Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (8 page)
Read Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) Online
Authors: Nina Croft
Tags: #blood hunter, #nina croft, #break out, #deadly pursuit, #space opera, #sci-fi romance, #science fiction romance, #vampires, #werewolves, #aliens, #space
“Rico?”
A
small
smile
curved
Skylar’s
lips,
and
she
stroked
the
purple
stone
on
her
finger.
“He
won’t
be
a
problem.”
Alex
knew
Rico
had
given
Skylar
the
ring.
They
thought
they
were
in
love.
Well,
as
much
in
love
as
a
vampire
and
a
member
of
the
Collective
could
be.
Alex
could
see
the
attraction—sort
of.
Rico
was
gorgeous,
with
his
long,
lean
body
and
midnight
dark
hair,
but
he
was
also
a
blood-sucking
monster.
Still,
Alex
wasn’t
sure
she
believed
in
love.
She’d
seen
no
evidence
of
its
existence
during
her
short
life.
Her
own
family
had
sold
her
to
the
Church
for
a
measly
thousand
credits,
and
while
the
Church
preached
incessantly
about
love,
the
inner
council
was
actually
riddled
with
political
intrigue
and
petty
power
squabbles.
No,
she
didn’t
believe
in
love.
But
she
was
glad
Skylar
did
if
it
meant
Alex
could
stay
on
El
Cazador
.
And
it
would
be
good
to
stop
acting
for
a
while.
Her
mind
flashed
back
to
Jon.
Maybe
he’d
like
her
if
she
appeared
more
womanly.
She
could
stop
wrapping
up
her
breasts,
which
was
becoming
increasingly
irksome.
And
maybe
Janey
would
help
her.
Janey
knew
how
to
dress
and
wear
makeup…
“What’s
going
through
your
mind?”
Alex
jumped
a
little
at
Skylar’s
question
and
gave
a
casual
shrug.
“Nothing.”
“Hmm.
So
will
you
tell
them?”
“I
suppose
so.”
She
took
a
deep
breath.
“When?”
“What’s
wrong
with
now?”
Alex
could
have
given
her
a
load
of
reasons
why
now
was
not
a
good
time.
Why
she
needed
about
a
year
to
prepare
herself
for
the
confrontation.
Instead,
she
shoved
her
hands
in
her
pockets.
“Let’s
go.”
Rico
and
the
captain
were
still
on
the
bridge
when
they
got
back.
Alex’s
stomach
churned
with
nausea.
What
if
Skylar
was
wrong?
What
if
the
captain
hated
her
for
lying
to
them?
For
bringing
the
Church
after
them?
She
might
even
throw
Alex
out
the
airlock.
Tannis
raised
an
eyebrow
in
query.
“What
is
it?”
“Al
has
something
to
tell
you
both.”
Rico
rose
smoothly
to
his
feet.
The vampire had never once touched her, but all the same he made her skin crawl with fear. He
reminded
Alex
of
some
sleek
predator
when
he
moved,
and
she
had
to
keep
her
feet
glued
to
the
floor
to
stop
herself
retreating.
She
watched,
fascinated,
as
he
came
to
a
halt
in
front
of
them
and
leaned
in
close
to
Skylar.
“Can’t
it
wait?”
he
murmured.
“The
ship’s
on
autopilot,
Daisy’s
got
the
next
watch,
and
I
had
plans
for
this
evening.”
He
kissed
Skylar’s
neck.
“Interesting
plans.”
Alex
shivered
at
the
dark
promise
in
his
voice—glad
it
wasn’t
aimed
at
her.
Skylar
stepped
away.
“Later.
First…”
Turning
around,
she
gestured
to
Alex.
“Al?”
Alex
shuffled
her
feet
and
cleared
her
throat
as
three
sets
of
eyes
focused
on
her.
She
opened
her
mouth
to
speak
when
everyone’s
gaze
swung
away
to
stare
over
her
left
shoulder.
“Shit,”
a
deep,
gravelly
voice
said from behind her.
“I
thought
I
could
smell
something
rotten
on
this
ship.
And
here
it
is.”
“Holy
crap,”
Tannis
said.
“If
it
isn’t
‘little’
Jonny
come
to
visit.”
A
low
rumble
vibrated
the
air.
Alex
realized
the
sound
was
coming
from
Rico,
and
a
primeval
terror
stirred
deep
inside
her.
This
was
what
she
had
feared
all
along.
Darkness
glittered
in
the
vampire’s
eyes,
and
his
lips
curled
back
to
reveal
razor-sharp
white
fangs.
Tension
spiraled
until
it
was
a
tangible
force,
and
Alex
was
sure
it
would
snap.
Skylar
reached
out
a
hand
and
rested
it
on
Rico’s
arm.
For
a
moment,
it
made
no
difference,
and
then
the
tension
drained
from
him.
His
muscles
relaxed,
and
a
lazy
smile
replaced
the
snarl.
“Christ,”
he
drawled.
“Who
let
the
fucking
dog
on
board?”
Alex
turned
slowly.
Jon
lounged
in
the
open
doorway,
arms
folded
across
his
chest.
He
wore
the
black
pants
and
shirt
she
had
given
him.
The
shirt
was
open.
From
the
look
of
it,
it
wasn’t
a
fashion
statement,
he
was
just
too
broad
across
the
shoulders
for
the
sides
to
meet.
The
opening
revealed
a
vast
expanse
of
golden
skin
over
the
smooth
swell
of
muscle,
and
a
slow-burning
heat
started
in
the
pit
of
her
stomach.
She
forced
herself
to
look
away.
Rico
was
dressed
identically,
but
his
clothes
fit,
which
wasn’t
surprising
as
both
sets
belonged
to
him.
He
was
a
sleek
black
jungle
cat
to
Jon’s
powerful
predator.
Tannis
frowned.
“Dog?”
“He’s
a
goddamn
stinking
werewolf,”
Rico
said.
“And
he’s
wearing
my
clothes.”
“A
werewolf?
No
freaking
way.”
Tannis
looked
from
Rico
to
Jon
and
back
again.
“Really?
Do
they
actually
exist?”
“Yeah,
they
exist.”
Rico
raised
his
head
and
sniffed
the
air.
“Can’t
you
smell
him?”
Alex
breathed
in
deeply
but
could
detect
nothing
untoward,
just
a
faint
musky
scent
that
was
far
from
unpleasant.
Jon
didn’t
appear
in
the
least
perturbed
by
the
accusation
though,
nor
was
he
denying
it.
Could
he
really
be
a
werewolf?
Did
they
even
exist?
Of
course,
she
hadn’t
believed
vampires
existed
before
she
met
Rico.
Why
not
werewolves
as
well?
Jon
pushed
himself
upright
from
where
he
leaned
against
the
doorway
and
stepped
into
the
room.
The
bridge
was
suddenly
smaller.
He
exuded
an
almost
palpable
sense
of
danger,
and
Alex
couldn’t
take
her
eyes
off
him
as
he
strolled
across
the
bridge
and
halted
only
a
foot
away
from
Rico.
They
stared
at
each
other
for
long
moments
while
Alex
held
her
breath.
They
were
pretty
much
the
same
height,
though
Jon
was
broader,
bulkier.
Alex
had
never
seen
Rico
fight,
but
she
had
heard
Tannis
talk
about
it
in
almost
reverent
tones.
And
Jon
was
bound
to
be
still
weak
from
the
cryo.
What
if
he
got
hurt?
The
vampire
might
even
kill
him.
She
inched
closer
to
Skylar.
Skylar
would
be
able
to
stop
this.
“Get
back,”
Rico
snarled.
For
a
moment,
Alex
thought
he
was
speaking
to
Jon,
but
it
was
the
rest
of
them
he
was
referring
to.
Shaking
off
Skylar’s
hand,
he
took
a
step
forward.
“Rico—”
“Sweetheart—me
and
the
dog
have
a
couple
of
things
to
sort
out
between
us.
Like
why
the
hell’s
he
wearing
my
clothes?
So
why
don’t
you
sit
down,
and
I’ll
be
with
you
in
a
moment.”
Skylar’s
eyes
narrowed,
then
she
shrugged.
“Beat
the
shit
out
of
each
other
if
you
want
to.
But
he’s
bigger
than
you,
darling.”
Rico
grinned,
flashing
his
fangs.
“Yeah,
but
I
have
bigger
teeth.”
Skylar
glanced
across
at
Jon.
“I
wouldn’t
bet
on
it.”
She
stepped
back.
“Come
on,
Al.
Let’s
give
the…
men
some
room.”
