by Nina Croft
“Nice?” Tannis finished for him. “Great, just great.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal. As I said—he’ll do what he’s told.”
“Now why would he do that?” Jon drawled. He studied Rico for a moment. “He’s one of yours, isn’t he?”
“One of his what?” Tannis asked.
“One of his offspring. You turned this guy.”
Rico shrugged. “Yeah, so what? Why the fuck does that matter? What matters is he has a place on Trakis Two, and we need somewhere to hide out while we do repairs. And we don’t have a lot of choices here. The Cazador isn’t going to make it much farther without some serious work. Isn’t that right, Trog?”
Everyone turned to face the Trog, who sat at the back of the room. He lifted his shaggy blond head, nodded once, and returned to contemplating the floor.
“So that’s agreed? Just be careful and don’t let him get you alone.” Rico grinned at Jon. “And you’d better be particularly careful, dog-boy.”
“Why’s that, leech?”
“Bastion’s not as fastidious about his food as I am.”
Janey nudged Alex in the side and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. “Do you think this Bastion will be anything like Rico?”
Alex shuddered. “I hope not.”
“Rico is dreamy.”
Alex rolled her eyes. But her gaze was drawn to where Jon still stood facing the vampire. Now he was dreamy.
And she was one sad woman.
Jon had made his thoughts perfectly clear regarding what he thought about her. He was a dead end, so why couldn’t she stop staring and move on? Maybe she’d meet someone on Trakis Two. All those men looking to get laid. Still her gaze was drawn back to the werewolf.
“Are we finished?” Jon asked.
“Yeah, we’re finished, dog-breath. We should hit landfall in an hour.”
“Then I’m out of here.” Jon pivoted and stalked from the room.
Alex’s eyes followed him—the view was great from the back as well. He moved with the leashed power of some big predatory animal. She sighed, and Janey let out a soft laugh beside her. “What?” Alex asked.
“Well, you’re being a little obvious.”
“I am?”
Janey smiled. “A little.”
“Yeah, I know. And ‘real men’ like to do the chasing. I know that as well.”
“Not all of them. But some. You’ve got to learn to play hard to get.”
“I’ll try.” Another sigh escaped her throat. “But I don’t want to play so hard I never get got.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get got. Just do what I say—I know all about getting a man to chase you.”
Alex had no doubt Janey had had hoards of men chasing her. She was the most beautiful woman Alex had ever met, and the cleverest. She’d always wondered what had brought Janey to El Cazador. While Alex loved the ship and the crew, it was hardly a glamorous lifestyle. “How did you end up here?” she asked. “You could do anything.”
“What’s wrong with here?” For the first time since Alex had met her, Janey sounded faintly hostile.
“I didn’t mean anything except you’re so”—she searched for the right word—“perfect.”
“I’m far from perfect. And where should I be? Living in a big house on Trakis Five? Married to some rich guy? Believe me, I’ve been there, done that, and I don’t ever plan on repeating the experience.”
“Oh.”
Janey’s expression was rueful. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just a sore point. I married a bastard because I thought he could give me everything I wanted, but it turned out what I wanted wasn’t worth the price. And I had no one to blame but myself. But at least he taught me how to make the best of my looks, and that’s come in useful.”
“You left him?”
The corners of Janey’s lips curved up in a small smile. “You could say that. Anyway, I’ve always been good with computers, so I set up on my own doing freelance jobs, mostly illegal. One day I did some work for Tannis, she offered me a place, and here I am.”
“I’m glad.”
“So am I. Come on, let’s go make a start—your hair could definitely do with a cut—we’ll make you so gorgeous, your werewolf won’t be able to resist you…”
…
Jon had a bad feeling about this.
He didn’t take too much notice as he frequently had bad feelings. More often than not, they came to nothing, and he’d come to the conclusion it was just his miserable nature.
Still, there was something about the view below that wasn’t at all comforting. He knew Trakis Two well—he’d done a lot of business here. It was a great place for people who wanted to stay under the radar, but he’d always stuck to the city before. Everyone stuck to the city on Trakis Two. There were reputed to be things out in the surrounding darkness you didn’t want to come across. And he had a feeling they were about to knock on the door to the lair of one of those things and ask if they could come inside.
Maybe he should get out now.
Glancing around, he found Skylar watching him, her hand resting on the laser pistol at her waist. They were giving him the appearance of freedom, but he had a feeling if he tried to test it, they’d zone in on him pretty fast. He turned back to the viewer.
Off in the far distance, he could make out the multicolored lights of Pleasure City glowing like a false promise of dawn. But beneath them, a hulking great piece of darkness rose up from the planet’s surface. Man-made of dull black rock, it appeared hewn out of the night itself. Here and there across the exterior, a sullen orange light glowed from cavities in the walls.
The skin of his neck prickled. He was being watched and he knew only one person who had this effect. He went still then slowly turned his head and searched the room. At first, he couldn’t see her; maybe he’d been mistaken. At the thought, he berated himself for even looking. What did he care if her Ladyship was here?
At the meeting earlier, he’d done his best to ignore her. But he’d still been able to scent her like a bloody bitch in heat. Now, his body was wound up tight, and if he didn’t get relief soon, he might explode. Janey or Daisy would have happily obliged at any time over the past two days, but though he’d flirted madly, he’d backed off when they’d responded. Janey, because although she’d been happy to flirt back, he sensed the banter was something that came to her automatically, and he couldn’t shake the idea that she didn’t actually like men all that much. And Daisy was way too bouncy and enthusiastic; she made Jon feel old.
He’d also tried dealing with the problem himself but only gained a momentary release, and then the itch had come back even stronger.
Shit. There she was. Standing by the door, talking with Daisy. Jon did a double take. Somebody had cut her hair. The shaggy mop was gone, and the skinny cabin boy had been banished forever. Now her hair was no more than two inches anywhere, with tendrils curling around her cheeks. As he stared, she ducked her head and ran a self-conscious hand through her hair, so it stuck up in spikes. She looked like a sexy street urchin. An urchin with flawless skin, high cheekbones, and those huge, slanting eyes.
As though she sensed him watching her, she turned wary eyes his way. Then pursing her lips, she lifted her chin and deliberately turned her back on him. He smiled. She’d obviously taken his comment about men liking to do the chasing to heart.
Yeah well, it made no difference. Even if she backed off, he wasn’t going anywhere, except maybe in the opposite direction.
He turned back to the monitors. They were directly over the black compound now, and a fissure had formed as though the rooftop split in two. The sides slid back, revealing a landing pad inside the walls.
They hovered for a minute longer before lowering enough to touch down light as stardust.
Rico was a good pilot—even if he was a bloodsucker.
Jon itched with impatience to get things moving. He wanted some action. He wanted to get into the city, chase up his contact, and find out who
had betrayed him. Instead, he was waiting for Rico. Apparently, he wanted everyone to meet this new vampire so he could warn him off. Until then, they were supposed to skulk on the ship as if Jon was afraid of some pathetic blood-sucking leech.
…
“Did you know, there are more pleasure providers on Trakis Two than in the rest of the Trakis system put together?” Daisy was reading tourist information from the screen while they waited for Rico to join them in the docking bay. “And I bet that’s just the registered ones.” She prodded Alex in the stomach. “You’re not paying any attention to this, are you?”
Daisy was dressed in all black, a sort of mini version of Rico, whom she had a whopping crush on. And she’d obviously been on her sun bed as she was even greener than usual, her skin the color of new leaves, her eyes sparkling like emeralds. She was also fizzing with excitement—but then she was off into the city to have some fun as soon as they’d met their host, while Alex was to be left on the ship.
“I am paying attention.” Alex was actually only listening with half her concentration, while she surreptitiously watched Jon with the other half. Her back was to him, but she could see him reflected in the polished black metal of the docking bay loading doors.
He was pacing like a caged…wolf.
As Rico and the captain appeared, he stopped and swung around. “About bloody time.”
Rico ignored the comment and strode past him. His eyes narrowed as he came up level with Alex and took in the new hairstyle.
Alex couldn’t believe the difference a haircut made in her appearance. She couldn’t wait to get some new clothes, pink ones—shocking pink that clashed with her hair. And orange maybe. Anything but black.
Rico’s brows had drawn together in a frown. “Christos,” he muttered. “Bastion is going to love you. Couldn’t you have waited?”
“To do what?”
“The whole”—he waved in the general direction of her hair—“innocent waif look. Well, it’s too late now. Just keep out of his way and don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself.”
He turned to the side and murmured to Tannis who glanced at Alex and nodded.
At that moment, the docking bay doors slid open, revealing a cavernous area beyond. Alex shivered as they stepped off the ramp and onto the black sand floor. The group had formed around her, so she was in the middle, Rico and Tannis at the front leading the way, Daisy and Janey on either side of her, and Skylar and Jon bringing up the rear.
The exposed skin on the back of her neck tingled.
They came to a halt in the center of the room, and Alex tried to keep her eyes from widening. They were in a great hall, but it was more like standing inside some vast echoing cavern with matte black walls, smooth as glass. The roof was closing over their heads, blanking out the last of the stars so the only light came from small sconces cut into the rock walls. A number of dark tunnels, led away like great yawning jaws ready to swallow her whole.
The air was still, faintly musty, and the catacomb silent. Someone laid a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped and let out a small squeak.
“Quiet as a grave,” Jon murmured in her ear, and she shivered again despite the fingers that burned through the thin material of her shirt. “By the way—I like the new haircut. Pity I don’t go for the ‘innocent waif’ look.”
Alex shrugged off his grasp. “Don’t worry,” she muttered, “you’ll be pleased to know, I’ve deleted you from my to-do list.”
“You have a to-do list?”
“Yes, and you’re not on it.”
“Playing hard to get, now?” His voice was laced with amuse-ment.
She sniffed. “I am hard to get.”
“Well, make sure you remember that when we meet the vampire.”
She turned slightly so she could see Jon’s face.
“Vamps can be tricky,” he continued. “The older ones have this whole seduction thing going. Makes it easier to snare their prey.”
“I don’t think you need to worry. I’m hardly likely to be attracted to a vampire,” she snapped.
In front of her, Rico’s shoulders stiffened. Jon chuckled. “Quite right. Satan’s spawn, the whole lot of them, and you a good little priestess. All the same, watch him and do not make eye contact.”
Rico glanced over his shoulder. “I hate to agree—because he’s a dog—but it’s good advice. Listen to him and stay at the back where you might not be noticed. Right, here they come.”
Muffled footsteps sounded on the sandy floor, and Alex peered into one of the dark tunnels. A flickering orange light appeared, waxing brighter, casting shadows against the surrounding walls.
Finally, a small group came into view. One central figure surrounded by four torchbearers.
“Bloody melodramatic,” Rico muttered.
“Asshole,” Jon added.
“Holy freaking moly.” The captain’s voice was filled with awe.
The vampire was tall, with a slender body that moved like a dancer’s, beneath a fitted black and crimson jumpsuit and long boots. His pale blond hair hung down to his shoulders. He had white skin and dissipated blue eyes that glittered with malice. Alex had seen faces like his depicted on the walls of churches—fallen angels. A shiver ran through her, and she reached up and clutched the cross she wore beneath her shirt.
The vampire had come to a halt in front of Rico, but he must have sensed her movement because he tilted his head to get a look around Rico. His gaze ran over her body and back to her face, and his lips curved into a lazy smile, revealing the tips of his fangs. Alex swallowed, mesmerized, unable to break the link between them.
“Bastion!” Rico spoke sharply, and the spell was broken. The vampire looked away, and Alex breathed again. She shifted backward so she stood beside Jon, with Skylar, Daisy, and Janey in a line in front of her.
Bastion flicked his cold gaze to Rico then lowered his head slightly. “Sire, you honor me with your presence.” Even Alex could tell the words were sarcastic.
“Cut the bullshit, Bastion,” Rico replied.
He shrugged one elegant shoulder. “I have a welcome gift for you.” He gestured behind him and a woman stepped forward. A naked woman…naked except for a red ribbon tied around her throat like gift wrapping. Tall and slender with full, perfect breasts. In fact, she was perfect all over from her long blond hair to her scarlet toenails. Halting beside Bastion, she appeared unconcerned that she was naked in front of a room full of strangers. She aimed her attention at Rico, pouting her full red lips and casting him a smoldering stare out of dark blue eyes, then she raised her head as though showing off the smooth line of her throat.
Daisy made a gagging sound, and Janey sniggered.
Skylar reached forward and tapped Rico on the shoulder. “Even look in her direction, and you’re dead.”
Rico chuckled. “Sweetheart, I’m dead already.”
“Well, you’ll be even deader.”
Rico shrugged. “Thank you, Bastion, but another time perhaps.”
“Like never,” Skylar muttered.
Bastion’s eyes narrowed and his pale gaze shifted from Skylar to Rico, his lips turning down. “You take orders from your food?”
There was a wealth of contempt in the word. Skylar drew her pistol and stepped forward. “Who are you calling food, dead guy?” Her tone was icy. Bastion looked at her, and then at her pistol. He raised one eyebrow but didn’t appear particularly concerned. Unlike the guards surrounding him.
Rico sighed, loudly. “Put the gun away, querida, he’s just trying to wind you up.”
Bastion smiled. “You know me so well. But why not take the woman. I thought we might do a little trade. It’s easy to find willing food on this planet, but it tends to be a little…used.”
“And I thought she was a gift.”
“Surely you wouldn’t miss a little one.” His gaze searched their small group, and Alex took a step sideways so she was hidden behind Janey. It bought her up against Jon, but he didn’t move away, and she
was comforted by his solid strength beside her.
“Not a chance.”
Bastion shrugged. “So what do you want? I’m presuming it’s not merely the pleasure of my company. Though, you used to find my company very pleasurable.”
Skylar’s eyes widened. “Ugh! Rico, you better tell me right now you and dead guy here didn’t…you know.”
“No, we didn’t.” Rico sounded offended. “We played cards and things. Man stuff. And that was a long time ago.”
“And in a faraway place,” Bastion finished. “So what is it you do want?”
Rico waved at El Cazador behind them. “My ship’s in need of some repairs. I need somewhere to hole up while we do them. And maybe some information on what’s going on in the city.”
“I’d stay away from the city if I were you.”
“Why’s that?”
“There’s a bounty out for your ship and crew.”
“A bounty? Who from?” Skylar asked.
“Two bounties actually. It appears you’re very popular.”
“Just get to the point,” Skylar snapped.
Bastion shrugged. “Both the Collective and the Church have a price on your heads. The Church want you found, but the Collective are quite happy to have you dead.” He waved a languid hand toward Skylar. “Though perhaps you’ve sorted your differences with the Collective.”
“Shit,” Tannis muttered. “That was too freaking fast. They must have the comms out on every planet in the system by now if it’s reached here.”
“We knew it was likely,” Rico said.
“I thought we’d have more time.”
“Well, we’ll just have to get in and out fast.”
Tannis folded her arms and tapped her booted foot. “So why are we standing around like it’s some sort of tea party? Let’s get moving.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” He turned back to Bastion, who was watching the interaction, a smile of disdain curling his narrow lips.
“These are my people.” Rico waved to encompass the crew. “Keep off them. Don’t touch them, don’t drink from them, and don’t even look at them.”
“Really?” Bastion’s gaze swept over them, pausing at Jon, and his nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply. His eyes widened slightly.