No Quarter (Bounty, Book One)

by d'Abo, Christine

  Time ticked on in Gar’s head as he waited for the crew to pass judgment over him. Surprisingly, Ricoh stepped away from Faolan to come and stand mere inches from Gar’s face.

  “Bounty hunter?” Ricoh grumbled, eyes squinted as he looked Gar over.

  “For a while now.”

  “Zeten?”

  “Yes. Terrin?”

  Ricoh snorted. “What gave it away?”

  Gar took in the trademark blue skin and cocked an eyebrow. “Bad breath and body odor.”

  Snickers and chuckles filtered and spread throughout the gathering until Ricoh grinned. “We can keep him.”

  Faolan clapped his hands together and laughed. “Excellent! I’d hate to kill him after all that time I spent teaching him how to behave.”

  “In your dreams, Wolf.” Gar rolled his eyes, nodded to Ricoh as the Terrin left the room.

  “You’ll meet the rest of the crew soon enough. We couldn’t pull them all away from their stations to come worship at your brilliantly clad feet. Though I’m surprised Mace wasn’t here.”

  Gar stumbled, banging into Faolan as they abruptly stopped. “Who?”

  No, it couldn’t be. The name wasn’t that uncommon in certain sectors of the galaxy. His sister was long dead—this was clearly someone else. His rationalizations didn’t do anything to slow the pounding of his heart or the sick feeling in his stomach.

  Faolan turned to face him, his face contorted into a mask of confusion. “Mace Simms, my second-in-command and the only other Zeten I can tolerate. Don’t tell me you tried to bring Mace in on a bounty because even I won’t be able to stop the bloodshed if you did.”

  “Oh Gods.” Gar’s legs threatened to give out on him. Faolan grabbed him tight around the waist and led him to a chair.

  “Captain?” A young man moved up beside them.

  “Get Mace,” Faolan snapped. “Now!”

  It couldn’t be Mace, not his Mace. She was dead, murdered the same day as their father by the Loyalist sergeant sent to arrest their family. It simply wasn’t plausible to even imagine she was alive—safe—living as a space pirate on Faolan’s ship.

  “Gar, look at me.” Faolan kept his voice soft and low. Leaning in so their foreheads touched, Faolan smiled softly. “That’s it. I need you to tell what’s going on before she arrives.”

  He didn’t have a clue himself. “Where did you find her?”

  “Zeten, believe it or not. Last time I ever set foot on that hellhole of a planet you call home.”

  Gar swallowed down the bile rising up this throat. “Oh Gods. It can’t be her.”

  Faolan gave him a shake. “Who?”

  The door whooshed open as a young woman bounded through, marching directly toward them. “Faolan, you know I can’t bloody well stand bounty hunters. Why the hell did you want me to…?”

  Their eyes locked—blue met hazel, shock and surprise transferring between them. The years suddenly evaporated and Gar was once again a terrified fourteen-year-old, crying over his sister’s body in a backroom of a Zeten detention camp. It had been Gar’s fault the Loyalist bastards had found their family in the first place.

  “No,” Mace whispered.

  Gar swallowed hard. “You’re dead.”

  “Garratt?” She took a tentative step closer. “Is that you?”

  Gar shook his head repeatedly, squeezing Faolan’s arms. “No, no, no. They told me you were dead. They showed me what was left of your corpse.”

  Mace gasped, rushed forward and dropped to her knees at his feet. “Oh my Gods. Garratt!”

  Gar pulled away, moving back as far as the seat would allow. “The Loyalist soldiers were going to take you away to sell you as a sex slave. They shot you when you tried to escape. They’d burned and beaten your face until I couldn’t recognize you anymore. It can’t be you.”

  Mace turned her head, squeezed her eyes shut and let out a small sob. “I can’t believe this.”

  Faolan cleared his throat. “I think I better leave the two of you alone.”

  Before Gar had a chance to protest, Mace jumped up to pull him back down to the chair. “Don’t you dare move.”

  “Clearly you two need to talk, pet.” Faolan brushed a brown curl from Mace’s face. “You don’t need me here getting in the way.”

  “No way, Wolf. I have questions and I expect answers. Now why the hell didn’t you tell me you found my brother? You know I’ve been looking for him!”

  “You said his name was Garratt Simms, not Gar Stitt. How the hell was I supposed to know it was the same man?”

  “I changed my name when I thought you were dead. I wanted to forget, start a new life.” Gar’s stomach churned and he felt overwhelmed. “I didn’t know anyone would be looking for me.”

  “I was looking!”

  With his head spinning, Gar chuckled as Mace pouted, her lower lip sticking out as it had when she was ten. He didn’t even flinch when she punched him hard on the shoulder. “Stop it. Ass.”

  “You haven’t changed.” He laughed again at the sound of wonder in his own voice. “It’s really you. You’re alive.” He managed to calm himself before the hysteria pulling at his mind gained footing. “How did you escape? Whose body did I see?”

  Mace shoved her shoulder into Faolan’s body. “Don’t know about the body, but our mutual friend here got me out.”

  Gar turned, his eyes wide. “What?”

  Faolan let his gaze travel between the two of them, not stopping even as he reached up to touch each of their cheeks. “How could I have not noticed the similarities before now? You both have the same nose, lips.”

  He stood quickly, pushing both Gar and Mace away. They waited while Faolan paced, running a hand through his hair to push it from his face. “Kayla and I were on Zeten running a scam on some Loyalist prick. We knew he was bringing in medical supplies cheap, diluting them so he had double the stock to sell before jacking the prices up. We cleaned him out and were fleeing the colony when we found Mace here.”

  She reached over and squeezed Gar’s hand. “I saw them shoot Dad in the head. When they took me, they told me you were next. I was so scared and angry I fought them. Must have surprised the bastards because the next thing I knew I broke free and started running.”

  Gar looked at Faolan, not entirely surprised by the revelation. “You took her with you.”

  Faolan snorted. “Wasn’t about to leave her there. Had we known you were still alive at the time I would have gone back for you too.”

  “They told me you were dead, Garratt. It wasn’t until a few months later I heard you’d survived. We tried to find you, but it was like you’d fallen off the galactic map.”

  “I changed my name to hide from the bastards who’d done this. I went over to the Guild when Jason took over. I wanted to track down the fucker who’d killed you and Dad.”

  Mace shook her head, brushing a tear from her eye. “All this time lost. How did you—?”

  “Jason. He was a Loyalist soldier until he couldn’t take it anymore. He was supposed to kill me, but instead smuggled me off the planet.”

  “Shit,” Faolan muttered.

  “Yeah. So you can appreciate why I’m a bit confused as to why he wants me dead now. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “It rarely does,” Mace whispered.

  Gar shook as he sat up straight and pulled his sister into his arms. They clung together, faces buried against each other’s necks, shaking as tears soaked through their clothing. “I missed you,” he muttered, squeezing her tighter. “I’m so sorry I let you down. You must hate me.”

  “Don’t be an idiot.” Mace pulled back and grinned. “Why would you possibly think I would hate you? I’ve spent all this time looking for you. I never stopped.”

  Gods, he didn’t want to do this, not so soon after finding her. “It was my fault.”

  “What?” Mace dropped her hands to her lap. “How?”

  Gar leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands. The weight of his guilt from
the past decade crashed down upon him. “The Loyalist soldiers told me Dad had been wrongly accused. They showed me a document saying he was cleared of Mom’s murder and they had the soldier in custody who had done it. I was so excited, I didn’t even think. I led them straight home.”

  The silence in the cabin hurt his ears. It was only slightly more disconcerting than the torrent of images flashing through his memory. The bloody remains of the body had been so disfigured it had been easy to accept it as his sister. Considering the brutal manner in which they’d killed his dad, he’d expected no mercy from them at all.

  Mace leaned away, a look of horror and disbelief on her face. “What did you…?”

  He could feel the renewed tears on his face, but Gar did nothing to wipe away his shame. “I knew better. Dad’s life was in danger and it was my fault they found him.”

  The sister he never thought he’d see again sat motionless, staring at him. Gar fought back the impulse to shake a reaction out of her. Instead he bit down on his bottom lip and waited for her to pass a verdict on his actions.

  “I…have to go.” Mace stood, but Gar couldn’t look at her. “I need time to think. This is all a bit much.”

  The echo of her retreating footsteps felt like blades tearing his heart apart. He didn’t move even once the door closed behind her. The air in the ship was warmer than what he was used to. He really should leave—get back on the Geilt and get the hell out of here.

  A pair of large, warm hands slid across his shoulders to the back of his neck. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Clearly Mace doesn’t agree with you.”

  “She’ll be fine if you give her some space. She has you back in her life now, which is something I can confirm she’s wanted for a very long time. Come here.”

  Gar allowed himself to be pulled to his feet by Faolan. There was no comforting hug this time, only firm hands and gentle guidance. Gar wanted to protest, but didn’t have a clue where they were heading.

  “While the family drama has been a nice distraction, we have other matters to attend to.”

  “Hate to interrupt your schedule, Wolf.” Gar finally cleaned his face with the back of his hand, pausing to straighten his tie. He couldn’t dwell on what had happened. Either Mace would accept him or he’d go off like he’d planned originally. Either way, he needed the reassuring presence of Faolan to help regain his balance. “Think Jason will be able to track us down?”

  He followed Faolan, walking a step behind as the older man led him through the door and into the wide corridor of the ship’s main passageway. This ship’s appearance was as surprising as its captain and could only be described as homey. Deep reds and blues covered the traditional slate gray in an odd mural pattern.

  “Jason will have to pull a tracking miracle out of his ass if he has any hope of finding us. My secure quarters are this way.”

  A few days ago, the idea of going into a notorious pirate’s secure quarters would have meant one of them would be a dead man shortly thereafter. Now Gar found himself looking forward to the promise of solitude. Funny how difficult prolonged human contact could be after being alone for so long.

  They stopped and Faolan made introductions to the crew they met on their way. Every time Gar found himself on the verge of blushing as Faolan’s words and the overt flirting directed at him grew. The casual touches increased as well, becoming more possessive if anyone’s gaze looked to hold more than a passing interest.

  Not once in his life had he ever been on the receiving end of this type of attention. He’d always taken great pains to blend into the background, become nothing more than a passing ghost through a room. People didn’t remember him unless he made it a point for them to never, ever forget.

  Unlike Faolan, who laughed and flirted, making verbal love to everyone they met. Being with a man so full of life forced Gar into a role he’d never experienced before. Being the center of attention had never been something he’d sought out.

  “Here we are,” Faolan grinned as they finally reached a large door. A simple palm scan was the only identification needed to trigger access to the room.

  Gar shook his head. “Secure quarters, you say.”

  “Only allows access to certain crew members. That reminds me, if you’re staying around we’ll have to make sure we get your prints in the system. Want to make sure you don’t get stuck in an inopportune place.”

  “Like your private quarters?” Gar cocked an eyebrow and smiled at the familiar comfort of the banter.

  “I told you they were secure. It prevents people from escaping when I don’t want them to.” Faolan winked and led the way in.

  If Gar were to say his room was functional for a ship, then Faolan’s could have been perfectly at home in a brothel. It really wasn’t surprising.

  “You live here?” Gar tried to take in as many details as possible, nearly overwhelmed by the odd collection of items. Old and new items from a countless breadth of planets and colonies cluttered the chamber in no obvious semblance of an order. Scanners, data chips and bits of engines were splayed in random piles about the room.

  “I sleep here. Occasionally, Mace will come and chat, but mostly this is the lair where the great and mysterious Captain Wolf hides.” Faolan snapped his belt off, tossing his sword onto a tabletop covered with datapads. “Speaking of mysterious, let me show you my stone.”

  “There’s a setup if I’ve ever heard one.”

  Faolan laughed. “Like I’d ever need a setup to get someone in my bed. They are queuing up for a chance to be with me.”

  A sickening thought hit Gar, sending a jolt of panic through his body. “You haven’t…with Mace? Have you?”

  Faolan’s eyes grew impossibly wide. “With Mace? Gods, she’s like a part of my own family. Younger sister I never had. Plus I think she’d cut my balls off if I ever tried anything.”

  Relief washed through him. “That’s good.”

  “It would have been a bit weird, fucking both brother and sister.”

  Gar grimaced, not wanting to dwell on the disturbing idea any further. “Stranger things have happened.”

  Faolan chuckled. “As today has proven. Hang on one minute.”

  Gar stood in the center of the room, unable to find a clear spot to sit that wasn’t the bed, and watched as Faolan pulled a hidden panel from the wall to reveal a safe beneath. Unlike the one on the Geilt, this one was comprised of the latest in technology. A quick DNA scan later and the door popped open.

  “We raided a known Loyalist cargo transport a month ago. The ship’s captain was a bit too willing to part with the things in his hold, which told me there was something more precious hiding on board. I found this in his personal quarters.”

  Faolan turned around and held up a large emerald stone dangling from the end of a gold chain. It was the most amazing thing he’d ever laid eyes on. The back of his brain itched, nudging him closer. Stepping forward, Gar automatically reached for it until Faolan snatched the jewel away, hiding it behind his back.

  “It does that to everyone. We’ve run scan after scan on the bloody thing, but we can’t for the life of us figure out how it works.” Faolan chuckled as Gar shook his head, clearing the muckiness away. “It pulls people in, almost compels them to put it on. It’s how we discovered the truth about it.”

  “The mind-reading thing?”

  Faolan nodded as he stepped close to Gar. “When someone puts the item around their neck, they can read the thoughts of anyone else they focus on. It takes some practice, but Mace and I have both been able to make it work.”

  Curiosity gnawed at Gar. He wanted to try it out, see exactly how powerful it could be. “Do you think?” He pointed at Faolan’s hidden hand. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

  “For you, Stitt?” Faolan stepped up and held the stone between them. “Of course. Let me put it on you.”

  The heady musk Gar now immediately identified with Faolan enveloped him as the older man reached behind Gar’s neck to fasten the
catch. The pang of want unwound once more in Gar, tempting him with the promise of closeness and connection. Without thinking, he let his body fall forward until he could rest his forehead on Faolan’s shoulder, giving him a better view of his neck. It was only for practicality’s sake and had nothing to do with the urge to get closer.

  “Have I told you how much I like seeing you like this?” Faolan muttered against Gar’s ear.

  He shivered. “Like what?”

  “Proper, formal, ready to be stripped down and licked from head to toe.” Gar groaned when Faolan stepped out of his grasp. “Sorry, Stitt, you’re going to need to work for the next one.”

  “Bastard.” Gods, it was never enough.

  “Already established. Now,” Faolan backed up until there was no physical contact between them. “The first time is the hardest. I’ll have some random thoughts going on in here and I want you to try to pick up what I’m saying.”

  Frowning, Gar reached up and thumbed the stone now resting across his tie. “How do I do that?”

  “Concentrate on me. What I’m doing and saying. You’ll start to hear a whisper, like someone having a conversation in another room you can barely make out. When the buzzing starts, grab on to it! Those are my thoughts. Okay?”

  Gar nodded, not completely convinced, but willing to give it a shot for Faolan’s sake. “Go.”

  Faolan began to chat about his ship, the size of his cargo bay and the last raid they’d pulled. At first, Gar focused on the words themselves, only to find himself becoming lulled by the sound of the other man’s voice.

  There!

  Something must have shown on his face, because as he looked up, Faolan’s smile widened as he continued to speak. Ignoring everything, Gar concentrated on the soft buzzing taking root in the back of his mind. Slowly, it grew, taking shape as a soft murmur, to finally explode into a richer version of Faolan’s voice.

  I want to strip you naked and suck your cock.

  Gar groaned. “Of course it had to be sex with you.”