No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) (26 page)

“I knew your father gave you the codes. Thought if I kept you around long enough you’d let the location slip.”
Wanted to make you suffer.
“I could use them to learn their programming safeguards. Still hack in.”

“But if I put two and two together and realized you were the man from Zeten I’d scammed, I might put Gar on the path to realizing you butchered his family.” Faolan’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “You bastard.”
He needs to pay.

It took Gar a second to realize the last voice in his head wasn’t Jason, but Faolan. It didn’t give him enough time to react. Faolan shoved him hard to the side as Jason fired the blaster. The beam exploded on the floor in the space where he’d been moments ago. Gar managed to roll away, avoiding the second blast, and pulled his guns from his holsters.

“Faolan!”

Jason twisted his gun around, shot going wide as Faolan swung his sword in a wide arc. The blast bounced off the wall, to be absorbed by the chair in the far corner. It would only be a matter of seconds before the room was flooded with bounty hunters, set on killing them. Gar grabbed the control pad from his pocket and pressed the jammer he’d set before leaving the ship. The room locked down—doors and escape panels frozen shut. No one was getting in or out of the room.

Keep him safe.

Spinning around, Gar looked in time to see Faolan lunge for Jason. “Faolan, no!” His blade connected with the wrist strap controlling the shield. The resulting explosion threw Faolan across the room and blinded Gar.

Jason’s panicked screams howled through Gar’s mind for a terrifying moment before blinking to nothingness. Gar pressed his hands to his temples, blinking madly against the pain.

“Jason?”

He was dead.

Scrambling, but failing to get to his feet, Gar crawled across the floor to where Faolan’s body lay unmoving. Pounding on the door from the hall told him the halls would be flooded with hunters, intent on cutting them to shreds. It didn’t matter. Not if Faolan was hurt. Gar had to help him, somehow save him from this mess.

Gar’s hands connected with wetness as he rolled Faolan onto his back. Blood oozed from a cut on his cheek and a large bruise was already forming on his forehead. Blinking back the sudden rush of tears, Gar wiped the blood away as best he could with his hand shaking. He couldn’t lose Faolan. Not yet.

“Faolan? Come on, you bastard, open your eyes.” Leaning forward, Gar kissed his cheek and felt for the soft in-out of breath. “Don’t do this to me.”

Scared.
“Ouch,” Faolan whispered so softly, Gar almost didn’t hear him.

“I’m here. You’re okay.”

Hurts.

“I know it does. I’m going to get you out of here.”

Go.

“Will you shut the hell up and open your eyes. Now, Wolf. Faolan!”

It must have been enough to reach through the concussed fog of Faolan’s brain. His eyes were hazy and couldn’t stay focused on Gar for long, but he figured it was better than nothing. “Can you stand?”

No.
“Yes.”

Ignoring his doubt, Gar hauled Faolan to his feet, waiting long enough for him to steady. “We have one shot of getting out of here. Jason always builds in a hidden passage in the event he gets raided. There are only a few of us who know about it and most of them are off planet at the moment.”

“Weapons?”

Gar pulled the stunner from his pocket. “I have this and my blaster. Blades are out of the question given your current state.”

“Better move.” Faolan swayed heavily on Gar. “Leave me if you have to.”

“Will you shut up? On our way we’re making a pit stop.”

Faolan looked up at him and blinked. Smiling, Gar looped his arm under Faolan’s and led him to the wall. “If Jason was the one who poisoned you, then I bet there is something to cure it in the med bay.”

“No time.”

“It’s on our way. Now move, Wolf, before I’m tempted to collect the bounty on your ass.”

The passageway was thankfully clear as they moved inside. Without knowing who was present at the base, this would either be an extremely easy exit or immediate death. It took longer than he would have liked with Faolan’s condition, but they eventually made it to the secret door in the med bay. Two hunters and one doctor were present, each with weapons facing the main door.

They never heard the panel slide open or saw the stunner as Gar tossed it into the room. The blinding light and high-pitched blast knocked the three to the ground.

Gar propped Faolan against the wall. “Stay here.”

“Like I could go anywhere.”

Each second he took to look was a moment less they would have to get out in one piece. Tearing apart the cabinet, Gar growled in frustration when he realized he didn’t have a clue what he was looking for.

“What did Jason poison you with?”

“Look for
Ryana
serum.”

Nothing. “What else?”

Pointless. Let me die.
“It doesn’t—”

“What…else!”

“I don’t know!”

With no more time to lose, Gar grabbed fistfuls of vials and stuffed his pockets to capacity. “I’ve grabbed what I can. Pray there’s something in there Doc can find useful. Let’s go.”

Gar half dragged Faolan to the emergency escape hatch, pausing long enough to use his code to trigger the alarms for the building. “That will be heard from the street and will release all the locks. Should cause enough of a distraction to get us out.”

“Can’t run fast.” Faolan’s words slurred as he spoke. “You go—”

“Old conversation, already dealt with. Move, Wolf.”

It took all Gar’s strength to push Faolan out the small escape door and into the throng of people milling around the Guild. Weak fingers gripped his biceps as they moved, Faolan barely able to maintain his hold. Gar looped an arm securely around Faolan’s waist and pulled him tight against his side.

“You’re not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you behind and there is no way in hell you’re dying. Do you understand me? So keep moving those feet of yours.”

Love you.

The thought flashed through his mind so fast, Gar wasn’t sure he’d heard it.
Gods, not him too. He couldn’t lose Faolan and be left all alone.
There was no time for an interrogation, so he kept pulling forward until they reached the edge of the city.

“See, Wolf. No one chasing us and we’re clear of the city. Just a bit farther to the ship.”

“Slave driver,” Faolan muttered, holding on a bit tighter.

“Don’t forget it.”

They didn’t stop until they reached the tree line. Faolan threw his body against the first secluded trunk he could reach, bracing his back against the thick wood. Gar took in the other man’s pale complexion, not at all liking the way his body shook or the glassy look of Faolan’s eyes.

“I think you have a concussion.”

“Nearly got my head blown off, so it’s not—”

Faolan’s sentence died in his mouth as his eyes grew wide, fixed on a point behind Gar. He didn’t need to turn around to know they’d been followed by another bounty hunter. He could hear the blaster engage as it was powered to full.

“Turn around.” The voice was familiar.

Gar held his hands up and moved so he now blocked Faolan with his body. “Byron.”

The only hunter Gar even remotely considered close to a friend stood before him with a blaster pointed directly at Gar’s chest. There was no way he’d be able to pull his own weapon up to get a shot off before Byron killed him and Faolan was in no shape to defend anyone.

“When the word came out Jason put a bounty on your head, I couldn’t believe it. Then I saw you and that one leaving the Guild and I knew something was up.”

Get out of here, Gar. He’ll take me and leave if you offer.

He had one chance to play this right. Keeping as still as possible, Gar ignored Faolan.

“Jason’s dead. He killed my parents years ago, thought I’d find out the truth from Faolan here.”

Byron frowned. “Faolan?”

Shit. First rule of the Guild—don’t get too close to your mark. “Yes, Faolan. He’s…we’re friends.”

“You know better than that, Stitt.” His tone was harsh, but Byron eased up on this blaster.

“I know…I really don’t care. Faolan has shown me more…just let us go. Please.”

Faolan’s soft gasp, followed by the gentle hand on Gar’s shoulder told him the sentiment wasn’t lost. Byron’s gaze drifted from Gar’s face to the contact between them.

Byron shook his head and replaced his blaster in his holster. “I’ll be dammed. The iceman thawed.”

Gar stiffened, but Faolan tugged on him. “The nice man is letting us escape. Time to go.”

The realization nearly passed him by until Faolan’s gentle—
take me home
—brushed across his mind. Gar reached up to cover Faolan’s hand, nodding to Byron. “Thank you.”

“Don’t come back to the Guild. If Jason is gone, then someone will need to take over.”

“Can’t think of a better man for the job. Thanks, Byron.”

“Go.”

This time it was Faolan who held him as they made their way back to the ship.

Chapter Seventeen

Faolan wasn’t ready to admit he’d grown to care for the man standing in front of him—especially since the man in question was being a complete ass at the moment.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Gar’s eyes had grown impossibly wide. He hadn’t let go of some part of Faolan’s body since arriving back on the
Belle Kurve
, but anything resembling a conversation had been less than forthcoming. “I mean those could be anything. The chances I’d actually grab something useful…”

Doc was shocked at the meds Gar had thrown onto the exam table beside Faolan and the hurried explanation as to why they were important. Faolan hadn’t been coherent enough at the time to appreciate exactly what his lover had grabbed before hauling his ass out of the Guild or the significance of what he’d said to Doc.

His secret was out.

“Mr. Stitt, if you’re going to refuse to listen to me, then you can get the hell out of my med bay. Do I make myself clear? I’ve helped with the concussion, now let me do the rest of my job.”

Faolan knew he should be reacting with joy, or at the very least crack a smile at the prospect, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.

Gar had, completely at random, grabbed three vials of a drug used to treat his poisoning. Not a cure, but close enough.

Doc hadn’t been pleased when Gar spilled the facts of Faolan’s condition to her. She’d yelled at Faolan for a solid ten minutes as to why he hadn’t told her the second he’d become ill before pulling him into a crushing hug and running a full bio scan. He knew the young man heard every curse floating through his head—he had yet to take the stone off.

“With this I can squeeze another good five to ten years for you.”

Five to ten years—it was more than he’d expected. Swallowing, Faolan tried to keep his head clear of any thoughts as he let the new information sink in. “As long as the bounty hunters don’t get me first.”

Doc chuckled. “Well, no one claimed piracy against the Loyalists garnered a long life. It’s better than the three months you had.”

Gar sucked in a breath as a jolt hit Faolan’s body. “So little?”

“The meds you took masked the symptoms, but did very little to stall the poison. You’re lucky to be alive at all.”

He should be dead—the realization scared the shit out of him.

“Doc, would you mind administering a dose now?” Gar asked after a moment of silence, his hand sliding along the back of Faolan’s neck. “I’ll take him to his quarters after that and force him to rest.”

Faolan saw the silent look traded between his lover and doctor. Instead of ignoring it, he slid off the bed and crossed his arms. “Doc, shoot me up with that stuff and let me get back to my quarters. Stitt and I need to talk.”

Smirk on her face, Doc nodded as she prepared the injection. “Who am I to stand in the way of a couple’s spat?”

“We’re not a couple,” Faolan said at the same time as Gar.

Doc tried to hide her smile, to no avail. “Of course not. Now don’t move, Captain. This is going to sting.”

The serum didn’t sting—it burned, twisting through his circulatory system. Faolan cried out, his legs weakening as the poison fought against its attacker. Before he fell to the floor, Gar’s strong arms caught him and held him up.

“Shit. Get him on the bed, Stitt.”

“No.” Faolan pushed Doc away. “My quarters.”

“Are you an idiot? This was way further advanced than I realized. You’re not going anywhere without medical supervision.” Doc shoved a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “No arguing.”

Gods, I don’t want anyone to see me like this.
“Last time I checked, Doc, I was still captain of this ship.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Gar’s deep voice cut through the tension. “If there’s a problem I’ll let you know.”