Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (76 page)

Callum
Meridian.

“Skylar?”

“What?”
She
looked
up
from
where
Rico
was
examining
a
blaster
burn
on
her
left
arm.

“Callum
Meridian
is
here.”

“I
know.”

“Can
you
get
him
to
talk
to
us?”

“Why?”

“I
want
to
make
him
an
offer.”

“Ballsy,”
Rico
said.
“I
like
it.
What
are
you
going
to
offer
him?”

“I
haven’t
worked
that
out
yet.
But
get
him
here.”

“I’ll
try.”
Skylar
closed
her
eyes
for
a
second,
and
across
the
courtyard
the
cloaked
figure
glanced
up
to
the
window,
then
headed
in
their
direction,
the
men
parting
around
him.

Jon
crouched
down
beside
Alex
and
touched
her
lightly
on
the
cheek.
“Just
hold
on
a
little
while
longer.”

Her
eyes
fluttered
open.
“Jon,
there’s
something
I
need
to
tell
you.
Something
I
did.”

“Later,
there
will
be
time
later.”

“But
I…oh.”
Her
gazed
fixed
over
his
shoulder,
and
he
straightened
and
turned.
Callum
Meridian
stood
in
the
doorway,
easily
recognizable
with
his
lean
face
and
short,
dark
hair.
He
was
tall,
though
his
body
looked
strangely
bulky
beneath
the
long,
dark
cloak.
As
he
stepped
over
the
bodies
into
the
room,
no
words
were
spoken,
but
the
soldiers
at
his
back
melted
away.
The
door
closed
behind
him,
and
the
air
crackled
and
thrummed
with
power.

His
gaze
swept
the
room,
his
lips
pursed
as
he
scrutinized
each
of
them
in
turn.
“Can
someone
tell
me”—he
spoke
softly,
his
tone
almost
gentle—“how
the
hell
does
one
shipload
of
fucking
misfits
give
me
so
much
goddamn
trouble?”

Jon
started
at
the
words.
They
weren’t
what
he’d
been
expecting,
though
he
had
no
real
clue
what
that
was;
some
pompous
denouncement
for
killing
Ross,
perhaps?
It
threw
him
off
balance,
and
he
struggled
to
pull
his
thoughts
together.

“Hey,”
Rico
said,
“I’d
watch
who
you
were
calling
a
misfit
if
I
were
you.”

Callum
ignored
the
comment.
“Today,
I’ve
had
to
sit
through
an
extremely
boring
meeting
where
you
lot”—he
waved
around
the
room,
encompassing
them
all—“were
the
main
topic
of
conversation.
My
council
wants
you
dead,
and
to
be
honest,
I
think
they’ve
got
a
point.
I’ve
had
enough
of
you
all.”

“Well,
feel
free
to
piss
off,”
Rico
drawled.
“
After
all,
this
whole
pile
of
crap
is
hardly
our
fault.”

“Maybe
not,
but
it
is
hers.”
Callum
waved
a
hand
in
Skylar’s
direction.

She’d
hunkered
down
beside
Alex,
now
she
shot
upright.
“Sir?”

“You
were
given
a
simple
job—hire
a
crew,
break
Aiden’s
killer
out
of
prison,
and
allow
us
to
shoot
him
in
the
process.”

Skylar’s
lips
tightened,
her
hands
went
to
her
hips.
“Yeah
well,
it
might
have
worked
out
that
way
if
someone
had
informed
me
about
that
last
bit.”
She
sounded
pissed.

“Any
other
ship
and
crew,
and
the
mission
would
have
gone
as
planned.
Why
choose
this
one?”

“They
looked…interesting.”
Now
she
sounded
defensive.

“Interesting?”
Callum
repeated
the
word
as
though
he
didn’t
quite
believe
it.
He
shook
his
head
and
turned
his
attention
to
Jon.
“This
has
gone
on
long
enough.
You
were
never
even
supposed
to
get
as
far
as
prison.
You
were
to
die
at
the
site
of
the
assassination.
Another
fuckup.
Well,
it’s
over.”
He
turned
to
Skylar.
“You’re
free
to
leave
or
stay
but
I’m
giving
the
order
to
finish
this
now.”

“I
wouldn’t
do
that
if
I
were
you,”
Jon
said.

Callum
swung
back
to
face
him.
“Why?”

Jon
stared
into
those
glowing
violet
eyes
and
a
shiver
ran
through
him.
No
one
really
knew
how
Meridian
worked.
How
it
changed
the
human
body,
rendering
it
virtually
indestructible.
At
least,
if
the
Collective
knew,
they
weren’t
telling.
They
had
always
claimed
the
change
was
a
minor
one,
a
mere
matter
of
chemistry,
but
now,
staring
at
the
first
and
oldest
of
their
kind,
Jon
sensed
that
the
changes
went
far
deeper.

He
took
a
deep
breath.
How
he
did
this
would
decide
whether
they
all
lived
or
all
died.
“I
assassinated
Aiden
Ross,
one
of
the
‘indestructible’
Collective.
Except
you’re
not
indestructible
are
you?
And
I’m
the
one
person
who
knows
how
to
kill
you.”

Callum
raised
one
eyebrow.
“But
luckily
for
me,
you
don’t
have
the
means
to
do
it
right
here.”

“Maybe
not.
But
if
we
don’t
all
leave
here
safely,
a
comm
will
go
out
to
the
entire
civilized
universe
telling
them
exactly
how
you
can
be
killed.
And
I’m
betting
a
man
in
your
position
has
made
a
few
enemies
who
would
love
that
information.”

Callum
seemed
unimpressed
by
the
threat.
He
stepped
closer,
pulling
the
cloak
tighter
around
him,
and
Jon
had
to
fight
the
urge
to
back
away.
The
intense
violet
eyes
seemed
to
suck
him
in.

“You’re
lying,”
Callum
murmured.
“You
have
no
comm
set
up.
The
information
will
die
with
you.”

The
words
held
such
certainty
that
Jon
knew
it
was
over.
How
Callum
was
so
sure,
he
didn’t
know.
Maybe
the
man
could
read
his
thoughts.
Whatever
the
reason—it
was
finished.

He
moved
closer
to
where
Alex
lay.
Now
he
just
wanted
to
go
to
her,
hold
her
at
the
end.

As
though
she
sensed
his
stare,
she
opened
her
eyes.
“No,
it
won’t.”

For
a
moment,
her
words
made
no
sense,
and
it
took
him
a
second
to
realize
she
was
talking
to
Callum.

His
gaze
narrowed
on
her.
“The
Lady
Alexia,
I
presume.”

“Yes.
And
Jon
might
be
lying,
but
I’m
not.”
Alex’s
voice
was
thready
with
pain
but
filled
with
conviction.
She
licked
her
dry
lips
and
this
time
she
spoke
to
Jon.
“If
we
don’t
get
back,
Janey
will
send
out
the
information
on
an
open
wave.”