Lunar Exposure (On the Hunt) (9 page)

“The
Djunik
has been located and will be treated with liquid nitrogen as soon as containment crews reach it.”

“I hope they reach it fast enough.” Otherwise, most of the larger ships, including the
Lunar Bird
, would be taken out with the Moon. The smaller, nimbler ships had a chance—if they left soon and managed to get clear of the debris and spoor field. Decontamination of the life pod he’d been in had taken far too long. Suffocation was not a slow way to die and he had no desire to repeat the near-death experience.

“They will. Thank you for the notice.” The Moon AI actually managed to look relieved. “Make the arrest quietly, bounty hunter Brax, or I will place a lifetime ban on you visiting. Outward-bound traffic opens in less than a
tric
. Good luck.” Then he flickered and was gone.

He’d need it. He had no doubt Noga was already in queue to get off. Hopefully, Haliday had him distracted and detained.

Callen pulled Haliday’s
plex
out of his pocket. He pressed the buttons the way she’d shown him and a dot appeared on the screen, then another. Great, she had two active trackers. One was the
Ortin
, the other he hoped was Noga, since it was down by the dock.

* * * * *

Haliday had dressed in an outfit that was practical for hunting down criminals as well as stylish. The pale pink pant suit had leg-hugging pants, but the jacket flared at her hips and had slashes in the back to show some skin. When teamed with a rainbow scarf in her hair and dark-green eye makeup that made her eyes look even more yellow, she looked as if she was dolled up for anyone watching her.

The reality was she could choke the life out of Noga with the scarf if things went wrong and pants let her run and fight better than the delicate dresses. Her palms itched, but she ignored it as she walked through the corridor heading to the dock lounge, pretending to be looking for someone. Well, she was looking for someone, Noga, but if he was watching her, she was pretending to look for someone else. Like Callen.

When she saw him, she readied her best ditzy socialite act. She had to catch him before the gates opened and people made their way through security and back on the waiting liners. She needed to tag him and slow him down so Callen had time to get on the good side of Moon security.

Which liner was Noga heading to? A few of the very wealthy had their own private ships. A few were joining small corporate ships. Most people traveled on the liners when going between planets. The
Lunar Bird
wasn’t leaving today. Without breaking her act, she scanned the departures board. He was here already, reading off his
plex
as if he really was a businessman looking for the next deal. Or was he researching her? She swallowed down the fear.

Several of the smaller ships were cleared and were going to be leaving in the next
tric
—before the firemoss exploded and ruined this zone of the galaxy—and she was willing to bet Noga was going to be on one of them. With a smile plastered on her face, she sauntered over and sat next to him.

“Benth said you’d be down here. I’m so glad I found you before you left.” She touched his arm lightly, not enough to transfer the tracker. Not yet, if she rushed, he’d realize what she was up to. Now was the time to be ultra-careful. This was when scalps were lost, when they realized someone had made them.

Noga lifted his gaze from the
plex
screen and minimized it with his fingers, as if he were worried what she’d read on it. “I can’t imagine why you would want to see me.”

“On the contrary, we share similar interests. Both our homeworlds are trying to recover and improve living conditions for the people. I’m thinking big charity event. Maybe we could do a sister city swap and strengthen ties between our peoples.” She beamed as if it was the most brilliant idea. “I could help lift the profile of your plight; everyone knows how passionate I am about orphans.” This time she touched his shoulder and let her hand linger as if she might find him attractive.

When compared to Callen, no other man was quite the same. The way he moved, the way he smelled when his pheromones kicked in. Her memory of him added heat to her smile.

Noga lifted her hand off his shoulder. While the gesture looked kind enough, he was squeezing far too tight. Her knuckles crunched and her skin whitened under the pressure. While she hated responding to pain—she’d learned long ago it simply gave the bully pleasure—as Haliday in public, she had to.

“Ow.” She let tears form in the corner of her eyes. “Please, you’re hurting me.” Her voice was just loud enough that a few people glanced over.

Noga leaned close. “I have no interest in the woes of your bug-infested swamp. A few hungry orphans are nothing. My only concern is my homeworld.” He released her as if her touch offended him.

She’d been a hungry orphan. How could a man so concerned with the fight for his people’s rights be so dismissive of other people’s rights? All children deserved the right be happy and healthy. Where she’d once disagreed with his methods, now she disliked the man and his casual disregard for life. For the lives of everyone on the Moon. He’d happily kill thousands and justify it for the greater good.

Keeping the disgust off her face, she cradled her hand as if it was truly injured, not just bruised. “I don’t understand. Don’t you want to raise awareness?”

He smiled, a cold grin that never reached his hooded eyes. “I have my own plans to raise awareness.” Then he stood and walked away.

Haliday hoped she’d bought Callen enough time. She hoped he’d been able to convince security that the Moon was in real danger. Part of her wanted to leave and hide in her cabin on the
Lunar Bird
, but if the Moon blew, that wouldn’t save her. She sat for a moment longer, not caring if people looked and wondered why she looked lost. Some would have seen the argument and assumed that was the cause.

After a while, she got up and went upstairs to watch the departures from the deck. This was where Callen had stood as she’d arrived. He hadn’t been watching for her though. He’d been watching for Noga. Now she was watching for Noga and Callen, yet hoping she saw neither.

Her stomach twisted as half a
tric
slid past and then another. Nothing. The first small ship left. She bit her lip. Another
half-tric
, then she’d go to her room—assuming she wasn’t a corpse floating in a cloud of space junk.

She was sure she’d been closer to death before. But today she was actually afraid. It caught in her blood, jagged and dangerous. She wasn’t going to die. Callen wouldn’t let that happen, even if he had to break the Moon’s rules. No, it was far more likely that he’d take off with her
plex
, her secret and the full bounty. Trust, she had to trust him. She flexed her fingers and forced a slow breath. She hated trusting people.

If he betrayed her, he’d better start counting every heartbeat, because it might be his last. Unlike her, he lived in the open, it wouldn’t be hard to track him down…she’d already made a start. She watched the clock. After another
half-tric
, she moved away from the deck. That the deck was still there was a good sign. Moon security must have taken Callen seriously. That or there had been no firemoss, he’d been a big fat liar and had used her to track Noga and claimed the chits.

She walked faster to the elevator. She wanted to go to his room and pound on his door, but he was on a different floor. Her next thought was to call security, but what reason did she have? She could accuse Callen of theft, but what would that serve?

He’d promised to contact her as soon as Noga was arrested.

But he hadn’t walked up to her on the deck.

The ads in the lift flickered silently around her. Not even the fine body of the
Helvelet
dancer lifted her spirits. This was what happened when she trusted people, men in particular. They were only good for the chits in their account. In that respect, Callen didn’t even rate. Yet just the thought of him was enough to send a shiver of heat through her body. As she left the elevator and walked toward her room, she imagined she could smell him. The heady scent of arousal pheromones.

That would be wishful thinking, and once she got back on blockers it would no longer matter. She would be immune. Unfeeling and un-aroused. The media had no idea how far from the truth their commentary on her love life was.

She swiped the card across the lock and her door swept open.

Callen lay on her bed, looking like the
gryf
that ate the
jurlian
, his lips curling at the corners. “I’ve got a few
trics
to kill before the APM arrives. Thought I’d pay you a visit.”

So technically Callen hadn’t broken into to her room, he’d
borrowed
an all-access pass from the security guard on the lower level where Noga was now awaiting transportation on an APM ship.

As rooms went, this was pretty sweet and well above his standards. She had a view of the ice planet below. He’d checked out the room and the facilities while waiting for her. He’d expected her to be here, waiting for him.

With Moon security allowing him access to the dock, it had been easy enough to be waiting when Noga tried to get through. A few words and security had pulled Noga aside for a full search. Once in the private room, he’d started to sweat and Callen had let him suffer through the in-depth questions before stepping in and making the arrest. The information on their
plexes
hadn’t told the staff who Noga was, just that he needed to be slowed down and that bounty hunter Brax had jurisdiction.

Haliday’s tracker had meant that he was there, in the right place and able to put the cuffs on. While it wouldn’t bring back the team he’d lost on the
Solar Bird
or give him back his rank in the APM, it was enough to know that Noga Tindel wouldn’t ruin any more lives.

The door shut behind Haliday. “How did you get in?”

Callen sat up. That wasn’t quite the response he’d been hoping for. “What? You’re not happy to see me?”

“I thought you’d be on the first ship out with Noga.”

“He’s being held. There’s an APM ship nearby.” He looked at her and hoped he hadn’t misjudged her after being led astray by her enticing pheromones. “I called it in as the Kingfisher, the chits will go straight to your account. If you could arrange a transfer to mine as soon as possible, that would be appreciated.” He offered Haliday her
plex
.

She didn’t move any closer or give any sign he was welcome. His plans for killing a few
trics
in her bed before leaving began to evaporate.

“Why would you do that instead of claiming the scalp and keeping the chits for yourself?” She stared at him as if he were some weird previously unknown alien species.

Did that mean she wasn’t going to pay him? He was rather attached to both his eyes and all his internal organs.

“I’m a bounty hunter, not a prick.” He wanted her to trust him, to be willing to work with him again. But it was more than that. He knew it even as he denied it—and that wasn’t the pheromones doing his thinking and making his cock hard—he wanted a partner and not just for work.

She was everything he’d been running from his whole life. He’d spent years making sure he never had anything to lose only to find it meant he had nothing to live for. Haliday, on the other hand, lived every day and made sure it counted.

“Your cover is safe, the Kingfisher’s reputation is maintained, Noga is in custody and the Moon is still in one piece. It’s a good day’s work.” He smiled and hoped she’d agree.

Haliday nodded, then took a couple of steps toward him so she could take her
plex
out of his hand. “I’ll shift the chits as soon as I can.”

“We could do this again sometime.” He stood; he was close enough to touch her. Run his fingers down her arm, cup her cheek. One more step and he could kiss her.

She closed her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “I can’t keep seeing you.”

He pulled his hand back before it touched her. “Why?”

“Because Haliday wouldn’t date you.”

Ah. He didn’t have enough chits in his bank account. “But if you weren’t Haliday?”

Her eyes opened, but she just looked sad and tired. “It’s who I am now. It’s who I have to be to stay safe.”

That was when he realized that every day was a struggle for her. That she never slept peacefully and her smiles were for everyone else not herself. He put his arms around her and drew her close. Her cheek pressed against his and even though her arms remained by her sides, her body relaxed and her breaths came in gulps as if she was fighting not to cry.

“You don’t know what it’s like.”

He stroked her back, his fingers brushing skin and silk. He didn’t know what it was to live constantly wondering if someone was hunting him down. “He hasn’t found you yet. I won’t let him find you.”

“You can’t stop him. If he ever worked it out…” Her words were soft against his skin.

“Let me help.” He wanted to keep her safe.

“You don’t fit Haliday’s image. No matter how much I want you, I can’t have you.” Her hands slid around his waist. “You should have left and not looked back.”