Death Defying (Dark Desires) by Nina Croft Read Free Book Online Page B

they’ve got after you. They’ve also already posted a reward. A big reward.
    Shit . You can at least stop the Council coming after me. Hell, you’re in charge of the Corps, they can’t move without your order.
    Not anymore. They’re suggesting I’m complicit in your “kidnapping.” I think they’re planning on arresting me any moment, so if you don’t hear from me again—good luck. He was silent for a moment. They’re at the door. I’ll—
    Callum swore loudly as the colonel was cut off. He must have been knocked unconscious.
    Tyson?
    The man’s mind was closed, but Callum shoved his way in—he was the only one of them who could do it, which came in useful if people were ignoring you.
    Callum, you’re not very popular around here right now.
    Like I give a shit. I’m finished with hiding—I told you that. Now reinstate the colonel, recall the Corps, and get rid of that reward.
    Come back, and we’ll call everyone off. We can do some damage control, say it was a stunt.
    Piss off.
    He broke the contact. It looked like the Council had some balls after all. Pity they had to wait until now to show them. At least his hard-on was gone. He supposed he’d better go and tell the captain that they should expect company, so they could start thinking about how to avoid it.
    The crew of El Cazador had spent two weeks being pursued by the Collective and had managed to successfully evade them. He hoped they could do it again—one of the reasons he’d employed them. He’d wanted someone with no connections to the Council who could keep him out of sight while he worked out what he was and what he wanted to do with the rest of eternity.
    The comm unit beside the bed buzzed. He pressed it to open.
    “Meeting in the conference room in half an hour,” a brusque voice barked. “Be there.”
    “Where—” But the comm was cut off abruptly.
    Why did he get the impression nobody on this ship liked him?
    Clearly, they were the type to hold grudges. He didn’t give a toss whether they liked him or not as long as they did what he paid them to do. But he realized that wasn’t entirely true. There was one member of the crew he wanted to like him.
    An image of the captain flashed in his mind. Though she’d told him she didn’t mix business with pleasure, he would have to persuade her otherwise. From her reaction to his kiss, he had some work to do. For once, he was going to have to exert himself for what he wanted. The idea had a certain novelty value.
    …
    “You’re late,” Tannis snapped.
    Callum had wandered around the goddamn ship for what seemed like an age. He hadn’t found the galley and was still hungry. He had only found this place because he’d pushed his way into Skylar’s mind and asked for directions. He’d guessed she hadn’t been pleased by the intrusion. Hard Luck. They should have sent somebody to escort him. And given him some goddamn food.
    The room was big and airy. The decor, like the rest of the ship, black and silver. He quickly counted the people. Five. He reckoned this must be the whole crew on board, except for the ship’s engineer who, from the reports he’d read, appeared to be some sort of recluse. The assassin and his little priestess were obviously elsewhere—he’d seen no sign of them.
    His gaze was drawn first to Tannis leaning against the far wall, arms folded across her chest, one booted foot tapping the floor. She briefly caught his eye and looked away.
    He moved on to the vampire, Ricardo Sanchez, owner and pilot of the ship, with Skylar next to him, one hand resting on his thigh as if to restrain him.
    Finally, two women. One he didn’t recognize. She was beautiful, well dressed, with dark red hair. The other was the green girl, Daisy. She was the only one who appeared pleased to see him. She had a wide grin on her face and waggled her fingers in his direction.
    The vampire shook off Skylar’s hand and stood in one fluid move. He stalked toward Callum, moving with the lithe