Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (23 page)

“Obedient,
isn’t
she?”
Jon
said,
but
his
tone
was
skeptical.

She
peeked
up
and
caught
his
gaze.
Why
did
she
get
the
impression
he
saw
right
through
her?
And
what
did
it
matter?
Ignoring
his
obvious
sarcasm,
she
smiled
serenely—she
was
good
at
that—and
Jon
shook
his
head
and
looked
away.

“Right,”
Rico
said,
“when
we
get
to
Trakis
Two,
we’re
going
to
be
staying
with
a
friend
of
mine,
and
I
use
that
term
in
the
loosest
sense.
So
I
wanted
to
give
you
a
word
of
warning.
Well,
a
few
words
actually.”

“And
they
would
be?”
Tannis
said.

“Don’t
trust
him.
Don’t
go
near
him.
Don’t
be
alone
with
him.”
He
stared
into
space
for
a
moment.
“In
fact,
it
might
be
best
if
you
all
stay
on
the
ship
while
we’re
there.”

Janey
muttered
under
her
breath.

“No
way,”
Daisy
said.
“I’ve
never
been
to
Trakis
Two.”

Rico
must
have
realized
he
faced
a
mutiny.
“Well,
if
you
do
have
to
go
off
the
ship,
at
least
stay
in
pairs.”

Tannis
frowned.
“How
friendly
are
you
with
this
‘friend’
of
yours?”

“Not
very.”

“Great.”

“But
he’ll
do
what
he’s
told.”

“And
why
would
he
do
that?”

“Because
he
has
no
choice.
Take
my
word
on
this
one.”

“Hmm,”
Tannis
said.

“He’s
another
vamp
isn’t
he?”
Everyone
turned
to
look
at
Jon
as
he
spoke
quietly.
“That’s
right,
isn’t
it?”
He
stood
up
and
stepped
toward
Rico.
The
tension
in
the
room
ratcheted
several
notches.
Alex
held
her
breath.
“You’re
taking
us
to
stay
with
another
bloodsucker,
aren’t
you?”

Rico
rose
to
his
feet
in
one
fluid
move,
his
eyes
narrowed.
“So?
What’s
it
to
you,
dog-breath?”

“Well,
my
guess
is—from
the
warnings—that
this
one
isn’t
quite
so
good
at
playing
civilized
as
you
are.
For
whatever
reasons,
you’ve
fooled
these
people
into
thinking
you’re
some
sort
of
nice
guy.”

Alex
could
have
jumped
in
at
that
point
and
said
that
he
hadn’t
fooled
her.
Instead,
she
watched
as
the
two
faced
off.

“But
you’re
not
a
nice
guy,
are
you,
Rico?”
Jon
taunted.

The
silence
stretched
out
between
them.

“I
think
he’s
nice,”
Skylar
said.
“Well,
he’s
nice
to
me
anyway—he
gave
me
a
ring.”
She
waved
her
hand
with
the
huge
purple
stone
and
the
tension
snapped.

Rico
grinned.
“Thanks,
sweetheart.
But
he’s
right—not
about
me—I
am
a
nice
guy.”
He
smiled
with
a
flash
of
fang
that
totally
belied
his
words.
“But
Bastion
is
a
vampire,
and
he’s
not
so—”

“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.”