Microsoft Word - RecklessBounty

by test

  Wincing, she saw an imaginary hourglass in her mind’s eye. The sand trickled through it, and she groaned as she felt an ulcer begin growing in her stomach. Now she was in for the race of her life. The race against time.

  And as Samantha stared over in consternation at the Red Falcon, she wondered where he had gotten all of his information. Goosebumps ran across her flesh when she imagined being followed for such an unfathomable amount of time. Creepy. She should have been bright enough to realize that she’d been trailed, instead of walking around in blissful ignorance. God, she was a dunderhead.

  “Well,” Samantha said casually, “I hate to spoil this lovely conversation, but since we have everything negotiated beautifully, I do believe that my crew and I would like to take some time to sleep. You all do remember what that is, right?” she asked, directing her gaze at the Red Falcon, and Lord Devlin.

  She wanted them to leave, and even though The Excalibur was still technically at the mercies of the Red Falcon, she was awfully tempted to take her steel-toed boot and kick them both out on their collective butts.

  Samantha inhaled deeply, and waited for Lord Devlin to take his gooney women and leave her ship. She smiled when Lord Devlin turned away from her. But her smile faded, when he approached her sister, and bent to gallantly kiss Johanna’s hand.

  “Until we meet again, my darling,” Lord Devlin murmured, even though her sister stared at him in disgust. Samantha’s heart raced.

  “Until hell freezes over,” Johanna returned, causing his face to fall.

  He abruptly turned around, and quickly ambled toward the door. Samantha expected The Red Falcon to follow suit so she’d have some time alone with her husband. They still had a few kinks between them to work out. Veronica, however, interrupted her train of thought.

  “If everyone doesn’t mind, Ross and I will return to our quarters, and no one better get the smart ass idea to ever again override privacy mode. If they do, they’ll be eating my phase RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 86

  pistol for lunch,” she threatened.

  Ross looked at Veronica with love shining in his eyes. They left them all alone, as Samantha prepared herself for a row with her hubby. And then her train of thought was completely wrecked, when The Red Falcon grabbed for Tyler, and guided him toward the door.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Samantha asked, watching as Tyler went along without any objections.

  “I’ll keep Tyler on The Emerald Star confined to his quarters until his name is cleared.

  Oh, and you are going to stay with me. Devlin believes we ARE lovers, and we must ensure that we keep up appearances,” The Red Falcon explained, staring down at her with his sparkling dark blue eyes.

  “Appearances

  be

  damned! ” Samantha nearly shouted, trying vainly to wrench Tyler away from the Red Falcon. But she’d never win this tug of war.

  “If you think I am going to stand by and take your shit, you have another thing coming!”

  “Do you wish to ruin everything I have set in motion?” the Red Falcon insisted.

  “Would you please be considerate enough to give me a private moment with my husband? ” Samantha retorted, stressing the last two words. Something hesitant flashed in The Red Falcon’s eyes.

  Spontaneously, Samantha reached for Tyler, and pulled him so close to her, she could feel his breath on her face, and she knew he would be able to hear the rapid beating of her heart.

  “Certainly,” the Red Falcon granted. She thought she glimpsed something akin to jealousy shimmering in his eyes. She sighed. If he really was into her she was going to have a hell of a time getting rid of him.

  He moseyed out the door. Samantha felt her heart beginning to beat normally, as The Excalibur’s door shut firmly behind the Red Falcon. Tyler grasped her hands, and pulled them up to worshipfully kiss them.

  “I must thank you, for always fighting so fiercely for me,” Tyler murmured.

  Her eyes glistened, and her heart soared. His melodious voice sent her to nearly trembling with anticipation. But tonight, they would be denied all close contact, and tomorrow she would be faced with solving a murder that seemed to have no clues. She put on a brave face, and decided she would have to set her issues with Tyler aside.

  If they managed to survive the obstacle that now impaired their marriage, maybe just maybe, they’d be able to successfully reconcile. Loving each other wasn’t the problem, but rather living with each other.

  Dylan moved forward to quickly embrace his brother, and then Johanna followed suit.

  Johanna smiled at Tyler, and brushed a fallen wisp of auburn hair off of his face.

  “The Cassidy’s will survive,” Samantha decided, her heart overflowing at the final reunion.

  “And when we do, I’m going to take us all to Hawaii,” Dylan spoke up brightly, infecting everyone with his contagious enthusiasm.

  “You’re going to have to scrounge some money up in that case, Dylan,” she laughed.

  Tyler and Johanna stared at her with bemused expressions on their faces.

  “It’s true,” she insisted. “We’re nearly broke.”

  She allowed Tyler to carefully catch a hold of her hand, and she didn’t even stiffen at his touch.

  “We haven’t exactly been collecting all of that much cash on our most recent bounties, and when we lost Clayton, well that little adventure nearly depleted our reserves. Proving Tyler’s RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 87

  innocence will run us dry. Sorry you all, but I’m afraid, when we’re done here we’ll have to get back on the old bandwagon, and go and find us some dirty rotten scoundrels with hefty prices on their heads.” She didn’t want to be a party pooper, but they had to look at things realistically.

  “Samantha has a point,” Johanna said, endorsing what she’d already laid out for them. “I am afraid we won’t be seeing Hawaii’s lovely beaches for quite a while.”

  “Fine with me!” Samantha grinned. Tyler stared down at her in disbelief. “I can always buy another trip to Hawaii, but I can’t ever buy the love that is standing before me at the moment. Look at me, I’m getting sentimental and when that happens, nothing positive comes from it. As such, I believe we should all take our prescribed medicine and go and face what needs to be done. I will try to check in on you now and again, Tyler,” Samantha murmured, bidding farewell to her sister and Dylan.

  Tyler and Samantha emerged out into The Emerald Star’s docking bay, only to find the Red Falcon patiently waiting for them. He moved forward and gently gripped her hand. She couldn’t even kiss Tyler goodbye. Boy, this really stunk. In fact, it stunk high Heaven.

  She watched with growing restlessness, as Tyler was led away from her. He glanced behind his shoulder and gave her a heartening smile, and winked. She prayed it wouldn’t be the last time she saw him that way.

  Samantha walked with the Red Falcon silently through his long corridors, and began strategizing the coming days. She had to be on her toes, and study everything that came her way.

  She would have to ask a lot of questions, and hope that some of them were answered.

  The real murderer was probably still on New Monaco, and may have even been tempted to return to the scene of the crime.

  If they were completely sure they had pinned the offense on someone else, then they would be overly confident. That was how she was expecting to flush out the real perpetrator.

  She just prayed her expectations would come to fruition.

  She had brought in a lot of murderers on her bounty hunting escapades, and during those times she’d caught a rare glimpse into their psyches.

  “A gold doubloon for your thoughts.” the Red Falcon’s softly spoken question nearly gave her a start.

  She glanced his way, and tried to get used to the recently discovered name he had. He didn’t at all suit his name. With his bright beard, and glowing hair, he seemed much older than she suspected he had to be, and he had a dangerous air about him, that she wa
sn’t at all comfortable around.

  His eyes held more woe than she had ever seen compiled in one human being.

  Something horrible had scarred him early on, she suspected. Though she rarely discussed her father’s murder, she knew she’d changed after that heartrending incident.

  Witnessing your father’s own murder, and not getting a full on glimpse of his killer was the worst event in her short life. She had been dogged in finding his killer and still she’d only managed to unearth a few traces that he even existed.

  Her memories of the event were hazy, and she realized that her mind might have even started to play tricks with her. Samantha’s family had suggested that she go and see a certified telepath, but she’d been unwilling to open that door in her mind. That imprint on her psyche was probably the thing that kept her from fully mastering her own abilities. Until she could come to peace with that part of her past, she’d always have volatility to her abilities.

  But as she studied the Red Falcon she knew that he harbored secrets similar to her own.

  A storm raged inside of the Red Falcon, and if he didn’t learn how to weather it, his life would RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 88

  turn out much differently than what he deserved. She doubted she would ever know him well enough to find out what they were, but she hoped that if he did come through for them, that he would find his tranquility one day.

  “They aren’t worth that much,” Samantha teased. “Don’t bother thinking too much about them. Really.”

  For some reason his smile faded. They stopped outside of a door. She tried slipping her hand out of his somewhat slackened grip. But he held fast. The door slid open and her smile vanished the same way the Red Falcon’s had

  * * * *

  “I took the liberty of having some of your belongings transferred here, since you will be here for at least more than one day. You, of course, shall be transported down to the surface during your day for your inquiry, and then at night, you will be transferred back up here. New Monaco is a dangerous place at the best of times, but at night, it’s nigh unimaginable. All sorts of lecherous people abound, and it is definitely not somewhere that you should be.”

  “Obviously, that tracker you put on me hasn’t told you a damn thing about me. I can handle myself quite nicely! I’m no little Miss Innocent, you know. I’ve been to worlds that make New Monaco look like a sweet shop in comparison. You do not want to know about some of the shit I’ve seen. Nonetheless, I don’t need anyone keeping a watchful eye on me. It makes me feel claustrophobic.” Samantha moved in to confront him.

  “I understand that perfectly,” The Red Falcon said, backing away from her, toward the spread of food that was laid out on a circular table in front of the four-poster king sized bed.

  “And because of this pre-conceived knowledge, I had my people clear The Excalibur for leaving The Emerald Star. I don’t feel like playing big brother anymore. It’s just not my style.”

  Samantha’s chest heaved up and down, and she didn’t miss his eyes trail down to her cleavage. She ground her teeth together, and clenched her hands into fists. He was very close to getting a knuckle sandwich.

  “You set this all up on purpose! Why, you’re even worse than Lord Devlin,” she accused. “I want you to swear to me that The Excalibur is in no eminent danger!”

  “At the moment, The Excalibur is quite safe. I assure you, I would not smear our relationship by doing something so backhanded as to hurt the ones that you care so deeply about.

  That my dear, is not in my nature,” The Red Falcon murmured, pulling a chair out and gesturing for her to come over and sit herself in it.

  “In a minute, I’m going to show you what my true nature is. And let me tell you, you won’t like it one bit.” She braced herself, and stared crossly over at him. “Now you expect to wine and dine me,” she assumed. “Oh, you’re a riot and a half. You have no idea who you are dealing with.” Samantha licked her lips at the tantalizing aroma that wafted over to her. “You are playing with my kind of fire, and you don’t want it to burn you.” Despite her better intentions, amethyst mist started to roll through the air. His eyes followed the plumy smoke.

  He cleared his throat. “Perhaps, we should try to calm your nerves. I wouldn’t want you to do something you would later regret. Your hotheadedness under normal circumstances can’t be a good combination when mixed with those combustive abilities of yours.”

  “How do you know about my dark little secret?” she demanded.

  “I would have to be an idiot to not connect the dots, Samantha. You are a revered bounty hunter known for pulling off inconceivable feats of wonder. No ordinary human, let alone a female could withstand some of the rigorous hardships you’ve endured while on the hunt.”

  “I will ignore your female comment,” she whispered, her blood pressure rising. “Just RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 89

  keep what you think you know to yourself or I will throw caution to the wind and let my abilities do their worst to you. If I accidentally blew myself up taking you out, it would be worth it to secure your silence.”

  “You truly are a wonder. My lips are sealed… but heed my warning, if I know about your extraordinary talents, there are others who do as well. Besides, you have not really shoved Charlotte into a sealed closet have you? Anyone would be able to find out what she does easily enough and since the two of you are identical twins, coming to the conclusion that you would share her talents isn’t that far of a stretch.”

  “She’s more talented than I.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, Samantha, if it helps you sleep at night,” he sighed. “Now, could we please change our topic of conversation? I am finding our current subject, abhorrently tedious.”

  “You just sounded like Lord Devlin, you know that?” she groaned. “What’s on those platters, there? I can’t say I don’t welcome the sight of food....”

  “It’s roasted chicken, rice and vegetables,” The Red Falcon said enticingly. She groaned as if in agony, when she heard her stomach let out a desperate roar of hunger.

  Samantha walked toward the table, pulled out her own chair, and plunked her weary butt down onto it. She picked up her knife and fork, and waited until he had seated himself.

  “I trust that Tyler is being treated in a similar manner,” she concluded, spearing her tender chicken.

  “Certainly, though I do not think he was provided with the romantic ambiance or the scented candles.”

  She chewed her large mouthful of food, and let her eyes roam freely around the large quarters. She swallowed and rested her gaze on the Red Falcon.

  “I don’t suppose your blasted ship is equipped with showering facilities that have real water?” Samantha asked, feeling her breath lodge in her throat.

  “But of course. I have only the best on my ships. I’m a pirate with a sense of distinction, you know,” the Red Falcon replied, smiling as a radiant grin spread across her face.

  “Hot water,” she repeated, gingerly placing a foreign looking vegetable into her mouth.

  Man, she’d just died and gone to Heaven! The Excalibur’s sonic showers paled in comparison. It was much cheaper, and hell, it never ran out.

  “Yes.”

  She sighed again, and nearly melted right in front of him. They spent the rest of the meal enjoying idle chitchat, as her mind kept wandering back to Tyler. Was he safe? Was he as apprehensive about the future as she was? Should she even give a damn after all of the grief he’d put her through?

  She placed her questions aside, and perused the Red Falcon with as much impatience as she had ever experienced. She wanted him out of her room so that she could strip down to nothing, and jump into the shower that seemed to beckon to her.

  She felt grubby, and she couldn’t wait to scrub all of the dirt off of her. From what she had been through that day, she wouldn’t be surprised if the grime had worked its way into her pores.

  But the Red Falcon still sat there looking supremely satisfied, and t
hen she wrinkled her nose, when she remembered the grand bed that was thrust up against the furthest wall.

  Well, if he thought that they were going to enjoy a tumble in it, then he needed something long and sharp thrust up his backside. ‘Course she could always throw him on it, and then knock RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 90

  him out. She prepared herself for the worst, when he suddenly stood up and moved toward the bed.

  “Don’t get any disgusting ideas. Remember I just ate. You don’t want me to lose my cookies,” Samantha warned, jumping to her feet. Of course, being with a man like him wouldn’t disgust her as she felt quite certain he would be a good lover but she had to ditch him somehow!

  He smiled slowly down at her.

  “Do not fret, dearest Samantha. I told you that we only needed to keep up appearances. I have spent a sufficient amount of time with you. Devlin only needs to think that I have shagged you. He doesn’t need to know the details, nor does Devlin expect me to stay with you all night.