Good. The sooner we gave him Tess’s A1 blood in exchange for the safety of the Starway 8 women, the better. Then Tess could stop worrying about them, and we could go meet the Endeavor on time—and worry about a metric ton of other things.
We rounded the corner of Bungalow 39, our hair still wet from swimming. Tess’s damp shirt clung to her, teasing me with the long, lean lines of her torso and the subtle curves of her body. I slid my hand up her spine, palming the back of her neck and lightly gripping. Her lips parted, her eyelids grew heavy, and she leaned into my hand, her shoulders softening.
I smiled. Maybe we had a few minutes.
“What do you think about a hot show—” I stopped and swiveled my head from side to side, my eyes narrowing. Silence. But I’d just heard a click.
I pushed Tess into the hollow of the doorframe and stood in front of her.
“What?” she whispered.
“A gun just cocked.” Adrenaline pumped through me as I scanned the landing pad around the cruiser. Empty. And there was nothing along the visible side of the building. Whoever was out there had either skulked around the corner or was hiding in the bushes.
“Show yourself,” I demanded, shielding Tess with my body.
The greenery to our right rustled, and Solan’s glistening bald head appeared, black as midnight. Dark glasses on and muscled body easing forward with coiled menace, he stepped out from behind a tall fern that shaded one corner of the bungalow. Moving toward the open docking area, the bounty hunter lifted his arm and pointed a Redline at me.
My lips pulled back in a snarl. That same gun had sliced a shot through Tess’s side just ten days ago.
“What the fuck, Solan? How’d you find us?” I’d searched my cruiser inside and out for tracking bugs. I’d changed all my clothes before leaving to find Tess. I’d left nearly everything I owned behind. I’d ditched my cruiser’s small portable com unit somewhere in the Outer Zones and bought a new one in the Fold to replace it. My accounts were all coded. I was thorough and careful. There was nothing to lead them here. So what the hell happened?
Solan didn’t answer. He just shook his head, his gun leveled on my chest. Keeping one eye on him, I looked around for Raquel. She’d pop up soon enough with her utility belt, tranquilizer gun, steel-tipped boots, and lightning-fast feet ready to do some damage.
Solan tilted his head in Tess’s direction, his eyes unreadable behind his reflective sunglasses. “Her megabounty’s on your head now, buddy. Come quietly, and we’ll leave her out of this.”
Raquel finally sauntered out of the bushes, her ambling gait doing fuck-all to disguise her lethal agility and hard edges. “I know you were unhappy, but seriously, Shade. This? Her? Cashing her in was the better option.”
Of course the ice queen of bounty hunting would think so. “How do you live with no heart in your chest? Are you actually a machine, or do you just act like one?”
Apparently considering that a compliment, Raquel smiled in that panther-like way of hers. She fit right into the jungle, a feline hunter at the apex of the food chain and not doubting for one second her ability to catch her dinner. I’d thought she was pretty when I first met her, a confident medium-height brunette with golden-brown eyes and a nice smile. Now, all I saw were the claws and teeth of an expert predator.
“How. Did. You. Find. Me,” I ground out.
“We chipped you,” Solan answered. “When your rebel girlfriend left you behind on the Squirrel Tree, Raquel tranqued you, and we chipped you before you woke up.”
My jaw spasmed. “Where is it?” I ran my hands up and down my forearms, even though there was no way I’d feel a tiny microchip underneath the muscle. And it could be anywhere. My legs, my back, my torso.
“As if we’d tell you.” Raquel hooked her thumbs in her belt, which was no doubt filled with illegal weapons. “Don’t give us trouble, and Little Miss Rebel of the Year can go back to being a pain in everyone’s ass and we’ll try to forget about her—as long as we get our money.”
Rage pounded through me like the punches I wanted to land in both their faces. “I’ve known you for ten years. Ten fucking years,” I growled. “Why am I even surprised you’re this mercenary?”
Solan’s mouth flattened, intractable. “That’s our deal. Take it or leave it.”
“We choose ‘leave it.’” Tess brought her arm up next to me from behind and cocked her Grayhawk, pointing it at Raquel. “Surral can find it and take it out of you,” she whispered.
I wasn’t sure we’d make it to that point. These two were vicious.
I reached for my gun, just a twitch of my fingers, and Solan took a menacing step forward.
“Don’t even think about it,” he threatened, “or you won’t make it out of this.”
“Touch him, and I shoot her,” Tess informed the bounty hunter coldly. “I don’t care about your frenemy issues or how long you’ve known each other. I care about Shade, so back the fuck off, asshole.”
“Feisty!” Raquel laughed. “I’m starting to like her.” Her eyes said otherwise. They hardened.
I had a choice. Let all of this happen, or take a risk. Raquel didn’t have a gun out yet. And would Solan really shoot me? My money was on no, even though it was his money also.
I lunged, leaving Tess partially sheltered in the doorway.
“Shade!” Her voice rang with shock.
I didn’t look back. She had a Grayhawk trained on Raquel and knew how to use it. It was unlikely Tess would aim for anything vital. Raquel could draw fast but didn’t usually shoot bullets.
Solan’s wide brow flew up in surprise. He stood his ground, his gun level. His jawline hardened. I ran. One step, two steps, three. He stood there and didn’t pull the trigger.
I crashed into him and we wrestled for the weapon. He had height and pounds on me, but I was quicker. I ducked a punch, twisted, and grabbed the top of the gun, pointing it downward as I cracked my fist into Solan’s forearm. He dropped it.
There was no time to reach for either of our weapons before he tackled me and sent us both flying. I landed hard on my side, Solan on top of me. We grappled. I kneed him. We rolled, hot pavement searing my bare arms and grit grinding into me. I came out on top after a brutal struggle and reached for his neck. His big fist drove into my face. Pain exploded across my cheekbone. The world turned upside down, spinning. Ground became sky. Solan lifted my shoulders and slammed me hard into the blacktop. My skull thudded. The breath flew from my lungs like a thunderclap.
I blinked, wheezing and seeing nothing but darkness for a second. In that sudden void, I reevaluated. We might kill each other after all. Chest-clenching disappointment bit into my rage as I ripped off his sunglasses and went for his eyes, ramming my thumbs into the sockets.