No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) (15 page)

The steady beeping of the computer woke Faolan from his doze. Shit, he’d fallen asleep again. The alarm indicated new ships had entered the sector—com beacons announcing them as belonging to the Guild. He pushed every thought he could from his mind and watched as a battery of vessels moved to the battle location and ran a scan of the drifting hulks of the ships. He knew the
Geilt
was safe from their sensors, but he wanted to be prepared to pull out of orbit if necessary.

The rescue operation of Jason’s ships took longer than Faolan anticipated. According to the com chatter, the explosions had not only rendered the surviving people blind, but taken out all shields, leaving them open to damage from floating debris. Two of the five ships were unreachable and the crews were presumed dead. The recovery was quickly followed by a trace of their radiation trail, which nicely led them back to the path of the escape pod and the end stop of the dimension gate.

“Come on, boys, figure out where we’ve gone.”

Jason clearly needed to hire more highly skilled staff. Or at the very least, stop trying to kill off his top operatives. It took at least another hour for Jason’s team to crack the dimension gate locator relay and the destination of the last object. Thankfully, this was a little-used sector of space and no other ships had passed through since Gar sent the pod on its way. They finally activated the gate and space folded around them, swallowing the ships whole.

Faolan let out the breath he’d been holding and pressed his forehead to the computer console. Another disaster averted. A grand total of twelve hours and twenty minutes from the time Gar had sent the escape pod out until Jason’s goons left to chase the bait. He needed to move them quickly now to escape the Guild operatives’ notice.

Easing the ship higher into orbit, he set their destination and pushed it to full throttle. The
Geilt
was a small but maneuverable ship, but what he hadn’t realized was how sensitive it was to the pilot’s commands. It took him a few minutes to get a feel for her, a grin splitting his face once Faolan got the control he wanted. Gar flew the ship in such a way Faolan had never realized the full extent of the younger man’s skills. Impressive.

The internal com system beeped at him. “We’re moving.”

Gar’s voice was thick and sleep-heavy. Images of his naked body stretched out beneath white sheets blossomed in the forefront of Faolan’s mind. His cock twitched its appreciation at the thought and seemed more than willing to follow through. Too bad his brain had entered into the equation. Reaching down with one hand to squeeze his uncooperative shaft, he hit the com button with the other.

“Jason’s team has finally left. You didn’t tell me you were the only intelligent one in the bunch.”

“How long did it take them to crack the gate?”

“An hour ten.”

“Gods. I’m glad he fired me. Bunch of idiots.”

Faolan chuckled. “Is that what you’re telling yourself now? He
fired
you?”

“Shut up, Wolf.” There was a long pause as bed sheets were shifted. “I’m getting dressed and will be up there soon.”

“Don’t bother. I need to get us in position before we can jump and meet up with my ship. Enjoy the lie in.”

“Faolan—”

“Oh, for the Gods’ sake, Stitt. Rest! It’s not like you’re going to get a lot more of it over the next few weeks. Jason has a long reach.”

Another pause, only this time there was no sound to give Faolan any indication of what was going on. He knew Gar would be debating the
right
thing to do versus what he
should
do in his mind. The thought of the younger man’s scowl made him smirk.

“I thought we had established you trusted me to drive your ship, Stitt?”

“Are you sure you are fine up there?”

The question caught him off guard. Faolan straighten in the chair, fists balled at his side. “I’m better than you are. Plus I need to contact my ship. Don’t want you getting any information on my communication codes.”

He could practically hear Gar’s eye roll. “Fine. Wreck the
Geilt
and I’ll kill you on the spot.”

“You say the sweetest things.”

Faolan slammed his hand down on the com button to end the conversation.
Stupid, childish ass!
Why did Faolan think he’d felt anything at all for Gar? He would never trust him, let him beneath the solid armor he wore to protect his emotions. Faolan learned long ago he couldn’t do anything less than hand his heart over to his partner, no matter how painful the process would be. He refused to be a part of any one-sided relationship.

He froze, hand suspended over the ship’s controls. Sure, acknowledging he had the beginning of feelings for Gar was one thing, but a relationship? He’d only bloody well known the man for a few days! Had he not sat here a short time ago saying he didn’t want a relationship? He didn’t, did he?

Fuck.

Work—he needed to get back to the task at hand. Get back to his ship, get the stone, sell it and pay his crew. Then he’d see if there was enough left to pay for his medication and allow him to disappear off into a little-known sector of this galaxy to die in peace.

Far away from Gar Stitt.

Punching in the jump coordinates, he gave half a thought to contacting Gar to prepare him. Instead, he hit the ship warning alarm, slid the
Geilt
where it needed to be in front of the gate, pressed the button and held on for dear life.

The dimension shift was worse than before. Faolan’s stomach bottomed out as they shot back into normal space and his head spun madly. A line of sweat formed on his upper lip, one he wiped away with the back of his hand. He needed to keep it together a little bit longer before he could allow himself to fall apart. Not until he was locked safely in his quarters.

This was a heavily traveled sector and Faolan needed to move the ship a safe distance away to prevent a collision. It proved more challenging than he first anticipated, the spinning of his head refusing to go away. Rocking the ship more than he liked, Faolan finally managed to get her safely off the main traffic route. The increased communication lines in the sector made it easy for him to piggyback a signal off three relays to reach his desired target.

“
Belle Kurve
, come in. Daddy’s come home with the booty.”

Galactic static crackled to life on the vid screen as his message traveled Gods knew where. He hit the repeater button, sending it out into the cosmos once again. Concern grew in his chest, but was quickly squashed when a high-pitched whine filled the cabin as the
Kurve
’s jacked frequency cut through.

“You asshole!” Mace’s smiling face popped up on the screen after a brief wait. Faolan laughed and pressed his fingertip to the image of her nose. “You had us worried sick, Faolan.”

“Sorry, pet, but the hunter and I ran into a little bit of difficulty. Took me longer than I thought to find my way home.”

Mace crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. “What trouble? Am I going to have to string this jerk up or did you skin him alive already?”

“Not at all. He was double-crossed and stabbed in the back for good measure by his boss. Might want to consider giving him a hug instead.” Faolan winked.

“Pardon? Hug?” Mace leaned forward, eyes fixed on his. “Do you have a thing for this boy? I’m assuming it’s a boy as that seems to be your preference these days.”

“That’s because no woman can live up to you in my eyes, pet.” Little wench was too perceptive for her own good. “And I assure you, Stitt and I share a purely professional relationship.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did he use his cuffs on you?”

Grinning, he winked again. “Hell yes. But I got to use a tie on him.”

Mace laughed. “You are something else, Wolf. I swear you could flirt yourself out of a death squad.”

The way she’d said his name sent a tingle crawling down his spine. It was no different than the thousand other times his name had slipped from her lips only this time it had changed, grown oddly familiar.

Mace frowned. “What? You look like you swallowed a
tar drake
.”

“Nothing.” He waved her away with his hand. “You ready to bring me to my baby?”

“Just waiting on word from you.”

“Good girl. Let’s hit meeting point beta in five hours. Come in hot and we’ll jump out together.”

“You got it, boss. You good until then? Anything you want me to have ready for you when you get here?”

“Hydro vodka. A big, chilled bottle of hydro vodka would be amazing.”

Mace tugged on her earlobe and grinned. “You bringing your hunter on board or are we leaving him behind?”

A good question—one Faolan didn’t have an answer to yet. “I’ll keep you posted. Be ready in either case.”

“Just keep him in line if you do. You know how I feel about them.”

“They are the scum of the universe and must be burned out of existence. Yes, I’m well aware.” It wasn’t as if he’d forget the life he’d rescued Mace from all those years ago. “I promise you’ll like Stitt. He’s bitchy like you.”

Mace flipped him the finger.

He laughed. “See you soon, pet. Wolf out.”

The screen winked out as the cockpit door slid open. Gar stood in the entrance, dressed in a full black suit, including a vest and a blood red tie. The image he painted should have been slightly ridiculous, but it wasn’t. Gar looked more at ease in his formal wear than most men Faolan had met over the years. The sexy cut of the fabric certainly flattered the younger man’s athletic frame. He looked older than his twenty-four years, a beacon shining amidst the chaos that Faolan desperately wanted to cling to.

Gods, no wonder he was starting to fall for the man.

“Is everything all right up here?” Gar didn’t come any closer. His hands twitched nervously at his sides.

Faolan hated that he’d turned the otherwise confident bounty hunter into an uncertain schoolboy. Normally he’d make some quick, offhand remark or shoot him a leer and all would be right between them. Really, it should be simple. But as Faolan opened his mouth to say something, he found himself unable to brush things off.

“Faolan?”

It wasn’t fair to either of them to go down this road, but despite all arguments to the contrary, Faolan couldn’t stop himself. Rising to his feet, he walked over to Gar. Faolan loved how tall the other man was, that he didn’t have to bend over to accommodate for a height difference. It also meant he couldn’t hide from the other man’s questioning gaze. Faolan unbuttoned the suit jacket, leaving the vest alone, and toyed with the edge of the material. He kept his gaze focused on the jacket and how his fingertip teased the buttonhole.

“I made contact with my ship. Set the rendezvous for five hours from now.”

Gar reached up and brushed a finger alongside Faolan’s. “Location?”

“I’ll program the path soon. Then you can drop me off and head out if you want.”

Gar’s hand stilled. “Is that what you want?”

“I meant what I said earlier about setting you up with some of my contacts, but if you want to strike out on your own then I won’t hold you back.”

“The stone? What are you planning to do with it now?”

Yes, the damn stone.
“I still have two options. I can try to broker a deal with Jason—although I’ll need to be extra cautious—or put out some additional feelers and see if anyone else bites. I won’t get the asking price I was hoping for, but there are lots of rich egotists in the universe.”

“That could take some time.”

Something Faolan didn’t have a lot of. “It doesn’t matter. I need to make a killing off this thing.”

“Debts to pay?” Gar covered Faolan’s hand with his own. The younger man’s pale skin shone against his own natural tan. “There are easier and less dangerous ways to make money.”

“I can always turn myself in for the bounty. I hear I’m worth two million credits now.”

“Are you going to ignore me from now on?”

Faolan snapped his gaze up. “Thought we were talking here. How is that ignoring you?”

Gar rolled his eyes before reaching up to thread his fingers through Faolan’s hair. He winced when Gar brushed over a large bump from the beating he’d taken. The young man closed his eyes, a pained look on his face.

“No wonder you don’t want me around. I’m a complete bastard.”

Shit.
“It’s not that—”

“I beat you unconscious then got you in my bed. We have the most amazing sex I’ve ever had
in my life
, only to have you tell me that you don’t do
this
and run away.” Gar snapped his mouth shut. “To make matters worse, my boss stabbed us both in the back, nearly blowing us out of space. If that isn’t reason enough to hate me…”

Faolan had wanted to see the man beneath the mask and for the first time he was getting a true glimpse. It wasn’t what he’d hoped to find—Gar was broken. Cupping Gar’s face in his hands, Faolan stepped in and captured his mouth in a gentle kiss. This wasn’t like anything they’d shared in the past—slow, tentative and tasting a bit like forgiveness. His body shook from the intensity of the unspoken words passing between them.