When Sparks Fly (5 page)

“Wow, I didn’t know a woman could turn that
white.” Blue pulled her against his leg, steadying her. “Relax. If
Zsak doesn’t get us killed, we’ll make it to the inn and get you
patched up. It’s just a scratch, anyway.”

A fuzzy whiteness was swallowing all her
good sense, but one thing nagged at her. “Why were
you
there?”

His words came from a long way off. “I
finished up at the clinic and caught a ride with Zsak. He wanted to
check if his bags had arrived yet. They sent them to the wrong
planet, you know? Hundreds of years of space flight and the idiots
still can’t get the luggage on the right ship.”

“I think she passed out.” Hyna Blue tapped
Gem’s cheek, but she didn’t move.

“Rough day for a little lady,” Zsak said
knowingly. “Probably hasn’t had so much excitement in years.”

“Either that or your ugly face did her in,”
Blue agreed. “She’s lucky we showed up when we did.”

“Yeah, lucky.” Zsak laughed.

“Watch it,” Blue warned.

They pulled up the circular drive in front
of The Spark with a squeal of brakes. Blue glared at Zsak for the
rough stop, then eased out of the vehicle, careful not to bang
Gem’s head. She roused as he moved, and looked around fuzzily, but
he didn’t dare set her on her feet. By the sickly look of her skin,
she was just shy of another fainting spell.

Funny, he hadn’t thought that anyone as
feisty as Gem would give in to a little bullet scratch. Must be
more fragile than she looked.

Nobody could say that about her sister. Many
heads swung around as the trio entered the bar and dining room, and
a buzz started up as people speculated on what was going on, but
nobody offered useful help until Brandy ran up.

“What did you do to her?” the redhead
demanded. She reached for Gem as if she could take her out of
Blue’s arms.

He looked at her doubtfully. “She was hurt.
Unless you’ve got more muscle than it looks like, sweetcakes, you’d
better let me carry her to the office.”

She shot him a look of pure venom but led
the way, unlocking the door for him. The family had been more
careful about security since the fire, a move he approved of.

He looked around as he set Gem down. It was
the first time he’d been in here. The lace and floral tapestry
chairs made it seem more like a girlie living room than an office,
and it gave a man shivers to think about trying to relax here.

“Gem, are you all right? Do you need a
doctor?” Brandy was asking.

Gem blinked and reached for her head. “No. I
think.”

Brandy batted her hand out of the way. “Let
me look.” She looked around and spied Zsak.
“You.
Tell them
to bring the first-aid kit out of the kitchen.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Zsak muttered, heading
for the door.

Blue crossed his arms and watched Brandy
work, fighting annoyance. It wasn’t as if her sister were
dying.

“What happened?” Brandy demanded.

“She was shot,” Blue said.

She ignored him like she would the devil’s
kin. “Gem?”

“I was shot,” her sister repeated.

“What do you know?” Blue drawled.

“Shut up!” Brandy glared at him and then
looked at Gem. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I dropped Xera off and walked
out to get a ride home. I thought someone threw a rock at my head;
then Blue tackled me.” She frowned. “I think he saved me.” She
glanced at him as if searching for confirmation.

He looked lazily at her. “Was that a thank
you?”

She frowned. “Thank you.”

Zsak came in with the emergency kit, a
bottle of booze and two glasses. He tossed the kit to Brandy, who
caught it awkwardly. He filled two glasses with generous helpings
of liquor and handed one to Gem. “You look like you need this.” He
took a healthy swallow of the other and sighed happily. “Good
stuff.”

“You could have brought me a glass,” Blue
grouched.

“Get your own. Clearly the little woman
needed it more.”

“How chivalrous of you,” Brandy said between
gritted teeth. No doubt the reference to
the little woman
was too much for her.

She started cleaning Gem’s head. “Why would
anyone shoot you? What are we going to tell the police?”

“Why bother with them? They haven’t been any
help so far,” Blue noted. “Assuming this is connected to the
fire.”

“They’ve probably seen the spaceport
surveillance cameras and are on their way. For myself, I’m glad.
Unlike you, we don’t have anything to hide.”

Zsak belched. “I love good
brandy
.
Goes down like honey.” He leered playfully at Gem’s sister.

“Give me that!” Brandy snapped. “You’re
wasting it. Do you have any idea how much a bottle of that stuff
costs?” She snatched the container and put it out of his reach
behind the couch.

“What do you mean? Don’t you distill that
stuff right here?” Blue asked, surprised.

“We don’t make that kind. It’s imported.
Certain guests are willing to pay a fortune for a glass and
so…”

“That good, eh?” Blue took the barely
touched glass that had been poured for Gem and tossed the contents
back like water. “Nice,” he admitted.

Brandy looked at both men and bared her
teeth in a fierce smile. “If you two are done celebrating your male
splendor, kindly get out. We don’t need you underfoot.”

“‘Male splendor.’ I like that,” Zsak mused.
“Okay, Toots. I’ll see you around.”

Blue followed his friend, then hesitated. He
glanced back at Gem. “Seriously, girls, I wouldn’t stand around in
front of your windows if I were you. And if you make enough to hire
a good bodyguard, do it.”

Brandy looked sharply at Gem as Hyna Blue
walked out.

“Wait and see what the police have to say,”
Gem said slowly. “Maybe they will have caught the man who did
this.”

But they hadn’t, as she and her sister would
soon learn. The police came and left, imparting very little of use
regarding the shooting except the advice to “take care.” They’d
made headway in the arson case, however. It turned out that the
neighbor kids who’d been harassing Gem were to blame. The boys had
agreed to community service to avoid going to trial and were
supposed to pay back the money from the cash box. If they didn’t,
they’d serve time in jail.

But the cops had no leads on the shooting.
The surveillance tapes Brandy had mentioned were a dead end. They
showed a transport that turned out to be stolen. It had been
discovered in a warehouse parking lot, still smoldering. There were
no witnesses. They promised to let Gem know if they came up with
any suspects. Other than Blue and Zsak, of course. It was clear by
the way the detective looked when Gem said they’d rescued her that
he considered the two men to be prime suspects. He also offered to
patrol Gem’s neighborhood more often.

Which was peachy, except that in the
meantime she was still in danger.

“Maybe we
should
consider a bodyguard
for you,” Brandy said slowly. It was dark and they were again
sitting in the office, blinds drawn, self-conscious of the windows
at their back.

Gem considered morbidly that snipers had
devices that could see through walls. They certainly had bullets
that could punch through them. “Why just me?” she muttered. “Why do
you assume you’re not targeted, too? Maybe we should hire a whole
platoon to guard us. I can see them now, filling the inn, making
all our guests feel right at home.”

“You’re not funny,” Brandy said broodingly.
The fact that she didn’t argue further said a lot.

Gem lifted her shoulders. “I will be as
careful as I can be, but I can’t live in fear. I have a life to
live, an inn to run. People depend on me. The best I can do is be
careful and pray.”

“Pray,” Brandy repeated, poker-faced. She’d
had an ongoing argument with God since their father had died. “Pray
for what?”

Gem heard her sister’s disdain, but she
never argued theology. Brandy was free to think what she would. The
three sisters all had the same knowledge, but the difference was
how they thought and felt. Their father had been old. He’d been
ready. Even Xera had taken it fairly well. The only one not ready
for his death had been Brandy; she’d loved him too deeply.

Gem shrugged and took a sip of calming
libation. “Since you’re been nagging me for years, let’s kill two
birds with one stone. Let’s pray he sends a man to take care of me.
How’s that for a leap of faith?”

Brandy snorted and muttered something into
her tea.

Unperturbed, Gem leaned back and closed her
eyes. “Stranger things have happened.”

Chapter 3

“I’ll be your bodyguard, but I don’t come
cheap.”

Gem looked up from her list, her mind
blanked by surprise. They were hosting a wake in the bar that night
and she wanted to make certain everything was ready. “Excuse
me?”

Blue stood in front of her with an
expression she’d never seen on him. He was stern and businesslike.
“You heard me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need a
bodyguard. I know that yesterday was scary, but it was probably
some random thing. There’s no reason for someone to be stalking me.
Besides, the police are looking into the case. Give them some
credit.”

“You were shot at last night. Did the police
save you?”

“No, but...” She couldn’t think of a good
response to his implication.

“That guy was serious about killing you. It
was a freak of luck that you got away. If we hadn’t been there,
you’d be dead. If he comes back, you don’t have a chance.”

She’d been bent over her desk but his words
made her straighten and face the thought she’d been avoiding all
night. “You’re saying that someone hates me enough to hire someone
to kill me. Why? And the police didn’t say anything about that.”
She knew she was grasping at straws.

“The police here are used to dealing with
misdemeanors and small crimes. Whatever you’re involved in is
bigger than transport violations.”

She fought back annoyance. “I’m not
‘involved’ in anything!”

He waved that away. “Whatever. He was bold
enough to come after you in broad daylight, so I doubt this was his
first kill. If I’m right, he has some experience at evading
cops.He’s not likely to be caught. Not by the cops around here, at
any rate.” He met Gem’s gaze straight on. “I can keep you
safe.”

“Can you?” Angry and unsettled, she stared
back in challenge. “Why should I trust you, anyway? What do I know
about you other than that you were in the military? Ah, yes—that
you’re a convict. That’s likely to inspire confidence.” She cringed
a bit at her tone. She was starting to sound like Brandy.
Apparently she had reserves of anger and spite she didn’t know
about.

Blue’s smile was slow and sure. “I was
special ops.”

“An ex-thief was given that sort of
expensive training?”

“I was bright and willing to take
risks.”

She looked hard at him. “You can prove that?
Until five minutes ago, you were a drifter I took pity on.”

“Until five minutes ago, that’s all you
needed me to be.”

He had the best poker face she’d ever seen:
she couldn’t read a thing in it except determination. “Why are you
doing this?”

“I like money,” he said. “You have it.”

Well, Gem decided, Blue was being honest
about that, at least. “How much of my money are you wanting?”

He named a figure.

Her eyes bugged out, and she sat on the
corner of her desk. People just didn’t walk up and ask for that
kind of cash. Not from her, at any rate.

A humorless laugh escaped her. “Get out of
my office.”

“You know where to find me.” He turned and
walked out.

Gem shook her head in disbelief. She’d never
heard such arrogance! The man was a fool. The number he’d named
might not beggar her and her family, but it would come close. She
had plans for that money, plans to improve The Spark and secure
their future. She wasn’t about to hand it over to some virtual
stranger just because a drunken miner had taken a potshot at
her.

No, she decided, she was on her own.

She worked a bit longer before going to look
for food. In the kitchen, she was surprised to be openly glared at
by the head chef. For a moment she wondered if the fruit in her
hand had been destined for a cook pot, and she asked, “What?”

“Your man has eaten the cheese tarts for the
wake! All of them! I want his
head.”
Jamir slammed his
cleaver down, burying it in his chopping block.

Gem glanced at the empty serving tray and
frowned. If Blue didn’t stop his raiding, he really was going to
get a cleaver in the back. “I’ll speak to him,” she promised. She
ignored the reference to Blue being “her man.” Jamir had called him
that for some time, but he only meant her “hired man.” Since nobody
else gave Blue orders, she supposed it was a logical
conclusion.

Ignoring the grumbling behind her, she
entered the garden and searched for Blue. Past the garden was the
shed, and she could see a man with a bare chest out there, working.
As she got closer she could see he was hitting a punching bag that
had been strung from a stout post and beam. It hadn’t been there
the last time she’d walked out that way.

He ignored her as she approached, sweat
making his body gleam. While she was no judge of martial arts, she
was glad she wasn’t the bag. It didn’t take an expert to realize
one blow from him could kill.

Which made her consider the cops’
suspicions. But if Blue had been behind the shooting at the
spaceport, why not just kill her outright? Had he been staging it
to get money later through an offer of protection? Could that
shooting have been an elaborate hoax?

Gem touched the side of her head and
shivered. It was doubtful. That bullet had come too close to be a
ruse, no matter what Blue had claimed about the gunman trying to
scare her. Another inch or two and it would have been buried in her
brain. It would have been easier to shoot at her feet or something
if the intent had been to frighten. And, badly as she wanted to
believe that the incident was random, she couldn’t. Somebody wanted
her dead.