Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (35 page)

Finally
up
ahead,
the
tunnel
came
to
an
abrupt
end.
He
waited
for
the
ship
to
slow.
Nothing
happened.
They
weren’t
going
fast,
but
all
the
same,
if
they
hit
even
at
this
speed,
they
would
disintegrate.

“Shit,
Rico,”
Tannis
muttered.
“Shoot
it
out.”

“Can’t.
They’ll
see
the
explosion.”

“They’ll
also
see
the
explosion
if
you
crash
straight
into
a
solid
metal
door
and
blow
us
up.”

“Actually,
I’m
hoping
it
works
on
proximity
sensors.
Otherwise
we’re
fucked.”
He
nodded
to
Alex.
“Hey,
maybe
you
could
try
a
prayer
right
about
now.
We
could
do
with
a
little
divine
intervention.”

Alex
put
her
hands
together.
Jon
realized
she
was
actually
going
to
pray.
Did
she
really
believe
there
was
a
God
out
there?
And
if
there
was,
did
she
think
He’d
be
listening
and
would
give
a
toss
whether
they
lived
or
died?

“Dear
God,”
Alex
murmured.
“Please
open
the
doors.
Rico
says
he’s
sorry
for
all
the
bad
things
he’s
done,
and
he
promises
to
be
better
in
the
future.”

Shock
flared
inside
him
at
her
words.
They
were
about
to
die,
and
she
was
joking.

Rico
laughed.
“Thanks,
sweetheart,
but
I
think
that
might
have
done
the
trick.
God
loves
us
after
all.”

Jon
forced
his
gaze
from
Alex
back
to
the
viewer.
A
thin
crack
appeared
in
the
doors,
and
then
they
slid
back.

Seconds
later
and
they
were
out
into
the
open
sky.
Jon
waited
from
them
to
speed
up
to
make
a
run
for
it.
Instead,
Rico
kept
the
speed
slow
and
hugged
the
contours
of
the
land.
He
was
a
brilliant
pilot,
sticking
so
close
to
the
ground
that
they
wouldn’t
show
up
as
a
separate
entity.
Still,
Jon
found
his
heart
beating
fast
as
he
waited
for
them
to
be
spotted,
waited
for
the
hoard
to
swoop
down
and
annihilate
them.

The
monitor
was
back
on
the
cruisers
above
them.
They
still
hovered
above
Bastion’s
place,
but
at
any
moment,
they
would
realize
the
Cazador
was
gone.
Time
crawled
by
as
they
inched
over
the
barren
landscape.

Sweat
beaded
on
his
forehead,
and
he
wiped
it
with
the
back
of
his
hand.
He
was
actually
afraid.
Jon
almost
didn’t
recognize
the
emotion.
He
hadn’t
been
afraid
of
anything
in
a
long
time.

How
can
you
fear
when
you
have
nothing
to
lose?

His
mind
refused
to
process
the
implications
of
that.
Nothing
had
changed.
There
was
still
nothing
to
lose,
and
he
planned
for
it
to
stay
that
way.

The
tension
in
the
room
slowly
rose
as
each
second
stretched
taut.
Finally,
Tannis
snapped.

“Shit,
Rico,
that
has
to
be
far
enough.
Get
us
the
hell
out
of
here.”

“Getting
to
you?”
He
grinned.
“Okay.
We
should
be
far
enough
not
to
be
picked
up.
Hold
on,
children.”

The
engines
roared,
and
they
headed
out
into
space
at
full
speed.

“Looks
like
we’re
in
the
clear,”
Janey
said
a
minute
later,
and
Jon
released
the
breath
he’d
been
holding
for
what
seemed
like
hours.

Next
to
him,
Alex
was
grinning
like
an
idiot.
Didn’t
she
have
the
sense
to
know
they’d
nearly
died?

He
unstrapped
the
harness
and
stood
up.
Everyone’s
eyes
locked
on
him
as
he
stalked
across
the
floor,
but
he
kept
his
lips
clamped
together.
If
he
opened
his
mouth
now,
he
was
sure
something
stupid
would
come
out.

In
the
privacy
of
his
cabin,
he
shrugged
out
of
his
coat
and
tossed
it
on
the
bed.
His
skin
was
clammy
and
cold
at
the
same
time.
He’d
been
certain
they
were
going
to
die
back
there,
and
they
hadn’t.
Why
wasn’t
he
feeling
euphoric?

He
didn’t
know
what
he
felt,
but
he
was
sure
fucking
joy
didn’t
describe
it.

Edgy.
Scared.
Stupid.
The
list
was
endless,
and
none
of
it
was
good.

Pressing
his
fingers
into
his
eyeballs,
he
tried
to
reduce
the
pressure.
Behind
closed
lids,
he
saw
pink,
hot
pink,
and
he
ground
his
teeth
together
to
banish
the
image.

He
had
to
get
out
of
there.
He
functioned
better
alone.
If
he
could
get
away
from
these
people,
he’d
be
fine.

They
weren’t
going
to
kill
him,
at
least
he
didn’t
think
so.
If
they
ever
managed
to
get
the
Collective
off
their
backs,
he
was
sure
he’d
be
free
to
go.
So
all
he
had
to
do
was
track
down
who’d
set
him
up,
find
a
way
to
get
out
from
under
this
bounty—keep
to
himself,
not
get
involved—and
afterward,
he
could
go
back
to
his
life.

The
thought
filled
him
with
no
pleasure.
That
part
of
his
life
was
over.
It
was
time
to
move
on.
Which
didn’t
mean
he
had
to
throw
all
sense
aside.
Money
was
no
problem;
he
had
accounts
all
over
the
universe.
Killing
people
was
a
lucrative
profession,
and
he’d
been
good
at
what
he
did.
The
future
was
limitless
—
he
could
do
anything
he
chose.