could survive going back to the old inhaler. He had to do something to make this right.

“We won’t tell the boss what happened,” Kane said, but then he remembered the guest in blue, who wouldn’t stay quiet for long. He lifted his head and peered over the dunes for the man. “But first we have to kill that guy and hide his body.”

No, wait. That was bad…or was it? He couldn’t tell.

“Calm down,” Cutter ordered. “We’re not killing anyone.”

“But what if they take me out of the pit?”

A new voice, almost too soft to carry over the crashing wave, said, “They won’t take away your Gold.”

Kane craned his neck and found the woman in white peering at him through pupils so wide her eyes looked more like onyx marbles than human tissue. She didn’t seem to notice her guest had left, because she kept the blade suspended above her arm.

“You’re allowed two strikes,” she told him.

“How do you know?”

“Because I said no to this the first time.” She had a faraway look on her face, as if she were talking in her sleep. “I thought my supervisors would take away my Gold, but they gave me more refills, not less. Then they said I could have another chance if I apologized to my guest.”

Kane exhaled a long, hopeful breath. He could do that—apologize to the man in blue. And if the man forgave him, Kane would do better next time. He wouldn’t ask to run on the beach, or anywhere else, ever again.

Freedom wasn’t worth it.



When the Zhangs heard about the attack, they sent a maintenance worker to Kane’s dorm to install special bolts on all the doors and windows that locked from the outside. He didn’t know what happened to the lady in white after her supervisor came to take her away, but she was right. The boss gave him a second chance.

“Now you know why pit fighters and guests don’t mingle. I’m training you to be a warrior, not a socialite.” The boss slapped Kane on the shoulder. “Shake it off, kid. I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?”

“You’ve got a big heart,” the man said, shrugging. “That’s not a crime. But try not to feel sorry for the ladies. They’ve got their own special brand of Gold. Yours makes you fierce; theirs makes them numb. I promise those girls didn’t feel a thing. Besides, they’re not dead. They just passed out from blood loss. They’ll be good as new after a plasma shot.”

Kane nodded, though he couldn’t look his boss in the eyes.

“The whole resort’s buzzing about the wild boy who charged Nicky Malone and made him piss his shorts. You even have a nickname. They call you the Wolf.” His boss laughed while beaming with pride. “Did you really growl at Nicky?” Shaking his head, he murmured, “Damn, I wish I could’ve seen that.”

“Nicky Malone,” Kane repeated. That must be the man in blue. He’d offered to apologize, but the boss had forbidden it. He’d said it would make Kane look weak and hurt his reputation in the casino.

“He’s a real monster,” the boss confided behind his hand. “The Enforcers tried popping him for a bunch of murders on Earth, but he’s got the kind of money that makes evidence disappear. Know what I mean?”

Kane believed it.

“Anyway, it’s gonna be a full house tonight. Most of the guests are betting on you, and they haven’t even read the player profiles yet.”

Kane had almost forgotten about the competition. He glanced around the dorm at the other guys. Only ten of them would compete tonight, including Cutter. A few men were working the circuit, but most of them sat on the floor or lay in their bunks, talking strategy and resting up for the games. Maybe he should do the same.

“What are my odds?”

“Thirteen to one. Everyone loves an underdog.”

Kane crunched a few numbers in his head. If enough guests wagered on him at thirteen-to-one odds and he actually won, the casino would have to pay out a fortune. Which meant the Zhang mafia would lose money. He was no idiot. He knew what happened to people who stood between the mafia and their profits.

“Will Ari Zhang think I’m a liability if I win?”

His boss chuckled. “Hell no, kid. Zhang’s a businessman. He’s got a lot invested in you. Do you think he’s going to waste a good fighter by rubbing him out after a win?” He ruffled Kane’s hair. “Zhang wants you to fight hard. He’s coming to see you play.”

That surprised Kane. Ari Zhang still hadn’t made an appearance here, so for him to attend the fight was a huge deal.

“You look tense.” His boss offered the golden inhaler. “This’ll help.”

He was right. One breath later, Kane was invincible again.

“Don’t sweat the numbers.” His boss’s voice seemed to come from above the ceiling, like a distant crack of thunder. It rumbled one last message and then faded into the clouds. “The house always wins in the end.”



As promised, there wasn’t an empty seat in the casino that night.