Reckless Bounty (Intergalactic Justice Book 1)

by Marly Mathews

  “I was just about to admit my mea culpa, you stupid woman!” Lady Devlin said.

  Samantha grinned and gave Lady Devlin the best poker face she could muster.

  “Really? Well, by all means don’t let me stop you,” Samantha said, pursing her lips in a thin line. “The part that really interests me though is why you had to frame Tyler. What the hell did he ever do to you?”

  “Patience, my dear, is a virtue, which you obviously lack. Allow me to explain everything and in due course, your pea sized brain might be able to understand,” Lady Devlin purred.

  Johanna stiffened and glared at the woman.

  “I want to wipe that smug little look clear off her prissy face!” Johanna muttered, out of the corner of her mouth, causing Samantha to grin.

  “Have patience, dear sister,” Samantha whispered. Johanna glared over at her, and Samantha winked at her.

  “I had Dolores assume my identity so I could disappear without Devlin even realizing I was gone. You see, I have a spy stationed on The Emerald Star. Her name is Connie West, and she is an old friend from my prostituting days.

  Connie intercepted a message of the Red Falcon’s to Tyler, telling him he wanted to hire Tyler to copy the Empress Ileana treasure map that is tattooed on my back. Well, when I realized the map could make me rich beyond my wildest dreams, I decided I needed to leave Devlin, and find my treasure. I didn’t want to share it with Devlin, and so telling him was out of the question.

  Framing your husband for my murder just seemed to be delightfully funny, don’t you think? I would have rather framed you, but you have to work with what life gives you,” Lady Devlin taunted.

  Samantha resisted the urge to move forward.

  She had to control her fury.

  “I can think of something that will be funny, and it’s going to happen in a few minutes,” Samantha muttered.

  She really hated Lady Devlin.

  Lady Devlin smiled, causing the thick pancake on her face to nearly crack.

  “The public here on New Monaco adores me. They plaster my picture on every magazine in existence, and I just couldn’t let them down by shattering the fairy tale that Devlin and I had created.

  So, I decided to martyr myself. Being brutally murdered was the best strategy. I must admit it worked remarkably well. Enlisting Jarrod’s help was something that I had to do.

  Until I can get to my treasure he had the wealth and power, which I sorely needed. He understood me. We knew each other as children, and he could sympathize with my plight. He generously agreed to help me, as long as he could have his revenge on you, and yours.

  I must say you nearly took care of him when you were on Notting Prime. It is a pity that you didn’t succeed. My plan was already coming to fruition and now, since he is still alive I have to share my loot with him.”

  “Why you devious bitch!” Rodgers yelled angrily, reaching into his desk drawer for his pistol.

  “Oh, dear me…. Is there trouble in paradise?” Samantha mocked. Without missing a beat, she pushed Johanna to the side. “Here it goes!” she muttered, “Now the shit is going to hit the fan. Are you guys getting all of this insanity?” Samantha asked, as Dylan’s voice answered in her ear.

  “Yep, and let me tell you, Lady Devlin is one screwed up woman. I think she needs to be committed,” Dylan muttered. “She needs to go to Sunnydale Sanitarium.”

  “Yeah. I’d like to continue our chitchat Dylan. But if we don’t react quickly, we’re going to get caught in the middle of something too ugly for words,” Samantha whispered, her eyes darting between Lady Devlin and Rodgers.

  “Devlin’s sending a security detail, and we’re coming with them. We should be there in five minutes,” Dylan piped in.

  “So sorry to burst his bubble and all, but I think that’s going to be five minutes too late!” Samantha murmured.

  Rodgers shot at Lady Devlin, who was quickly knocked off her feet by Crenshaw.

  “I don’t really give a damn about any of the others but make sure that T1 makes it out of here alive! Since he’s only a drone clone. His life expectancy is going to be real short, and he may be the only way to save Tyler from public outcry,” Samantha instructed, setting her sights on Rodgers.

  She pulled out her pistol and shot T1 before he could even react. The clone slumped down to the floor, and Samantha smiled, glancing back to Rodgers. He was gone!

  “Shit!” Samantha cursed. Now, she’d have to follow him.

  Why oh why, couldn’t he just stay put like a good little villain?

  Veronica pulled Johanna down behind a sofa, just as Crenshaw and Lady Devlin fired at them. “I have to go after him, do you think you guys can handle things here?” Samantha asked, dodging wayward shots.

  “No problem,” Johanna returned, her lips set in a determined line. “The psychotic bitch is mine!”

  “Oh goody. I get Crenshaw. It’s time to teach the son of a bitch that Veronica Elizabeth Hutchins always gets her payback. And Crenshaw needs a super-sized dose of it. He destroyed my car and my spaceship and now he’s going to get a world of hurt,” Veronica promised angrily, narrowing her eyes.

  “Good luck!” Samantha called back to them.

  She sprinted out of the door, and raced for the top deck.

  She stood on the deck and searched for Rodgers. Turbulent clouds filled the sky, causing it to go a dangerously dark colour.

  The sea was rocking the yacht, and Samantha groaned as she realized that one hell of a storm was brewing. She had heard that storms on New Monaco could brew up in an instant, and disappear just as quickly as they had formed.

  “You aren’t going to get away this time!” she shouted, above the mournful wind. Swaying slightly, she felt her stomach flip-flop. The wind was increasing in its strength. She stared over at the water. It had turned a frightful shade of grey.

  “I disagree,” Rodgers said, causing the hairs on the nape of her neck to bristle.

  “Watch out, Samantha!”

  There went that damnable voice again. It always came to her when she was in mortal danger.

  Coincidence?

  She thought not.

  She realized he had snuck up behind her, but she was unable to do anything as he lunged at her, successfully knocking the wind out of her.

  “Oh, no!” she cried.

  They both went skidding across the slick deck. Water poured down from the sky in relentless buckets.

  They went careening against the wooden deck, fully entangled in each other. Her eyes widened in dawning horror, as she realized she was going to fall into the choppy water.

  Her mind screamed out in desperation. She could do nothing. Her powers remained dormant. Her heart stopped as they went hurtling into the water.

  It was cold.

  She just barely had enough time to take in a lungful of air, before Rodgers pulled her beneath the water.

  He knew she hated water, and the sick bastard realized he had the upper hand when they were beneath water. But not this time! This time, she was going to prevail and triumph.

  She struck her fist out at him, and managed to pull herself out of his solid lock.

  He released her, but quickly regained his bearings and lurched toward her. She moved out of his way, desperately trying to lash out at him with some paranormal help.

  She heard another splash as someone else dove into the water and though her emotions were strained to the breaking point, she knew who had come to help her.

  She kicked out at him and resisted, smiling, as he went toppling backward. She saw the glint of steel coming toward her and wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

  The sicko wanted to play dirty so she would play too. She reached down for her old-fashioned Celtic dagger and frowned when she realized they were going through the same motions as they had back on Notting Prime.

  Weird.

  She had won the struggle there, but he hadn’t been dead. This time, she was going to make sure he was dead before she forgot about him.
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  Rodgers was on top of her in minutes, and they were locked in a mindless struggle of wills, until, she felt his dagger sink into her side. She grimaced in pain. He pulled the dagger out of her side and was about to stab her again. She should have fought back but her strength was ebbing.

  That was when Devlin appeared.

  He pulled Rodgers away from her, as her blood trickled out into the water. She felt a bit weak and struggled to keep herself conscious so she could watch as Devlin pummeled the ever loving shit out of Rodgers, and then, finally, used the dagger he was going to use on her to finish him off.

  Rodgers’ lifeless gaze stared at her through the water. Exhaustion, claimed her and her eyes closed just as Devlin’s arm reached out for her and he started hauling her to the surface.

  Through her haze, she felt him pull her back onto the ship with the help of Johanna. Smiling, she drifted off and fell into a blissful dreamland.

  *****

  Samantha heard classical music playing, and could feel a soft but firm mattress beneath her body. She didn’t hear the sound of the machines that were in the sickbay on her ship so she knew she wasn’t on The Excalibur.

  “So, you’re finally awake,” she smiled at the sound of Devlin’s voice, wincing as she tried to sit up and found that there was a searing pain in her side.

  “Don’t move too much, Johanna said you’ll rip out your stitches.”

  She grimaced as her foggy vision cleared and she laid eyes on Devlin, in his dressing gown. The question was, how the hell long had she been here with him, in his bedroom?

  “Where is Johanna?” she asked groggily, trying to sit up.

  “I would say she’s enjoying her time here on New Monaco with all expenses paid thanks to me,” he said smiling at her as he came to carefully sit on his side of the bed.

  “Where is Tyler?” she asked.

  “With them, I imagine. It’s all been arranged. They are keeping him out of sight so I can go about making things right here on New Monaco. She wisely left you to my care.”

  “I didn’t tell her to.”

  “True, but I asked her to,” Devlin asked. “And I can be quite charming when I want to be,” he said, his roguish grin making her insides flutter. She looked away from him.

  “I can’t stay here with you, Gabriel and you must know that.”

  “I might know it, but I’ve decided to live in denial. I’ll do anything to have you stay by my side, Samantha. Anything.”

  “Could I have some water?” she asked, as he jumped off the bed and walked over to her side of the bed where a pitcher of a water and cups sat on the bedside table.

  He poured her a glass and handed it to her. She drank slowly, wisely knowing enough not to gulp it all down at once.

  She knew when she was beat, and when she had to pick her battles. Her condition was still pretty fragile, Rodgers had gotten her good with is blade and she needed time to heal. So, she’d spend her time convalescing with him, after all, there was no better place to be.

  “I’ll remain with you until I heal,” she whispered.

  His smile lit up the room. “Grand. I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.”

  She sighed as drowsiness pulled at her once again. “If I didn’t know better I’d say that water had a drug in it.”

  “It did. It shouldn’t knock you out, it’s only meant to keep your energy levels low so you won’t overdo it. Johanna told me what amount to put into it. She knew you would push yourself too hard.”

  She sighed heavily. Her sister knew her too damn well!

  “I feel like I need some more sleep. Come and join me, and when I next wake, you can fill my belly with food.”

  He climbed onto the bed with her, laid so they faced each other, and she reached out and touched his cheek. “My hero,” she whispered, before sleep claimed her, she saw the silhouette of a woman standing behind Devlin. She smiled sleepily. “Rest in peace, Delores.”

  The woman waved at her, and then her spirit disappeared.

  Devlin frowned. “Maybe you’re worse off than I thought,” he murmured. She smiled at him.

  “I love you, Gabriel,” she said just as sleep claimed her.

  The next few weeks were glorious ones for her and though she couldn’t move around much, she found that Devlin figured out other more enjoyable ways to occupy her time.

  But she couldn’t stay with him forever. On the morning that she knew she had to leave, she left him a note and slipped out while he was still sleeping. She had barely made it to The Excalibur when she figured out she was being followed.

  Johanna knew she was coming and she and Dylan were waiting for her.

  Jumping out of the hired hover car, she waited as Devlin stepped out of his car. He locked gazes with her. She looked away. She couldn’t bear looking at the heartbreak in his eyes.

  “I told you I couldn’t stay with you forever, Devlin.”

  Johanna stood by her side, and looked at her quizzically. “Why not? Love isn’t always easy, Samantha, I know that well enough.”

  “I told Devlin I would have to leave him. He knew this day was coming.”

  Devlin sighed. “You did wonderfully, Samantha. You cleared Tyler’s name and wrapped it all up for me like a little present. Alas, you all, excluding Samantha, of course, have to leave New Monaco as soon as possible. I’ll be shipping my wife, off to a Labour Camp as soon as I’ve had her facial features surgically altered, I’ve been keeping the little bitch on ice for the last little while. I couldn’t bear to listen to her prattling any longer but I’ve divorced her and now she needs to go, and do her time at the Labour Camp. Crenshaw will be joining her. As for Tyler, you can have him so Samantha can divorce the asshole.

  But as you’ve been keeping him out of sight, I now ask you to take him away from New Monaco, as I will be giving the public what they want by executing his clone. There was an innocent woman murdered, even though it wasn’t Lady Devlin, and now the real murderer will be at the mercy of New Monaco law.

  I have wired the necessary funds to your bank accounts on Earth and don’t worry Dylan monitored my actions. I always pay my dues, and now I would like a word with Samantha if you all do not mind,” he said. They all walked away, giving them the privacy that Devlin had asked for.

  “I want you to stay here and become my wife once your divorce is finalized. I want us to have the life we always should have had. The last few weeks, have they meant nothing to you?”

  “They’ve meant everything to me. You are my safe zone. You are the only man I trust completely. You are the only man I’ve ever truly loved—and that’s why…that’s why I have to leave you, I have to give you the chance to live your life. If you stay with me, you will meet your doom,” she said.

  “I don’t believe you. There you go again, erecting those shields around your heart and your life. I want you more than anything else in the world and you deserve the life I can give you.”

  “But you don’t deserve me, Gabriel. I tend to leave destruction in my wake. I couldn’t bear if my life somehow sucked you in and got you killed or something…”

  “I’ll take that chance, Samantha. Did our time together really mean that little to you?”

  “They meant the world to me! I can’t tell you how much I love you—I don’t think words exist for that kind of love. But I won’t let you back in only to lose you. I can’t…not now.”

  “Then when?” he asked, holding both of his hands against his chest. “Tell me, what I can do to change your mind.”

  “You can’t do anything to change my mind, I am one stubborn bitch.”

  “Then, you’re going to go back to Tyler?”

  “How can you even ask that? I would never go back to him, not after—do you really think I am that faithless? Just because I’m leaving you, doesn’t mean I’m going to go and shack back up with Tyler.

  Tyler and I are finished…we can’t go back to the way things were between us…ever again. He can’t be trusted. He sees a pretty lady
and bam, he wants to be in her pants. But Tyler will never not be a part of my family. We share Dylan as our bond, and though I can’t love him the way I love you, we will still be family, you do understand that, don’t you?”

  “I understand it, yes. I don’t like it. I will never give up on us, Samantha.”

  She pulled her hands away from him. “That’s your choice, Gabriel…but I have to go for the sake of your own safety. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me during our time together. Thank you for showing me that some men are worth fighting for.”

  “Then, why the hell don’t you fight for me?” he asked fiercely.

  “Because, Gabriel,” she whispered, turning to leave. “I want you to live…and when we’re together, I only see your death…caused by me. Farewell, my love.”

  She walked away, and willed herself to continue without throwing herself back into his arms. Damn it. She wanted him so badly. Her heart was breaking and she had no way of healing it—ever.

  She joined Johanna, Dylan and Tyler.

  “You broke Devlin’s heart,” Johanna said. “I’ve never seen a man look so distraught before.”

  “He’s better off without me,” Samantha whispered, praying that she was right!

  “Can we get a move on?” Dylan asked, as they all turned to look at him. “I’ve already made arrangements for us all to have a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii. I even contacted Charlotte, Jessica, and my dearest mother-in-law, they’ll be waiting for us, so we better get our butts moving.”

  They all laughed—all of them except for Samantha. She didn’t feel like laughing not after what she’d done to Devlin. She had to finally divorce Tyler. They couldn’t continue on, not after what had happened between her and Devlin.

  “For once Dylan…” Samantha began, “I’m not about to argue with you. But we should really say our goodbyes to the Red Falcon, after all, he did have a part in saving your hide, Tyler.”

  “Too late,” Tyler said shrugging. “He told me to relay his goodbye to you, and said that if you ever needed anything all you had to do was ask. Then he took the drawing of the map that I made, dumped Connie on Devlin, and took off.