Death Defying (Dark Desires) (7 page)

“Will you get on with it?” Tannis ground out.

Daisy pursed her lips but continued. “Well, Rico told him no. That you’d said none of us were to leave the ship. There was a bit of an argument. You know, I really don’t think Callum is good at taking orders. He seemed to back down and stalked off in a sulk. Next thing we know, he’s pinched a speeder and set out on his own.” She giggled. “Rico wasn’t happy. In fact, he was livid. He took Jon and they set off after Callum, but that was an hour ago.”

“Have they called in?”

“No. But I’m sure they’ll be all right. They’ll catch up with Callum. Rico might punch him again—or Jon might—I don’t think Jon likes him very much—then they’ll bring him back.”

Tannis tried to ignore the worry gnawing at her insides. Janey was right; chances were they would all get home without any problems. But bloody Callum was hardly likely to blend into the crowd with those wings. “Try and get hold of them. If you can, stop them before they get into the city. There are pictures of Callum blazoned over every building in Pleasure City.”

She paced the bridge and choked back the urge to rant. Why the hell couldn’t he have stayed put? And what the hell did he want in Pleasure City?

Stupid question.

He’d been trying to get it on with her since he’d come on board. No doubt, when he’d failed, he’d decided to go somewhere he could guarantee a more certain result. There were more pleasure providers on Trakis Two than the rest of the known universe put together. The idea of Callum screwing one of them filled her with rage.

She tried to tell herself that her anger was because she’d ordered him not to leave, but she knew there was more to it than that. The thought of him with another woman made her blood boil. Maybe she didn’t want him, but that didn’t mean anyone else was going to get him.

“Wait,” Janey said. “It looks like they’re back. They’re pulling up outside right now.”

Tannis hurried from the bridge and down to the docking bay. Through the open double doors, she could see Jon and Callum exiting the speeder. They both appeared okay, and some of the tension left her. Though she was still going to give him a bollocking.

She waited until they had entered the docking bay then strode up to stand in front of Callum, hands on her hips. His expression was closed, but irritation flickered in his eyes as he looked at her.

“Just which part of ‘do not leave the ship’ did you not understand?”

Callum shrugged. “I wanted to see the city. I—”

“Wanted to get himself a blowjob more like,” Jon interrupted.

Callum ignored the comment. “I was going to keep a low profile. If these assholes hadn’t come along, I’d have been in and out without anyone noticing.”

“You had half the bloody city on your tail by the time we caught up with you.”

Callum opened his mouth, closed it, hugged his cloak tighter around himself, and stalked away. Tannis watched until he’d disappeared then turned to Jon.

“Where’s Rico?”

“They got him.”

“Who got him?”

“One of the many groups who decided to go for that reward. Rico covered us while we got away, but I’m pretty sure he was overpowered.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, that about covers it. I was just bringing His Leadership back, and then I’m heading out there. We’ll find him.”

“I’m coming with you,” Skylar said from behind them.

Tannis turned to see Skylar and Alex loitering in the open doorway.

“The three of us will go,” Tannis said. “Alex, you stay here, get yourself a blaster, point it at His Majesty, and make sure he doesn’t even breathe without permission.”

“Will do.”

“You two, come with me.”

They took the speeder into Pleasure City. She wasn’t too concerned. Rico hadn’t lasted this long without being able to look after himself, but something or someone must have stopped him from returning to the ship. He had an unfortunate habit of pissing people off—especially if he didn’t like them.

Tannis drove, Jon giving her directions, and soon they were into the clamor of the city. Her hands gripped the controls as she willed the vehicles in front to shift faster. After five minutes stuck unmoving in the traffic, she pulled the speeder into a parking space. The atmosphere hit her as soon as she climbed down. Music spilled out from the bars that edged the street, clashing with the sound of speeders and the raucous cries of the street vendors. The stench of fumes hung heavy on the air, mixed with the nauseating scent of every sort of food available to man.

“Look at that,” Skylar said.

Tannis was looking. The whole side of a building was taken up by an enormous picture of Callum. It must have been taken as he did his flying stunt on Trakis Five because it showed him with black wings outspread. Then his picture vanished and was replaced by a collage of the crew of
El Cazador.
Rico, Tannis, Jon, Skylar, Alex. Why did she suddenly have the overwhelming feeling that everyone was staring at her? Maybe because they were.

“Hey, I always wanted to be famous,” she muttered.

“Come on,” Jon said. “Let’s keep moving.” His hand rested lightly on the laser pistol strapped to his thigh. Skylar also looked ready to draw, and it occurred to Tannis that coming into the city might not have been a good move, but then she hadn’t realized there were pictures of them as well as Callum.

“Shit. So how do we find Rico?”

“I was thinking of going to the spot we last saw him and following the trail of bodies. This way.”

“Sounds like a plan.” It sounded like a shit plan actually, but there wasn’t a lot of choice. Rico still hadn’t answered his comm unit.

Jon led them down the main thoroughfare of the city. Bright, flashing lights and loud music bombarded them from every side. “Down there,” he said, waving at one of the many side streets.

A knot of people had formed at the end of the alley, milling around what looked to be two dead bodies. When they got closer, she saw one of them had been decapitated, his head sliced cleanly from his body. It lay about a foot away, the eyes open and distinctly surprised.

“Looks like Rico’s been here.”

Rico had a sword, and he liked to use it.

The group were looking their way now and muttering among themselves. Tannis glanced over her shoulder and realized more people had entered the alley behind them, effectively cutting them off. “Shit. Anyone got any ideas.”

“Shoot our way out before any more of them get here.”

“Too late.”

A whole speeder full of them had arrived dressed in the uniform of Pleasure City’s militia. They’d parked their vehicle across the entrance to the alley and jumped out. Their attention was on the dead bodies right now, but who knew how long that would last.

Not long at all.

One man separated from the crowd and took a step toward them. He looked from her to Skylar to Jon, recognition dawning on his heavy features.

“Hey, it’s them,” he shouted. “The ones that kidnapped Callum Meridian.”

Chapter Five

“Great, just great,” Tannis growled. Everyone had turned their way now, including the local militia. Their pistols were still holstered, but it looked as if that was about to change. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Good idea,” Skylar said.

They all drew their weapons and Tannis searched for the best target. The militia looked a good bet, as they blocked the entrance to the alley, but they also appeared the best armed.

“Let’s do this.”

She flicked her laser to stun—no point annoying the local force more than necessary—and aimed at the leader of the small group. Then she spun around and shot the fat man still pointing a pudgy finger at them. He went down with a squeal of pain and chaos erupted. The militia returned fire. Tannis deflected the shots with ease, but they weren’t making any headway, and things could only get worse if reinforcements arrived. Why hadn’t she thought to bring a blaster or a few stun grenades?

A second speeder had stopped at the end of the alley and disgorged its crew. For the first time, it occurred to her that they were in real trouble, that they might not manage to fight their way out of this. Maybe they should give themselves up. Callum could explain they hadn’t really kidnapped him, and they intended to return him…eventually.

At the thought of Callum, her temper rose. This was his fault. Arrogant bastard. If she got out of this, she was going back there and she was going to—

One shot got through, singeing the skin of her arm, and she swore loudly. “Crap, that hurts.”

It looked like these guys weren’t going to give them a chance to explain anything. They meant business, and their weapons weren’t set to stun. The stench of burning flesh filled her nostrils. Her burning flesh.

“Any ideas?” she yelled over the noise of the laser blasts.

When she got no answer, she glanced sideways. Legs braced, Jon fired off continuous shots, his eyes gleaming with excitement. She shook her head. Next time she took on a new crewmember, she was going to get someone nice and levelheaded. Skylar was no better, though at least she looked her way when Tannis yelled again.

“I’ll stay,” Skylar shouted. “Hold them off while you two get away.”

Tannis didn’t like that idea. She didn’t leave anyone behind.

“You know it makes sense,” Skylar continued. “They can’t kill me. You can work out how to get me out later. Callum will do something.”

It did make sense, but Tannis still didn’t like it.

A huge scarlet-and-black speeder hurtled down the center of street. It collided with the speeder still disgorging its crew, and men flew in all directions. The shooting eased as the militia turned to look.

The new vehicle had stopped momentarily, but now turned and headed down the alley, straight for them. They leaped out of the way, only just escaping. The speeder pulled up beside Tannis and the door was flung open from the inside.

“Come with me if you want to live.” Rico grinned down at them. “Sorry—I’ve always wanted to say that. All the same, I suggest you get in now.”

Whoever was in the back of the vehicle was shooting a continuous stream of laser shots around the alley, completely random, but very effective. Everyone had dived for cover.

Tannis scrambled up into the front of the hovering speeder. Jon and Skylar climbed in behind and the door slammed shut. She glanced over her shoulder at the other person, still blasting shots out the window at the cowering crowds.

“Hey, Sardi, you can stop shooting now,” Rico drawled as he spun the speeder around and headed out of the alley. He rose high above the other traffic and soon they were whizzing away from the scene of the fight.

They traveled for about five minutes, then mingled in traffic with the other vehicles. Though it was hard to mingle in something as ostentatious as this scarlet-and-black monster of a speeder.

“I don’t think anyone is following,” Rico said and pulled over into a parking space. He turned to her. “Having a few problems back there?”

“We came to rescue you.”

“Sweet, but it’s just as well. I didn’t need rescuing.”

“So where have you been?”

Rico gestured behind him at the stranger who sat behind him. “This is Sardi. He’s an old…friend of mine.”

“Shit, Rico, not another of your old friends. We nearly didn’t survive the last one.”

Rico ignored the comment. “Sardi was going for the reward, then he realized it was me, and we went for a drink instead.”

“You’ve been drinking while we were out trying to rescue you?” She leaned in close and caught a whiff of alcohol fumes. “Are you drunk?”

“I may be a little inebriated. We haven’t seen each other in a while—we’ve been reminiscing about old times.”

Tannis looked at the other man closely. He appeared to be human, though the air around him rippled with a strange energy. And even sitting he was exceptionally tall, and he wore a hat that made him appear even taller.

“Is he human?” she asked Rico.

“He’s…never mind.”

“What an insult,” Sardi said. He doffed his hat and bowed low to her. In the thick dark hair just above his forehead, nestled a pair of horns. Either, he was some sort of GM with goat DNA, or he was a…

“I am a demon and proud of it.” He grinned and grabbed her hand where it rested on the back of the seat. He raised it to his mouth and kissed the palm. “Charmed.”

A shiver of something like magic ran through her from the point of contact, and Tannis pulled her hand free and rubbed it against her pants leg. Sardi grinned, not seeming at all put out.

“We need to get out of here,” Tannis said.

“Tell me where you parked the speeder, and we can let Sardi have his vehicle back.” She gave him directions and rested her head against the seat. It took only minutes.

Sardi got out with them, towering over Rico and Jon, who were both big men. He gave them all a little bow, then turned to Rico. “Sure you won’t join me? We made a good team once.”

“Nah, I’ll pass, thanks, Sard. Maybe next time.”

“No problem. You never did like to stay in one place.” He handed a flask to Rico. “For the journey home—your little captain looks like she needs a drink.”

Rico turned to her, his brows drawing together. “You okay?” His gaze ran down over her, snagging on her arm. “You’ve been hit?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll see to it on the ship.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

Tannis could feel her anger rising as they sped through the darkness. Her arm hurt where she’d caught the laser blast, and her head throbbed.

No one put her crew at risk.

She was an idiot, and this whole thing had been a huge mistake. Just like everyone had told her. Why couldn’t she have listened to them and never picked the bastard up? He probably didn’t think it mattered if her crew were hurt. He probably thought of them as expendable. Hell, he probably thought of
her
as expendable.

Or why couldn’t she have listened to Rico and tossed him out the airlock?

“Stop grinding your teeth. There are people trying to sleep back here.” Rico was in the rear with Skylar, while Jon was beside Tannis, swigging from the flask. She occasionally felt his eyes on her.

“He wasn’t going for a blowjob.”

“What?”

“You know I said at the ship that Callum was going for sex. Well he wasn’t.”

Tannis glanced sideways at him. “Why would I care?”

“You do care, and I still think this whole job is a mistake, and I still hate his guts, and I still think he’s an arrogant asshole, but he wasn’t going for sex.”

“Christ, the last thing I need is relationship advice from Mr. I-Want-To-Be-Alone.”

“I’ve changed,” Jon said virtuously. “I’ve found the love of a good woman, and I am a changed man.”

“Jesus.” She cast him an incredulous glare. “What is that you’re drinking?”

“Excellent stuff,” Rico said. “Sardi might be a complete bastard, but he knows where to get good liquor.”

But Jon was right. He had changed. It was hard to believe this was the same person they’d broken out of the high-security prison on Trakis One only six weeks ago. He’d been a hard and embittered man who made his living killing people, until he’d been caught up in the machinations of the Collective. He’d been a loner, the last person she would ever have expected to fall in love, and especially not with someone like Alex. But if Jon could change, maybe she could as well. Wasn’t there hope for everyone?

But even if she were to overcome her fears, there could never be any future for her and Callum Meridian. One day, he would presumably return to his job as Leader of the Universe, at which point their worlds were unlikely to cross again, even if she succeeded in getting the Meridian treatment. The best she could hope for was maybe he’d send her one of those mind messages every once in a while, for old time’s sake.

He could have any woman he wanted. Why would he want her?

Shit. She couldn’t believe she was thinking like this. She must be imbibing fumes from that flask. Still, she couldn’t resist the question.

“What was he going for then?”

Jon shrugged. “Who knows?”

Did it really matter? He was a liability, a selfish bastard who thought of nothing but himself. He’d put Rico and Jon at risk and then the rest of the crew. No amount of money was worth risking the lives of her crew for an outsider.

“It doesn’t matter.” Suddenly, she felt tired. “It’s finished.”

She’d find another way to earn the money. Though once she’d pissed off Callum, as she fully intended to do as soon as they got back to
El Cazador,
she could probably kiss her chances of being accepted into the Collective good-bye. She sighed.

“Here.” Jon handed her the flask. “You sound like you need this.”

She unscrewed the top and took a sip of the smoky liquid. It burned her throat, settled in her belly like fire. She took another swallow.

As the alcohol went through her system, the anger started to rise again. She liked the anger much better than the self-pity. By the time the speeder came to a halt beside
El Cazador
, she’d emptied the flask and managed to build herself up into a fine rage.

She stalked up the ramp, through the docking bay, up the next ramp, and found them in the conference room. Their heads close together, Alex and Janey were talking, Alex with a blaster resting across her lap. Callum sat across the room. He looked relaxed, unworried, and her fury ratcheted a notch.

He rose slowly as Tannis strode into the room. Closing the distance between them, she eyed him and tried to tell herself she shouldn’t do this. And failed.

Coming to a halt in front of him, she drew back her fist and punched him on the nose. He collapsed into the chair behind him, more from shock probably than the strength of her blow.

She stared down at him. He returned her gaze with those glowing eyes, and she had to force herself not to be sucked into their depths.

“I want you off the ship,” she said. “In five minutes. You’re free to call for someone to pick you up as soon as we’ve gone.”

She whirled around and left the room. And almost ran smack into Rico. He put up a hand to stop her headlong flight. “Are you all right?”

“Of course I’m all right. Why the freaking hell shouldn’t I be all right?”

His brows drew together, and he turned to Skylar. “Go check that everything’s okay, sweetheart. I want to talk to the captain.”

“No problem.”

“What do you want to talk about?” Now she sounded sullen. She shook her head. “Sorry.”

He put a hand on her arm and steered her toward her cabin.

Once inside, she threw herself on the scarlet couch and stared at the ceiling. Her room was one place where the black-and-silver decor didn’t prevail. When she’d come on board, the whole ship had been that way, but as she’d started to feel at home, she’d introduced color into her own room. Well red at least, shades of red, scarlet and crimson, deep dark reds. She loved red.

Rico disappeared inside the bathroom, came out a moment later with the small medical kit from her cabinet. He placed it on the table, then sat next to her. “Let me look at your arm.”

“It’s nothing,” she snapped.

He gave her a long look, and the air left her lungs in a huge sigh.

She unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off one shoulder.

Holding onto her wrist, he turned her arm so he could study the burn. “You’re right, it’s nothing. I’ll just spray it with sealant and painkiller.”

She didn’t argue as he sprayed the wound, and in fact, she did feel marginally better as the pain receded. Refastening her shirt, she sat back.

Rico settled himself into the seat opposite, long legs stretched out in front of him. “Well?”

“Well, it’s done. We’re out of here, and he’s staying. I suppose the whole Meridian thing was only a dream.” She forced a grin. “Who wants to turn out like him anyway? I’m guessing those aliens must be real assholes.”

“Maybe. But I reckon it’s not the alien part of him that’s causing the problems right now.”

“It’s not?”

“No, I’m guessing it’s the human bits.”

She frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“You know on Earth he was famous?”

Her gaze flashed to his face in shock. “You knew him?”

“Not personally, but as I said, he was famous. Don’t tell Daisy I said this, or she’ll be all over him, but he was this daredevil pilot—more kills than the rest of them put together. Nerves of steel and a complete adrenaline junky.”

“You sound like you’re the one with crush on him now.”

Rico grinned. “Maybe back then—a man crush. I wanted to be a pilot, and he was the best.”

Yeah, she’d bet he was. “Your point is?”

“You don’t go from that, to being a bloody politician. He’s been living a life he’s not suited to, playing a role for five hundred years, and I’m betting he’s bored out of his mind. He might tell himself it’s the Meridian, but he’s lying. It’s not that he’s
not
human, he’s just forgotten how to act it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s finished. We’re out of here and he can comm someone to come and pick him up. You know, I need a drink.”

“Well, it just so happens I have some.” He pulled a silver flask out of his pocket and placed it on the table, then got to his feet. “Unfortunately, it’s mine and not Sardi’s good stuff, but it’ll do the trick. Take the night off. Give yourself a break. We’ll sort this out—just don’t give up on that dream yet.”