Clan and Commit - Tracy St. John Page 0,2

you up.”

“I don’t have a Nobek. Or a Dramok.” Noting Bacoj’s disbelieving stare, Vax shrugged. “Career before clan. No distractions. I’ll open that restaurant before I’m thirty-five.”

“Oh.” Bacoj ignored how his heart leapt. “Surely you’re promised to someone, for when you’re ready.”

“No distractions. No commitment, no steady lovers, no nonsense.” Vax eyed Bacoj, assessing him. A sly grin pulled at his lips. “That’s the plan, anyway. I’ll admit to having wavered on that pledge from time to time, depending on the company I’ve kept.”

I don’t have a chance with this guy. Nonetheless, Bacoj dared to flirt. Why not? He had nothing to lose. “If they weren’t shipping me out in a few weeks, I might have attempted to give you reason to waver.”

“You would, huh? Handsome guy such as yourself, it would be a decent temptation.” Vax smirked.

“I’m in it strictly for the food.” Bacoj teased. He couldn’t let the Imdiko get too full of himself—though Vax had to realize what an enticing package he was on all levels.

“Ah, the food. Glad I have a card to play in the game of love when I’m ready for it. Heading off to war?”

Bacoj’s spirits fell again, all the way to the bottom. “Right.”

“Is that why you’re sitting here, trying to decide whether to get drunk or not?”

“Part of it.”

Vax leaned close, both elbows on the bar. “What will it take to hear the whole story?”

Bacoj didn’t hesitate. “The tale of why that Nobek came in to give you a death stare.”

Vax winced, and Bacoj readied himself for a refusal.

Vax kept his gaze on the bar. On what was left of Bacoj’s kloq, actually, as if he wished he could gulp it down. He spoke, and the words were as shocking as the fact he admitted them.

“I killed his Imdiko. My cousin.”

Bacoj stared, barely able to breath. This sweet-faced man had murdered someone? Vax?

“Accident?” he managed to ask.

“Self-defense.” Vax coughed out what Bacoj supposed was meant to be a laugh. “If you’d seen Huk, you’d have insisted no one could have called him a threat. And you’d be right. Years of drug addiction left his body withered. His bones were as brittle as glass.”

He continued to stare at the glass of liquor, though his distant expression suggested he wasn’t seeing it. He was somewhere in an awful past.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t.” Bacoj brushed his arm, wishing he could offer better comfort.

“It’s a hard thing, ending someone’s life. Especially over a stupid disagreement. We’d both shown up at a family getaway spot in the mountains. I was taking a few days to enjoy the quiet. He was—I have no idea what he was doing there. Probably looking to hole up and get wasted until the drugs ran out. He wasn’t too happy when I arrived.”

“You had an argument?”

“I came in too fast for the landing when I got there. Wasn’t paying attention as I should have, I guess. My shuttle bumped his, which was already docked, and put a ding in it. I’d no sooner got out, ready to apologize and offer him money to fix it, when he came at me.”

“He threatened you?”

“He said he’d kill me and started throwing punches. Pretty pathetic punches, to be honest. I pushed him and warned him to back off. He wouldn’t. He kept attacking me.”

“It sounds as if you had cause to defend yourself.”

Vax sighed and rubbed his face. “I guess. He could have picked up a branch or a rock or any number of things to pound me with. No doubt it would have eventually occurred to him to do so.”

“So how’d it end up going so badly?”

“I finally decided it would take a show of strength to convince him to quit messing with me. I scooped him up and slammed him to the ground. It shattered half his ribs, his collarbone, arm—and caused a lot of internal injuries.”

“Damn. Seriously?” Bacoj gaped in shock. He wouldn’t have suspected the smaller man could commit such damage by merely throwing someone to the ground.

“As I mentioned, his bones were like glass by then. Believe it or not, he was so high that he didn’t realize how hurt he was. He stood up, told me he’d be back with Karil to kill me, staggered into his shuttle, and left. It was hours later when his clanmates figured out he needed a doctor and took him to the hospital. By then, it was too late.”

Bacoj blew out a breath. “That’s awful, Vax. It