Microsoft Word - RecklessBounty (43 page)

“Dev, you should be ready to eat your words now,” Samantha declared, staring him straight in the eyes.

“You’ll excuse me, Samantha, if I don’t sing your praises. But you all have to leave
New
Monaco
as soon as possible. I’ll be shipping my wife, off to a labor camp as soon as I’ve had her facial features surgically altered. Crenshaw will be joining her. As for Tyler, you can have your husband, Samantha. But you have to keep him away from
New Monaco
, as I will be giving the public what they want by executing his clone. There was an innocent woman murdered, even though it wasn’t Lady Devlin, and now the real murderer will be at the mercy of
New Monaco
law. I have wired the necessary funds to your bank accounts on
Earth
, and don’t worry Dylan monitored my actions. You may think I am a disgusting excuse for a human being, Samantha, but I pay my dues.”

“For once, Devlin, I could almost
respect you
,” Samantha relented.

“Oh, please! Samantha, stop, or you’ll make my head explode,” Devlin joked. His dark stormy eyes wandered to Johanna. He stared at her for a moment, and then looked back at Samantha. His eyes filled with sadness as he turned away from them. “Please, don’t let me stop you from leaving. I have everything under control.” Devlin stepped away from them. “Oh, and Samantha,” he said turning back to them, as Samantha stepped forward.

“Yes, Dev?” Samantha asked, the corners of her mouth twitching.

“Just so that you know, I always knew nothing was going on between my son and you.

You see, I’m very involved in Danny’s life, and though I knew he had the hots for you, I also knew you would never kick Tyler's ass to the curb. Take it from me, when you Mallory woman get something on your minds, nothing can change it. I know that from personal experience. For a short time, I was having heart palpitations. Samantha, as much as you may amuse me at times, I couldn’t fathom having you as my daughter-in-law.” He smiled, and then walked away from them.

“Well. I think I’m speechless!” Samantha said. She sighed when Tyler, pulled her back against him.

“Can we get a move on?” Dylan asked, as they all turned to look at him. “I’ve already made arrangements for us all to have a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii. I even contacted Charlotte, Jessica and my dearest mother-in-law, they’ll be waiting for us, so we better get our butts moving,” They all laughed.

“For once Dylan...,” Samantha began, “I’m not about to argue with you. But we should really say our goodbyes to the Red Falcon, after all, he did have a part in saving your hide, Tyler.”

“Too late,” Tyler said shrugging. “He told me to relay his goodbye to you, and said that if you ever needed anything all you had to do was ask. Then he took the drawing of the map that RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 177

I made, dumped Connie on Devlin, and took off. Seems he’s a bit eager to find his treasure. I don’t think he’ll succeed though, since he’s probably just going to go on a wild goose chase.

Maps like those are usually just folklore, and if it was real, he’d be one hell of a rich man.”

“Oh, well. Money isn’t everything,” Samantha said, sighing as she looked into Tyler’s glorious green eyes. “I mean it can make you happy, and I’m not against having loads of it, but you’re my treasure Tyler. You and my entire family, and I wouldn’t trade any of you guys for all of the gold in the world.”

“Okay. Now we really better get moving since Samantha here is getting sentimental,”

Dylan said. They all moved toward
Eleanor
.

“Watch your tongue, monkey boy!” Samantha barked, climbing into
Eleanor
.

“Now that’s exactly what I like to hear. At least I know when you call me monkey boy, that you’re completely sane,” Dylan said, as Samantha lunged for him. Dylan’s laughter echoed across the landscape.

* * * *

Samantha leaned back in her beach chair, and closed her eyes. She opened them suddenly, and stared at her family.

“You know, this idea of a holiday was a great one,” she mused. Her mother and Tyler stared at her. “But there’s only one
problem
.”

“Samantha, why can’t you just relax, sit back and inhale the sweet clean air?” Tyler asked, shutting his book.

“Yes, dear, you should relax. Watching you go through all of those things this morning made me tired. Why you played beach volleyball, you went wind surfing, and skydiving. What could possibly be wrong with you?” her mother asked, impatience threading through her voice.

Samantha smiled.

“
I’m bored,
” Samantha said, as Johanna and Charlotte sighed at the same time.

“
You’re bored?
” her mother asked, “You only arrived yesterday, and yet you’re
bored?
”

“
Yep,
” Samantha remarked, staring mischievously over at Tyler. “But you could entertain me,” she leaned toward him. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Give me a moment. I’m still getting over our little sky diving adventure,” Tyler muttered, sighing.

“That wasn’t what I
meant,
” Samantha drawled out.

His eyes widened visibly, and a big grin broke out across his face.

“Well, in that case, what are we waiting
for?
” he mumbled, reaching for her hand.

She smiled happily.
Yes, she had it all
. She had a perfect family, and a loving husband, to share her life with. And as soon as their holiday came to an end, she’d be back doing what she lived for. She’d be back to hunting down criminals and saving the day, because that was what she had always been destined for.

THE END