The Last Detail (4 page)

“I’d step aside if I were you.”

He snickered as he pointed his own weapon at Sam. “Sure you want to—” He broke off in a horrid scream of pain when Lou hit the switch on her weapon. The man fell to the ground, his weapon clattering over the pavement as he twitched and drooled.

“Shit. I hate having to do that.”

She released Dawson for a second but kept the weapon aimed in his direction. She picked up Hendrix’s gun and put it in her extra holster, then pulled out his communicator. After slipping the communicator in her belt, she turned back to him.

With a smile that sent ice shards cutting through his blood, she said, “Now, remember what that looks like, Dawson, and maybe you’ll remember to behave.”

Chapter Three

Something sick and slimy settled in Lou’s belly and she did not like it. Something was really off about this assignment. She had seen the documents, seen that Dawson really was on the take, or so said his supervisor. But the truth of the matter was, she didn’t like coincidences.

“Who is Flores?” Sam asked as they hurried toward her transport. Her nerves were frayed and each step they took shredded them even more.

“What?”

“Flores? The one Hendrix mentioned.”

She sighed, irritated with herself. She knew her momentary lapse about Jared had caught Sam’s attention.

“He’s my boss. And no, I don’t think he sold me out.” At least she hoped not. If he did, he was a dead man. But she couldn’t see him doing it. Jared was a lot of things, and he was pretty cut throat. More than once she knew he had crossed way over the line of what was considered acceptable behavior. Still, he usually only did that when there was no other choice, and she was the exception. He had never once sold her out, even though he’d had more than one chance to do it.

“Ah, so you’re involved.”

She couldn’t stop the little hitch in her heart at the statement. Jared and her had never been sexually intimate. If there had been one man she would have allowed in her bed, it would have been Jared. Too bad he showed little-to-no interest in her in that way. He had too many bed partners at his beck and call.

With a mental shake, she pushed those thoughts aside. She said nothing to Dawson as she kept putting one foot in front of the other. The bad feeling she felt was growing with each meter they covered. Something was very wrong.

“You can let me out of the restraints.”

She didn’t respond. She kept her attention on the area around them as they skulked down the street. Damn, if this wasn’t going south and fast. She needed to get Dawson back to base camp before anyone else decided to pop up on her radar. And then she could deal with Jared.

She knew before she saw the guards around the depot that they were screwed. She turned the corner and saw enough armored men to put the fear of God in her.

“What the hell?” Dawson said as she shoved him back.

She leaned against the building and peeked around the corner. The guard’s sensors apparently hadn’t picked them up, but it wouldn’t take them long. Their chances of fighting their way in there to get her vehicle were slim to none.

“What the fuck is going on now?”

His irritated tone added another layer of agitation wrapping around her spine. She hadn’t ever had a job go this bad this fast. She had a safe house here, one that Jared knew about. Once she didn’t show up with Dawson, Jared would head to the planet and know exactly where to go.

She started back in the direction they had just come from. “Come on.”

“No.”

She turned around, her weapon aimed at him.

“Move it, Dawson.”

He shook his head. “No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

She had no fucking idea, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. That would show a weakness she couldn’t afford. Not with any man.

“It looks like there’s more to your backlog of crimes, if you ask me. For some reason, the authorities have a hard-on for catching you.”

“Give me a break. Those weren’t LEOs.”

“What do you mean? They were in uniform.”

“Packing enough firepower to take out most of this side of the planet. You know LEOs don’t have that kind of equipment. Their budgets are shot.”

Dammit, he was right. She slinked past her captive and peeked around the corner again. She saw the people standing watch and realized that Dawson was right. The ammo was definitely top of the line. Regular LEOs didn’t get much ammo and definitely not the latest gear. Irritation and embarrassment filled her. She should have noticed that right off.

“Pretty nice weaponry,” Dawson said, his breath feathering over the back of her neck. Her body responded immediately. Her breathing hitched, her nipples tightened and the yearning she had felt since she had seen him in the bar grew. She was doomed to be attracted to the wrong kind of man.

Needing some space, she elbowed him in the ribs. He stepped back with a curse.

“Back off, Dawson.”

“You know we will look less inconspicuous if I’m not shackled.”

She turned to face him again. Lou knew he was right. They would gain attention from the armor on the street if they saw her leading him along. It could be a coincidence that the bar was blown to Hades, but she didn’t believe in them. There was something definitely off about this retrieval.

“I promise to behave.”

She snorted. “How many times do idiots buy that? I don’t trust you any further than I can throw you.”

“I don’t have warm cuddly feelings for you either, but this way we can at least have a fighting chance. Or are you afraid you won’t be able to get me shackled again.”

She sighed. If they were made, he would be a sitting duck. Her one and only chance of making it back to home base and getting the credits was taking Dawson in by herself. If they were captured by LEOs or whoever the hell those uniforms were, she would lose her collar.

“Okay. On one condition.”

He smirked. She wanted to slap that smile off his face. Of course, the horrible thing was that she wanted to jump his very gorgeous bones too.

“You try anything and I will stun you. Do not think about fucking with me, or I will fuck you up.”

He nodded, a look of mock gravity etching his features. She knew he was planning something, but at this moment beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“Turn around.”

He did as ordered and she entered the code into the small keypad. He sighed and his shoulders relaxed. As he turned around, he massaged his wrists. She opened her pack and threw his shirt at him. He grabbed it one-handed and hurriedly put it on.

“Okay, let’s get going.”

“Don’t you want to know what those agents are up to?”

She shook her head. “I don’t give a damn as long as they don’t get in my way.”

“No sense of loyalty.”

The barb hit home, sunk its claws into her heart. “I hate to drag you into the real world but most people in this quadrant don’t have the luxury of loyalty. Being loyal to yourself is the only thing that matters.”

“That’s a bit cold hearted.”

“It might be. But I wasn’t selling secrets to the highest bidder.”

“I wasn’t either. I was set up.”

She offered him the coldest smile she could. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before. In fact, I hear the Bathazar Detention Center is filled with innocent men just like you.”

“Think, woman. You get here, another bounty hunter shows up, and then the bar that I meet my contacts in is blown to hell. I was set up.”

“By who?”

“I have no idea, but I will tell you that when I find out the person is dead.”

She did not doubt it from the tone of his voice. “You really think you were set up.”

He leaned forward and she held her stunner up. “Don’t do anything to make me hurt you, Dawson.”

He glanced down at the weapon then back up to her face. “I’m not dirty. You might not understand this, but I have honor. I did not sell secrets, I would never do that. And those two women who probably died at the bar were my partners. They were sold out to the highest bidder. You might not have loyalty to anyone, but I do. Now what’s your plan?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and most of the anger he had built. “I have a safe house. Or Flores does. It’s in the mountains. Only agents who work for Jared know about it.”

“A rendezvous place for you and Flores?”

She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the curious warmth that filled her chest at his jealous tone. He was the enemy. She shouldn’t be getting a school-girl crush on him, but it was hard to ignore the way he spit out the name.

“Not that it is any of your business, but no. He’s my boss, and my friend.” She pulled out her scanner and tuned up the untraceable Universal Positioning Program. She typed the address and then stuck it in her pocket. “We need to grab a transport, then we can head up.”

They rounded another corner onto yet another deserted street. It reminded her of the pictures she had seen of Chicago or New York City on Earth during the early part of the twentieth century. Gray, dingy buildings lined the dimly lit sidewalks. A cobblestone pattern made the street look as if a horse-drawn carriage would appear around the corner at any moment. It was a façade for those people who wanted to remember life in simpler times. And of course, it allowed for the less-savory types to take advantage of people lulled by mystical surroundings.

She noticed a few transports down the street and headed in that direction.

“Hey, I need my weapon back,” Dawson said.

“Likely chance.”

“I know you don’t believe me, but I know security. Slinking down the street hoping not to be found will not help.”

She sighed again. Dammit, she hated that he was right. She stopped and looked at him. “You give me any problems and I will be getting those credits with your dead carcass. Understand.”

He nodded and she pulled out the Dagger Laser that he’d had when she’d taken custody of him. Before she could start on her way, shots exploded around them. She ducked around the corner, Dawson hard on her heels. They slammed up against the wall of the building at the same time.

“Fuck. Does trouble follow you?” he said as he leaned around the corner.

“I haven’t had issues until I ran into you.”

He tossed her an angry look and stepped away from the wall. “Hey, you can let me go any time.”

“No, I want my credits.”

His face lost most expression except for coldness. He opened his mouth, apparently to blast her back to hell, but she saw a LEO behind him. The officer raised his weapon and pointed it at Dawson’s back. Without a thought, Lou used all her strength to push Dawson aside. He wasn’t ready for it, so he stumbled back out of the way. She pulled her weapon up and fired, but not before she felt a flash of heat then a sting of pain in her shoulder.

The sting of pain grew into an inferno racing over her flesh. Her world blurred, her body feeling heavy all of the sudden.

“Campbell?” Dawson asked. His voice sounded odd, as if he were far away and down a tunnel. He caught her with his hands as the world around her exploded in an array of explosions.

“Fuck,” Dawson muttered. He pulled her closer and she tried to talk, but couldn’t. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Or maybe there was a sound, but she couldn’t even figure out what it was. He lifted her, and she found herself draped over his shoulder. Nausea rose up as he jostled her.

She tried to talk again, but Dawson said, “Just shut up while I try and save your ass.”

Lou wanted to blast him, wanted to tell him to go to hell. But in that next second, her world faded to black.

Chapter Four

Sam bit back a growl as he ran down the street, his companion draped over his shoulder. For such a little woman, she weighed a ton. He blindly ran down streets, allowing the instincts that had kept him alive these past few years to lead him. The explosions and fired rounds faded as he headed out of the Business and Transportation district and into a more residential area. He spotted a transport vehicle in an alley across the street. He hurried over and pulled out the device he kept on him to decode security.

With one wave, he silently thanked the geniuses at Zenich as he heard the locks release. He opened the passenger door and settled Lou in the seat. For a brief moment, he studied her. She was pale but her breathing wasn’t labored.

It was odd seeing her this way. He had seen her seductive, bitchy and downright dangerous. Now though, she looked younger, as if she couldn’t be more than maybe twenty-five. He brushed a lose tendril of her hair away from her eyes and tried to ignore the little jolt he got by seeing her this way. When she wasn’t wearing that tough-girl façade, he could see a glimpse of the woman beneath.

He shook himself out of his stupor. He had to get them out of the area. As he pulled out on the street, a small beep sounded, followed by instructions. He found her GPS and realized she had plugged their destination coordinates in. He glanced at her one more time and smiled. He loved a woman who was always prepared.

Jared Flores slipped through security without a problem. His credentials were excellent and he figured there was a good chance that even the highest security scanners wouldn’t be able to detect his deception.

He stepped out of the depot and pulled his wide collar up against his jaw. He hated this fucking planet. The moment he had gotten the notice that Dawson was up for retrieval, Jared had known he was going to end up on some godforsaken out-realm planet. It was the only place the bastard ever worked from the file Jared read. Arcadia was one of his least favorite planets and now he was stuck on it. Of course, it was one of the reasons the safe house here worked so well. Everyone knew how much he despised the place.

Panic was still twisting in his gut. He should have never sent Lou. The moment the notice had come in there had been something off. Pictures always accompanied a call. This one had been missing that, along with a few other details. Jared had put a call out for information as soon as Lou had left, and what he’d learned had been enough to freeze his blood. Dawson wasn’t someone anyone in their right mind would want to tangle with. There wasn’t a job he wouldn’t do, as long as the money was right. Mercenary and tough. Of course, Dawson had been like that when they had been in school together. Dawson had gone by a different last name at the time, so that is why Jared hadn’t discovered it was him until after he’d dug up a hologram. From the moment he realized who Dawson was, Jared had been riding on a fine edge of terror. With Dawson’s family, there was no doubt this could turn nasty. He couldn’t believe he’d sent Lou in after Dawson. The family Dawson sprung from liked to eat their young and anyone involved with said young. Jared had become up close and personal with it very early in life and he didn’t want Lou to get hurt. Dawson wasn’t the problem, but his family was. They tended to leave people battered and bloodied.