Reckless Bounty (Intergalactic Justice Book 1)

by Marly Mathews

  Shaking her head to remove the imaginary cobwebs, she turned toward her sister.

  “Any luck in getting back into the mainframe?” Samantha asked.

  Johanna looked up at her with a look of intense concentration.

  She envied Johanna. Johanna was a brain. She could tackle just about anything, she put her mind too and emerge the winner.

  She, on the other hand, was good at thinking on her feet, though working a computer sometimes proved difficult for her.

  But if someone needed a good slam down, then she was the one to be counted on. Samantha settled herself in the co-pilot’s chair, and brought up what she could on the view screen.

  Ships still swarmed around them and the hope died in her heart that someone would come to give them a much-needed hand. She didn’t want to openly admit it, but she’d wet herself with excitement if a friend dropped by to help them.

  Problem was, Samantha hadn’t made many friends in her life, and those she could count on were light years away. The rest of her friends, were onboard Excalibur with her, bravely joining her in facing her darkest hour. Even Veronica seemed willing to do what she could.

  She doubted that Devlin would race to save her. He probably had enough problems to deal with right now.

  Samantha turned her head at the male AI’s shout of distress. His deep baritone filled the room, and her heart leapt in her chest, when his program shut down. Samantha sat on the edge of her seat, hoping and praying that Dylan and Johanna had once again worked their magic.

  “Take that, you little piss ant!” Lucy cried triumphantly. Lucy slowly materialized before them. She was there, but she didn’t seem to be giving off her usual blinding brilliance. “Hi you all, Lucy’s back in amazing action!” Lucy grinned. She tucked her purple hair behind her ear, with her ring adorned hands. “What did I miss?”

  They all jumped in their seats.

  “Is that just me or does it sound like they are ramming the door?” Tyler asked, looking at her briefly with worry glistening in his eyes.

  Lucy sighed. “Give me a second and I’ll figure it out. Internal systems are now up and running, back in my control, though I can’t seem to gain access to the internal weapons array. I think that big jerk has hidden it from me. Just give me another sec…” Lucy’s violet eyes lolled back into her head, as she searched through her systems.

  “In answer to your earlier asked question, Veronica is down with Ross in engineering. Seems he knows a thing or two about the internal workings of a ship, and he’s helping Dylan.

  Veronica on the other hand, is standing guard at the door. Vowing to give any pirate that is bold enough to come through the door, and I quote a world of hurt,” Tyler declared, staring down at her.

  “I don’t trust Veronica completely, but if Dylan trusts her to be that close to his domain with her weapon, then I guess that I can trust her…for now,” Samantha added.

  Lucy hooted triumphantly, causing them all to jump. Another loud slam against the door caused them to tense, and draw their holstered pistols.

  “Everything will be fine,” Tyler promised.

  Samantha stared up at him. She gripped her phase pistol tightly.

  “Tell me, Tyler, what makes you think that everything will be fine?” Samantha asked. She aimed her phase pistol at the door.

  “You’ve never failed me before,” he murmured.

  Her breath caught in her throat at his softly spoken words. Damn him, for being so charming. And damn her, for always falling head over heels for that charm.

  She was just about to respond when a striking figure of a man, appeared on the view screen. Johanna’s mouth dropped open slightly and Samantha could see her sister struggled to keep her mouth shut, and the drool safely inside.

  Samantha stood up, losing her balance she fell against Tyler. He quickly caught her, and kept his hands on her, while she searched for something to say. At the moment, she had been struck speechless and that was quite a feat for her. She could feel the taste of doom. She trembled slightly.

  Standing regally in front of her on the view screen stood the most infamous space pirate that had ever lived.

  His starship, The Emerald Star was one of the biggest and most advanced warships, she’d ever read about and now the legend behind so many bone-chilling tales stood right in front of her.

  “Just what I need!” she muttered.

  The Red Falcon smiled roguishly down at her. His gorgeous eyes twinkled with some sort of secret joke.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Greetings, dear ladies, may I be of any assistance?” he gallantly inquired.

  Samantha continued staring up at him in dumbfounded amazement. She knew if she had a mirror, a goofy expression would be reflected back at her.

  Shivers of excitement raced up and down her spine as she digested his offer. It wasn’t every day you were offered help by the most famous pirate of the age.

  Tyler rested his hand possessively on her shoulder and she tensed beneath his touch. Why he thought he had to stake his claim was beyond her. She wasn’t attracted to The Red Falcon’s physicality. It just felt surreal to be in such a presence.

  This would make one good story to add to her lifetime experiences. The Red Falcon was everything she’d ever imagined he would be in living flesh and then some.

  His dark blue eyes glittered down at her and his trademark crimson cloak, gave him an air of authority. He wore extremely tight black breeches and his loose white silk shirt, made him look like a hero from a bygone movie.

  His fiery red hair was even brighter than she’d imagined. She swallowed as a dry lump emerged in her throat. It seemed as if the tales spun about him were frighteningly true. She’d always thought the stories had been tweaked from mouth to mouth, but nothing seemed to be lost in translation.

  He was indeed a living legend. Iconic even.

  The Red Falcon was handsome all right, but her heart still belonged to Devlin—no wait…to Tyler.

  Oh, hell, even she didn’t know what she wanted anymore.

  Looking never hurt. Now, if she touched, that would be a different story. But she had the blackness of space between them, so she was safe and sound.

  Johanna, she noticed was also having a good time studying him. Samantha slipped back into her body. She couldn’t let the Red Falcon unnerve her. She stared up at the Red Falcon and cocked her head to one side.

  “No. Actually, we’ve invited the crazy assed pirates to pilfer and pillage our ship.” Her sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed.

  The corner of his full mouth twitched. His bewitching eyes fell to the pistol she held in her hands and he slowly smiled, again.

  Damn.

  That smile could light up a darkened room.

  “Well, dear lady, if you have everything safely under control, I will hasten to depart and leave you to it,” the Red Falcon declared smoothly, smirking as Samantha scowled up at him.

  She hated asking for help. But since she’d been stupid enough to turn down his original offer of help, she’d have to swallow her pride and speak up before he left and they were left to face their fate.

  “Wait…” She put up her hand and pursed her lips. What she was about to do, would probably turn her stomach.

  He raised his hand to cut the channel but his hand froze in mid-air and he stared merrily down at her.

  Right at that moment, Lucy’s eyes re-focused and a treacherous smile broke across her face. She put up her hand and waved a farewell.

  “Say bye-bye, you bastards!” Lucy declared.

  She had obviously managed to gain control over the internal weaponry The Excalibur had been equipped with. The weapons came to life, just as she waved goodbye. Cries of agony carried through the intercom to them and Samantha stared over in shock at Lucy.

  “You didn’t?” Samantha asked.

  She was nearly stricken breathless by the thought of numerous dead bodies strewn throughout her halls. That would be one bloody job to clean up. Frankly, she didn’t want
to have any hand in it.

  “Of course, I didn’t kill them. I am not programmed for such a thing. Though I’d wager they won’t be walking properly for at least a few days,” Lucy remarked, a cheeky gleam present in her violet eyes.

  Samantha let out a sigh of relief and returned her attention to the large view screen. Then she began laughing, unable to control herself. She’d just faced death. Truly faced death and yet here she stood unscathed. She’d probably used up another one of her so-called nine lives.

  She’d almost asked for help, and yet when the chips were truly down, and she had assumed that everyone was out for the count, Lucy of all people had saved the day.

  With tears streaming down her face, she sank into a chair. Tyler stared quizzically down at her, raising one eyebrow. His look of concern only made her go into another fit of hysterics. They still weren’t out of the fire, but she had to do something or she would go insane.

  “Has the beautiful lady lost her mind?” the Red Falcon inquired.

  Johanna snapped angrily to attention, and if looks could kill The Red Falcon would definitely be a heap of ashes.

  “If you had just gone up against a mad world what would you do?” Johanna demanded.

  His wide smile faded, and his eyes lost some of their glitter. “Dear lady, I exist in a mad world, and I’ve managed thus far,” he answered.

  Samantha wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and hiccupped.

  “Thank you, for offering to help us. It was greatly appreciated. But we now have to do some clean up duty. So, if you wouldn’t mind I’ll send you my thank you card through the email,” she started, just as she heard his throaty chuckle.

  “Your reputation does not do you justice, Sam Cassidy,” he drawled.

  As his words sunk in, Samantha stared stupidly up at him. How the hell did he know what her name was? She stared over in confusion at Tyler and Johanna.

  “Cut the crap, Red!” she commanded. She wanted him to come clean about how he knew of her. She’d never crossed paths with him before. Since she tried to keep a low profile his comment raised her curiosity.

  She moved into an aggressive stance and tried to get back into battle mode.

  “Tell me, how the hell do you know who I am when we haven’t yet been introduced?” She wanted to know what this pirate was up to.

  The sneaky look he had in his eye had set her on edge. She’d seen that look before, and it never led to good things.

  Her heart resumed beating wildly, and her stomach flip-flopped in a most irritating manner. She really needed a heartburn lozenge.

  “Let’s just say we share a mutual friend. And this mutual friend requires me to take Tyler Cassidy off of your hands,” The Red Falcon declared, quirking his one eyebrow. Her heart stood still.

  Devlin. It figured. He had too many eyes and too many minions to do his bidding.

  Damn.

  Chapter Fifteen

  If Devlin thought he could get away with this—he had another thing damn well coming.

  “You can tell our mutual friend that he’s not going to get what he wants this time around.”

  “He rarely gets what he really wants, and you should know that better than anyone, Samantha.”

  Red’s damning words made her suck in a large breath of air. She didn’t exactly want him to spill the beans here in front of Tyler.

  Samantha’s chest constricted, and she hurriedly placed her hand over her heart. It was beating so forcefully that she feared it would fly right out of her chest. Her eyes were literally popping out of her head, and she felt drained and defeated.

  But what could she do to save Tyler this time around?

  She had run out of viable options. She knew what she could do if she wanted to walk that road. And right now—she felt like she owed Tyler something and no matter what she would make sure that she at least gave their relationship a chance.

  The Red Falcon had forced her up against the wall with nowhere to go. She knew this was another ploy of Devlin’s to get her back and she couldn’t, wouldn’t put Devlin in harm’s way. What could she do?!!!

  She could bloody well fight to prove Tyler’s innocence.

  She was a survivor. She’d fight until her last breath if need be and she wouldn’t regret a God damn thing.

  “Here’s the thing, Red. I don’t exactly feel like doing what you want me to do, and I certainly don’t feel like doing what our mutual friend wants us to do. So here are two words for you that you can take back to your Master. Fuck off!” Samantha retorted, shooting to her feet.

  His cocky smile faded into a grim line. She resisted the urge to cringe, as she suddenly realized that no one had ever dared to tell him to fuck off, lest of all a woman. Ah, well, he had it coming to him. Since she wasn’t one to mince words, he’d just have to cope.

  She swallowed again watching him fold his arms tightly across his chest. That was it—his aggressive stance meant that she had just screwed herself and her family.

  “Ross is taking the unconscious pirates to the brig. He can carry two at time, oh, what a man!” Lucy piped in, obviously unfazed by the tense exchange between the Red Falcon and Samantha. “I think that we should offer him a permanent placement on The Excalibur,” Lucy added. “He’s just so fine!”

  Lucy shrieked when Johanna threw a metal mug at her. Lucy harrumphed, and then faded out of existence.

  Samantha stood there for what seemed to be an eternity. What was she thinking? Here she was bravely staring down the most ruthlessly cunning pirate in the galaxy. As long as he valued the friendship he had with Devlin, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. The question was, what would he do to the rest of her family?

  If only her father could see her now. He would probably be quick to point out to her, that she was going up against a very powerful man. Her mouth went dry. She licked her lips. He’d always told her to wisely pick her own battles—this wasn’t a battle she should have chosen.

  Shit.

  Dear God. The Red Falcon could blow them into tiny little pieces with just one single command. If he wanted to keep Devlin happy he would just transport her off the ship before he blew The Excalibur to smithereens.

  She felt her palms grow moist and the air fizzed through her nostrils in short little puffs. The only way one went up against the Red Falcon was if they had a literal spaceship armada clustered around them. And even then it would be a crap shot.

  “Just, breathe!” Tyler murmured in her ear.

  A calm began to overtake her and she caught Johanna’s gentle smile of encouragement.

  “Oh, yeah, and don’t call me Samantha! I don’t even know you. Thus, you don’t have the right to call me by my full name! Sam will do for you.”

  She was back. She didn’t know what had come over her there for a minute, but all self-doubt had been extinguished.

  The Red Falcon smiled broadly and fixed his intense gaze on her.

  “Ah, yes, but I know you. I feel like I know you better than some in my life. I know what makes you tick. I know you almost as well as our mutual friend knows you.”

  “Who the hell is this mutual friend he’s talking about? The way you’re talking it has to be Devlin…but that’s ludicrous. You hate Devlin,” Tyler said.

  “Hush up, Tyler,” Johanna whispered. “Just let Samantha take care of this. You’ve done enough to put yourself in cauldron of hot water to begin with.”

  “You don’t know me at all. Oh, let’s cut the crap. We all know the mutual friend we’re speaking of is Devlin. I don’t know how you know him, Red, but I know him well enough to tell him to go and take a hike off a cliff. And come to think of it, I think I’m going to have to reconsider our friendship now that you’ve come into my life.”

  “Devlin wouldn’t like that, he wants us to be good friends. In fact, he wishes for that above anything else.”

  “I’m not here to grant Devlin his every heart’s desire. And listen well, I’m not your friend. I don’t think that I would ever want to be,
now that I know your true motives behind extending your offer of assistance. You’ll get Tyler—Devlin will get Tyler over my dead body.”

  Red’s eyes widened. “That’s not what Devlin wants. He wouldn’t want that to happen to you—or for that to happen to anyone else on your ship. The only person he wants is Tyler so he can mete out justice to the fool.”

  “Well, he’s can’t have him. You can’t take that to the bank. Tyler is innocent, and though I agree that he is a rascal and an annoying braggart he most certainly is not a murderer. I’ve gone through hell and back and I’m not about to stand down just because a respected criminal has told me he’s here to collect my husband to deliver to a man I no longer want anything to do with!

  So, you may take your big fat lips, and kiss my earthy ass!” She gestured for Johanna to break contact.

  Johanna broke the channel, and then stared over at her, as they were hailed again. Several more beeps filled the bridge.

  Man, the Red Falcon could be annoying!

  “Now what, dearest sister?” Johanna demanded, staring pointedly down at her glowing console. “He isn’t going to be deterred that easily. If he’s anything like Devlin, he’s not going to go away now that he has Tyler in his sights.

  I doubt that we can outrun him, he has the fastest ship in the galaxy and if you think that we can win a battle with him, think again!”

  “I’ll give myself up,” Tyler whispered.

  Samantha let out a shocked little snort and shook her head.

  “You will do no such thing! Whatever put that ludicrous notion in your noggin, I’ll never know. But don’t ever get it again! I don’t give in, and I don’t give up. I’ll find a way, just give me a minute to get my head together.”

  She’d find a way even if she had to trade herself for Tyler’s freedom. It was her last resort and she’d only take it if it looked as if Tyler was going to swing.

  “A minute might be the only time you have. The Emerald Star is closing in on us, and sensors show that they are charging their weapons.