Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (17 page)

His
butt
hurt
where
the
redhead
had
sliced
him
open
to
get
at
the
tracking
device,
and
he
stood
up,
ran
his
hands
through
his
hair.
The
fact
he
was
alive,
and
for
the
moment
at
least
free,
was
beginning
to
sink
in.

The
snake
lady
was
pacing
the
floor,
presumably
waiting
for
an
answer
as
to
why
the
Collective
wanted
them
dead.
He
was
curious
as
well.
He
had
a
few
ideas,
but
he’d
wait
and
see
how
this
developed
before
he
decided
whether
to
share
them
or
not.
She
came
to
a
halt
in
front
of
him,
a
scowl
on
her
face.
She
wasn’t
beautiful,
but
she
was
definitely
intriguing.
If
he
looked
closely,
her
skin
glowed
with
a
pearly
iridescence.
Her
tongue
wasn’t
forked,
which
was
a
pity.
He
liked
the
unusual.

“I’m
Tannis,
captain
of
El
Cazador
.
Rico
is
owner
and
pilot.
Skylar’s
in
charge
of
security.
Janey,
who
just
went
to
fetch
you
a
much-needed
shirt,
keeps
the
systems
going.
Daisy”—she
waved
in
the
direction
of
the
green
girl—“is
copilot
and
Al,
or
Lady
Alexia,
you’ve
already
met.”

“Al’s
fine,”
the
girl
muttered.

Tannis
raised
an
eyebrow.
“Well?”

“Well,
what?”
Jon
replied.

“Are
you
going
to
introduce
yourself?”

“No.”

“Charming,
isn’t
he?”
Rico
murmured.
“You’d
think
he
didn’t
like
us.
How’s
that
for
gratitude
when
we
went
to
all
that
trouble
to
get
him
out
of
prison?”

“If
I’m
not
a
prisoner,
I’d
appreciate
if
you
would
drop
me
off
at
the
first
habitable
planet.
I
have
things
to
do.”

“Well,
there’s
a
problem
with
that,”
Tannis
said.
“Since
we
freed
your
ungrateful
ass,
we
seem
to
have
become
a
little
unpopular
in
certain
quarters.
Very
powerful
quarters.
And
we
need
to
know
why.”

He
shrugged.
“Lady,
you’re
mistaking
me
for
someone
who
gives
a
fuck.”

She
stepped
up
close
and
poked
him
in
the
chest
with
one
finger.
“Well,
give
a
fuck
about
this,
dog-boy—you’re
not
leaving
this
ship
until
we
find
a
way
out
of
this
pile
of
crap.
And
I’ll
shove
you
back
into
cryo
if
I
have
to.”

“You
could
try.”

“Yeah,
and
I’d
succeed.
Because
you
know
what—I’ve
got
one
of
these.”
She
drew
the
laser
pistol
from
her
belt
and
shoved
it
in
his
belly.
“And
you
don’t.”

For
a
moment,
Jon
considered
taking
the
pistol
from
her.
He
was
sure
he
could
do
it,
but
he
wasn’t
positive
he
could
take
the
rest
of
them.
So
he
kept
quiet
and
waited
for
her
to
finish.
His
time
would
come.

“If
I
thought
for
one
moment
getting
rid
of
you
would
get
the
Collective
off
our
backs,
I
probably
wouldn’t
even
wait
for
the
nearest
landfall.
You’d
be
out
the
airlock.
But
Skylar
doesn’t
seem
to
think
that
would
do
any
good—which
means
we
need
to
understand
why
they
want
you
dead.
So
shall
we
try
again?”

The
redhead
Janey
came
back
at
that
moment
and
tossed
him
a
black,
sleeveless
T-shirt.
He
took
a
moment
to
pull
it
on
to
give
himself
time
to
think.
It
was
a
tight
fit,
stretched
across
his
chest,
but
at
least
this
one
wouldn’t
rip
down
the
back
if
he
took
a
deep
breath.

Jon
considered
his
next
move.
He
might
have
to
work
with
these
people
for
a
while.
At
least
until
he
could
get
away.
And
there
was
always
the
chance
they
might
have
information
that
would
help
him.

“So
why
did
you
get
me
out
of
prison?
Tell
me
what
happened.”

Tannis
nodded
as
if
recognizing
his
acceptance
of
the
situation.
“Ten
days
ago,
Skylar
approached
us
with
a
job.
She
told
us
she
was
part
of
the
Rebel
Coalition
who
are
hell-bent
on
destroying
the
Church
and
the
Collective
and
wanted
to
employ
us
to
rescue
her
‘little’
brother,
Jonny,
from
the
high-security
prison
on
Trakis
One.”

Jon
swung
around
to
face
the
blonde
and
studied
her.
She
had
short,
military-cut
hair,
high
cheekbones,
and
a
wide
mouth.
Dressed
in
a
black
jumpsuit,
boots,
and
a
laser
pistol
once
again
holstered
at
her
waist,
she
was
beautiful
in
a
tough
sort
of
way,
but
those
eyes
sent
a
shiver
of
unease
rippling
through
him.
They
glowed
violet,
almost
inhuman.
She
must
have
worn
contacts
or
they
would
have
pegged
her
as
Collective
in
a
flash.