Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (4 page)

When
she
reached
the
bridge,
the
rest
of
the
crew
was
already
there.
Only
the
Trog
was
missing,
but
then
he
never
left
his
engine
rooms
unless
the
captain
gave
him
a
direct
order.
No
one
paid
Alex
any
attention
as
she
edged
into
the
room.

As
usual,
Janey
was
busy
on
her
console,
tapping
away
with
her
perfectly
manicured
fingernails,
ignoring
the
rest
of
the
crew.
Daisy
sat
in
the
copilot’s
seat,
watching
the
others
and
twirling
a
strand
of
long
green
hair
that
had
come
free
of
her
ponytail.

Rico’s
long,
lean,
black-clad
figure
lounged
in
the
pilot’s
chair.
Skylar
stood
beside
him,
matching
in
her
black
jumpsuit
and
knee-high
boots.
One
hand
rested
possessively
on
Rico’s
shoulder,
the
deep
purple
ring
he
had
given
her
sparkling
on
her
finger.
They
scanned
the
monitors
while
Tannis,
the
captain,
paced
the
floor,
her
hands
jammed
in
the
pockets
of
her
tight
black
pants.

“Great,
just
great,”
Tannis
muttered,
not
quite
under
her
breath.

Rico
rolled
his
eyes.
“Get
over
it.”

Tannis
scowled
and
jabbed
a
finger
at
Skylar.
“You
do
know
this
is
all
your
fault,
don’t
you?”

“Yes,”
Skylar
snapped.
“And
you
know
how
I
know?
Because
you
already
told
me.
Lots
of
times.”

They
glared
at
each
other;
both
were
tall
women
and
they
stood
eye
to
eye.
A
quick
stab
of
jealousy
poked
at
Alex,
and
she
tried
to
stretch
a
little
taller.
Not
that
it
would
do
much
good.

“Well,
do
something
about
it,”
Tannis
growled.

“Like
what?”

“Like
do
that
mind-reading
thing
with
your
Collective
friends
and
persuade
them
to
hold
off
blowing
us
into
pieces.”

“I
have.”

“And?”

“And
whoever
that
ship
is
out
there”—Skylar
waved
a
hand
at
the
monitor—“they’re
not
Collective.”

Rico
swiveled
around
in
his
chair.
“What?
Are
you
sure?”

“Believe
me,
if
it
was
Collective,
I’d
know.”

Alex
believed
her.
Although
they
hadn’t
known
it
until
earlier
that
day,
Skylar
was
a
member
of
the
Collective.

Five
hundred
years
ago,
Meridian,
a
rare
radioactive
element,
had
been
discovered
on
Trakis
Seven.
Meridian
had
the
ability
to
bestow
immortality
on
those
lucky
enough
to
afford
its
exorbitantly
high
price,
and
a
new
class
had
evolved—the
Collective.
Ultra-rich
and
powerful,
they
now
controlled
most
of
the
civilized
universe.

That
Skylar
was
one
of
them
still
filled
Alex
with
awe.

Tannis
frowned.
“If
it’s
not
the
Collective,
who
the
hell
is
it?”

“I
have
no
clue.”
Skylar
smiled
sweetly.
“But
hey,
you
know
what?
It’s
just
possible
that
everything
is
not
my
fault,
after
all.
It’s
possible
that
maybe
you’ve
managed
to
piss
off
quite
a
few
people
all
on
your
own.”

Tannis
pursed
her
lips
but
didn’t
answer.
“Rico,
you
got
any
ideas?”

Rico
grinned,
revealing
the
tips
of
his
sharp
white
fangs.
“Could
be
one
of
thousands.”

“Well,
they
seem
to
have
gone
quiet.
Have
we
lost
them?”

“No.
There
they
are.”
Rico
swung
his
chair
back
around
and
pointed
at
the
monitor.
Alex
inched
closer
to
peer
around
Skylar.
The
screen
showed
a
ship,
getting
bigger
by
the
second
as
it
closed
the
distance
between
them.

“And
it
looks
like
they’re
coming
back
for
another
go
at
us.
Hold
on,
everyone.”
Rico
grabbed
Skylar
and
pulled
her
onto
his
knee.
“If
we’re
going
to
die,
we
might
as
well
die
happy.”

Alex
spotted
an
empty
seat,
threw
herself
into
it,
and
fastened
the
harness.
Adrenaline
surged
through
her
bloodstream
as
she
waited
for
the
shot
to
hit
them.
They
might
all
be
going
to
die
in
a
few
seconds,
and
she
had
never
felt
so
alive
in
her
entire
life.

The
ship
rocked
as
the
blast
struck
El
Cazador
’s
stern.
For
a
few
seconds,
the
lights
flashed,
and
Alex’s
small
hands
gripped
the
armrests
tightly,
her
muscles
locked
solid.
Then
the
ship
righted
herself,
the
lights
returned
to
normal,
and
Alex
released
her
breath.

“Any
damage?”
Tannis
asked.

“None.”
Rico
studied
the
console
in
front
of
him.
“At
a
guess,
they’re
warning
shots…so
far.”

“Yeah—but
warning
us
of
what?”

“They’re
trying
to
comm
us,”
Janey
said.
“You
want
to
hear
what
they
have
to
say?”

Tannis
shrugged.
“Why
not?”

“Just
a
moment—I’ll
put
it
on
speaker.”

“This
is
High
Priest
Hezrai
Fischer.”

As
the
familiar
voice
boomed
around
the
bridge,
Alex
jumped
and
the
breath
caught
in
her
throat.
She
would
have
fallen
out
of
her
chair
if
she
hadn’t
been
strapped
in.
After
the
initial
shock,
she
froze
in
her
seat
and
peeked
surreptitiously
around,
sure
everyone
must
be
able
to
see
her
guilty
secret.
No
one
was
paying
her
the
slightest
attention,
and
she
forced
her
muscles
to
relax.
Maybe
it
had
nothing
to
do
with
her.
Maybe
it
was
a
huge
coincidence.
She
chewed
on
a
fingernail.