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“Do what?” Samantha asked, innocently widening her eyes.
“Go in with all guns blazing,” Johanna retorted. She gave Samantha a dirty look and began lowering the ship, so that they would be able to dock in the designated bay.
“It’s in my nature,” Samantha said, causing Johanna to groan.
“Lucky me!” Johanna rolled her eyes. The ship shuddered indicating they had settled into the docking bay. Lucy stared over at them.
“Lucy, when we’re gone, keep all security systems on standby. Make sure that Dylan doesn’t fall asleep anywhere,” Samantha instructed, darting her gaze toward Dylan.
“Bite your tongue, Samantha. I’m going with you,” Dylan declared, putting his pistol into his shoulder holster.
“No, you aren’t,” Samantha contradicted. Johanna heaved out a large sigh.
“Stop bickering you two. I swear you act like two naughty children. Dylan, we need you here, someone might be pursuing us, and you will have to be ready for a speedy departure. And besides, you’re the best engineer in the galaxy, and this old bucket of bolts, needs some repairs done. You know that Samantha and I wouldn’t even be able to get into the sky if it weren’t for you. You’re the best at what you do, Sweetheart.”
Dylan made a loud unidentifiable sound, and then fell on his ass, when something hard hit The Excalibur rocking them slightly.
“Bloody hell!” Samantha raged, searching the scanners.
Lucy immediately came to attention and brought up the weapons.
“Incoming communication,” Lucy snapped off. In the next instant, a man’s image appeared on the large view screen.
They all turned their heads at the same time, and let out a collective groan.
“Hello, everyone,” Fred Crenshaw said, smiling gleefully at them.
RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 34
Chapter Four
“I must say Samantha, you are looking remarkably well,” he drawled out approvingly.
He trailed his eyes down the full length of her body. She repressed a shudder.
“You are such a dirty bastard. When you look at me I feel like I need a full disinfecting,”
Samantha said, staring furiously up at him.
“Why, thank you, my dear,” Crenshaw smiled smugly, turning his attention to Dylan who was just now struggling to regain his footing. “Ah, yes, you’re the other bloody Cassidy,”
Crenshaw remarked, tugging at the moustache that he was quite vain about. “I saw your brother earlier today, and had the supreme pleasure of watching the car that he had stolen explode.”
Crenshaw stopped talking, and smiled with satisfaction. The sick little shit head took great pleasure in basking in their assembled exclamations of horror.
“If you did anything to hurt him you’re a dead man,” Dylan raged, moving toward Johanna and Samantha. Samantha reached out and grabbed a hold of Dylan. She knew how he felt. But he couldn’t lose control. Not yet, anyway.
“Be quiet, Dylan!” Samantha snapped. Hers being the voice of reason made her think of the irony of it.
Her stomach dropped, and her throat constricted. Fury unlike any she had ever experienced welled inside of her, and she struggled to keep herself from pressing a small button and blasting Crenshaw right out of the sky. If she did that she’d never get the answers she was looking for. Sometimes as much as she hated to admit it, patience did pay off. Soon, she’d have the supreme pleasure of watching Crenshaw’s face fall.
“We know who has captured Tyler, Crenshaw. You needn’t feel the urge to toy with us,”
Samantha whispered. She narrowed her eyes. If he had been in the same room with her, she would’ve thrown caution to the wind, and wiped the floor with his pug little face.
Crenshaw folded his arms across his broad chest, and stared at her in complete admiration.
“Toying with you, now that is quite an appealing thought, my dear. I can think of one or two things I’d like to do to you,” Crenshaw said. At his words, a creepy sensation worked its way up her spine. Now she felt as if she needed an hour-long shower. And even then, her skin would probably still crawl at the memory.
“Shove it up it your ass, Crenshaw,” Samantha shot back. She looked out the corner of her eye, and watched Lucy pull up all possible reports on Tyler. So, she’d gone against her advice to Dylan. Shit happened.
“You are so eloquent, my lovely little sex kitten,” Crenshaw murmured. He broke off and turned away from them, as one of his assistants came up and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Mark my words, Crenshaw. If I find out that you have touched one hair on Tyler’s head I will hunt you down. Make you suffer. Then I will make sure that you go straight to hell.” Her face felt hot. She was losing it. Dylan had a silly grin plastered on his face. She was glad that at least someone was being entertained.
“Oh, do tell me more,” Crenshaw invited eagerly. He sprawled into his gigantic Captain’s chair, and smiled smugly at them. Someday, she’d wipe that trademark smug grin right RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 35
off his face, and she’d enjoy every minute of it.
The Excalibur readied her engines, and discharged a warning shot at Crenshaw’s much smaller spacecraft.
“Beat it, Crenshaw, or someone will be scraping you off of the boardwalk,” Samantha threatened.
Fred smiled widely at them, and licked his lips, his eyes glittering dangerously.
“I trust you already know that Veronica has Tyler,” Crenshaw assumed.
One of his over eager assistants handed Crenshaw a brandy. He sipped it at delicately all the while keeping his eyes pinned unwaveringly on the view screen. Samantha winced, forcing herself to breathe. Did the man ever take a hint? What did he expect her to do, burn a hole right through his ship?
“Yes, you son of a bitch. You don’t need to rub it in. I always knew you were a sick monster…and now you’re only putting yourself on my hit list,” she snapped. Her thoughts strayed toward Veronica.
That woman would be an impossible feat to overcome, and while Crenshaw was stalling them, she may have already delivered Tyler to the authorities.
“We don’t have time for this,” Johanna whispered. “The bugger is stalling us.”
Samantha exchanged a puzzled glance with her sister, wondering if Johanna had read her mind. “Tell me something I don’t know,” she muttered. “Look, Crenshaw, I don’t have time to talk to my ass at the moment, so if you would be so kind as to piss off, I’ll be sure to drop you a line at my earliest convenience.” Samantha really wanted to smack Crenshaw’s head against something hard.
“I shall be waiting in anticipation,” Crenshaw returned, smiling as the view screen went blank.
“We’ve got to get down to Aggie. Lucy, have her ready by the time we get there,”
Samantha barked.
At her words Lucy disappeared with a loud crackling noise. Samantha knew that Lucy didn’t hold much affection for her, but Lucy had been fond of Tyler. Yet another trait they shared. She was beginning to get sick of the similarities that she and Lucy shared. But for once, she couldn’t blame Lucy. The AI did have good taste.
“Dylan, when we get out of this mess, I’m going to have a little discussion with you concerning Aggie,” Samantha promised, brushing past him.
“Fine, but can you make sure that Johanna, is there when you have this discussion? I wouldn’t want to return a lesser man to my lovely wife,” Dylan teased. They all moved down to the cargo bay. Samantha sighed. Much as she hated to admit it, they were strapped for time.
The more time they wasted, they increased their chances of losing Tyler to Lord Devlin.
Aggie stood ready and waiting for them, and Samantha grabbed her necessary trinkets, while Johanna embraced Dylan.
“I should really come with you. Tyler’s my brother,” he began, and then quieted when Samantha served him with a stern glare.
“Shouldn’t you stay here, and guard the ship, and access how much damage Crenshaw did to
The Excalibur when he greeted us so damn affectionately?” Samantha asked all in one breath. She knew she had turned into a bit of a bitch, but she couldn’t help herself. Dylan and Johanna hadn’t seemed to grasp the seriousness of their situation.
Big V was a dangerous woman, and right now, Tyler was at her mercy. She felt restless.
She was so damn worried about him, that she’d already popped half a dozen heartburn pills. She RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 36
needed to get to him. If she didn’t, her world would crumble down around her. She still loved him deeply. Dylan and Johanna had their happily ever after, and she wanted her second chance at it with Tyler. This time she wouldn’t screw it up.
The passenger side door into Aggie opened automatically, and she let out a shocked gasp.
“Huh, I see that you’ve already made some adjustments to Aggie, good work, monkey boy,” Samantha said, giving him an appreciative stare. Johanna groaned, and rolled her eyes helplessly.
“Samantha’s in a foul mood, Dylan. Please, don’t provoke her. She’ll need all of that bitchiness when she goes up against Veronica.”
“Excuse me? ” Samantha huffed.
She hated how well Johanna read her mind. Samantha jumped when Aggies’s voice greeted them affectionately. The hover car never failed to annoy her with her chirpy attitude.
“Admit it, Samantha, you’re in a bad mood, and you’ll feel much better when you rescue Tyler,” Johanna pointed out.
Samantha snorted indelicately. Yep, Johanna could freak her out.
“Yeah, then I can kick his sorry ass all the way back to Earth,” she grumbled, reaching to belt herself in. “Are we going today, or are you going to wait until Christmas? I’m aging over here for cripes sake,” she groused. Johanna heaved another irritated sigh.
“I’m coming. Honestly, Samantha, I don’t know how you survived to get to your present age. You’re so damn annoying at times that I want to strangle you in your sleep.” Johanna rested her gloved hands on the steering wheel. “Take care, love, and remember don’t let anyone on the ship except for us.”
“What do you think I’m planning to do, hold a bloody party?” Dylan demanded, as the cargo bay doors opened.
“I’ll see you later, sweetheart,” Johanna called out. Aggie began moving, and Samantha nearly bounced up and down in her seat. She just wanted to get to Tyler.
“Oh, please, give me a barf bag,” Samantha grumped, slouching back into her seat.
The sooner they reached Tyler, the better. Maybe then her indigestion would finally go away. She had ants in her pants, and she needed to show Veronica what happened when she invaded her territory. Samantha hated being crossed, and when someone deliberately gunned for her husband, she took that as a definite call for war. Veronica may have won the current battle, but she was going to win the war.
They flew at the highest legal speed toward York, and Samantha had time to continue her constant complaining.
“When I find Veronica I’m going to....” Johanna cut her off giving Samantha the inclination to glare at her.
“Yes, my dear, I know, you are going to rearrange her face to resemble her scrawny little butt. I’ve heard it all, and believe me none of it surprises me. But right at the moment I have a lot of distractions to deal with and you shouldn’t be one of them. I swear all of these drivers took a tutorial in asshole. I can’t seem to move an inch without having someone right up my ass!” Johanna barked. Samantha twisted her body around and eyed the car behind them. Soon, they’d be in their backseat.
“We could just hit them with something,” Samantha suggested helpfully.
Aggies’s voice streamed out through the car’s interior. “We could hit them with a disorientation shot or we could hit them with a jolt large enough to render their car’s systems inert.”
RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 37
“I vote for the rendering their hover car’s systems useless. That way they’ll be able to do an emergency landing, and the skies will be clear for us.”
“None of that will be necessary, Aggie. Right at the moment, Samantha is out of her freaking mind, I’ll tell you when the real Samantha is back,” Johanna joked.
Samantha resumed reading all of the current information that Lucy had assembled concerning their friendly neighborhood nemesis.
Veronica had a list on her as long as anything that Samantha had seen in a long time.
Veronica had just as many bounties under her belt as she and Johanna, and she had been in the game for exactly as long as they had been. Not much was listed in her biographical information, and Samantha hated not being able to know her deepest darkest secrets.
“When will we reach York? ” Samantha asked, for the hundredth time, as if she were an eager child.
“In ten minutes,” Johanna answered irritably, smoothing her hair back with her right hand. “And stop asking me that question. You just asked it two minutes ago.”
“I did not,” Samantha retorted.
“Actually,”
Aggie cut in. “You did ask that particular question one minute and fifty eight seconds ago.”
Yep, that was why she hated computers. Samantha grumbled, and caught Johanna fixing her hair yet again. She studied her sister, and smiled. She couldn’t help herself. Johanna was ever the picture of perfection.
Johanna always strived to maintain her appearance and Samantha normally didn’t give a damn what she looked like. It wasn’t that her sister was vain, she was far from that, but she always wanted to seem neat and tidy.
Samantha inhaled sharply, and took in the breathtaking landscape of the capitol city. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, despite the technological marvels that dominated the city.
Soon, she would be with Tyler, and she would make sure that no one ever took him away from her again.
“I see Veronica’s hover mobile!” Johanna exclaimed.
“Where?” Samantha demanded, scanning the city’s airspace.
“Down there,” Johanna said, as her voice took on an anxious tone.
“Where? ” Samantha repeated, feeling like a silly idiot. For the life of her she couldn’t find Veronica’s lime green hover mobile, even though it probably stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Down there. Outside of the Sheriff’s office,” Johanna whispered. She sighed, and all color drained from her heart shaped face.
“Freaking wonderful!” was all that Samantha managed to say.
* * * *
“So, dear sister, what do we do now?” Johanna curiously inquired, rolling her eyes heavenward.
Samantha slammed her hand against the dashboard. “Please, say that you’re kidding me,” Samantha retorted, rolling her eyes at, and then gesturing to the Sheriff’s office, below them. “We walk in and get him out of course. Seems to me it’ll be easy as one, two, three.”
Johanna stared at her in stunned amazement.
“Excuse me, but maybe you should pull your head out of your ass, and start thinking logically for a minute. You expect us to just saunter in, and politely collect your husband?
Pardon my dirty mouth, but you’ve got to be shitting me.” Again, Johanna rolled her eyes. “So RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 38
basically, you go in, and break him out, while I stay in the getaway car. Guess I’m the wheel woman this time around,” Johanna concluded matter-of-factly.
“Well, in a matter of speaking,” Samantha hedged, tapping her fingernails restlessly against the side of the door.
“Don’t screw with my mind, Samantha. You go in, something goes KA BOOM, and you come racing like a bat out of hell with your beloved in tow.” Johanna demonstrated the ka boom part with her hand up in the air.
“No, that isn’t quite right,” Samantha began. “He isn’t my beloved.”
“Oh, get off of it, Samantha. You’re so full of it,” Johanna retorted, gliding the car down, so that it hovered just above the cobblestone street. “You really need to face facts about the way that you feel
for Tyler. You can’t run from your emotions forever, you know.”
“You do realize this won’t be easy, right?” Samantha asked, resting her hand on the door handle. She had cleverly avoided Johanna’s remark. She could try to ignore her feelings for Tyler until the time was right. She had to keep a cool, calm and collected head.
“In case you never noticed, my life hasn’t been easy ever since you were born. You find trouble and trouble finds you, for you it’s an addiction. Just make sure that nothing goes ka boom while you are still inside of it.” Johanna placed a hand on her arm. “I don’t want to tell mom that you accidentally blew yourself up.”
“Oh,
put a sock in it,” Samantha remarked, even though she smiled at Johanna. “Besides, if there is one thing that I’m good at, it’s making all hell break loose.”