Reckless Bounty (Intergalactic Justice Book 1)

by Marly Mathews

  The space battle for New Monaco is over. The rest of the pirates took off as soon as the Red Falcon showed up. Devlin probably called upon him as soon as they started to attack. If he was my ally, he’d be the first person I’d call when I was in trouble. So it seems as if our moment of reckoning has come,” Johanna reported.

  Johanna’s fingers flew over her console, and Samantha knew her sister was giving it her all to think of an escape plan. Someone had to have a moment of pure genius. There just had to be a way out, and no one was seeing it.

  “Never say never!” Samantha whispered, hoping to dredge up her shredded confidence.

  She had to save them. There just had to be a way! When one door closed, another one always opened. So where was her freaking other door?

  She could try some freaky shit as Johanna called it, but she knew she was no Charlotte.

  Only her sister would be able to make The Red Falcon back down… or she’d shrink something on his anatomy. She couldn’t do that, she would probably try shrinking it and enlarge it instead.

  “Reopen the channel.” She knew what she had to do.

  Tyler wound his arm around her waist and she was filled with more confidence than she’d ever thought possible.

  “Don’t sacrifice yourself for me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat at the love present in his voice. Maybe there was a chance for them, after all. Maybe their marriage could stand another go. Then the full meaning of his words sunk in.

  If he thought she was going to hand him over to the Red Falcon on a silver platter he could bloody well think again. No one took anything away from her family and Tyler fit into that category. And the sooner he realized that, the better off they’d both be. Her spine stiffened and her hackles rose.

  “Yeah, and don’t get a big fat head, Tyler.”

  The Red Falcon reappeared on screen and seemed happier than he had before. “Yes,” he drawled lazily, staring expectantly down at them.

  “I have a proposition for you, and it is one that I guarantee your mutual friend will be interested in.” A faltering flicker of hope glimmered in her heart and she prayed what she had in mind would work.

  “I’m listening,” the Red Falcon invited.

  She took a deep breath and prepared to put herself on the line for the sake of her family.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “If you give us seven days of grace, then I will be forever indebted to you.” Samantha fell silent and waited for The Red Falcon’s reaction.

  The Red Falcon’s eyebrows furrowed and he snorted with disbelief.

  “I’ve had a lot of propositions in my time and coming from a lovely lady like you that was incredibly without an ounce of imagination. Moreover, I don’t think it will make Devlin happy at all. I thought you were going to—well, never mind what I thought. I am extremely disappointed in you.

  I had thought that you were a clever and intelligent woman that had enough spunk to take on a man such as myself,” he sighed, settling his lanky form into his ostentatious and luxurious leather chair. “I must say you have disappointed me.”

  He sat forward and rested his hands on his lap. She tilted her head to one side, then bit her lip and closed her eyes. She mentally recited another silent prayer. Well, here goes nothing. She might as well just steam roll right on.

  “If within that amount of time we do not find enough tangible evidence to prove Tyler’s innocence then you may commandeer my vessel and you may turn me over to Devlin. Now, does that please you?”

  Samantha closed her eyes, against the sound of Tyler and Johanna’s angry protests. “In return, you use your incredible influence with Devlin, which you may not deny, I know a thing or two about you, just as you seem to know everything about me. Oh, and the bargain doesn’t include my sister or her husband. If we fail, Devlin only gets The Excalibur and me.”

  “And what makes you think that I will still accept this bargain? I am not a simpleton. There really isn’t much in it for me. Oh, there is something for Devlin and I guess that should be enough for me.

  Knowing you, you’ll probably prove Cassidy’s innocence and then that leaves me high and dry and having to explain to Devlin why I let Tyler get away. He might not have loved his wife, but he won’t let her murderer get away,” he remarked, rubbing at the thick red bristle on his chin.

  “You will accept my proposition, not only because you want to please Devlin but because you love a challenge and because for some reason unbeknownst to me, I fascinate you.

  I know as well you do that a falcon always gets its prey. As far as you are concerned, you already have the bounty that is on Tyler’s head. And, you don’t require the extra fortune at this present time.

  You’ve been quite a busy man, these last few hours. I’d wager that you’ve been in orbit around New Monaco safely hidden by your cloaking system.

  You’ve probably already looted your guts out and while you profess to be Lord Devlin’s friend, you’re profiting from him without his knowledge, or he knows about it and doesn’t care.

  Either way, I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is keeping Tyler where he belongs—with us. We’re his family.” Samantha stopped talking and watched his implacable features, as he stared at her with his glittering blue eyes.

  “I respect your tenacity.” His eyes sparkled again. They were full of vivacity. Strangely enough, he almost reminded her of Devlin but he didn’t do the same things to her that Devlin did whenever she was around him. She knew that Devlin had two grown children that he’d adopted long ago…could the Red Falcon be one of those children?

  Devlin could just look at her and make her insides melt to mush.

  The Red Falcon stood up, placing his hands behind his back. “However, I fail to see how you will be able to conduct your investigation, with a wanted man on your team. Other bounty hunters will come for him. Mark my words. You’d be safer giving him to me, in fact, you’d be safer giving yourself over to Devlin and letting Tyler run. Let the man fight his own battles, Sam.”

  “I am safe right where I am. Devlin wouldn’t be safe if I was with him. You’re a pirate, and you don’t understand the unspoken code between space bounty hunters. Once one bounty hunter stakes their claim, they don’t contest it, unless that bounty hunter gets stupid and loses their prize.

  Then Tyler would be fair game, for the taking. The only exception to the rule is if the bounty has already been turned over. Then, of course, all bets are off. I won’t be turning Tyler over to anyone!”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Besides which, Devlin is quite busy at the moment, and since it is a personal bounty, he may be willing to give us some time.” Why would he? He wanted her…that’s why he put such a high amount on Tyler’s head. There was no good reason for him to let her continue on this foolhardy path.

  She fell silent. She realized the terrifying space battle that had nearly cost all of them their lives, might’ve worked to their advantage. It was strange how fate sometimes winked down at them.

  She’d originally intended to run with Tyler, but if she ran she would never have been able to get to the bottom of the mystery that shrouded Lady Devlin’s death. She wanted answers. And she’d soon be getting them.

  “You will come over to my ship and we shall discuss the rest of our agreement,” Red said, almost as if he didn’t expect an argument.

  Who the hell did he think that he was talking to...a saint? No one. No one ever told Samantha Cassidy what to do. They asked, and if she felt inclined to do it then she did it.

  Samantha smiled, pursing her lips into a thin line. “What agreement? The deal is off the table. You took too long accepting my offer so I won’t be coming over for a visit. I have other things to attend to here. Perhaps, another time.” She made a slicing gesture across her neck and smiled as Johanna went to break the connection.

  “As you said, my dear Samantha, Falcon’s always get their prey, and lords should always be obeyed.” He raised his hand.

  She fli
nched, feeling the strangest sensations flow throughout her body.

  She could hear Johanna’s screams of fury, and she saw Tyler’s look of horror as he lunged for her. Just as she felt a rush go through her, she watched him hit the metal floor. Her breath caught in her throat, as she rematerialized onto The Red Falcon’s bridge.

  “Oh, holy crap! That was certainly uncalled for! This isn’t right, you can’t just bloody well transport someone without their permission! You scrambled my molecules you stupid bastard. I think I’d rather deal with Devlin over you.” Her eyes scanned the large and impressive deck, and her stomach lurched. “This is so not good,” she rasped out, and she jumped as a heavy hand rested on her shoulder.

  Once again, her enormous trap had been her downfall. She really had to learn how to think before she spoke. And now she had found herself in a highly terrifying predicament.

  “This is freaking unbelievable!” she fumed, turning to punch the Red Falcon.

  His head jerked back and she smiled gleefully. With a window of opportunity, she ran toward the bridge’s exit. She heard his heated instructions, but she didn’t pay any attention to them until she felt something hit her squarely in the back from behind. Her senses hadn’t caught that attack in the nick of time.

  Damn.

  “This is just so not my day,” she groaned, collapsing onto the floor.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What the fuck did you do that for? Take him to the brig, and maybe if I feel in a charitable mood I won’t blast you out of the nearest airlock. No one, and I mean no one hurts this woman, is that understood?” she heard the Red Falcon say angrily. “You’ll be okay, Sam…don’t worry, I will take care of you. If I don’t, Devlin will hate me.”

  The last sight she saw before she slipped into dreamland was the Red Falcon peering anxiously down at her.

  *****

  Samantha gingerly creaked her eyes open, and started when she locked gazes with Red. She was lying on what seemed to be a med bed. She groaned and bolted upright when she realized that he grasped her hand.

  She hastily yanked her hand away from his and gave him a foul stare. Wiping her hand on her leather coat, she hesitantly stared back at him.

  “My doctor checked you out. He said that you’re fine, except for excessive fatigue. But I wanted to make sure that you were alright, personally. I’ve also given Devlin a report concerning everything that has transpired.”

  “I rather wish you hadn’t done that, Red. I don’t want him to know anything that is going on with me, so in the future keep him out of the loop.” As she spoke, fury stoked within her. She tried keeping herself from jumping on him and pummeling the crap out of him.

  He didn’t know that he was playing with fire, and sooner or later she would make sure he got burned.

  She threw the blanket covering her off of her and shakily stood up. Her legs were a bit wobbly. Her head pounded with searing pain. Stars exploded in front of her eyes. After a few seconds, they disappeared.

  “Do you feel any residual pain, from the phase pistol?”

  She tossed her head toward him and let out a long snort. She’d been on the wrong end of a phase pistol before and would be again.

  It was a hazard of the job. She glanced down and frowned. Where the hell had they put her weapons?

  She felt particularly vulnerable without any of her weapons and she furiously chewed her lip, as she tried desperately to think of a plausible escape route.

  Could she conjure her abilities to answer her mental commands again? Did she even have the energy required to harness them?

  “Yes, I have some residual pain. It’s a particularly annoying one, in a rather private area.” She clenched her teeth together.

  She glanced down at her boot. Her money was on the fact that they’d missed her dagger. But for some reason, she didn’t feel like pulling it on Red. He was a nuisance to be sure, but he was certainly no Rodgers!

  “Where is it?” he asked gently, moving toward her.

  She stepped back and slammed into the med bed. “In my ass!” she retorted, folding her arms solidly across her chest.

  She didn’t like the way that he stared at her. He looked at her like she was his best buddy—and she wasn’t. She didn’t even know him.

  He chuckled in that husky way of his and leaned leisurely up against the wall, as if he abducted woman from their ships on a daily basis. Come to think of it, maybe he did.

  “You are quite a woman. Now I know why you’ve gotten under Devlin’s skin,” he breathed, admiration thick in his voice. Lord, she felt like throwing up. “Maybe I should give him some competition.”

  His chiseled features almost glowed, causing her stomach to quiver with excitement. It was probably just an acid attack coming on.

  “You know, I think I’d like it a whole lot if you took your sophisticated technology and transported me back to my own ship. My family must be quite frantic about me.”

  He nodded his head, but that silly grin he wore was still firmly in place.

  “Indeed. As soon as you were whisked off of your ship, they fired on me. You have quite a plucky crew. You are lucky that I am easily amused, or you wouldn’t have any family right now.” With that he crossed the short distance that lay between them.

  She bristled feeling electricity course through her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins.

  She didn’t know how she’d manage it, but she had to convince the Red Falcon that she was an irritating no good bitch of a woman. For some reason, he was staring at her like she was a goddess. And she believed him when he said he would have to give Devlin some competition. She didn’t know what to think about it all. She was so damn conflicted—not to mention confused!

  Hadn’t she used her big fat mouth against him, punched him, and stared at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet?

  Maybe she was slacking off, in which case she’d have to rectify that matter.

  But she would have to be cautious and attempt to control her slippery tongue. She still needed his cooperation in order for everything to work itself out. She still needed his help in dealing with Devlin. He could be their go-between and keep her from actually having to deal with Devlin personally.

  What she didn’t need was another rascal to fall in love with her. She already had Devlin and Tyler to deal with and they were both handfuls, to say the least. Of course, Devlin was easier to deal with, as she hadn’t seen him in five years.

  Dryness prickled at the back of her throat. She tentatively reached for the glass of water that was on the bedside table. She quickly sniffed it and hoped that he wasn’t low enough to drug it.

  Pinching her eyes shut, she sipped at it. It tasted fine. In a few seconds, she’d know if it had been drugged.

  “Why do you defend Tyler Cassidy with such fervor? You wouldn’t take Devlin as your husband, but you would take him?” His blunt question caught her off guard.

  Her hand trembled, and she spilled water all over her shirt and the floor. She couldn’t answer his question—she didn’t even know the answer herself. Why had she done it? She hadn’t wanted to put him in harm’s way and yet…

  “Damn it!” She hastily placed the glass back down before it slipped from her shaking hand.

  He stared steadily back at her. She wished she were hanging over the side of a building. Instead of being trapped inside of the largest ship imaginable, trying to find a way to keep a pirate from falling in love with her. This was by far the biggest challenge she’d been faced with in a couple of months. Tyler being charged with murder had nothing on this!

  She stared down at herself and wondered why he was so attracted to her. She was sweating and filthy. She hadn’t slept in a long time, and no doubt she had dark circles under her eyes.

  Her hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail and she wore absolutely no makeup save for the grease and dirt that was smudged across her face. But that didn’t take away from her natural beauty. That had to be it. There was no other explanation.
She rocked. What could she say?

  Her stomach growled loudly reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything in hours.

  “We should go down to the dining hall,” Red said.

  She grimaced. Red sure did have good hearing. She still hadn’t answered his question and yet he’d changed the topic without even pressing for an answer. What sort of a man was he?

  Tension hung in the air and if she had a knife she would’ve been able to slice it into pieces.

  She regulated her breathing, stepping back as he approached her. She pressed her lips into a firm line and decided to answer his question.

  “I defend Tyler Cassidy because he is part of my family and one normally defends the person they are married to. As for why I didn’t marry Devlin—that truly is none of your business. If you cared for someone wouldn’t you do whatever you had to do to see their name cleared? ”

  “I have never found anyone worthy of my love. And for that matter, I don’t know if I ever will. I don’t exactly travel in the most desirable of circles. And I only have two people in my life that I care enough for to defend them should they be accused of a crime.” A bitter laugh escaped him.

  She shivered, looking away. Then, reluctantly, she dragged her gaze back to settle on his face.

  “Well, that’s what you get for hanging out on The Rim. But have heart. There is always a possibility of finding love!” Why was she trying to comfort a space pirate that had abducted her?

  Get on with it Samantha, and get your act together!

  He turned from her and walked toward the door. Unsure of what else she could do, she fell into step beside him. She felt like a bloody puppet.

  “Tyler does not deserve you, you deserve better. You deserve someone who will actually stay faithful to your love.” His words were soft but loud enough for her to hear them.

  The door whooshed open, and he led her out into a hallway, that seemed as if it belonged in a palace on Earth rather than on a battleship.