Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (39 page)

He
gave
a
short
bark
of
laughter.
“Well,
that
puts
me
in
my
place.”

There
was
actually
something
Alex
had
wanted
to
ask
since
the
attack—now
was
as
good
a
time
as
any.
“That
thing
you
and
Bastion
did…”

“Thing?”

“Where
you
made
me
do
what
you
said.”
She
nibbled
her
lower
lip.
“How
far
does
it
go?
Can
you
make
me
do
anything
?”

“You
want
me
to
test
it?”

“No!”

He
grinned.
“Don’t
worry—it
only
works
for
simple
physical
acts.
If
too
much
thinking
is
involved,
the
brain
takes
over
and
breaks
the
compulsion.
That
make
you
feel
better?”

It
did—the
idea
that
Rico
could
make
her
do
anything
just
by
telling
her
had
played
on
her
mind.
She
nodded
and
turned
away
to
watch
Skylar
and
Jon.
They
were
circling
each
other
now.
“She
won’t
hurt
him
will
she?”

Rico
grinned.
“You
don’t
have
much
faith
in
your
boyfriend.”

“Jon’s
not
my
boyfriend.”

“But
you’d
like
him
to
be.”
Her
gaze
flew
to
his
face,
and
he
raised
an
eyebrow.
“You’re
not
exactly
subtle.”

“I
don’t
have
time
to
be
subtle,”
she
muttered.

“Forget
the
wolf.
When
this
is
over,
we’ll
get
some
down
time.
Visit
one
of
the
bigger
planets.
You
can
find
a
nice
boy.”

Was
he
being
deliberately
obtuse?
“What
are
you,
a
matchmaking
service?
Besides,
I
don’t
want
a
nice
boy.”

“No,
that’s
obvious.
But
let
me
tell
you
a
bit
about
wolves,
especially
lone
wolves.”

Alex
was
torn
between
wanting
to
watch
Skylar
and
Jon
and
wanting
to
listen.
Rico
wasn’t
always
so
talkative,
he
might
never
open
up
again,
and
she
wanted
to
know.
“What’s
a
lone
wolf?”

“Well,
your
normal
wolf
is
a
pack
animal.
The
pack
gives
them
structure,
a
purpose
and
a
place
in
life,
and
a
strict
set
of
rules
to
live
by.
Pack
wolves,
especially
alphas,
can
be
bad
news,
but
at
least
they’re
predictable—their
one
purpose
is
to
protect
their
pack.
But
you
know
the
only
thing
more
dangerous
than
an
alpha
werewolf
protecting
his
pack?”

Alex
was
sure
he
didn’t
expect
an
answer,
but
she
shook
her
head
anyway.

“An
alpha
werewolf
without
a
pack
to
protect.
A
lone
wolf
lives
by
nobody’s
rules
but
his
own.
Most
of
them
have
a
death
wish.”

“Jon
doesn’t
have
a
death
wish.”

“No?
Going
one
on
one
with
Skylar
isn’t
exactly
sensible.”
He
shrugged.
“Maybe
he
doesn’t
have
a
death
wish,
but
he
doesn’t
care
if
he
lives
or
dies.
And
that
makes
him
dangerous.
Also,
I’m
betting
he
isn’t
shifting
regularly.”

“Shifting?
You
mean
turning
into
a
wolf?”

“Well,
I
don’t
expect
he
can
turn
into
anything
else.
Back
on
Earth,
they
had
no
choice—they
had
to
shift
at
the
full
moon.
Out
here,
the
older
ones
don’t
need
to
change,
but
if
they
resist,
it
builds
up
inside
them.
My
guess
is
our
boy
over
there”—he
nodded
to
where
Skylar
and
Jon
were
still
circling—“isn’t
shifting,
except
for
that
fancy
hand
stuff.
It’s
one
of
the
reasons
he’s
so
bad-tempered
right
now.
And
one
day
he’s
going
to
blow,
and
you
don’t
want
to
be
around
when
that
happens.”

Alex
considered
mentioning
that
Jon
was
hardly
a
“boy”—he
was
a
hundred
and
ninety-two.
But
she
supposed
to
someone
of
Rico’s
age,
that
would
seem
very
young.
Besides,
something
else
he’d
said
interested
her.

“One
of
the
reasons?”
she
asked.

Rico
turned
to
her,
his
gaze
sliding
down
over
her
body
to
linger
on
her
breasts
pointedly.
She
resisted
the
urge
to
cross
her
arms.
“My
guess
is
he’s
hankering
after
the
one
thing
he’s
told
himself
he
can’t
have,
and
it’s
making
him
a
little
testy.”

Alex
opened
her
mouth
to
ask
what
he
meant,
but
at
that
moment,
the
two
fighters
stopped
circling.

“At
last,”
Rico
muttered.
“Now
watch.”

Alex
watched,
her
gaze
glued
to
Jon.
He
was
beautiful
to
watch,
all
leashed
power.

Skylar
made
the
first
move;
she
whirled
and
kicked
out.
Jon
evaded
her
easily.
Then
they
were
moving
fast,
almost
a
blur
of
speed.
Each
too
quick
to
get
caught
by
the
other,
until
Skylar
landed
a
punch
on
his
right
shoulder.
He
appeared
to
fall
back,
but
as
Skylar
followed
through,
he
swiped
her
legs
from
under
her,
and
she
crashed
to
the
floor.
She
was
up
in
an
instant
and
they
were
circling
again.
This
time
Jon
made
the
first
attack,
diving
for
her,
the
weight
of
him
driving
her
down
to
the
ground.

“There—that’s
where
size
will
always
win
in
the
end.
Sheer
brute
force,”
Rico
murmured
from
beside
her.

For
a
moment,
it
seemed
like
the
fight
was
over,
but
Skylar
got
her
knees
between
them
and
heaved
him
off.
He
landed
on
his
back,
and
she
was
on
him
in
a
flash,
a
knife
appearing
in
her
hand.
She
couched
over
him.
The
point
pricked
his
throat
so
a
bead
of
blood
welled
up.
“Yield?”

Alex
cast
Rico
a
quick
sideways
glance.
“Isn’t
that
cheating?”

Rico
shrugged.
“I
think
she’s
probably
trying
to
illustrate
a
point.
There’s
no
such
thing
as
cheating
in
a
real
fight.
Just
winning
or
losing.”

“Well?”
Skylar
nudged
him
with
the
tip
of
the
knife.
He
winced,
then
nodded.

“Have
I
missed
the
fun?”
Janey
asked,
strolling
into
the
room.
As
usual,
the
other
woman
had
the
instant
effect
of
making
Alex
feel
small,
scruffy,
and
decidedly
unfeminine.
She’d
had
to
work
hard
at
the
beginning
not
to
hate
Janey
for
that.
And
she’d
succeeded.
But
since
Jon
had
come
on
board,
she
seemed
to
have
regressed.

“Why?
Do
you
want
to
learn
to
fight
as
well?”
Rico
asked.

“I
don’t
think
so.”
Janey
shuddered
and
smoothed
down
her
black
dress
then
grinned
at
Alex.
“You’re
learning
how
to
fight?
You
are
keeping
busy.
She
had
me
teaching
her
how
to
hack
into
systems
this
morning.”

“Very
useful
talent
for
a
high
priestess,”
Rico
murmured.

Alex
wasn’t
going
to
try
and
explain
the
intrigue
and
political
infighting
that
went
on
within
the
closed
walls
of
the
Church.
When
she
went
back,
she
would
make
sure
she
wasn’t
at
a
disadvantage
and
having
access
to
knowledge
would
help.

“What’s
going
on?”
Skylar
asked
Janey,
as
she
rose
gracefully
to
her
feet.
Jon
still
lay
on
the
floor,
but
he
rolled
onto
his
side
and
propped
his
head
on
one
hand
to
watch
them.
Alex
had
expected
him
to
be
furious
at
Skylar
for
beating
him,
but
he
appeared
more
relaxed
than
she’d
ever
seen
him,
the
harsh
lines
on
his
face
smoothed
out,
as
though
the
fight
had
released
some
of
the
pent-up
tension
inside
him.

“Tannis
sent
me
to
find
you.
I’m
picking
up
a
ship
following
us,”
Janey
said.
“It’s
right
on
the
outer
edge
of
our
scanners
at
the
moment,
but
whoever
it
is
they’re
closing
in
on
us
fast.”

“Collective?”

“I’m
pretty
sure
it’s
not.
The
Collective
are
somewhere
behind
us.
This
lot
are
coming
at
us
from
the
side.”

Skylar
sighed.
“Okay,
let’s
go
see
who’s
after
us
this
time.”

Alex
trailed
behind
them
to
the
bridge.
She
wished
she
had
a
more
important
role
on
the
ship,
but
what
would
be
the
point
of
pushing
for
that
if
she
were
leaving
soon?
Still,
it
irked
her
when
everyone
else
was
doing
stuff,
and
she
had
nothing
to
contribute.

“You
could
always
pray.”

She
jumped
at
the
whispered
words
and
spun
around
to
find
Jon
standing
beside
her.
Lost
in
her
thoughts,
she
hadn’t
even
noticed
him.

“How
did
you…?”

“I
didn’t,
but
you
looked
sort
of
lost
and
jealous
and…”

“Useless?”
she
finished
for
him.

“Yeah,
useless.”

“They
all
know
what
to
do.
I
wish
I
had
something
I
could
add,
but
I’d
only
get
in
the
way.”

“Stop
feeling
sorry
for
yourself.
I’m
not
doing
anything,
and
it’s
not
bothering
me.”

“There
they
are,”
Janey
said.

“That’s
not
Collective,”
Tannis
replied.
“That’s
our
other
current
best
friend.
High
Priest
what’s-his-face.
Only
this
time
he’s
got
company.”

“Okay,”
Jon
murmured.
“Now,
you
can
feel
sorry
for
yourself.”

“Thank
you,”
Alex
muttered
sourly,
then
shifted
closer
until
the
monitor
was
visible.
She
recognized
the
space
cruiser
from
their
previous
attack,
but
not
the
two
ships
on
either
side.
They
were
big
and
nasty,
and
a
shiver
of
unease
ran
through
her.