No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) (17 page)

Why he’d thought a band of space pirates would be the same, he wasn’t sure. The proof of his incorrect assumptions was currently assaulting his senses. This wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t shed years of protective barriers to fit into Faolan’s band of thugs, no matter how badly he wanted a place to belong.

“Gar!”

The temptation to stay on his ship, have Faolan release the clamps so he could disappear was almost too much. If it wasn’t for the older man’s strange reaction to the dimension jump and Gar’s unexplained urge to make sure Faolan was okay, he’d do just that.

“Gar!” Faolan poked his head down through the hatch. “Get your sorry self up here. I promise no one will kill you. Today.”

“So reassuring,” he muttered, straightening his jacket as he climbed up the ladder.

The voices died completely as he pulled himself up and stood for the first time on the
Belle Kurve
’s floor. Not wanting to give any indication of his unease, Gar cleared his mind of all thoughts, relaxed his body and prepared himself to jump back down the hatch if necessary.

Faolan simply shot him a broad grin. “Everyone, this is Gar Stitt. The man was sent to kill me, but quickly saw how drab the universe would be without my charm and good looks. Instead, he’s stopped by to spend some time with your sorry asses.”

Gar snorted on impulse. No one around him reacted in any way, giving the entire situation a menacing edge. Never one to be easily intimidated, Gar let his gaze sweep across the ragged collection of people, taking in faces and physical characteristics. Not the full complement of the crew, only half a dozen or so.

“I expect you to treat Gar with the same respect we show everyone else who comes on board.” Faolan stepped over to Ricoh and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I was serious when I said he saved my life. He didn’t have to. Could have turned me in for the bounty or dumped my body out an airlock countless times. He’s got nowhere to go now, so that makes him ours.”

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.