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“Samantha, has put you up to this hasn’t she, son?” Lord Devlin asked, encouraging her already deep frown to pucker even more. Why did she always get put in the middle?

Why hadn’t she just put Lord Devlin out of commission when he’d been courting her sister? She was too damn good hearted that was what it was. She should have made it her RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 82

business to control Devlin’s fate.

“
Damn straight!
” The Red Falcon said.

Samantha gasped in horror. Her outraged glare pivoted toward him, and he grinned lopsidedly back at her.

“She can do a wonderful job of persuading me, when we are in the throes of
passion
,”

The Red Falcon bragged.

Hey, wait a minute that was her good reputation he was blithely tarnishing.

Tyler stiffened visibly, but didn’t make a sound.
Bastard
.

Samantha couldn’t take much more of this ridiculous conversation. She was actually allowing the Red Falcon to insinuate they had a sexual relationship going on between them, when the idea of it, made her skin crawl. He would find in time that she didn’t take kindheartedly to such duplicity.

She was caught between killing the Red Falcon, and waiting to give him a chance. She needed to know what was needed of her. Tyler was giving nothing away, until he winked at her when Lord Devlin was distracted. And when it came to Tyler, a wink said a million words. For once in her life, she didn’t need an interpreter.

“I don’t envy you, Danny. Though she could probably be quite the
sex siren
, I doubt I would be able to survive her personality. In truth, her hot headedness would make me want to pull my hair out.” Lord Devlin laughed. His blue-black eyes glittered at Tyler. “You have however saved me the money that would have been necessary to pay for
his
head. Since we are essentially family, I shall be more than happy to take the scalawag off of your hands.”

“Over my dead body,” Dylan sputtered out.

Samantha winced. Finally, someone had opened his mouth, before she’d been able to shoot hers off.

“That could be arranged, don’t you think, Danny,” Devlin agreed, directing his steely gaze at Dylan, as Johanna stepped protectively in front of her husband.

Devlin sighed, and observed the unlikely pair. “You could have done so much better.

You went over into a new class when you found that one and it was a high class, my dear,” he murmured, trailing his eyes up and down Johanna’s body, as if his thirst for her could never be quenched. After he stared up Johanna his eyes riveted on Samantha. She sighed.

“Oh, I think that I did do much better than you.” Johanna’s eyes sparkled.

Samantha chuckled and quickly placed her hand over her mouth. “Score one for my sister, zero for the pompous bastard!” All eyes pinned on her. She realized a moment too late that she’d spoken aloud. Damn.

Lord Devlin fell silent. Samantha knew intuitively that the dreadful man would never let go of his old torch. Even though she had tried to snuff it out, the flame still burned.

She just prayed that someday, something or someone would come along and extinguish the flame. But she couldn’t dwell on such seemingly inconsequential matters, at the moment she had a life or death situation on her hands, and it seemed to be fringing more on death than life.

The Red Falcon loudly cleared his throat, causing all eyes to fall on him. He actually seemed to stand straighter. The bloody braggart was an attention hog.
Imagine that!

Samantha eyed him warily, waiting for him to sign Tyler’s death warrant. Here they were waiting for Tyler to be carted off, because she hadn’t been smart enough or good enough.

She should have done something different, instead of making a bargain with a man that took the name of a bird of prey.
She was so bloody stupid!
She had her hands tied, and she’d never felt so out of control in a situation before.

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 83

Maybe if someone gave her a pistol, she could shoot herself out of this predicament.

Yes, Samantha, and then you would make it about fifty yards outside of
The Emerald Star
before The Red Falcon blew you into the next century. Using her powers was out of the question. In her state she could accidentally blow a good-sized chunk out of the Excalibur. That wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.

The Red Falcon opened his mouth and her heart plunged right down into the pit of her stomach.

“No. Devlin, I won’t be giving Tyler Cassidy to you. What the hell would that do for my reputation? I mean give me a break! I may be known as the most ruthlessly cunning pirate in the galaxy, and people might piss themselves when faced with confronting me, but I have honor.

And I am standing by that honor. I am not completely convinced that Tyler is guilty. You haven’t even given him a trial, how just is that? Tsk, tsk, for such an intelligent individual you seem to have your head shrouded in ass at the moment. We shall enact the simple laws of jurisprudence on my ship. Tyler will remain here, while I assemble a crew to investigate your wife’s murder.”

“It’s a closed case,” The one stinky bodyguard whispered.

“Oh, get off your high horse,
Edwina
,” The Red Falcon sighed, giving her a look of impatience. “You also need to stop using so much of that Space Flower 85 junk. You are making the rest of us endure the torture of smelling you.”

“Edwina is right. We have Tyler on surveillance leaving my wife’s chambers, right before she was discovered dead. How do you explain that one?” Samantha was about to open her mouth when Devlin cleared his throat. “I’m not asking you, Samantha.”

“One of these days, Dev, you’re going down.”

“Those things can be tampered with,” the Red Falcon said, dismissing the issue. “And if we can’t prove Tyler’s innocence, then I will personally place the noose around his neck, myself.”

“I’d like to see you try!” Samantha said below her breath. She groaned, falling silent, when Lord Devlin stepped forward, and heartily slapped The Red Falcon on the back.

“I taught you well. You bring tears of joy to my eyes. Even though you have risen up against me, I cannot contest you. I would be a hypocrite if I did. You shall have your time for an investigation, but I warn you it will be a poor waste of time. Ah, well if that is what you need to do then who am I to step in your way? Good luck to you my boy, but I shall make haste to pick out the perfect champagne to toast that one’s death with.” Lord Devlin looked straight at Tyler. “Once I get rid of Tyler, perhaps we should do something about that one, as well,” Lord Devlin suggested, chuckling as he stared over at Dylan.

“Whatever you say, Devlin,” The Red Falcon relented, keeping a close watch on his mentor.

“I will of course keep one of my people here with you to help you guard the vagrant,”

Lord Devlin remarked. His dark blue eyes twinkled at The Red Falcon.

Samantha desperately wanted to get rid of Lord Devlin. She’d had it up to here, with his overbearing attitude. She still doubted the Red Falcon, but she had no way of
not
trusting him.

She had to yet again place her trust in a pirate whose only code was his code of honor.

But it would have to be enough to save Tyler’s neck.
It just had to be!

* * * *

“That won’t be necessary. You may keep your bodyguards with you. With all of the death threats you receive on a daily basis, you shall require the extra security,” The Red Falcon RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 84

said, tensing as he waited for Devlin’s reply.

Samantha inspected the two tall women flanking Devlin’s sides, and likened them to the Amazon women of Ancient Greece. She didn’t like the looks of them, and didn’t want them anywhere near Tyler.

“I haven’t been receiving quite as many death threats, these days, since I enacted the
New
Charter Of Rights And Freedoms Of New Monaco.
In it, it states that anyone that shall be caught uttering or writing death threats against Lord Devlin shall be executed immediately. That stringency has in effect cut the amount of death threats I receive daily in half,” Lord Devlin explained, reaching out and pulling The Red Falcon aside.

“I will have your compliance, Devlin!” the Red Falcon muttered.

She strained to listen to all of their conversation, and was nearly noticed by Devlin.

“You expect a lot of me, Danny,” Lord Devlin murmured, staring at him with what seemed to be adulation.

“I expect you to stop calling me, Danny. That isn’t even my real name, and I look forward to the day, when you call me by my real name!” The Red Falcon shot back.

The two Amazon’s closed in around the Red Falcon. If they thought they were going to put on the heavy, then she’d show them how to kick some ass!

Samantha edged forward, waiting to hear the real identity of the Red Falcon revealed.

No one in the galaxy knew his real name, and she wanted to be one of the first to know.

“Perhaps, Samantha should call you by your real name so that I could learn by her example.” She swallowed at Lord Devlin’s suggestion.
Oh, no!
Where was Charlotte when you needed her? Her telepathic sister would be able to bail her out of this mess in no time.

Samantha did a double take and tried to pretend she hadn’t heard what he’d said. She cringed when she felt his blue eyes focus on her.

She shuffled in the same spot, and stared intently between Tyler and the Red Falcon. But acting inconspicuous wasn’t one of her talents.
Shame, really
.

“Well, speak up, Samantha. I trust you do know what your lover’s first name is?” he asked, waiting patiently for her reply.

Well, this was definitely one of those moments where she was up shit creek without a paddle.

* * * *

“Of course,” she bluffed, rolling her eyes.

Her voice croaked, and she tried to diddle fart around so she could stall for time. Think, Samantha, use those extraordinary brains of yours. If Devlin were calling the Red Falcon Danny, than what would be his name? ‘Course it could be a nickname, and if that was the case then she’d never figure out the long form of it. Daniel would have been her first choice, but that was too damn obvious.

It had to be something else, but she was never even good at remembering the names of people that she knew, so how the hell was she going to figure out the name of a man she’d just met? She never lucked out…oh, to have his name handed to her on a platter!

Samantha fought against the stinging in her eyes, and wished they could all take a time out, so she could go back to her bed, and get some sleep. She felt like a walking talking zombie she was so tired. Her mind was completely freaked out, and she was running on empty.

“This must remind you of the time you spent with your sister on that one bounty hunt.

You know the one where you were being questioned by that annoying,
Englishman
,” The Red Falcon hinted.

RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 85

Yeah, she could see the parallel between those two incidents. Lord Devlin was an annoying Englishman.

She stared stupidly at him, as her fuzzy brain reworked through his carefully articulated plan. She knew he was providing her with a hint of what his identity was, but she didn’t understand it, until she caught her sister’s eyes.

Johanna gesticulated wildly at herself, and dropped her hand when Lord Devlin suddenly glanced her way.

Samantha felt like an imbecile. Why the hell was her sister pointing at herself, in less Johanna was implying the Red Falcon’s first name started with a J, in which case, the Englishman’s last name had been Jordan.

She resisted the impulse to snap her fingers.
Hot digiti damn, she had it!

She stared smugly at Lord Devlin and met his gaze straight on.

“
Jordan,
” She drawled out. Damn, she was good.

Feeling extraordinarily pleased with herself when Lord Devlin’s nostrils flared. He had tried to blow apart everything the Red Falcon had carefully constructed, and it was Samantha that had the pleasure of shocking him all to hell.

She wanted to laugh in his face, and then do a dance of joy around him, but she settled for crossing her arms against her chest instead.
She had done it!
She had saved the day again, and ensured that much needed time had been bought for her husband. And she swallowed against the hard lump in her throat.

Wincing, she saw an imaginary hourglass in her mind’s eye. The sand trickled through it, and she groaned as she felt an ulcer begin growing in her stomach. Now she was in for the race of her life.
The race against time
.

And as Samantha stared over in consternation at the Red Falcon, she wondered where he had gotten all of his information. Goosebumps ran across her flesh when she imagined being followed for such an unfathomable amount of time.
Creepy
. She should have been bright enough to realize that she’d been trailed, instead of walking around in blissful ignorance.
God,
she was a dunderhead.

“Well,” Samantha said casually, “I hate to spoil this lovely conversation, but since we have everything negotiated beautifully, I do believe that my crew and I would like to take some time to sleep. You all do remember what that is, right?” she asked, directing her gaze at the Red Falcon, and Lord Devlin.

She wanted them to leave, and even though
The Excalibur
was still technically at the mercies of the Red Falcon, she was awfully tempted to take her steel-toed boot and kick them both out on their collective butts.

Samantha inhaled deeply, and waited for Lord Devlin to take his gooney women and leave her ship. She smiled when Lord Devlin turned away from her. But her smile faded, when he approached her sister, and bent to gallantly kiss Johanna’s hand.