Sunscapes Trilogy Book 1: Last Chance

by Michelle O'Leary

  She nodded as if he'd made a statement, not a question. “I know,” she whispered again, blinking away tears and trying to focus on their target. Leaning against the wall, she adjusted the headset and cleared her throat. Concentrating on the display overlying the vision in her left eye, she listened to Vislovski's harsh breathing with a grimace.

  "He's moving quickly, but he's going to give himself away with all that nervous energy."

  "You did tell him to be swift,” Del murmured.

  She hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing, focusing on their gofer. He was getting some curious looks, but no one stopped him or spoke to him. He entered a lift, fidgeting while it moved. When it opened, he proceeded at a more sedate pace and got fewer glances. He must have realized how dangerous it was to show his fear and anxiety.

  Approaching a clear, guarded door, he had his first conversation since leaving Sin and Del. “Forgot something, Strobe,” he said in what sounded to her like a strained voice.

  But the other man didn't seem to notice. “Yes, sir. Go on through."

  Everything beyond that door seemed to be white or glass, and was difficult for Sin to look at without eye strain. Vislovski passed people who nodded to him, but none looked at him twice, except a small woman with a pinched face and bitter eyes.

  "You look like hell, Jan,” she stated with a satisfied undertone.

  "Cafeteria food,” he mumbled, brushing past her. “Try the meatloaf, Betty. You'll love it."

  Her low voiced, “Bastard,” reached the audio, and Sin smirked. Apparently he hadn't lied about not being well liked.

  He moved down a couple of corridors and through a double set of heavy, clear doors, entering an oval room with monitors crowding the walls. He moved to one, and a seat folded out of the wall in invitation to sit.

  "Identify,” a mechanical voice said, and he spoke his name clearly. Sin blinked to discover that his first name was Janice—no wonder the man had issues—but was relieved to know that he hadn't lied about his identity. The system accepted him without protest.

  He inserted the data crystal and proceeded to search through the system for what she needed to know.

  "He's accessing now,” she murmured for Del's benefit, watching closely as the man searched. There was the possibility that he'd lied about being able to access all the information she wanted and would bring back erroneous material. But he seemed to be hunting in the right places. He was searching through Administration, downloading personnel files to her crystal. She saw Brickston's file flash past and there—there was a file with the Core's insignia on it.

  He searched for a few moments longer, but when he found nothing else, he shut down the system and yanked the crystal free. She noticed that his hands were shaking visibly.

  "He's got it, but he's freaking out about something."

  "Besides the bomb on his chest, you mean?"

  "He wasn't shaking this badly when he went into main access. Come on, Vis, don't crisp out on me now,” she muttered.

  "Maybe they tagged him and he knows it."

  Sin pressed her lips together and said nothing. She watched Vislovski retrace his steps, this time without any conversations. The guard had nothing to say, but Sin clenched her jaw at the wary speculation in the man's eyes.

  "You might be right, Del,” she sighed. “Get your gear. We have to be ready to roll.” Following her own advice, she crouched to gather her bag and weapon, watching as Vislovski stepped onto the lift to come back up to their level. Then she cursed. He wasn't alone.

  "Trouble?” Del asked in her ear.

  She nodded with a grimace. “He's got a couple of guards with him. They're telling him they need to escort him to Brickston's office. The boss needs a word."

  "Shit,” he said with weary emphasis.

  "Agreed. Let's go get our pigeon.” She was about to open the door when she heard Vislovski improvise. “Wait,” she said, putting a cautionary hand on Del's arm. Then she grinned. “Oh, good boy. He says he's forgotten some important documents in his office that Brickston just has to see. He's inviting the guards with him, will only take a second, and so on. They're stopping on this level."

  Del's boyish grin made her heart flip over. “Excellent. Wait here or go to them?"

  "If they're suspicious, every second counts."

  "So, grab the crystal and run like hell."

  "That about covers it,” she agreed with a nod.

  "Sounds like a plan to me,” he said, and opened the door.

  They rushed down the corridor, hoping to meet the lift as it stopped. They only surprised one person on the way, but Del didn't even pause as they rounded the corner and saw her. He tapped her with his riot rod as they flashed past, and she dropped with a strangled shriek to the ground.

  They weren't quite in time. The guards and Vislovski had left the lift and were coming towards them when they reached that corridor. Sin cursed, but didn't stop, and neither did Del. The guards were surprised, so their aim was off when they fired their weapons, but one did manage to get out a garbled warning on his communicator before Sin and Del hit them both like sledgehammers.

  Sin swore again as she turned away from the convulsing guards. “Well, they don't know exactly what's going on, but now they sure as hell know something's wrong. Let's get out of here.” She turned to the man huddled against the wall. “Crystal, please."

  He plucked it out of his pocket and dropped it onto her palm with alacrity.

  "Thank you,” she murmured and tossed him the detonator. “You'll have to have that thing surgically removed. Sorry."

  Turning on her heel, she sprinted down the corridor with Del at her side.

  "You're not sorry,” he accused, as they charged around a corner.

  She sent him a mischievous grin. “Okay, you got me."

  Their travel back through the facility was swifter than their entrance into it. Sin's marks on the walls helped a great deal to find their way, and they no longer worried about being seen. They were moving too quickly for security to muster any kind of response except an all out chase. But a few shots from Sin's stinger discouraged close pursuit.

  When they burst into the cargo bay, Sin was feeling rather optimistic, until she heard a mechanical churning noise above them. She glanced up in alarm.

  "Oh, crap! They've got artillery!” was all she managed to get out before the world exploded around them. The floor buckled and flung them off of their feet, large craters appearing in the metal as if by magic while stinging bits rained down on them.

  Scrambling to their feet, they grasped at each other for balance as they staggered towards the slicers. The world exploded again, and Sin cried out in fear and fury to see her Shadow tumble away from them in flames. She lunged towards it, but Del caught her with an arm around her middle.

  "We have to get out of here! There's no time!” he bellowed in her ear as cargo pods began to topple around them. His arm an iron band around her waist, he staggered to his Shadow and opened it. Falling into his pilot's seat, he pulled her in on top of him, closing the hatch and reaching for the controls at the same time.

  "Son of a bitch! My Shadow!” she snarled, straining against his hold as her fingers flew over the control panel. Del's slicer started with a roar and lurched forward in rough acceleration. Not a moment too soon—the space they'd occupied exploded in a violent outrush that kicked their ship with brutal force.

  Del cursed, but Sin couldn't spare him any attention. “We need to get out of here. This part of the factory is going to explode,” she gritted through clenched teeth, fingers still flying over the controls.

  Del grabbed her wrists, yanking her back against him and holding her in a steely grip. “Let me drive,” he growled.

  The urge to take control of the situation, to do something, ate at her, but she knew Del was right. It was his ship, calibrated to his specifications. He had to fly her. She kept still, but she couldn't relax. Especially since she couldn't see what was happening—she wasn't connected with
the Shadow.

  He seemed to sense her frustration. “That last blast did us some damage, but not enough to stop us. We're away; shield coming up.” The Shadow lurched and Del cursed. “We've got company."

  "Don't worry; they're about to change their minds,” she clipped.

  "What'd you do?"

  "Set my Shadow to self-destruct. It won't blow up the entire factory, but it'll take a chunk of it."

  The ride got rough in a hurry, and Sin was suddenly glad Del had such a strong hold on her. As it was, she thought her teeth were going to rattle out of her head.

  "That worked,” Del panted in her ear. “Company's gone."

  But their ride wasn't getting any more comfortable. “What's—going on?” Sin gasped.

  "What happens—when you set off a bomb—in a bomb?” Del asked in between jolts.

  Sin's heart sank. “The nebula?"

  "Lit up like a nova,” was his disheartening response.

  "Shit."

  "Agreed,” he gritted, his hold tightening until she could barely breathe.

  The next few moments were some of the worst of Sin's life, mainly because she had no way of knowing how bad things really were for them. How far were they from the edge of the nebula? Were they moving fast enough, or was the damage to the ship too extensive? Would they live?

  She didn't bother asking Del any of this, though. He had enough to handle. She concentrated on being the least of his concerns instead, not fighting the bruising force of his hold or the jolts their bodies were receiving. Closing her eyes, she thought please in a silent prayer.

  When the slicer stopped bucking under them like an angry beast, it took her a moment to realize it. She was still bracing for the next slam of force, the next sickening roll.

  "Sun and Stars,” Del breathed in her ear. “I thought we'd had it."

  "We're out?” she asked, a bit disbelieving.

  "We're out,” he acknowledged, but there was a reserve to his tone that made her suspicious.

  "So what's the bad news?"

  "She's pretty well busted,” he muttered. “We're not gonna make it back to HQ. We won't make it very far before they catch up to us."

  She didn't bother to argue that the Core might not come after them. They hadn't been very tidy guests, and they'd taken some serious information. “We need to find a place to hole up, then,” she sighed.

  "What good is that gonna do? They'll find us eventually, unless our air runs out before then."

  "The air recyclers are busted, too?” she asked in a dismal tone.

  "No, but they were made for one body, not two."

  "Kai is just going to have to hurry his ass up, then."

  "How's he gonna find us?"

  "We'll drop a distress beacon,” she said calmly.

  He was silent for a moment, before saying in a careful tone, “Did you hit your head? The bad guys will come running for a distress beacon."

  "The beacon puts out a frequency that sounds like star noise. They won't think anything about it, but it's coded as a distress, and Kai will pick it up."

  "You're sure?” He sounded dubious.

  "Positive."

  "If you say so,” he muttered. “I've found a system with a ringed planet. Asteroids would be better, but there's no belt close enough for that. We can hide out in the rings."

  "Good enough,” she responded. Waiting a full minute, she finally murmured, “Del?"

  "Yeah?"

  "I can't feel my hands."

  "Oh, sorry,” he mumbled, releasing her wrists quickly and drawing his arms from around her. But then he didn't seem to know where to put his hands. He finally settled them on the outer edge of the armrests, away from her body.

  Massaging her wrists, Sin took careful breaths and tried not to think about anything at all.

  "Dropping the beacon,” Del said, his voice sounding a little husky. “Entering the rings. I'm putting us down on one of the bigger rocks, dark side. Maybe this Shadow skin'll make us blend."

  "It will,” she confirmed.

  The ship shivered a little and then was still.

  "Powering down everything but life support,” he said.

  "I'm sure Kai won't be too long,” she responded, continuing to massage her wrists for something to do. Something to take her mind off of her current impossible position.

  There was a moment's silence, before he spoke close enough to her ear for his breath to tickle her skin, “Did I hurt you?"

  "No, I'm fine,” she forced out, and clasped her hands in her lap.

  The silence stretched on, and the tension in Sin's muscles was beginning to hurt. The heat from his hard body baked through her, coaxing her to relax into him, but that had disaster written all over it. They'd been forced to share a slicer—that didn't give her free rein to take advantage of him. It was a thought she tried her best to cling to, but his scent was surrounding her, his heat was soaking into her, and she could feel his heart, a deep, steady vibration that called to her irresistibly.

  He made a small noise and then said, “Your elbow,” in a choked voice.

  She realized that she was digging it into him in an effort to put some space between them. “Sorry,” she breathed, pulling her arm across her body. It put her off balance, and she instinctively shifted on his lap to accommodate the change. It was a mistake.

  His swift, indrawn breath and increased heart rate were enough of a warning, but the hardening of his body against her tailbone set her on fire. “Just ... be still,” he managed to say in a ragged voice, his breath puffing against her burning cheek.

  She couldn't say a word—she was too busy swallowing a moan. Waves of heat were rolling through her, making her skin sensitive to the least brush of clothing. She gritted her teeth against sharp stabs of pleasure as her nipples hardened, trying to breathe in a slow, careful, steadying rhythm. But heat pooled and throbbed between her legs in time with the pulse of flesh at her tailbone. Careful and steady were a galaxy away.

  Del's heart was now pounding out an urgent beat against her back, and she could see his knuckles whiten as he gripped the armrests. “I'm trying,” he suddenly growled, his breath hot against her ear. “I'm trying like hell, but you've been driving me crazy since the moment we met. I'm not sure I can ... Suns, Sin, I need to touch you,” he groaned, hands clenching so hard that the armrests creaked.

  Seduced beyond all reason, she whispered, “I need you, too.” Then she braced her limbs against the sides of the Shadow and executed a flip, kicking the armrests away to straddle him.

  Del had never seen anyone move with such fluid, ruthless grace. The vision of her settling over him, green eyes flaring with primitive heat, and those words “I need you” pushed him beyond any hope of control. He grasped her hips and tugged her into tight, tormenting contact with his arousal, his groan melding with her whimper as their lips met. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and her thighs tightened on his waist, mouth teasing his in a series of wild, steamy kisses that tasted like fire and promised paradise.

  It was too intense. Her sweet body felt like it was not only pressing against him, but burning into him, through him. Her touch, her taste, her fiery-sweet scent were soaking through him, an invasion of the senses so profound that he felt himself slipping away, his will and essence overwhelmed by her and pushing him towards insanity or oblivion. It took him a moment to figure out why. They weren't one seductress, but two, the Shadow stroking his nerves from the inside.

  Without hesitation, he yanked the connector free from his port and dropped it. He'd once thought that piloting a Shadow would be like making love with a goddess, but it didn't compare to the real thing. Without that inner distraction, the physical sensation of Sin in his arms and her taste on his tongue magnified, spinning him in a different kind of delirium. She rotated her hips in a slow undulation against him and the spike of pleasure that chased up his spine nearly sent him over the edge.

  With a growl, he wrenched his mouth free of hers and began pulling at their c
lothing, desperate to feel her skin against him. She cooperated, shifting back to shrug her jacket off of her shoulders and yank at his shirt, the sweet friction of her movement against his hardness dimming his vision. Panting, he ripped his shirt over his head and then repeated the maneuver with hers.

  "Oh, Suns, thank you,” he breathed at the sight of her bare torso, his hands shaking as he ran them over her cool, smooth skin. She felt like silk to his touch, that mysterious, maddening scent of sweet fire engulfing him and tempted him to taste. Cupping her full breasts, he lifted them to his mouth, tongue rolling over first one hard nipple and then the other. She was honey; she was sweeter than dreams. He could have stroked and tasted her forever, but Sin had other plans.

  With a luscious sound deep in her throat, she dug her fingers into his hair and lifted his head, mouth meeting his in a deep, heated kiss. Her hands swept down his neck and over his chest and abdomen in swift fire before she began working on the clasp to his pants. He couldn't say he had any objections to that plan.

  Removing the rest of their clothing was awkward in the pilot's seat, but they managed, and Sin's sinuous wriggling was both a visual and tactile pleasure. Admittedly, he didn't help her much—her writhing was too tempting, and he couldn't keep his hands from exploring what she revealed.

  When he found the heat and wetness between her thighs, she stilled for a moment before arching against his touch with a soft cry. Groaning with agonized pleasure, he sank his teeth into her shoulder as he slid his fingers inside her, more than willing to watch her come apart in his arms. But she still had other plans.

  With a gasping moan, she pulled his hand away and wriggled back around until she straddled him again. Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she locked her green gaze on his and slowly sank onto his length. Breath caught in his throat, he watched her lashes sweep down and gritted his teeth at the throbbing pleasure of her warmth clenching around him. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she seated herself fully upon him, and he growled in response. But when she moved against him, he caught her hips and held her still. His whole body hummed with pleasure, and he was afraid that the least little movement would expand that hum to a roar that would shatter his world.