Break Out - By Nina Croft Page 0,42

ran down his spine. Unlike the guards, their weapons were already drawn. He wondered, briefly, what had happened to Skylar, and a wave of regret washed over him. Damn, he’d wanted to get to know her. Too late now.

“Well, it was nice knowing you,” he said to Tannis.

“We going to fight?”

“You want to end up in the mines?”

She shook her head. “We fight.”

“Are you ready?”

“No.”

Rico grinned. He took a deep breath and…

“Rico, get down!”

Skylar’s voice. But from behind them. Rico grabbed Tannis, hurled her to the floor, and covered her with his body. The heat of the laser shots passed close over them, and he kept his head down. After a few seconds, the shooting stopped, and he peered up.

The four men were down. Skylar stood, still in that sexy silver dress, her feet bare, her legs braced, a laser pistol in each hand.

She raised an eyebrow. “You going to lie there all day?”

He’d never seen anything quite so beautiful in his whole life.

“They’re down for now, but they’re not dead,” Skylar continued, when he didn’t move. “And we only have three minutes to get off this planet.”

Rico got to his feet and pulled Tannis up. “Thanks,” she said. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Once they were clear of the planet, Rico switched the navigation system to automatic. Skylar leaned against the wall next to the cryo-unit. She’d put her shoes back on, and the heels made her legs appear endless. Dios, she was sexy in that dress, and the weapon belts strapped to her waist just made her sexier. Her eyes caught his, and she looked away quickly.

She was going to try to avoid paying her debt. He wasn’t about to let that happen. She might have saved his life back there on Trakis One, but a deal was a deal. Besides, it wasn’t as though she wouldn’t enjoy it.

Tannis strolled across the deck. She stared in through the glass window of the cryo-unit. “That’s little Jonny?” she asked, and Rico could hear the disbelief in her voice.

He peered in and grinned. The man was enormous. Rico turned to Skylar. “He doesn’t look much like you.”

“He’s actually only a half-brother. Same father, different mother. I call him little because I was ten when he was born so he was...” She shrugged. “...little. It just became habit. How long until he wakes up?”

Tannis examined the control panel. She pressed a few buttons. “There, it’s started, but a good few hours, I would think.”

“Perhaps we could load him into my shuttle. Do you want me to transfer the balance of the fee now?”

“Actually, “Rico said, “that can wait until we get back to the ship. And little Jonny stays here for the moment.”

Skylar dragged her gaze from the cryo-unit to Rico. “I’d like him with me.”

No way was he letting Skylar out of his sight. Certainly, he wasn’t going to let her take their new friend and disappear as he suspected she might. He wanted his reward. He wanted answers even more. He’d considered waiting until they were all safely back on board El Cazador, but he had a feeling that things could go badly wrong very quickly. This might be his only chance to get her alone, show her a little of what they could have together, convince her that she had options.

“Darling,” he said, “I’ll be with you. We have some unfinished business, you and me.”

Her eyes widened. “We do?”

“Oh yeah. And having your brother present might just cramp my style.”

“But....”

He didn’t give her a chance to say anything further. He moved in close, took her arm, and hustled her toward the door. He turned to Tannis. “We’ll see you back at the ship. We’ll be a couple of hours. At least.”

On board the shuttle, he slammed the hatch and sat down in the pilot’s seat. Within minutes, they had undocked and were heading into space. Away from El Cazador.

Rico set the autopilot and swiveled his chair to look at Skylar.

. . .

Why not?

The words echoed in her mind as she stared at Rico. He sat in the only chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him, arms clasped behind his head, his eyes half-closed as he waited for her to come to a decision.

She knew he wouldn’t force her, and she wasn’t sure that made it any better. At least if he forced her, when the world came crashing around her ears, she could tell herself she’d had no choice. But that was the