Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (24 page)

“I’ll
try.”
Another
sigh
escaped
her
throat.
“But
I
don’t
want
to
play
so
hard
I
never
get
got.”

“Don’t
worry.
You’ll
get
got.
Just
do
what
I
say—I
know
all
about
getting
a
man
to
chase
you.”

Alex
had
no
doubt
Janey
had
had
hoards
of
men
chasing
her.
She
was
the
most
beautiful
woman
Alex
had
ever
met,
and
the
cleverest.
She’d
always
wondered
what
had
brought
Janey
to
El
Cazador.
While
Alex
loved
the
ship
and
the
crew,
it
was
hardly
a
glamorous
lifestyle.
“How
did
you
end
up
here?”
she
asked.
“You
could
do
anything.”

“What’s
wrong
with
here?”
For
the
first
time
since
Alex
had
met
her,
Janey
sounded
faintly
hostile.

“I
didn’t
mean
anything
except
you’re
so”—she
searched
for
the
right
word—“perfect.”

“I’m
far
from
perfect.
And
where
should
I
be?
Living
in
a
big
house
on
Trakis
Five?
Married
to
some
rich
guy?
Believe
me,
I’ve
been
there,
done
that,
and
I
don’t
ever
plan
on
repeating
the
experience.”

“Oh.”

Janey’s
expression
was
rueful.
“Sorry,
I
didn’t
mean
to
snap.
It’s
just
a
sore
point.
I
married
a
bastard
because
I
thought
he
could
give
me
everything
I
wanted,
but
it
turned
out
what
I
wanted
wasn’t
worth
the
price.
And
I
had
no
one
to
blame
but
myself.
But
at
least
he
taught
me
how
to
make
the
best
of
my
looks,
and
that’s
come
in
useful.”

“You
left
him?”

The
corners
of
Janey’s
lips
curved
up
in
a
small
smile.
“You
could
say
that.
Anyway,
I’ve
always
been
good
with
computers,
so
I
set
up
on
my
own
doing
freelance
jobs,
mostly
illegal.
One
day
I
did
some
work
for
Tannis,
she
offered
me
a
place,
and
here
I
am.”

“I’m
glad.”

“So
am
I.
Come
on,
let’s
go
make
a
start—your
hair
could
definitely
do
with
a
cut—we’ll
make
you
so
gorgeous,
your
werewolf
won’t
be
able
to
resist
you…”

…

Jon
had
a
bad
feeling
about
this.

He
didn’t
take
too
much
notice
as
he
frequently
had
bad
feelings.
More
often
than
not,
they
came
to
nothing,
and
he’d
come
to
the
conclusion
it
was
just
his
miserable
nature.

Still,
there
was
something
about
the
view
below
that
wasn’t
at
all
comforting.
He
knew
Trakis
Two
well—he’d
done
a
lot
of
business
here.
It
was
a
great
place
for
people
who
wanted
to
stay
under
the
radar,
but
he’d
always
stuck
to
the
city
before.
Everyone
stuck
to
the
city
on
Trakis
Two.
There
were
reputed
to
be
things
out
in
the
surrounding
darkness
you
didn’t
want
to
come
across.
And
he
had
a
feeling
they
were
about
to
knock
on
the
door
to
the
lair
of
one
of
those
things
and
ask
if
they
could
come
inside.

Maybe
he
should
get
out
now.

Glancing
around,
he
found
Skylar
watching
him,
her
hand
resting
on
the
laser
pistol
at
her
waist.
They
were
giving
him
the
appearance
of
freedom,
but
he
had
a
feeling
if
he
tried
to
test
it,
they’d
zone
in
on
him
pretty
fast.
He
turned
back
to
the
viewer.

Off
in
the
far
distance,
he
could
make
out
the
multicolored
lights
of
Pleasure
City
glowing
like
a
false
promise
of
dawn.
But
beneath
them,
a
hulking
great
piece
of
darkness
rose
up
from
the
planet’s
surface.
Man-made
of
dull
black
rock,
it
appeared
hewn
out
of
the
night
itself.
Here
and
there
across
the
exterior,
a
sullen
orange
light
glowed
from
cavities
in
the
walls.