The Pleasure Bot (Planet Desire Book 4) Read Free

and turned to walk the opposite way.
    *
    “Move a muscle, and I’ll drop you where you stand, pardner.”
    Declan froze. The man’s voice came out of nowhere, deep and with a distinctive Texas twang. From the height the voice came, this was a very tall man.
    Declan had jimmied open a back window of a home in the exclusive La Barria Prima subdivision that appeared vacant. He’d cased the white limestone house, found the security sensors, and dismantled each before breaking in. How had he missed seeing anyone when he’d prowled through the richly decorated rooms?
    With a mental shrug, he reviewed his options. If the man were armed, he might not be able to overpower him. He’d have to use his wits. He was screwed.
    He straightened from the pantry door and slowly raised his hands.
    “You’re Declan O’Hanlon, aren’t you? The smuggler.”
    Declan nearly jerked with surprise. Had news traveled so fast? “I’m an entrepreneur,” he said, baiting a hook to extend the conversation. He needed to figure out where the man was standing, so he slowly turned his head.
    “I said, don’t move.”
    The man’s deep voice sounded gravelly and mean. Declan doubted he had a sense of humor. Frustration curled his hands into fists. “Look, I’m not here to steal from you or harm you.” He injected calm into his voice. “I’m just—”
    “Hiding out? On the lam?”
    He frowned. The Texan seemed to be enjoying his predicament. “Yeah, I ran into a spot of bad luck.”
    “I’d say. As we speak, your ship’s being flown to the impound lot.”
    Declan dropped his chin to his chest and swore under his breath.
    “Your problems don’t end there, buddy.”
    He gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to take his chances and start swinging. “You seem to know an awful lot about me,” he growled.
    “I have my connections. Within a minute of your entering the house, I had your entire dossier. I know your grade school teachers’ names, what ship you first signed on with, and what planet has orders to blow you out of orbit if you return.”
    “If you know that much, then you also know I’m not a violent criminal.”
    “Right, you’re just an entrepreneur who happens to run contraband through Dominion ports.”
    “There are worse things,” Declan muttered, his mind racing. Was this the angle he could work? “Most of my best customers are Dominion officials. I bring them quality stock, and in return, they turn a blind eye. Is that what this is about? Would you like to cut a deal?”
    “You’re looking at some hard time for today’s business—not to mention for breaking and entering.”
    Declan cocked his head to the side. “So why haven’t you already called the authorities?”
    “I’ll get to that. First though, I need to get a look at you. Drop your drawers.”
    Declan stiffened and hoped like hell the Texan only wanted to check for hidden weapons. “Is this really necessary? I can assure you, I don’t have any weapons on me.”
    “Just do as I say, or I’ll place that call to the authorities.”
    Declan’s lips thinned in irritation, but he slowly lowered his hands to his belt. He loosened his breeches and pushed them down to mid-thigh. “Satisfied?”
    “Drop the duster.”
    Declan shouldered off his coat and let it puddle on the floor.
    “Raise your hands and turn around.”
    Cursing under his breath, Declan turned to face his adversary. Only there wasn’t anyone there. “What the f—”
    “Does it get any bigger than that?”
    Declan jerked, his hands reflexively moving toward his crotch. “What did you say?”
    “That’s gonna be a tough one to get around.”
    After a quick perusal of the room, Declan realized the voice came from the ceiling. “What the hell are you talking about?” His gaze searched for hidden cameras—likely the guy was watching from some sort of monitoring room. “Can I pull up me pants?”
    “Yeah, might as well,” the man grumbled.
    Relieved the odd inspection was over,