Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (6 page)

Tannis’s
mixed
heritage
was
a
little
less
obvious
but
still
clear
in
her
skin—luminous
ivory
run
through
with
shimmering
iridescent
lights—and
her
yellow
reptilian
eyes.
No
one
knew
where
Tannis
came
from,
except
maybe
Rico,
and
she
never
spoke
of
her
past,
but
she
also
never
made
any
attempt
to
hide
her
genetic
modifications,
which
was
unusual
given
the
genocidal
climate
fostered
by
the
Church.

As
for
Rico,
well,
the
Church
didn’t
have
an
official
stance
on
vampires.
In
fact,
Alex
had
never
even
believed
they
existed
until
she’d
met
Rico.
It
had
been
a
shock—one
she
hadn’t
yet
fully
recovered
from.

“We
could
make
ourselves
scarce,”
Tannis
said,
gesturing
to
Daisy
and
herself.
“Janey
can
deal
with
this
High
Priest.
They
can
poke
around
a
bit,
satisfy
themselves
we
don’t
have
whatever
it
is
they
think
we
have,
and
hopefully
that
will
finish
it.”

Skylar
glanced
briefly
at
Alex.
“No.”

She
knew.

She
had
to
know.
But
how?

“No?”
Tannis
asked,
her
eyes
narrowing
so
the
pupils
were
no
more
than
black
slits.

Skylar
stood
her
ground.
“You
made
me
security
officer.
This
is
a
security
issue,
and
I
say
no
one
from
the
Church
is
coming
on
board
this
ship.”

Tannis
released
an
exaggerated
sigh.
“So
what
do
you
suggest?”

Skylar
turned
back
to
Rico.
“Get
us
out
of
here.”

He
grinned.
“You
know,
I
love
it
when
you’re
bossy.”

She
rolled
her
eyes.
“Just
go.”

Chapter
Two

After
a
few
quick
maneuvers,
including
one
that
still
had
Alex’s
pulse
thrumming,
they
left
the
cruiser
far
behind.
Alex
loosened
her
grip
on
the
arms
of
her
seat
and
breathed
again.

“Piece
of
cake,”
Rico
murmured.
“The
Church
hasn’t
a
clue
about
evasive
tactics.”

Would
that
be
the
end
of
it?

Alex
didn’t
know,
mainly
because
she
was
still
reeling
with
shock
from
the
idea
that
Hezrai
appeared
to
be
making
a
genuine
effort
to
find
her.
That
was
unexpected.
Oh,
she
was
important
in
the
Church’s
hierarchy,
and
no
doubt,
it
was
embarrassing
for
them
to
have
mislaid
her.
But
she’d
thought
they’d
keep
quiet,
and
later
she’d
be
able
to
slip
back
as
though
nothing
had
happened.

As
usual,
none of the crew
was
taking
any
notice
of
her,
so
she
stood
slowly
and
edged
out
of
the
room.
But
as
she
turned
at
the
entrance,
she
sensed
someone
watching
her.
She
was
sure
it
was
Skylar
but
kept
her
gaze
fixed
on
the
floor.
Only
when
the
door
shut
behind
her
did
she
break
into
a
run
and
head
for
her
cabin.

Once
inside,
she
activated
the
lock,
scooped
up
Mogg,
and
sank
onto
the
bed.
She
stroked
the
soft
black
fur
of
his
head.
Mogg
was
a
cat,
like
they
used
to
have
on
Earth.
Well,
sort
of.
They’d
become
friends
on
Trakis
Twelve,
and
Alex
had
smuggled
him
aboard
El
Cazador—s
he
wasn’t
sure
how
Rico
would
feel
about
animals
on
his
ship.
For
all
she
knew,
vampires
might
like
cat
blood—it
wasn’t
a
risk
Alex
was
willing
to
take, so she kept Mogg well hidden in her cabin.

The
buzzer
sounded.

Glancing
at
the
viewer
by
the
bed,
she
wasn’t
surprised
to
see
Skylar
standing
outside.
Alex
bit
her
lip,
trying
to
decide
whether
to
ignore
her,
but
she
couldn’t
stay
locked
in
here
forever.

She
had
to
face
this.
The
buzzer
came
again,
and
she
sighed.

After
tucking
Mogg
under
the
bed,
she
rose
to
her
feet
and
placed
her
palm
to
the
panel
until
the
door
opened.

When
Alex
had
first
met
Skylar,
she’d
thought
her
the
most
beautiful
woman
ever,
with
her
long
blond
hair
and
silver
tube
dress.
Now
without
the
wig
and
wearing
a
fitted
black
jump
suit
and
a
laser
pistol
strapped
to
her
waist,
she
still
looked
beautiful,
but
strong
and
tough
as
well.
She
was
everything
Alex
longed
to
be,
and
a
familiar
shaft
of
jealousy
prodded
her
in
the
gut.

“Hey,
kid,”
Skylar
said.
“You
want
to
talk
to
me
about
anything?”

For
a
brief
moment,
she
thought
maybe
Skylar
didn’t
know,
hadn’t
seen
beneath
her
disguise.
But
the
hope
faded
quickly
under
Skylar’s
pointed
gaze.

“Well?”
Skylar
prompted.

Alex
stepped
aside
and
allowed
her
to
enter,
but
Skylar
stood
just
inside
the
room
and
glanced
around
the
small
space.
“Shit,
this
place
is
a
mess.”

The
room
was
a
little
untidy;
Alex
usually
didn’t
notice.
She
loved
her
cabin
the
way
it
was—she’d
never
had
her
own
private
space
before.
Back
at
the
Abbey,
privacy
had
been
an
unknown
concept.
She’d
had
people
to
pick
up
after
her,
to
clean
her
room,
bring
her
food—her
every
need
catered
to.
Everything
kept
perfect.
It
had
driven
her
mad.
Now
she
preferred
a
little
chaos.

Shoving
her
hands
in
her
pockets,
she
stuck
out
her
lower
lip
in
her
favorite
“cabin
boy”
expression.
“I
like
it
like
this.”

Skylar
shrugged
and
opened
her
mouth
to
speak,
but
Mogg
took
that
moment
to
stroll
out
from
under
the
bed.

“Hey,
you’ve
got
a
cat.”
Skylar
stretched
out
a
hand.
Mogg
hissed
and
leaped
lightly
onto
the
bed,
where
he
sat
watching
them,
his
tail
twitching.

Skylar
cleared
the
clothes
off
the
single
chair
and
sat.
“Come
on,
Al.
Talk
to
me.”

Alex
sighed
and
sank
down
onto
the
bed,
stroking
Mogg
as
she
thought
of
what
to
say.
“How
did
you
know?”

“I
knew
you
were
a
girl
almost
from
the
moment
we
met.
I
think
you’ve
only
fooled
the
others
because
you’ve
perfected
the
art
of
being
invisible.”

She
thought
about
what
Skylar
had
said
and
a
faint
glimmer
of
hope
awoke
inside
her.
“So
you
don’t
actually
know
who
I
am.”