The Bounty Hunter's Honour (Renegades Book 5)

by L P Peace

  ‘Great. Show me the way to the engine room.’

  One side of the hall lit up brighter than the other, the other dimming even further a moment later. Sophia followed the lighter path through the hall and deeper into the ship, creeping while working to not sacrifice speed.

  When she got to the cross-section, she peered around both corners, then, when it was clear, continued to follow the lit halls.

  ‘The engine room is at the back of the ship,’ Cintra said. ‘On the other end of this hall sits the bridge.’

  ‘Great. Thanks.’

  ‘There is one life sign on the bridge.’

  Sophia froze. ‘Is there a surveillance system?’

  ‘Not that I can detect. However, it may be in a closed system.’

  ‘Fuck! Fuckity fuck!’ Sophia let out a deep breath. ‘Not much we can do about it. Let me know if the life sign moves.’

  ‘Affirmative,’ Cintra chirped.

  ‘Any more life signs?’

  ‘Negative.’

  Sophia continued down the hall and was through the door a few moments later. When the door closed behind her, she felt some relief, though she couldn’t help but wonder if she was being watched by the bridge occupant right now.

  The engine room was a mess of pipework and banks of flickering lights. At the centre of it all, the amot casing sat around the radiant engine.

  Sophia pulled her bag from her shoulders as she approached the engine and pulled out the alien device that had knocked out her Raptor’s engine weeks before.

  ‘Okay, Cintra, show me the best place to put this.’

  ‘I get it. These humans are soft and warm and have delightful cunts. But you don’t let yourself become attached to these creatures. They’re not like us.’

  Ronin was getting a cramp in his jaw muscles. It was where all the tension in his body was settling as he held himself in place. He wanted to break Dukal’s jaw so he’d never talk again.

  There was also the fact that two Bentari were in his engine room right now doing vrok knows what to his new ship’s engine.

  They were both delaying. Ronin was delaying Dukal while Sophia sabotaged his engine, and Dukal was doing much the same, though Dukal was probably planning on his men taking Sophia while the two of them sat here talking.

  Fortunately, Dukal hadn’t yet figured out that Ronin was onto him.

  A chime sounded in the bridge. ‘I have to get that,’ Ronin said, standing.

  Dukal nodded and watched him go.

  Pulling up a vid of the engine room on his console, Ronin watched the Bentari working around the radiant engine. It looked like they were trying to dismantle the power exchange, which would end up with a critical build of energy in the collection conduits. Ronin grinned. Engine rooms were full of gas mixes and vents, and the two of them just happened to be standing next to conduit exhausts. Efri gas was used to cool the conduits to ensure they didn’t overheat. Efri gas was icy and poisonous. With a touch of a button, Ronin overrode the exhaust switch and watched it vent right into the Bentari’s faces. They hit the deck a moment later.

  Standing. Ronin returned to the main room to find Dukal gone and the door open.

  He ran across the room, across the hall and found no sign of the Bentari.

  ‘Sophia, I believe Dukal has returned to the ship,’ he said.

  Just as he said it, he felt the unmistakeable lurch of the Bentari ship breaking the connection.

  ‘Sophia, I believe Dukal has returned to the ship.’

  Sophia crouched deeper into the shadows and watched Dukal stalking through the engine room in his quest to find her.

  Cintra had told her a Bentari life sign had entered the ship and was on the way to the engine room moments before he crashed through the door. Sophia had enough time to finish replacing the power exchange's casing, the disruptor safely hidden beneath, and hide before the door opened.

  She didn’t even have time to pick up her bag which Dukal had spied on entering.

  ‘I guess that Kerisian got himself a little human cunt.’ Dukal’s voice bounced around the room. ‘I’ll have to try it myself. Is it really that good?’

  The problem was that Bentari were made to see in the dark, so hiding in shadows was a fleeting hiding place.

  When Dukal spotted her, an ugly, lecherous grin appeared on his face and he rushed towards her.

  Using her smaller size, Sophia slipped out of the side of the pipes she’d used for cover and ran around him. By the time he’d turned, she put the engine block between her and her pursuer.

  ‘I’m going to vid the things I do to you and send it to him. I’m going to make a lot of vids. I’m going to make you cry and beg and bleed.’

  Her weapon was in the damn bag on the other side of the engine block, in front of Dukal. She’d slipped it in there so it didn’t clang on metal when she dropped from the grate. She simply hadn’t thought about putting it in its holster on the thigh of the suit since. She was too busy fixing the damn disruptor.

  Rookie mistake, Sophia!

  ‘Dar will pay me extra for them,’ he hissed.

  From the position of his voice, Dukal was walking around the engine, inching towards her.

  Sophia got on her hands and knees and moved away from him.

  ‘Dukal, the escape pod from the Kerisian’s ship just docked in the airlock. The Kerisian’s on board.’

  ‘How did you let him dock?’ Dukal snarled.

  ‘I didn’t. Somehow, he overrode the ship.’

  God bless you, Vernaya, for making Cintra!

  ‘You’ll just have to wait, little human. I’m going to kill the Kerisian. Don’t go far.’

  His footsteps moved away. The door opened and closed, and everything fell silent.

  I’m the weaker prey. Why would he go for Ronin? He wouldn’t. He’d fake it.

  Sophia turned and saw Dukal coming up behind her, arms wide open, ready to catch her. She rolled away from him, then got to her feet and rounded the engine, catching her bag and digging for her weapon as Dukal stumbled after her.

  She grabbed the gun and swung it towards Dukal, who knocked it out of her hand. Instinctively, she dodged him, feeling air move over her body as he tripped past her towards the door to the engine room.

  Sophia scrambled for the gun, which had fallen under the curve of a pipe. She turned, feeling the Bentari coming up behind her.

  Behind him, the door opened, and Ronin roared as he entered the room.

  Dukal turned to face him, but Ronin barrelled into him, carrying him off his feet and slamming him into the amot casing.

  He had a gun in his hand, but if he’d planned on using it, he seemed to have forgotten. Instead, gun still in hand, he slammed his fist into Dukal’s face over and over again.

  ‘YOU TOUCH—MINE—VROKKING KILL YOU!!!’ Ronin seemed to have lost all control as he eliminated the threat to them.

  Another figure appeared at the door. The pilot? He raised a weapon, aiming it at Ronin. Sophia grabbed her gun from under the pipe, turned, and fired on the alien.

  ‘Vrok!’ The alien dropped the gun and grabbed his arm where Sophia’s shot had landed. The alien snarled at her, and instead of running away, he ran towards her, pulling out a knife.

  Sophia raised her gun, let out a calming breath and fired.

  The Bentari landed a few feet from her, dull burnt orange blood blossoming around him.

  Ronin was still punching Dukal.

  ‘Baby?’

  The meaty slaps of his fists on the Bentari’s face had an added wet quality to them now. If Dukal still lived, it would only be by the will of some greater deity.

  ‘Baby?’ Sophia stepped over to Ronin and placed a hand on his swinging arm. It stopped mid-swing on contact.

  ‘Time to go.’

  Ronin looked at Dukal and realisation filled his eyes. He stepped away, letting him go. Dukal dropped to the deck.

  ‘I think I killed him,’ Ronin said.

  ‘I think you did too.’ Sophia
reached up to his face and brushed her fingers over his cheek.

  ‘Let’s get back to your ship,’ she said.

  Ronin nodded. ‘Our ship.’ He pulled her to his side and turned, only then noticing the other Bentari.

  ‘I didn’t—’

  ‘I took care of it,’ she said simply.

  They walked back to the escape pod, and it detached.

  ‘What about the other two?’

  ‘Unconscious. In the engine room. I’ll bring them back here.’ Ronin’s voice was thick with emotion. Sophia leaned into him and, with her hand on his cheek, encouraged him to move his face until he was looking into her eyes.

  ‘I’ve never lost control like that before,’ he admitted.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Sophia leaned into him.

  ‘He deserved to die.’ Ronin’s voice was dark, quiet. He was trying to convince himself, she realised.

  ‘He planned to make videos and send them to you.’ Sophia looked up at him to see his reaction.

  Ronin’s jaw muscles tensed, then she was in his arms. ‘He deserved to die,’ he said with conviction. ‘I’d kill him again if I could.’

  ‘I think once is more than enough.’

  They docked on the lower airlock. Once they were back on board, Ronin pulled the injured and unconscious Bentari into the escape pod and went with them back to their ship. A few minutes later he returned to the upper airlock.

  ‘I told Cintra to activate the disruptor. Even when they regain consciousness, they’ll be unable to leave unless the Tessans want to help them.’

  They took a shower together and lay on the bed, holding one another and waiting for the Tessans to arrive, safely ensconced back inside the nebula.

  They were eating the next time there was a chime from the bridge.

  Ronin went in to see to it, while Sophia sat at the table, heart in her throat, half-expecting it to be Hekalion Dar.

  ‘It’s the Tessans,’ Ronin called out.

  Sophia entered the cockpit to find Korren standing on the bridge of his ship, Calaia.

  ‘Sophia!’ There was palpable relief on Korren’s face. ‘Good to see you.’

  ‘You too, Korren.’ Sophia walked over to the viewscreen.

  ‘Do you have it?’

  Sophia nodded.

  ‘Let’s get you two to the IGC.’ He nodded to someone offscreen, and there was a data transfer in the stream. ‘Those are your docking instructions.’

  ‘I’ve got them. We’re coming.’ Ronin switched the screen so that Korren took up one half and the inky blackness of the nebula the other. A moment later, stars appeared and, within them, the behemoth of a ship that was Calaia.

  ‘Now, what about this Bentari ship?’

  ‘Bounty hunters working for Dar,’ Ronin said, then spent the next few minutes filling them in.

  ‘We’ll pull the ship on board. Give them a cosy cell where they can think about their life choices, as some of my human friends say.’ Korren raised one eyebrow at Sophia, who smiled in return.

  A few minutes later, Sophia and Ronin were descending Vernaya’s ramp and being met by a Protectorate member. Sophia could tell he was a Protectorate because of the tell-tale antelope-like horns. But he had dark blue hair, piercing green eyes, and his skin was on the verge of orange, but it looked luminous, almost golden but not quite.

  ‘Welcome aboard,’ the hybrid said, a grin on his face. ‘I am Dantan. I will be your liaison while you’re aboard.’

  ‘Sophia,’ she pointed at herself, ‘and this is Ronin.’

  ‘Good to meet you both.’

  ‘Jadari?’ Ronin said. His voice was speculative, and he was squinting as he pointed a finger at the hybrid.

  ‘Yes. My mother is Jadari.’ The hybrid smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. ‘If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your rooms.’

  ‘Room,’ Sophia said. ‘We’re together.’

  ‘Ah. Such a shame.’ Dantan smiled. ‘I admit, I’ve seen you on this ship previously and thought of you since. I was hoping to see you again.’

  ‘Oh.’ Sophia looked at Ronin, who glared at the Protectorate.

  ‘Just lead us to our room,’ he snarled.

  ‘I’ll put you in a suite instead.’ Dantan turned to lead them from the bay.

  As they were leaving, the Bentari ship was being pulled on board, grappled by three smaller vessels.

  ‘They’ll be going to the cells,’ Dantan said.

  ‘At least two of them will be going to your morgue,’ Sophia replied.

  ‘How long until we get to IGC?’ Ronin asked. He eyed Dantan as Dantan watched Sophia with admiration.

  ‘A rote,’ Dantan replied. ‘Relax. We have a dock in the Amaran section of the station. Dar can’t get to you now.’

  ‘Your body product is so harsh on my hair.’ Sophia was in a set of fresh clothes and was patting her long hair with a towel. ‘It’s going to take months to get it back to what it was before.’

  Ronin smiled at the small hint of whining in her voice. This was so unlike the Sophia he’d known over the past few rotes. It made him realise how little he knew about her.

  ‘Your hair is beautiful,’ he said, reaching out and touching the thin filaments.

  ‘Wait till you see it in its full glory.’ She grinned.

  ‘I’m afraid that now we’re here, you won’t need me anymore.’ Ronin’s words emerged from him of their own accord.

  Sophia’s face went deadly serious, and she faced him. ‘I’m never going to not need you,’ she said. ‘This,’ she moved her hand back and forth between them, ‘was never about getting me here. It was always just about us.’

  Ronin reached out, placing his palm against her face and gently leaned his forehead against hers. He breathed in the scent of her, rich, warm, and spicy. He let go of a tension inside him he hadn’t been aware of until this moment.

  Sophia moved. By the time he opened his eyes, she was sitting on his lap, her legs either side of his hips.

  ‘I’m going to need a shower soon.’ There was a filthy grin on her face.

  ‘You just showered?’ The baser, more instinctive part of his mind told him to shut up.

  ‘Yeah,’ she agreed. ‘But we’re about to get me real dirty!’

  Her lips met his, and even as she was kissing him, she was already tugging at her clothes. She was eager, his mate.

  ‘Cintra, suit open.’

  His suit fell open, and between kisses, both he and Sophia undressed until they were naked. Until their skin was in contact.

  His hardened cock emerged. Almost as soon as it was out, Sophia was rubbing the heat of her core up and down his length. Her eyes closed, and she began to moan.

  This was why Ronin had slowed her down on the bridge. Sophia eagerly chased her orgasms. Ronin just wanted to watch her. Watch her come undone. Watch her skirt that edge and then fall over.

  He was enraptured by the sight of her. The complete abandon with which she embraced him, them, together.

  ‘I love you,’ he whispered.

  Sophia went utterly still. Her eyes opened and searched his, the palm of her hand finding his face, cupping his cheek as he had cupped hers earlier.

  ‘I love you too.’

  This time when their lips met, the kiss was slow. Ronin took control, pulling Sophia closer to him, feeling her more secure in his arms. At that moment, her encompassed by him, he knew with a certainty he’d never known before that she was always meant to be his. That he was always meant to be her protector, her lover, her mate.

  Their tongues met in slow strokes. Exploring, affirming.

  He grazed his fingertips over her back, feeling her smooth skin beneath them. Her body shivered when they found the small of her back and the slightest whimper escaped her.

  Ronin wanted more of this. He wanted this to be slow. Exploratory. Loving.

  Their first few rotes as lovers, Ronin was thick in the mating heat. He’d learned a lot about her body, but there was the instinct to mate, to br
eed, to give and receive satisfaction.

  On the ship, their encounter was passionate, slow. It was about teasing.

  Now, Ronin wanted to explore every inith of Sophia’s skin. It seemed to be sensitive in a way his own was not, and he needed to see her reactions as he found all of the delicate, sensitive areas of her body.

  Ronin was a man of control. He could easily use that to learn all the ways to make Sophia lose herself, lose her control.

  They were still kissing. He licked over her bottom lip and pulled on it gently with his teeth, hearing the way her breath hitched.

  He already knew her neck was sensitive, so slowly, he kissed the corner of her mouth and worked his way down. She fell apart as he kissed, nipped, and licked her until she was grinding up against his cock, which was trapped between them.

  ‘Not even close to done yet,’ he groaned.

  Sophia’s eyes, lust-hazy and filled with emotion, opened to meet his as he lifted her, then laid her on the bed.

  ‘I want to know every part of you,’ he said.

  Anticipation filled her eyes.

  There was a sensitive spot where her neck met her clavicle. He spent a few metri brushing his lips over it on both sides. A nip here. A lick there. All of the touches were light and feathery, and when her skin broke out in small bumps, he knew he was achieving his aim.

  He worked down her sternum, then spent several metri kissing, kneading, and tonguing her breasts, sucking and licking on her nipples until they were stiff puckered peaks.

  Sophia had a long stomach and abdomen. He brushed his fingers over her skin then spent several metri kissing her around her hips and upper thighs. He skipped that spot that would bring her to her release and grinning as she whimpered and gasped at every touch. It seemed his Sophia was particularly sensitive there.

  He continued down her legs, finding little spots here and there that made her writhe and undulate on the bed. When he reached her feet, he turned her around and began to slowly explore up her body. The back of her thighs and lower back and hips left her breathless and begging. Her muscles flinched under his lips and fingers. When he got to the back of her neck, he covered her with his body and satisfied his tortured cock by grinding against her rear.