Reckless Bounty (Intergalactic Justice Book 1)

by Marly Mathews

  “For as long as I can remember.”

  She studied the painted dolls with even more interest and tried to figure the women out.

  Were they really ex-prostitutes?

  All of the questions that flooded her mind were giving her a migraine. He made a show of moving away from her, just as one of the women came toward them.

  Well, if he thought he was getting lucky with her again, he had another bloody thing coming.

  The woman sniffed at her and she glared back at the woman. How dare she imply that she stunk!

  “We can see you are occupied at the moment, Lord Devlin, so we will return later today,” The woman said, eying her knowingly. “I can see your tastes have changed since your wife’s death. Just make sure that she is certified,” the woman advised, motioning for her gal pals to join her.

  “What are you thinking of Rhonda? Of course, she’d be certified. Lord Devlin runs the brothels around here.” One of her companions pointed out. They gave her one last disdainful glare and rushed out the door.

  “Are you certified,” Devlin whispered.

  Samantha’s face flamed with heat and she resisted the urge to break the priceless figurine in front of her. Instead, she wanted to bust something on Devlin’s anatomy.

  “You let them think that I was your hired woman!” she spat out, marching over to him. “How dare you? You son of a bitch. I don’t have the experience those women had, and you know it!”

  “In your state of undress, I can hardly make them believe otherwise. You aren’t exactly a crooked nosed hag. Besides, you gladly give it to me and I don’t have to pay for it so yeah…I guess you can’t be a part of their crowd,” Devlin whispered. He took a step back from her and crinkled his nose. “I was serious when I said that you could use my facilities. In fact, PLEASE use my facilities.” She could tell that he was having a hard time putting up with the strong scent of her.

  “Honestly, what do you think that I am supposed to smell like? The Red Falcon or one of your people are responsible for putting me down there in the garbage, and you mark my words, I will figure out who it was. I think it was your bodyguard, Edwina.

  When they transported me down onto the planet, I landed right beside a garbage dump. An overflowing garbage dump! I can’t be expected to smell like roses,” she mumbled, as she suddenly got a good whiff of herself.

  Damn, she smelt more than the time that she had fallen into a New San Francisco swamp.

  YUCK!

  He was right, she did need to have a good long shower. The hotter, the better.

  “I would like a shower, and this time, I don’t need your assistance.”

  “Yes, well,” he said, as she regarded him steadily. “If you go up the stairs and walk down the hallway then turn right, the first door that you find will be the Blue Room, and you can go in there and have a shower. I will arrange for some suitable clothing for you,” he muttered, reaching for his home communicator. “And if you don’t move quickly, I’ll get you moving by coming up there with you to ensure that you clean yourself properly.” Her heart dropped into her stomach. He still wanted her even after she treated him the way she had.

  Unbelievable.

  “I am going…and please, don’t ever think of coming to help me when I am in the shower. Got that?”

  He smirked at her, his eyes sparkling. He was a big jerk sometimes but damn she loved that big jerk!

  She turned away not wanting to express any gratitude to him and dashed up the long and winding staircase.

  By the time she’d reached the top, she was quite dizzy. She thought back to his instructions, walked down the hall, and then stopped abruptly.

  Did he say right or left?

  She couldn’t remember past the shooting pain in her head. So, she turned left. She reached for the doorknob to the first door on the right and was surprised to find that everything was so old-fashioned in such a modern house.

  She opened the door and stifled a scream. She gaped at the woman in a flowing pink negligee that stood in front of her.

  “My bad,” she mumbled, her cheeks again flaming red.

  He didn’t need another woman, yeah right. If he even tried to get into the shower with her, he was going to get a kick in his tenders.

  The woman stared at her angrily but didn’t say a word, as Samantha quickly shut the door. She let out a surprised gasp and decided that she definitely should have turned right.

  Her shoddy sense of direction had once again gotten her in trouble. She wasn’t at all taken aback.

  She found the right room quickly enough and made her way into the large adjoining bathroom. She started her shower and heard a door creak open and close. She should have locked the bathroom door. With the steam billowing around her, she heard her bathroom door open.

  “That had better be you, Dev.”

  “Who else would it be?” he asked.

  “You can stay right where you are, if you’re starting to strip, skip it. I am not interested. Not after I found a half-dressed woman in one of the bedrooms.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked angrily.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she said as she rinsed her hair and reached for the lavender scented soap to start scrubbing the stench off herself. “You remembered my favourite kind of soap,” she muttered, momentarily distracted.

  “Of course. I’ve made sure that everything you like was always in stock here in case you ever came back to me.”

  She sighed.

  “Have your thoughts on letting me in there changed?” he asked, hope in his voice.

  “Fine,” she relented. “I need someone to scrub my back anyway,” she said, listening to him quickly ditch his clothing.

  *****

  Devlin had been called away right when her shower had gotten interesting and now she was alone but she smelled like heaven and felt glorious. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her hair while she reached for another fluffy one to wrap around her body.

  She stepped out into the room and was surprised to find black leather pants and a leather trench coat waiting for her on the bed.

  He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told her he’d had everything she would ever need stocked in the house.

  Farther away, someone had carefully laid her bra and panties, not to mention the same kind of shirt that she normally wore beneath her leather coat. She dressed quickly and was about to make her way out into the hallway again, when she felt a strange tingly sensation wash over her.

  “No!!!”

  She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she stood in front of a relieved Tyler, and a seemingly irritated Red Falcon.

  Damn them all to hell. She wanted a few more minutes with Devlin—was that really too much to ask?

  She looked around and quickly discovered they were standing in the quarters that she had been assigned on The Emerald Star.

  “Well, you pick the bloody times, you know that?” she spat out, scowling crossly at the Red Falcon.

  She wanted to be anywhere but here. She didn’t want to meet Tyler’s gaze not after what she’d done. But then he’d cheated on her as well so in her estimation they were now even.

  “How the hell did you gain access to my transporter system?” he demanded.

  She was actually surprised by his display of anger. She had thought that he was a man that never lost his control. Obviously, she’d been WAY off the mark.

  She gasped out in outrageous horror at his ridiculous question.

  “How did I do what now?” she sputtered, trailing off, as her brain nearly overloaded with her frustration. “Someone on your ship did this to me. Or someone that had remote access to your systems did it. I think they did it because they know that I am delving into the murder of Lady Devlin. Well, I won’t be intimidated. I’m going to continue my search until I find the real killer.”

  “So you say,” Red said, dropping his arms to his side. “If what you say about being transported
down to New Monaco’s surface against your will is correct, then I will investigate.

  Granted, it might be very difficult for me to catch the person that did it to you. Unless, I ask Devlin to ask his spies he has placed on The Emerald Star about it, that is.”

  Samantha put her index finger up to her temple and groaned. “You do that. I am sure he’ll want to help me. I don’t understand your relationship with Devlin. This whole mess is giving me the largest headache that I’ve ever suffered.

  Let me get this straight. You are Devlin’s adopted child, and yet he doesn’t trust you, so he has spies stationed onboard your ship. And here I thought you were the great and mighty Red Falcon.”

  “I let Devlin have his way. It would only make him madder to know that I knew about his people. He thinks I’m in the dark about the situation and so he is content. I, on the other hand, let the spies know what I want them to know, which isn’t that much. They make reports, Devlin reads them and thinks that in his roundabout manner he is watching over me.

  But we must be very careful with Tyler. Devlin still wants to hang him, and he’s only playing nice because he wants to earn your good favour, Samantha. Devlin is a complicated man, what motivates his actions can sometimes not be determined. I would’ve thought that he had killed Lady Devlin, if I hadn’t known the manner in which she was murdered.”

  Samantha sat down in a chair resting her chin on her hand.

  “Oh, and why is that?” Samantha winced, suddenly realizing that she didn’t have a clue about the way in which Lady Devlin had been murdered.

  Worse yet, she had never conducted a murder investigation, and she didn’t really know how to go about it. She was definitely no Sherlock Holmes.

  The Red Falcon sighed and Tyler stared at her in suppressed irritation.

  “Hey, don’t look at me,” she muttered sullenly. “I didn’t have much time for the incidentals when I was trying to run to your rescue. All I knew was that Lady Devlin had been murdered, and you were being blamed for it.

  Excuse me if I didn’t stop to read the whole report. She was dead. Finding out about how she had been done in, wasn’t going to bring her back to life.”

  “That is true. But unless you want to see Tyler hanged, you’ll have to get your details straight. Lady Devlin was strangled. Devlin would never do something so violent. If he wanted to kill her, he’d have had her poisoned or shot her from a distance.”

  She didn’t want to hear about that part of Devlin. All she wanted to know about was his soft side—his loving side. But she had to ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

  “What if he had ordered the hit?” she countered, as he furrowed his brow.

  “That wouldn’t have made one bit of difference. He still would have made sure that she died in a less physical way. Devlin’s mind is like a ticking time bomb, but he uses his intelligence whenever he makes an important decision. I have known him long enough to realize that killing Lady Devlin was something that would have never entered his mind. He never kills women. He’s old-fashioned that way. He and Lady Devlin had the model marriage. She entertained his powerful friends and allies while letting him have the kind of marriage that he desired with her.”

  “What kind of marriage was that?” she asked, shakily reaching for the cup of coffee that was steaming on the table in front of her. She felt like she’d been thrust into a really complicated soap opera. And she didn’t want to hear about Devlin’s model marriage that was for sure.

  She assumed that the cup of coffee was meant for her and when no one told her otherwise, she cautiously sipped at it.

  “An open one,” The Red Falcon said, causing her to spew out her mouthful of coffee.

  Just at that moment, a communication channel was opened, and she heard Johanna’s aggravated voice on the other end.

  “Is my sister there?” she asked Red.

  He glanced Samantha’s way.

  “Of course,” he clipped off.

  Johanna let out a relieved sigh. “I’ve been viewing camera footage from New Monaco, and I could’ve sworn that I saw her running through the Red Light District in nothing but her pajamas.

  I must have been mistaken, but with Samantha it wasn’t something that would have been unexpected. I need to talk to her on a private frequency if you don’t mind, it concerns a family matter, of the utmost importance.”

  Samantha quickly shot to her feet, and impatiently reached for his communicator.

  The Red Falcon handed her the star shaped object, and Samantha walked into the bathroom, so she’d have some privacy. As she left the bedroom, she noticed the slight frown that creased Tyler’s forehead. Guess he wanted in on the conversation as well.

  “What’s up, Johanna?” she asked, wondering how she should tell her sister that she was right.

  She’d have some smart-ass reply ready for her, and Samantha didn’t know if she could face it, without her second cup of coffee.

  “I’m by myself on The Excalibur. We left space and docked on New Monaco expecting to start the investigation like yesterday. But when you didn’t show up, Dylan, Veronica and Ross set out on their own.

  Dylan has the bright idea that he’s going to clear Tyler’s name all on his own, and he convinced me to stay with The Excalibur, because I don’t feel that great. But I’m worried. He hasn’t checked in for over an hour.

  Samantha, he’s alone, with Veronica and her husband. Though Veronica has nowhere else to go since her ship was destroyed, I can’t help but be concerned. If I give you their last known location, can you go and check it out?”

  “Sure, no problem,” Samantha answered. “Besides, maybe Dylan will have gotten us a lead. He’s the one that reads all of the crime and mystery novels. Don’t worry, Johanna. By the way, what’s wrong with you?”

  “It’s nothing to be concerned about. I should be feeling back to normal soon.”

  Lucy’s outraged voice filled the intercom. Samantha winced and couldn’t help but feel sorry for her sister. “All of your weapons are in the black duffel bag, plus a few little extras that Dylan put in just for good measure,” Johanna explained. “Be safe, and try not to blow up anything. Devlin’s rather fond of this little planet. I don’t want you to get us all in trouble.”

  “Thanks,” Samantha said. She walked back into the bedroom. “Send me the coordinates, and I’ll head down there right away,” Samantha stopped suddenly.

  Tyler was gone, and in his place stood Devlin.

  Thank God.

  “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she teased.

  She winked at him and walked over to the black duffel bag that Johanna had prepared for her.

  “I just thought you might like to know that Johanna’s husband has just started a brawl at the Moonlight Bar. I’d suggest that you get there soon. I don’t have many of my people stationed there, and it is quite a rough and uncontrolled area. So if you want to see him alive again, you’d better get your ass moving,” Devlin murmured, sprawling his lanky form into the overstuffed armchair that sat near the window.

  She began grumbling, outfitting herself with every weapon imaginable. She looked over expectantly at The Red Falcon. She didn’t want to go anywhere. All she wanted to do was spend more time with Devlin.

  Maybe she really had to give up her adventurous life—all hell, who was she kidding, she’d get bored within one month of retirement.

  “Yes,” he drawled, obviously enjoying the fact that she would be forced to ask him for another favour. She’d really gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

  Since she was stuck up in space on his damn ship, and The Excalibur was on the surface there was only one way for her to get down there. She would have to use his stinking transporter again.

  “What? No thank you, for the heads up?” Devlin asked, smirking over at her. She ignored him and glanced back at the Red Falcon.

  “The only thank you, you’ll get from me is a kiss my ass.”

  “I would love to
comply later,” he murmured, earning a confused glance from Red.

  “Hey Red. I know that you can have me transported from here down to the Moonlight Bar. So could you get a move on it?” she asked, not quite bringing herself to use the words please or thank you.

  “I could have you transported, but I’m wondering if I should,” he mused, gaining supreme satisfaction out of messing with her head. She grumbled, and frowned at him, crossing her arms in anger.

  “If you don’t transport me, I’m going…” But her words faded away, as she felt the tingly sensation overwhelming her and she heard his and Devlin’s amused laughter, as if from far away. Then she was in the middle of a dimly lit room, and objects of all shapes and sizes flew everywhere.

  She quickly dived behind a table as she tried to get her bearings. She heard Dylan’s voice and looked up, only to see a very large man, about to take a swing at him.

  “Son of a bastard!” she cursed, quickly drawing her phase pistol.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Now there were two things that Samantha hated doing before her second cup of coffee. She hated finding her ass in the middle of a raging fight and she hated having to be the one to figure out how to get out of a fight that she hadn’t started. But then, she was always one to finish things, and this little battle looked as if it needed ending.

  She pulled out her other phase pistol, made sure they were both set to stun and lunged out from behind the table. The bar could possibly be filled with suspects in Lady Devlin’s death, and she needed to get to Dylan to find out if he had found out anything substantial.

  She made her way to Dylan with both pistols blazing and pinged the man that was about to deck Dylan in his big butt.

  The man let out a bear like howl and swiftly turned around, with his weapon raised.

  “Nighty night!” she murmured, shooting him in the chest. “Please, don’t have sweet dreams.”

  He dropped at Dylan’s feet. Dylan sent her a grateful smile, all the while reaching for his own pistol.