Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) Read Free

beautiful eyes—amber with thick lashes. Skylar had told her Jon was an assassin, but nobody with eyes like that could be really bad.
    Alex forced herself to move on. She needed to get to the bridge and find out who’d shot at them. Was it the Collective? Had they found Jon already?
    When she reached the bridge, the rest of the crew was already there. Only the Trog was missing, but then he never left his engine rooms unless the captain gave him a direct order. No one paid Alex any attention as she edged into the room.
    As usual, Janey was busy on her console, tapping away with her perfectly manicured fingernails, ignoring the rest of the crew. Daisy sat in the copilot’s seat, watching the others and twirling a strand of long green hair that had come free of her ponytail.
    Rico’s long, lean, black-clad figure lounged in the pilot’s chair. Skylar stood beside him, matching in her black jumpsuit and knee-high boots. One hand rested possessively on Rico’s shoulder, the deep purple ring he had given her sparkling on her finger. They scanned the monitors while Tannis, the captain, paced the floor, her hands jammed in the pockets of her tight black pants.
    “Great, just great,” Tannis muttered, not quite under her breath.
    Rico rolled his eyes. “Get over it.”
    Tannis scowled and jabbed a finger at Skylar. “You do know this is all your fault, don’t you?”
    “Yes,” Skylar snapped. “And you know how I know? Because you already told me. Lots of times.”
    They glared at each other; both were tall women and they stood eye to eye. A quick stab of jealousy poked at Alex, and she tried to stretch a little taller. Not that it would do much good.
    “Well, do something about it,” Tannis growled.
    “Like what?”
    “Like do that mind-reading thing with your Collective friends and persuade them to hold off blowing us into pieces.”
    “I have.”
    “And?”
    “And whoever that ship is out there”—Skylar waved a hand at the monitor—“they’re not Collective.”
    Rico swiveled around in his chair. “What? Are you sure?”
    “Believe me, if it was Collective, I’d know.”
    Alex believed her. Although they hadn’t known it until earlier that day, Skylar was a member of the Collective.
    Five hundred years ago, Meridian, a rare radioactive element, had been discovered on Trakis Seven. Meridian had the ability to bestow immortality on those lucky enough to afford its exorbitantly high price, and a new class had evolved—the Collective. Ultra-rich and powerful, they now controlled most of the civilized universe.
    That Skylar was one of them still filled Alex with awe.
    Tannis frowned. “If it’s not the Collective, who the hell is it?”
    “I have no clue.” Skylar smiled sweetly. “But hey, you know what? It’s just possible that everything is not my fault, after all. It’s possible that maybe you’ve managed to piss off quite a few people all on your own.”
    Tannis pursed her lips but didn’t answer. “Rico, you got any ideas?”
    Ricogrinned,revealingthetipsofhissharpwhitefangs.“Couldbeoneofthousands.”
    “Well,theyseemtohavegonequiet.Havewelostthem?”
    “No.Theretheyare.”Ricoswunghischairbackaroundandpointedatthemonitor.AlexinchedclosertopeeraroundSkylar.Thescreenshowedaship,gettingbiggerbythesecondasitclosedthedistancebetweenthem.
    “Anditlookslikethey’recomingbackforanothergoatus.Holdon,everyone.”RicograbbedSkylarandpulledherontohisknee.“Ifwe’regoingtodie,wemightaswelldiehappy.”
    Alexspottedanemptyseat,threwherselfintoit,andfastenedtheharness.Adrenalinesurgedthroughherbloodstreamasshewaitedfortheshottohitthem.Theymightallbegoingtodieinafewseconds,andshehadneverfeltsoaliveinherentirelife.
    The ship rocked as the blast struck El Cazador ’s stern. For a few seconds, the lights flashed, and Alex’s small hands gripped the armrests tightly, her muscles locked solid. Then the ship righted herself, the lights returned to normal, and Alex released her breath.
    “Any