Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (49 page)

She
looked
from
Jon
to
Tannis,
who
had
finally
stopped
pacing
and
was
perched
on
the
edge
of
a
chair
listening.
“I
didn’t
intend
to
go
for
good
or
anything.
It
was
an
impulse.
But
there
was
a
ship
waiting.
The
doors
were
open,
and
there
was
no
one
around.
I
honestly
only
meant
to
have
a
quick
look
and
get
off,
but
somehow
I
was
still
on
board
when
the
engines
started
up.
The
doors
were
locked,
and
I
had
no
choice.”

It
wasn’t
entirely
the
truth.
She
could
have
still
gotten
off
at
that
point
or
told
them
that
she
was
there,
and
they
would
have
taken
her
back.
But
she
remembered
back
to
the
thrill
of
excitement
when
the
engines
had
roared
into
life
and
the
floor
beneath
her
feet
had
vibrated
with
power.
All
mixed
with
the
fear
she’d
be
found
and
the
adventure
would
be
over
before
it
had
begun.
So
instead,
she
had
hidden
in
one
of
the
cabins.

“And
when
we
landed,
I
just
meant
to
have
a
quick
look
around—”

Jon
snorted
and
her
gaze
flew
to
his
face.

“What?”
she
asked.

“Well,
that
seems
to
be
a
recurring
theme
in
your
life—I
didn’t
intend
to
go
for
good;
I
didn’t
intend
to
get
eaten
by
the
vampire;
I
just
wanted
a
quick
look
around…”

There
wasn’t
a
lot
she
could
say
to
that,
so
she
shrugged
and
continued.
“I
even
found
some
clothes
I
could
change
into—my
robes
were
a
little
conspicuous—and
I
was
going
to
explore
and
be
back
in
time
for
the
homeward
trip.”

Of
course,
she’d
missed
the
trip
home.
She
still
wasn’t
convinced
that
it
had
been
an
accident.
Her
feet
had
carried
her
farther
and
farther
away
from
the
ship.
But
she
had
expected
more
time.

“When
I
got
back,
the
ship
was
gone,
and
I
was
stranded.”

Tannis
frowned.
“Well,
that
doesn’t
tell
us
much.
Who
was
on
the
ship?”

“Hezrai
and
the
crew,
that’s
all.”

“Okay,
so
what
happened
when
you
landed?”

“I
waited
until
Hezrai
had
left
the
ship
and
followed
him.
We
were
in
some
sort
of
compound.
It
looked
deserted—as
though
no
one
had
lived
there
for
years.
There
was
one
other
ship,
and
a
man
standing
in
front
of
it.”

“Were
there
any
markings
on
the
ship?
A
name…anything?”

Alex
shook
her
head.
“It
was
plain
black
and
small
like
Skylar’s
shuttle.”

“Describe
the
man.”

“I
only
saw
him
briefly.
I
got
out
of
there
pretty
fast.
He
was
tall,
maybe
as
tall
as
Jon
and
Rico,
but
thinner,
and
he
had
short
blond
hair.”

“There
must
be
more.”

Alex
closed
her
eyes
and
pictured
the
scene.
“I
think
he
saw
me
for
a
second,
before
I
ran.
There
was
some
sort
of
mark
on
his
face”—she
touched
her
finger
to
her
right
cheekbone—“maybe
a
scar
like
a
lightning
bolt.”

Jon
jumped
to
his
feet.
“Fuck
me.
You
know
who
she’s
describing?

Tannis
swung
around
to
stare
at
him.
“No.
But
I
take
it
you
do?”

“Aiden
fucking
Ross.
I
know.
I
studied
the
bastard.”

“Aiden
Ross?
The
Collective
founding
member
you
assassinated?”

“Yes.”

“He’s
right,”
Skylar
said.

“He
can’t
be,”
Alex
said.
“This
man
wasn’t
Collective.
His
eyes
were
dark,
not
violet.”

“Yes,
well,
we
know
how
easy
that
is
to
fake,”
Tannis
said
and
cast
a
sour
glance
at
Skylar.
She
crossed
the
room
and
switched
on
the
console.
A
screen
flashed
up,
and
a
minute
later
the
image
of
a
blond
man
stared
down
at
them.
“Is
that
him?”

Alex
had
no
doubts.
This
was
the
man
Hezrai
had
met
on
Trakis
Twelve.
“Yes.”

They
were
all
silent
for
a
minute.

Tannis
ran
a
hand
through
her
hair.
“So,
what
would
the
High
Priest
of
the
Church
of
Everlasting
Life
and
one
of
the
founding
members
of
the
Collective
have
to
discuss
in
secret?
Because
this
was
a
secret
meeting.
Obviously
Ross
didn’t
want
to
be
recognized
as
Collective
and
Trakis
Twelve
is
about
as
out
of
the
way
as
you
can
get
while
still
being
within
easy
reach.”
She
turned
to
Skylar.
“Any
ideas?”

“Not
really—none
of
this
makes
sense.
Aiden
was
always
the
Church’s
chief
advocate
within
the
Collective.
It
was
well
known
and
made
him
far
from
popular,
but
he
was
always
open
about
it.
I
can’t
think
of
any
reason
he
would
need
to
meet
in
secret.
Did
you
overhear
any
of
the
meeting?”
she
asked
Alex.

“Nothing.
I
told
you,
I
ran.”
She
shrugged.
“I
wasn’t
interested
in
the
meeting—I
wanted
to
see
the
planet,
explore.
But
Hezrai
must
have
thought
I’d
heard
them
talking—he
said
I’d
eavesdropped
on
a
private
meeting.
He
accused
me
of
spying
on
him
and
asked
me
if
someone
had
put
me
up
to
it.”

“When
was
this?”
Jon
asked.

“We
picked
Alex
up
a
little
over
three
months
ago,”
Tannis
replied.
“How
long
were
you
on
Trakis
Twelve,
Alex?”

“About
ten
days.”

“And
I
was
approached
with
the
contract
offer
about
a
month
ago.
There’s
a
big
gap
in
the
timing.
Could
the
two
things
be
related?
Could
the
Church
have
set
up
the
hit?”

“Or
someone
inside
the
Collective
who
found
out
Ross
was
up
to
no
good?”
Tannis
sounded
almost
excited
about
the
idea.
“I
don’t
know.
But
there
might
be
something
in
this
that
would
give
us
some
leverage
to
get
the
Collective
off
our
backs
for
good.
Maybe
if
we
can
give
them
whoever
killed
Ross,
they’ll
be
so
grateful,
they’ll
be
our
friends
for
life.
We
just
need
to
find
out
what
Aiden
Ross
was
up
to.”

“Well,
Aiden’s
not
talking.”

“No,”
Jon
said.
“There’s
only
one
person
still
alive
who
knows
what
went
on
at
that
meeting.”
He
grinned
at
Alex.
“And
luckily
for
me,
he’s
someone
I’d
really
like
to
meet
again.”

Alex
would
never
be
safe
while
Hezrai
lived.
But
there
was
also
the
other
side
to
think
about.
While
he
lived,
she
had
the
perfect
excuse
for
never
going
back
to
the
Church.
She
could
stay
on
El
Cazador
forever,
or
at
least
until
someone
else
came
along
and
killed
them.
But
the
thought
made
her
squirm
inside.
Was
she
so
weak
that
she
couldn’t
make
the
decision
for
herself?
Wasn’t
it
time
she
started
making
her
own
choices?
She’d
never
really
considered
not
going
back,
had
never
thought
of
it
as
a
valid
option.
The
Church
was
her
life.
But
maybe
that
wasn’t
the
case
anymore,
and
she
could
have
a
life
elsewhere.