Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (41 page)

She
couldn’t
bear
it.
This
way
she
could
at
least
tell
herself
she
had
been
part
of
something,
and
that
they’d
wanted
her
to
be
here.
Even
if
she
had
no
choice
except
to
go.
The
thought
had
been
churning
in
her
mind
ever
since
that
kiss
with
Jon.

Everything
had
changed
with
that
kiss.

Or
rather,
not
changed
but
become
clearer.
It
was
why
she
had
stayed
away
from
him
these
past
few
days.
She
needed
to
understand
what
she
was
feeling
and
what
the
ramifications
were.

Maybe
she
was
wrong,
and
with
a
little
distance
she’d
realize
she
wasn’t
coming
to
care
for
him.
That
she
just
had
a
serious
case
of
hero
worship,
because
he
was
gorgeous
and
exciting
and
had
saved
her
life.

Before
the
kiss,
she’d
thought
she
could
have
a
little
fun,
learn
what
it
felt
like
to
be
a
real
woman.
And
afterward,
she
would
go
back
and
do
the
job
she
was
born
to
do,
with
a
few
happy
memories
to
look
back
on.
Eventually,
she
would
forget
her
time
on
El
Cazador
and
forget
Jon.

But
she
knew
it
wasn’t
only
hero
worship.
It
wasn’t
love
either—yet
.
The
problem
was,
she
suspected
she
wasn’t
the
sort
of
person
who
could
separate
sex
and
love
however
much
she
wanted
to.
Now,
if
she
stayed
and
if
she
did
somehow
manage
to
persuade
Jon
to
give
in
and
make
love
with
her,
she
doubted
she
would
ever
have
the
strength
to
walk
away.
He
would
shatter
her
heart
without
a
thought,
and
she’d
be
left
broken
and
useless.

It
wasn’t
as
though
he
would
ever
allow
himself
to
care
for
her.
While
she
might
persuade
him
to
have
sex,
for
him
that
was
all
it
would
be.
Jon
was
a
hard
and
bitter
man.
Somewhere
in
his
past,
something
had
broken
him.
Alex
couldn’t
change
that.
She
wouldn’t
even
know
how.
Anyway,
he’d
told
her
as
soon
as
this
was
cleared
up
he
was
off
on
his
own
again.
The
way
he
liked
it.

Why
could
she
never
be
the
person
she
wanted
to
be?
Why
did
everything
have
to
matter
so
much
to
her?
The
recent
interaction
with
Hezrai
had
crystallized
her
thoughts,
until
they
were
like
sharp
little
daggers
stabbing
at
her
tender
brain.

Tannis
had
said
they
couldn’t
escape
from
both,
so
at
least
by
going
back
she
could
do
some
good.

If
she
gave
herself
up
to
Hezrai
now,
maybe
he
would
leave
her
friends
alone,
and
without
her
dragging
them
down,
they
would
be
able
to
sort
out
their
issues
with
the
Collective.

So
she
was
doing
this
to
save
her
friends.
Why
did
she
always
have
to
think
that
the
whole
world
was
her
responsibility?
Maybe
that’s
what
happened
when
you
were
brought
up
as
a
priestess
and
told
you
were
the
divine
hand
of
God.

You
can’t
save
the
whole
world,
Alexia.

Sister
Martha’s
words
echoed
through
her
mind.
The
old
sister
had
said
them
so
many
times
when
Alex
had
been
growing
up.
Whenever
she’d
wanted
to
make
changes,
make
things
better.
When
she
was
younger,
she
had
argued.
As
she’d
grown
older,
she’d
argued
less
as
it
seemed
more
and
more
futile,
and
she’d
come
to
believe
she
couldn’t
save
anything,
never
mind
the
whole
world.

Now
she
wasn’t
so
sure.

At
least
she
planned
to
try.

Chapter
Eleven

Alex
disappeared
from
the
bridge
soon
after
the
comm
ended.

She’d
appeared
sad
and
defeated.
And
who
could
blame
her;
if
he’d
spent
most
of
his
life
with
assholes
like
Fischer,
he’d
be
suicidal
by
now.
The
thought
worried
at
his
mind.
Jon
couldn’t
even
begin
to
imagine
what
her
life
must
have
been
like.
She’d
said
that
she
intended
to
go
back,
but
he
presumed
she
hadn’t
really
meant
that.

He’d
almost
decided
to
follow
her
when
Skylar
rose
to
her
feet
and
headed
out.
Skylar
would
be
much
better
for
Alex;
she’d
be
able
to
talk
without
the
other
thing
clouding
the
issues.

Alex
had
been
avoiding
him
the
last
couple
of
days.
He’d
got
himself
all
built
up
to
fend
off
her
advances,
and
he’d
hardly
seen
her.
If
she
was
in
a
room
when
he
entered,
she
somehow
managed
to
slide
out
and
vanish.

That
was
a
good
thing,
wasn’t
it?
At
last,
she’d
realized
he
wasn’t
some
sort
of
puppy
dog
she
could
play
with.
But
he
hadn’t
been
happy.

Then
today,
he’d
come
up
with
the
brilliant
notion
that
what
she
was
really
doing
was
letting
him
do
the
chasing.
After
all,
that’s
what
he’d
told
her
to
do.

So
he’d
gone
looking
for
her
today.
Not
really
understanding
the
impulse
but
knowing
he
had
to
see
her.
Probably
to
tell
her
she
was
wasting
her
time,
and
he
wasn’t
the
running
sort.
In
any
direction.

He’d
seen
her
with
Rico.
At
first,
he
hadn’t
noticed
Skylar
was
present
as
well.
Alex
had
been
all
hot
and
sweaty,
and
sexy
as
hell,
and
he’d
been
shocked
by
the
fury
that
had
roared
through
him
at
the
sight.
Luckily,
no
one
had
noticed
him
before
he’d
spotted
Skylar
and
managed
to
get
his
rage
under
control.

In
that
moment,
he
had
accepted
that
he
was
fighting
a
losing
battle.

Why
not
give
her
what
she
wanted?

The
truth
was
they
would
sort
out
this
thing
with
the
Collective,
and
he
would
be
on
his
way
eventually.
Or
they
would
all
die.
Either
way,
having
a
little
fun
with
Alex
wouldn’t
do
any
harm
whether
she
decided
to
go
back
to
the
Church
or
not.
He
wouldn’t
be
here
anyway.

Once
he’d
accepted
the
idea,
the
tight
knot
of
tension
had
unwound
inside
him,
and
he
was
filled
with
a
lightness
he
couldn’t
remember.

He’d
welcomed
the
fight
with
Skylar
to
blow
off
a
little
steam,
but
it
was
a
measure
of
how
unsettled
he
was
that
she’d
beaten
him.
His
mind
had
been
on
other
things.

Walking
behind
Alex
to
the
bridge,
he
hadn’t
been
able
to
drag
his
gaze
from
her
tight
little
ass,
knowing
it
was
only
a
matter
of
time
before
it
would
be
his.
And
he’d
been
feeling
the
pressure
ever
since.

Now,
he
was
lying
on
his
bed,
an
hour
later,
his
hand
down
his
pants,
trying
to
relieve
a
little
of
that
pressure
when
the
shrill
of
the
buzzer
rang
through
his
head.
He
knew
who
it
was
without
looking.
She
was
the
only
person
who
ever
came
to
his
cabin.

“Shit.”

Bad
timing.
He’d
explode
if
she
came
near
him
now.

Jon
released
his
grip
on
his
cock,
rolled
to
his
feet,
and
pulled
his
shirt
down
over
his
pants
in
an
attempt
to
be
a
little
discreet.
He
didn’t
want
to
scare
her
off
now
that
he’d
decided
he
didn’t
want
her
scared
off.

She
stood
in
the
doorway,
hands
in
her
pockets.
Despite
the
clothing,
she
reminded
him
of
Al
the
cabin
boy.

“Can
I
come
in?”
she
asked.
“I
have
a
proposition
for
you.”

A
proposition?
That
sounded
more
like
it.
Still,
he
couldn’t
quite
get
rid
of
the
idea
that
something
wasn’t
right
with
the
world
in
general,
and
his
immediate
plans
for
the
future
in
particular.
Stepping
aside,
he
gestured
for
her
to
enter.

She
gave
him
a
wide
berth
as
she
passed,
and
he
frowned
again.
For
once,
she’d
fastened
the
jump
suit
right
up
to
her
neck;
no
sign
of
cleavage
on
show
today.
Though
it
molded
to
her
full
breasts,
and
his
cock
twitched
inside
his
pants.