by KD Jones
Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunters
Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunters
Book One
by KD Jones
© Copyright April 2014 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN#9781310323942
All cover art and logo © Copyright April 2014 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Edited by ML Hill
Artwork by Jess Buffett
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
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Dedication
I have had a dream since I was a child, always making up stories in my head before I could write them down. That dream had been to one day be a writer and to share my stories with other people. I am truly blessed to be living my dream each and every day. I dedicate this book to all the dreamers out there. Don’t give up on your dreams. Hard work and persistence really does pay off.
KD Jones
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Books by KD Jones
Excerpt from Katieran Prime
Excerpt from Rage
JK Publishing, Inc.
Chapter One
“I want the place surrounded,” a stern male voice sounded over Jagger’s earpiece. His cousin, Victor, was not playing around with this case. He didn’t blame him. The fugitive they were after was bad news and had a history of violence.
“We have two on each side of the building, two in the back, two in front, and two on lookout from the rooftop of the building across the street. It’s covered, Vic,” Jagger answered with confidence.
“Vehicle approaching on the right,” a female’s voice whispered over the line. Asia, one of their female bounty hunters, was positioned as lookout on the rooftop.
“Do you have visual of our fugitive?” Victor asked.
“Negative. I can only see the driver right now, but it’s not our guy. The infrared shows two more bodies moving around inside the motor pod. We’ll have to wait for them to stop.”
“Everyone stand by and have your weapons ready. This perp is lethal and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. He’s got to be taken down quick and hard,” Victor ordered.
Jagger checked his weapons. He had a laser gun in his leg holster. Two throwing knives were tucked into each boot. His shock handcuffs dangled from his belt loop and he was already holding his stun gun. He was more than ready to handle whatever this guy threw at them. Anyone looking at him would think he was Special Ops for the military, not a bounty hunter.
“We have confirmation. The fugitive has been identified. He is getting out of the van wearing a white t-shirt and cutoff jeans. There is an object tucked into the back of his pants at the waist,” Asia called out over the earpiece.
“I’ve got him!” Turk called out, running toward the parked motor pod. He was their IT specialist and normally wouldn’t be frontline but they needed more muscle on the job.
“No, Turk, stand down!” Victor ordered, but it was too late. Shots rang out and all hell seemed to break loose.
“Use live rounds! Move it and give Turk cover!” Victor demanded.
Jagger replaced his stun gun for his laser gun and began to run in a zigzag pattern, using the parked vehicles as cover. He fired his weapon. He ducked as returning fire came his way. He felt fire, a hot streak across his right shoulder. He was hit but it didn’t stop him. He kept moving in not letting the fugitive move far. One of his fellow hunters took out the motor pod’s tires and a sonic grenade went off causing the whole vehicle and several close by to explode.
A fiery rain of metal fell at him. Jagger dodged most of the debris, searching out the perp. A foot was the first sign he caught of his mark. When he reached the foot, he realized it was no longer attached to the perp’s body. Damn it! This was turning into a bloodbath. They needed to take down this perp, and before the authority showed up. That would complicate things and delay getting the fugitive back to lockup.
“Who’s got him?” Jagger asked. He looked around for other body parts to give him a clue where to go.
“I got him! But he’s bleeding out,” Abe called out.
“Asia, send Shy down. We need her to help treat the perp. Where is Turk?” Jagger asked.
“We’re going to need an ambulance. Turk has been hurt too. He’s not conscious,” Victor called out.
Damn it! Why couldn’t they have one bust that didn’t end with an ER visit?
*****
Daniela needed to hurry with her shower. Her shift at the restaurant was in an hour and she was the only sous chef working that night. Though her restaurant was extremely busy, she
enjoyed cooking and she was learning so much there. She hoped to open her own restaurant one day. Until then, she had to keep the job she had.
“Daniela!” a man’s voice called out.
She had just gotten out of the shower when she recognized her boyfriend, Lial, yelling for her. He sounded really upset. She wrapped a towel around her curvy body without drying first and rushed out of the bathroom.
“Lial? What’s going on?” She found him in their bedroom pulling open drawers to their dresser haphazardly. He stopped what he was doing when she entered the room.
“We have a problem,” he told her in a clipped voice.
Daniela sighed as she waited for her boyfriend to explain himself. Lial was always overdramatic. It was just his personality; over the top and barely in control. It was a strange combination for an accountant with a large bank consultant firm.
It was times like these, where their personalities clashed, that she questioned why she was still with Lial. He was attractive, true. That was the first thing she noticed when she first met him. His black, wavy model worthy hair and brown eyes were striking.
Daniela wasn’t unattractive herself. Her friends often told her that she could model too with her long, dark brown hair and bright green eyes. She assumed they meant a plus size model. She was average height and little on the curvy side.
Her personality was the complete opposite of Lial’s. Where he was closed off, anti-social, and out of control with his emotions; Daniela was open, friendly, and calm.
They had started dating eight months ago. Six months ago, Lial declared them to be in a serious relationship. About three months ago he had talked her into moving in together. However, she had seconds thoughts about the move ever since.
She loved him, at least she thought what she felt was love. She cared about him for sure. But she wasn’t I’ll-die-without-him in love with him. And he didn’t seem to feel that way about her either.
Lial didn’t seem to even like her at times. They usually didn’t fight with one another. Oh, she disagreed with him all the time, but it wasn’t worth it for her to argue with him. She preferred to keep the peace so she went with the flow. She just wished Lial were less high-strung.
“What is the problem?” she asked.
“Someone has been stealing money from my company for a few months but it was just discovered today.”
“Oh my gosh! How much was taken?” She was more shocked Lial was telling her about his job. He was usually closed mouth about the company he worked for. He didn’t even take her to the company events.
“Close to two million credits worth.”
“What are they going to do about it? Did they find out who was doing it?” She went to grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to put on. She didn’t like to bare her body in front of him, but she had to get ready for work.
“That’s the problem. The person who stole the money has put money in another person’s account making it look like this other person stole the money.” He walked toward her and took her arms into his hands. “Honey, this thief put some of the money into our joint bank account.”
“What? How could they do that?” She felt all the blood drain from her face.
“I don’t know how they did it but they put enough in there to frame us. I came home right after my bosses questioned me.”
“They let you go?”
“They had to after I explained I didn’t take the money…but you did,” he quickly rushed forward when she started to protest, “I had to, baby. I needed to remain free so I could hunt down the real culprit. If they arrest both of us, no one will be able to clear our names.”
“Am I going to be arrested?” She sat down on the edge of the bed. Her legs wouldn’t hold her up anymore.
He nodded his head. “The authority should be on the way. I just barely beat them here. I need to leave before they arrive too. I don’t want them to think we were in on it together.”
She was pissed now. “I was not in on it either!”
“I know. I know. Calm down, baby. I will get you free in no time.” He checked his watch. “I need to go. I only had a fifteen-minute lead on the authority.” He started for the front room of their apartment.
Daniela ran after him. “Wait! What am I supposed to do?” She felt herself shaking.
“Just don’t resist arrest. Let them take you in. I will call a lawyer for you, so don’t worry about that. He should be there within a few hours of your booking.”
Her booking? Damn, how in hell had something like this happened? Tears started to fall down her face. “Lial, please. I’m scared.” She had never gotten into any kind of trouble her whole life.
He turned back and took her into his arms tightly. She almost couldn’t breathe. He kissed her lips, trying for a passionate kiss, but it was way too rough and quick, making it mostly sloppy and worthless.
“It will be fine. Just go with the authority and wait for your lawyer to come. I will have my people looking into this for the real perpetrator.” He turned and fled the apartment.
His people? Since when did Lial have people? She walked into the living room not knowing what to do. Should she still go to work? Should she call her boss? She stared at the door and jumped when someone began pounding on it.
“This is the authority, open up!”
Oh God. What am I going to do?
*****
Jagger watched his cousin, Victor, pace back and forth in the ER waiting room. It was best that no one try to speak with him when he was in this mood, a killing mood. His horns were showing, which made the full humans uncomfortable. The nurses made sure to keep out of his direct line of sight. Smart on their part.
Abe and the others had taken their perp back to lockup while he and Victor came with Turk to the hospital. It was always a waiting game coming to the ER. A visit usually took six to eight hours each time. Jagger avoided coming here at all costs. He leaned his head back against the chair, stretched out his legs, and closed his eyes. He might as well get a few z’s while he waited.
*****
Lial panicked when he realized the authority were coming at both ends of the hallway. He quickly slipped inside one of the vacant apartments. He cracked open the door and watched as Daniela followed the authority out without fighting them.
She didn’t struggle but walked out with one cop clasping her arm. The other cop was carrying a brown envelope. Daniela wobbled with weak knees. The cop had to help hold her up. Lial breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally gone.
*****
Two days later, Daniela was still waiting for the lawyer. She had used her one call to phone Lial but he hadn't answered. She was scared, tired, and wanted out. Where was the lawyer? Was Lial making any progress in finding the real thief?
“Get up, Martin. You have a visitor.” The male cop unlocked her cell door and motioned her to follow him.
She felt disappointed that she wasn’t being released, but maybe Lial was here. She got up and followed the cop out. He led her to a room and opened the door. She walked in and noticed a strange man sitting down at the table. The stranger stood and reached out a hand to shake hers.
“Miss Martin?” the stranger asked.
“Yes.” She shook his hand and sat down across from him.
“My name is Elliot Wild. I am a legal advisor that has been assigned to your case since you have not obtained a lawyer.”
“My boyfriend was supposed to send a lawyer.” She was so confused. What was Lial doing?
“As far as I know there has been no lawyer presented on your behalf to the judge. I was sent here to help you go over your legal options.”
“Okay. Thanks for coming to help me.” She tried to give him a warm smile. It was hard to do when all she wanted to do was cry. No-no-no. She had to keep it together.
“You have three options. The first is to return all the money you took from the Ariston Bank Consultant Firm. The firm has agreed to drop all charges if the money is returned.”
“I can’t. I didn’t take the money, I was framed. My boyfriend works for the firm and is supposed to be tracking down the culprit,” she explained.
“Since you refuse to return the money, there are two other options left to you. You can either remain in jail until your court appointed date, or you can take out a bail bond agreement so you can get out of jail. If you get the bond agreement, you have to remain local until your court appointed date. No matter which option you take, your bank account has been frozen until your court date and the money will most likely go back to the firm.” The man finished telling Daniela her options then sat there and waited for her to make her decision.
“I don’t want to be here anymore. How do I get the bail bond agreement?”
*****
A bail bonds person came to her and it took a few hours to fill out the paperwork and get it filed through the appropriate channels. She was finally released and her belongings were returned to her.
She had to take a bus to get back to her apartment. Her cell phone had died and needed to be charged. She only had a little bit of cash in her purse when they gave her things back. Not only was her checking account frozen but so were all her credit cards. She got off the bus and walked the short distance to her apartment complex.
She put the key in the lock and turned it. She opened the door and entered the apartment. “Lial?” She looked around and the apartment seemed like a ghost town. He was nowhere in the apartment. She plugged her cell phone up to charge and took the ground phone and called Lial’s cell.
“Hello?” Lial answered with confusion.