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Whoever had murdered Lady Devlin had gotten wind of Dylan’s inquiries at the Moonlight Bar, and had sent people out to deal with them.

Someone was running scared, and they’d stop at nothing to get her to shut up. They were trying to take her out, so that her death would scare Dylan and Johanna into giving up on Tyler.

But no one intimidated Samantha. If they thought that she could be easily killed then they had another damn think coming.

People had tried to kill her before, and she’d survived, and this time nothing would be different. She would clear Tyler’s name and they’d look back on this incident with disdain.

She’d almost reached
The Excalibur
, and knew that Veronica had succeeded in getting to the ship before her, because she didn’t see
Aggie
anywhere. But something was different about
The Excalibur
. It held a heaviness, that seemed to seep out to Samantha, and foreboding lodged in her heart. In an instant, her mind jumped to a whole bunch of horrible possibilities.

Dylan was fine! He had to be fine. If something had happened to him, she would’ve felt it way before this. Her special sense for those kinds of things had never let her down and it wouldn’t begin to now. But she still
knew
that something was wrong.

The docking bay door was wide-open. She frowned at Johanna’s blatant disregard for security. Hadn’t the harrowing experiences of the last two days taught her sister anything?

Sometimes she thought she was the only one that ever engaged her brain.

Shutting her jet pack off, she stepped surefooted onto the slopping metal plank that led up into the ship. She began walking quickly, and then as a lump lodged in her throat, she ran.

She emerged into the main area of
The Excalibur
, and her heart gave way, as she realized that her fears had not been unfounded. But it was definitely
much
worse than she’d thought.

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 120

“
Johanna!!!
” she cried, running to embrace her seemingly battered sister. She held her for a moment, and Samantha pulled away when she felt her sister stiffen with pain.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a dark silhouette. She had her pistol drawn in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t give a
damn
who you are, I’m going to
kill
you anyway,” Samantha said, resting her finger on the trigger, amethyst light engulfing the pistol.

“No!

Samantha,

don’t do it!
” Johanna rasped, putting out a restraining hand. “For the love of God, put that bloody weapon away. Both of them!” she commanded in a soft voice, earning a confused glance from Samantha.

“He helped me. If he hadn’t shown up just in the nick of time, I’d probably be dead right now. It all happened so fast that I truly didn’t know what had happened, until the wind was knocked out of me from behind. Lucy had only given me like a
two
second warning. Damned if I know how they even managed to break through her security sensors. I was trying vainly to get the communication channel reopened, and I definitely wasn’t expecting such an attack.”

“It looks as if you’re going to have a black eye,” Samantha said, glancing around the bridge for Dylan. She didn’t want to acknowledge Lord Devlin, so she pretended he wasn’t there. Which was about as worse of an insult as she could manage considering the current circumstances. “We should get you down to med bay to attend to all of your injuries.”

“I don’t have any injury, that you haven’t already suffered in past missions, and besides dear sister, you don’t look so shit hot yourself,” Johanna said all in one breath.

“I agree wholeheartedly with what Johanna just said. Though I’d like to add…you don’t look that shit hot, under the best of conditions,” Lord Devlin interrupted, his eyes twinkling.

Samantha gave him a dirty look.

“What about Dylan? Have you even given any thought to your
own husband?
” she demanded, wincing as pain flashed through her sister’s eyes.

“Well of course I have, Samantha. I could hardly do anything for him. I don’t think he’s any the worse for wear, except for the fact that Veronica felt the need to give him medication, which will probably knock him for a loop. At least for the next few hours anyway,” Johanna added. Turning her head to the side, Samantha finally noticed that Lucy had her holographic butt planted in the captain’s chair.

“What the hell do you think that you’re doing,
Violet?
” she asked, sauntering over to Lucy.

Lucy stared up at her with a mingled expression of irritation and anger splayed across her features. Samantha wrinkled her brow, once again noticing the galling similarities in physical appearance they shared. Dylan had programmed Lucy’s looks and Samantha now couldn’t believe she had been
so
worried about him.

“I’m running the ship. Someone has to,” Lucy drawled out, staring up at her with an impish grin.

“Okay. I’m going to kill you as soon as I figure out how to kill something that isn’t real!” Samantha lunged toward Lucy.

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 121

She fell head long into the chair, with her butt sticking up in the air, just as Lucy crackled out of existence. Lucy reappeared over by the weapons locker, and grinned at her.

“Sometimes being intangible has its moments,” Lucy laughed. Groaning, Samantha tried to push herself up from the chair.

“Oh! Now that is a rather good look for you, Samantha,” Lord Devlin said.

She let out a frustrated groan. “Why don’t you pucker up your lips, and
kiss it
?” she suggested, pushing herself out of the chair.

“Samantha, dear, why don’t you go and get yourself a cup of coffee. I think you need it,”

Johanna advised, laying an ice pack against her slightly swollen cheek.

It reminded Samantha of the pressing issues that were at hand, and she quickly poured herself a cup of the precious black brew, and settled herself in her chair.

“Why don’t you take a hike?” she suggested, turning her head toward Devlin.

Lord Devlin was just about to open his mouth to reply, when Johanna loudly cleared her throat.

“For once just once, Samantha, can’t you keep your mouth shut? I want Lord Devlin to stay here. And you can kindly wipe that look of pent up indignation off of your face. Do I need to spell out what happened here? Lord Devlin
saved
my life. I thought I was a goner for sure, and then he showed up and scared the intruders away.”

“Yeah, sort of like the big bad wolf,” Samantha scoffed, wrapping both hands around her steaming mug. “What I don’t understand is why you needed him to rescue you. The last time I checked you weren’t a crying damsel in distress. When push comes to shove, you can handle yourself just as well as I can. I’ve seen you kick lots of assess in my day.”

“Yes. But not when I’ve been outnumbered and caught off guard,” Johanna pulled her collar down, and she cried out with horror. Jumping out of her chair, she sloshed her coffee everywhere. She quickly placed it down and rushed to her sister’s side.

“And you let them get away?” Samantha cried out angrily, gently feeling the bruises on her sister’s neck. “Dear God, Johanna, they might’ve
killed you!
” she breathed out, feeling the ground give way beneath her.

Whoever had been responsible for the welts on her sister’s neck, now lived on borrowed time! She’d hunt them down, and make sure that they never hurt anyone in such a way ever again. “
Cowards!
” she spat out, leading Johanna over to a chair. “
Sit!
I’m going to make you a nice cup of tea. Then you’re going to give me all of the details.”

“No! You’re going to give me all of the details about your numerous brushes with death.

From what I could hear of Veronica’s curses and half audible mutterings, I could tell that things didn’t go so great for you either.”

“Oh. Well. For me, it was all in a day’s work. I’ve had worse. It was nothing.
Really
,”

Samantha murmured, dismissing her harrowing ordeal, as easily as she would forget about a bad movie.

“Yes, and you cost me a great deal of money, young lady,” Lord Devlin interjected.

Samantha snorted. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll be able to cost you a lot more, before this investigation is over.” She grinned.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” His brow furrowed.

“Ooh, look, Johanna. Lord Devlin’s so cheap he might even squeak,” she laughed, even as her eyes sobered with the thought of nearly losing her sister.

“I’m not cheap. I’m merely a good businessman. And since you blew up the Moonlight Bar, I
will
be expecting payment in the way of damages. I owned that establishment.”

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 122

“
Establishment?
It was a freaking hole in the wall. Low lifers of all sorts gathered there, and you give it a hoity toity name of establishment? You really are too much to believe, Lord Devlin!” She turned her back on him, and began brewing the tea. “And if you think you’ll get any money from me, you may as well try getting blood from a stone.”

Here she was calmly making tea, while her heart was strained to the breaking point.

An asshole of the highest class was speaking in his mother tongue, and Johanna was silently listening to the banter that was going on between them.

“You know, Samantha, if you took the show you and Devlin create when together on the road, you’d definitely make a pretty penny,” Johanna murmured.

Sighing, Samantha poured the tea, and added the milk. “Well. I wish that he’d hit the road
without
me. How much of his shit am I expected to take?” She handed Johanna the hot cup of tea.

“I was going to ask Devlin some questions about the intruders, but since you’re trying so hard to piss him off, I don’t think that I will have the chance.”

“Goody. I don’t think that he would be able to give you any clues, since the idiot doesn’t even realize that I wasn’t the one that blew up his cherished bar. If you haven’t already figured it out, you brainless wonder, someone was trying to off me, and my friends, and while I was occupied that very same person sent people here to do away with Johanna. You know, it very well could’ve been you that orchestrated the whole thing. Don’t think that just because you came rushing to Johanna’s assistance, I won’t consider the fact that you might play a rather
key
role in all of this.”

“Samantha, bite your tongue,” Johanna cut in. She looked pissed off. “Lord Devlin would never ever do such a despicable thing. And I know without a trace of a doubt that he wouldn’t try killing me, and then rush to my rescue, as if he were some medieval knight. Would you just get off of your high horse, and look at the big picture? Someone murdered Devlin’s wife, and we’re here to find the real culprit, so that Tyler doesn’t go to the gallows for a crime he didn’t commit!”

“Tyler wouldn’t have to worry about going to the gallows, if not for Devlin. He makes the rules on
New Monaco
, and
he
could break them. But he won’t because he wants revenge against me, for what I did to him.”

“If I wanted revenge, Samantha, I would go to the source of my problem. And since I don’t harm children or women I can’t have my revenge. You’ve also secured your place as being untouchable. I wouldn’t even dream of hurting someone so dear to Danny’s heart. I might be a self-centered jackass at times, but even I have principles!”

“Your principles couldn’t be any longer than your baby finger. I don’t believe a word that comes out of that mouth of yours.”

“If anyone is interested, I have a fix on the location of the thugs that paid us a visit earlier,” Lucy piped in, crackling into existence in front of Samantha.

Samantha sighed deeply and tapped her fingers restlessly on her armrest. She stared expectantly up at Lucy.

“Cut to the chase. Give me all of the info you have so that I can go and beat the shit out of them,” she inwardly thanked Lucy for the timely interruption. If she had to sit, and chitchat with Lord Devlin for any longer, she would have to puke into a nearby wastepaper basket. The man was about as charming as a great big fart. “Lucy, where are Veronica and Ross? I’m going to need their help with this.”

Lucy sighed. “I overheard Veronica muttering something about ripping someone a new RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 123

one, and then she was gone. She took
Aggie
, though I don’t know if she’ll be getting far with her. Ross went with her, so I guess you are on your own, since Dylan is still sleeping like a baby down in med bay.”

“Oh! Well that’s just peachy keen. I’m going to give Veronica a freaking earful when she brings her scrawny butt back here. Doesn’t she know that while onboard
The Excalibur
we all work as a team?”

Stamping her foot, she punched her fist against the wall. Recognition dawned. “Shit.

You let Veronica take
Aggie?
” she exploded, feeling her face grow hot. “Lucy, that’s it, your days are numbered. I’m going to hack into your system, blind if need be, and I’m going to erase you. Why didn’t you tell me that Veronica had left? When I got here,
Aggie
was right where she should be. And she wasn’t driving too well, so let’s hope she holds together for Veronica.”

Samantha fumed. And though Veronica had earned a teensy bit of her respect, she’d now successfully blown all of that sentiment straight to hell.

“You didn’t ask,” Lucy said carelessly. Her face lit up with gleeful satisfaction.

“I

didn’t

ask!
That’s it, I’m going to rearrange your program so that you’re talking out of your
ass!
”

“Before you blow a gasket, Samantha, why don’t I just accompany you?” Johanna offered.