Free Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) by Nina Croft Page A

was supposed to be hot. Very hot. The permanent darkness attracted the lowlifes from around the universe—anything was acceptable on Trakis Two, and visiting was on her to-do list. Now she’d have to stay on the ship? No way.
    But if life had taught her one thing, it was if you planned to do something you weren’t supposed to, keep quiet about it. Placing her hands on her lap, she kept her eyes downcast. “I don’t mind. I’ll stay on the ship.”
    “Obedient, isn’t she?” Jon said, but his tone was skeptical.
    She peeked up and caught his gaze. Why did she get the impression he saw right through her? And what did it matter? Ignoring his obvious sarcasm, she smiled serenely—she was good at that—and Jon shook his head and looked away.
    “Right,” Rico said, “when we get to Trakis Two, we’re going to be staying with a friend of mine, and I use that term in the loosest sense. So I wanted to give you a word of warning. Well, a few words actually.”
    “And they would be?” Tannis said.
    “Don’t trust him. Don’t go near him. Don’t be alone with him.” He stared into space for a moment. “In fact, it might be best if you all stay on the ship while we’re there.”
    Janeymutteredunderherbreath.
    “Noway,”Daisysaid.“I’veneverbeentoTrakisTwo.”
    Ricomusthaverealizedhefacedamutiny.“Well,ifyoudohavetogoofftheship,atleaststayinpairs.”
    Tannisfrowned.“Howfriendlyareyouwiththis‘friend’ofyours?”
    “Notvery.”
    “Great.”
    “Buthe’lldowhathe’stold.”
    “Andwhywouldhedothat?”
    “Becausehehasnochoice.Takemywordonthisone.”
    “Hmm,”Tannissaid.
    “He’sanothervampisn’the?”EveryoneturnedtolookatJonashespokequietly.“That’sright,isn’tit?”HestoodupandsteppedtowardRico.Thetensionintheroomratchetedseveralnotches.Alexheldherbreath.“You’retakingustostaywithanotherbloodsucker,aren’tyou?”
    Ricorosetohisfeetinonefluidmove,hiseyesnarrowed.“So?What’sittoyou,dog-breath?”
    “Well,myguessis—fromthewarnings—thatthisoneisn’tquitesogoodatplayingcivilizedasyouare.Forwhateverreasons,you’vefooledthesepeopleintothinkingyou’resomesortofniceguy.”
    Alexcouldhavejumpedinatthatpointandsaidthathehadn’tfooledher.Instead,shewatchedasthetwofacedoff.
    “Butyou’renotaniceguy,areyou,Rico?”Jontaunted.
    Thesilencestretchedoutbetweenthem.
    “Ithinkhe’snice,”Skylarsaid.“Well,he’snicetomeanyway—hegavemearing.”Shewavedherhandwiththehugepurplestoneandthetensionsnapped.
    Rico grinned. “Thanks, sweetheart. But he’s right—not about me—I am a nice guy.” He smiled with a flash of fang that totally belied his words. “But Bastion is a vampire, and he’s not so—”
    “Nice?” Tannis finished for him. “Great, just great.”
    “Hey, it’s no big deal. As I said—he’ll do what he’s told.”
    “Now why would he do that?” Jon drawled. He studied Rico for a moment. “He’s one of yours, isn’t he?”
    “One of his what?” Tannis asked.
    “One of his offspring. You turned this guy.”
    Rico shrugged. “Yeah, so what? Why the fuck does that matter? What matters is he has a place on Trakis Two, and we need somewhere to hide out while we do repairs. And we don’t have a lot of choices here. The Cazador isn’t going to make it much farther without some serious work. Isn’t that right, Trog?”
    Everyone turned to face the Trog, who sat at the back of the room. He lifted his shaggy blond head, nodded once, and returned to contemplating the floor.
    “So that’s agreed? Just be careful and don’t let him get you alone.” Rico grinned at Jon. “And you’d better be particularly careful, dog-boy.”
    “Why’s that, leech?”
    “Bastion’s not as fastidious about his food as I am.”
    Janey nudged Alex in the side and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. “Do you think this Bastion will be anything like Rico?”
    Alex shuddered. “I hope not.”
    “Rico is dreamy.”
    Alex rolled her eyes. But her gaze was drawn to where Jon