Handsome Devil (17 page)

The next few seconds are more like hours. There is nothing on my end. They would have taken the shot by now.

I slowly descend the stairs, my ballerinas barely making a sound against the steel. If my heart weren't pumping adrenaline through my system, I'd be freezing in my tank top. My skin is pebbling, but it's not from cold. It's from about a thousand other things I promised myself I wouldn't think about. But it's all there, in the back of my head, waiting to take over if I give it even the slightest chance.

I make it to where Betty is standing. There's the mini-corridor, and beyond that the corner that would lead to M'anu. “See anything?” I ask softly, not wanting to be overheard.

She shakes her head. We creep forward, careful to keep the noise to a minimum. Betty holds up a hand when we're almost there. “I'm heading in,” she mouths back to me. I nod, and around the curve she goes. A few seconds pass. I listen, waiting for the call sign. None.

“
Betty?” I call. No answer. That's not good. Not good at all.

Because now I hear the growling. It's low but thick, and I know enough about M'anu to realize it's not him being threatened, it's someone else.

My heart sinks. “
Oja bedu
?” How many?

Betty replies with a grim, “
Enay
.” Two.

Galactic Standard isn't the only language spoken in the universe.

A new, slightly more cultured voice interjects. “As fascinating at this is, why don't you step around the corner nice and easy, Agmoiria, and we'll deal with this face to face.”

Not the guy from earlier.

I don't have a choice. Betty isn't making any more noise. M'anu's growling isn't letting up, and I just know that this is the tightest jam we've been in so far. I don't know how we're going to get out of it either.

I close my eyes briefly, take a quick breath to put my courage to the sticking place, and step around the corner. Guns up, of course.

They're several feet away. The two stragglers are better dressed than I expected pirates to be. Betty is kneeling on the floor, hands behind her head. She looks beyond ticked but otherwise unhurt. The one holding a blaster to the back of her head is not old, but he isn't young either. He's gone a few rounds, meaning he's gained some experience in the business. The fact that he managed to survive this long is testament to that.

They're in front of M'anu's cell, and it seems to be the younger guy's job to keep an eye on him. I'm not surprised they didn't let him out. Most people would assume a prisoner would assist in a take over of the ship he was captured on. Nobody's dumb enough to let a Ferissian loose without all the facts, though.

I ease further out, trying to assess M'anu for myself. He's fine, but boy, that is not a side of him I hope to see again. He's practically nose to field, chin lowered, cloaked a barely leashed violence. He's not paying attention to the second guy at all, as if he's insignificant. The one keeping Betty prisoner, though, should be feeling shivers down his spine right now.

It makes sense. He wouldn't let his brother's 'girl' get hurt on his watch.

The interloper gives M'anu a nervous look, which means he's not a complete idiot, but he doesn't piss himself. Props for that. M'anu clearly wants to break off his ribs one by one.

Which means he's fine. For now. That's a relief. I didn't realize how many worst-case scenarios I had rattling around in my brain until now.

Guy says, “Put the blaster down.”

Not even going to put thought into that one. “Hell no.”

He primes the gun and presses it into Betty's crown. “Not even to save your sister?”

Her expression is mutinous. “Take the shot, babycakes.”

“
Ah, ah, ah!” the piece of shit pirate cautions. “I wouldn't do that,
babycakes
. I've got another card to play. I'm guessing from the way you're standing you've got a particular attachment to that Ferissian in there.” He jerks his head at the other guy standing with his hand on the controller. “My esteemed associate will be more than happy to shoot the fucker where he stands, should you decide not to cooperate.”

M'anu's lips peel back in a terrifying snarl. I'm ready to snarl right along with him. “You're smarter than you look,” I remark derisively. “You must not be the dumbass whose toe I shot off.”

“
Fortunately no. You've managed to promote me to captain, by the way.”

“
Congratulations. Now use your brain. You shoot Betty, you lose out on a lot of money. She's wanted for practically everything under the sun. Kill her and your pocketbook takes a hit.” If it's one thing I know, it's how much pirates love their own comfort.

“
Amazing what a little research does. I happen to know you're worth much, much more than she is.”

Dammit.
“Only on paper. The guy who wants me wants her more. If she's dead, you'll have Feruz of the House of Tipprov on your tail.”

That gives him pause. “You're lying.”

Bingo. “Are you kidding me? I thought you did your research. Surely you know who set up the bounty? Even better, that's his brother in there. So why don't you ask yourself how much you value your own life. Now compare that to thirty million. I'll wait.”

The two pirates are glancing at each other in a way that tells me they know just what Feruz is capable of. I only got to skim his file. To be honest, I'm taking a shot in the dark here. Only a hardcore bastard would think Betty is a catch. I'm banking on the fact that his rap sheet must be as long as my arm. “Walk away,” I urge. “And try not to end up like the last guy who threatened me and mine.”

The new captain shifts, eyes narrowed. “Why should I believe that you'll let us walk away?”

“
I'm more than a little sick of greedy jerkoffs such as yourselves trying to kidnap me. You leave now, you carry the tale. The ball gets rolling from there.” I glare. “Last chance. Walk...away.”

“
Or what?” the 'esteemed associate' snorts.

I smile. “Or I test out the voice command I encoded into the system about forty-five minutes ago. The one that lets me lower shields any time I want.” I indicate M'anu. “If you think one blaster is going to take him down, you're an idiot.”

Out of the corner of my eye I see M'anu bear his teeth, dark as night, his gaze promising horrors these two have never imagined.
He breathes in. His shoulders expand and seem to grow well beyond the spectrum of human comprehension. “
Release me, Agmoiria
,” he hisses. His hunter's stare is firmly fixed on the two intruders.
 

There's no visible movement from those two—I admire their balls—but there's a tangible shrinking in their bravado. They're facing something bigger, badder, and more ferocious than they could ever be and they know it. When they look at M'anu, they're staring death in the face.

A deep pride swells up in me. “That's my man in there, boys. I tend to want to make him happy. If that means letting him tear you apart for threatening me and my sister, well, I'll have to just plug my ears, won't I? The screams of the dying are not fun to listen to.”

 
M'anu stiffens even further. If agitation was a tangible thing, it would be coating his body right now. “Release me!” The hiss has grown into a bark. He's ready. He's willing. All I have to do is say the word.

I stare them down, letting them see just how serious I am. “You have to the count of five to get the hell out of here.” I raise the blaster higher. “One. Two.”

“
Jensen, we can take 'em.”

“
Are you nuts?” The captain—Jensen—cries out. “You ever heard of the Tipprovs? They're bad news.”

“
Forget the Tipprovs,” Betty snaps from her kneeling position. “You just think about what the Jenners will do to you. It was bat shit dumb luck that got you this far.”

Amen. “Three.”  I step closer, upping the tension by a few zillion degrees, and M'anu's Silverback persona is coming through the field loud and clear.

He snaps his teeth and bellows, “
Release me!
” It shakes the floor with its force. Even Betty jumps.
 

“
Four—"

“
Alright!” Jensen cuts in desperately. “We'll take the deal. We'll take it. Now will everybody just shut up?”

I smile. “You really are the smart one. Now lower the blaster.”

I can see him struggle with the decision. It goes against the grain, I know, but in the end he actually does it. He lets out a curse that raises my eyebrows. That was impressive.

The associate is a little bit slower on the draw, but he knows when he's outnumbered. The blaster is flipped back on his finger, useless for the time being.

Once Betty knows she's out of immediate danger, she lurches to her feet and socks Jensen right in the jaw. He stumbles back into his buddy's arms. “The hell?” he yells.

But she doesn't attack again. She just cracks her knuckles. “That's for embarrassing me in front of my baby sister, asshole. And
nobody
gets to call her babycakes but me. Got it?”
 

I roll my eyes. Seriously? But back to business. “Scamper back to your ship, boys. I've got one furious Ferissian on my hands, and he's about 20 seconds from ripping a hole through that tin wall with his bare claws.” He doesn't really have claws, but he's got teeth, and that's almost the same thing. “If our ship isn't operational exactly one minute after you exit, I want you to think about how many people will be ready to make your lives worse than the deepest circle of hell.”

“
And if I find a scratch on
my
ship, I'm coming after your asses myself,” Betty adds.
 

“
She would,” I confirm.

Jensen nods, eyes on Betty. “It's a piece of shit. How would you be able tell there's a new dent?”

Uh oh. “
Now
you better run. She loves that hunk of junk.”
 

They take one look at each other and then, as if they planned it, take off literally running. I mean, full out pedal to the metal running. They blow past me without pausing, dashing out of sight. Betty and I turn to follow, me tossing her a blaster as we go. We get to the hangar to see them disappear through their rabbit hole/hatch thing. Man, they are really trucking it.

I holster my blaster in the back of my jeans. “I'm checking the system.” I go to the designated area. Thirty long seconds later there's a thump and the lights flicker. My heart jumps into my throat. Shit, don't let them have fired on us.

But now, the screen comes to life. A few swipes reveal that we're clean, and everything is back to normal. I stare at the viewer, totally flabbergasted. “I can't believe that worked.” All the air swooshes out of me in a gust, leaving me shaking and weak at the knees. I have to brace my hands to keep myself from falling.

Betty flops against the wall next to me, looking like an amazed rag doll. “You lied your ass off.”

I peek out from under my arm. “You knew?”

“
I almost didn't. I mean, you've gotten a lot better at your poker face. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a voice command would be necessary when you had control from the main deck.”

See? Betty isn't just another dumb blonde. I smile sheepishly. “They bought it. That's what matters.”

“
They bought it because M'anu bought it.” There's a screeching sound in the back. “Speaking of which, you'd better go deal with him before he really
does
tear a hole in the wall.” She straightens and pulls out a small device from her pocket. A handheld scanner. Sort of like a security system for space. She's checking her ship.
 

Now that it's all over the last thing I want to do is talk to M'anu. “What are you doing?”

“
I've got a call to Feruz to put in. I'm going to tear him a new asshole, get this bounty off of your head, and then get back to my regular life of stealing and cheating. I'll be back in a few hours to help with clean up.”

And then she abandons me without a backward glance. Friggin' sisters.

Chapter Eleven

In the movies, a moment of trauma or a high stakes situation brings the main characters together.  All of their problems magically disappear in the face of adversity and their blinders are lifted. They see what's important to them.

My blinders are off. I don't like M'anu, I freakin' fell in love with him at some inconceivable point. Faced with the possibility of his dying, I just...knew. And I couldn't think about it because it would get in the way, which strangely only strengthened my conviction that this was the real deal and not some adrenaline-induced euphoria.

I know before telling him that the intruders are gone that he isn't going to be happy. He wants a piece of the action, bad. I just assume that his anger will fade when compared to the relief of seeing me uninjured. I'm wrong.

He brushes right past me as soon as the field is down, leaving me with my arms open like an idiot.

“
What the hell is your problem?” I can't believe this. I totally held my own against two big-ass pirates intent on making me a pay day and I'm getting the cold shoulder. Even if he's mad, I expected a high five or a 'good job' or even a pat on the head from a male like M'anu. Instead my nipples are getting frosted by his bad attitude.

He ignores me while his long legs eat up the corridor. I have to run to keep up with him. “Hey! What is going on with you?” This is hurting my feelings, and that makes me angry. I get why he's pissed, but I'm okay. Shouldn't that count for something?

Why am I chasing him down, trying to get the humongous lug to talk to me? I mean, I love him, but this passive aggressive shit is not cool. If he's mad, he should fight it out with me. No yelling, but airing his issues at least.

I clamp my mouth shut tight. I'm done with chasing guys
and
girls. If he wants to retreat into a sulk instead of talking, fine. I have better things to do than cajole him out of a funk. He can just keep being a huge, pretty Ferissian who doesn't know how to communicate.