Crimson Read online

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said calmly. “My name is Red.”

  “No.” Gray shook his head. “Your name is Gina Santiago and that there,” he pointed at Morgan, “is Morgan Hunter.”

  “You’re wrong,” she said, sounding desperate.

  “There’s a fifteen-thousand-credit bounty on your heads that says I’m right.”

  Red couldn’t have heard him correctly. Did he say bounty? Who would’ve placed—She stopped short. Roark. Only Roark would do something like this, which meant he’d figured out where they’d gone. Red fought the urge to vomit. Now not even no-man’s-land was safe. Safe? She laughed to herself. They’d been anything but safe from the second they crossed the boundary fence.

  “Jeb here says news of the bounty is spreading fast. The Sand Moles deserve those credits more than most. We’re the ones who’ve put you up and been hospitable.”

  “Yes, you have,” she said. “So why stop now?”

  Gray shrugged. “Credits are credits. Besides, you owe us.”

  “We traded in good faith,” Red said. “We owe you nothing.”

  “That’s not how we see it,” Gray said.

  “That’s your problem,” Morgan said. “Not ours.”

  He sighed. “Did I mention that the credits are good whether you’re dead or alive?” Gray asked.

  That was all Red needed to hear. She drew her pistol before she could reconsider and fired. The laser shot out, dropping Gray where he stood. A cauterized hole smoldered where his heart had beat only seconds ago. The smell of burning flesh and intestinal waste polluted the air. Someone screamed and there were a few muffled cries, but no one moved.

  “We’re going to gather our things and leave now,” Red said, hoping the shock of her actions kept everyone in place for a few minutes longer. “Anyone tries to stop us and they’ll end up like Gray, with their blood watering the ground.”

  Demery’s brown eyes were wide, but he didn’t say anything. Like Morgan, he’d drawn his weapon and pointed them at the lookouts before they could raise their rifles. He quickly gathered his tote and slung it over his shoulders.

  “Let’s go.” Red reached for Morgan.

  They retreated into the desert, keeping their eyes and guns trained on the small group until they cleared a big dune, then disappeared out of sight.

  “What were you thinking?” Morgan asked when they were a safe distance away.

  “I knew we weren’t going to get out of there without a firefight. The way we were placed, there was a pretty good chance we’d end up shooting each other in all the commotion. I didn’t want to risk it, which meant that either Jeb or Gray had to die.”

  “You’re crazy, mon.” Demery shoved his dreadlocks away from his face. “You could’ve gotten all of us killed.”

  “I took a calculated risk. I knew the loss of Gray would shock the group and prayed it was enough to keep them from acting. Jeb’s loss wouldn’t have been as great. Gray would’ve ordered his people to fire. In the end, it was an easy decision.” Red said the words dispassionately, but inside she was chilled at the ease with which she’d taken the man’s life. When she shot, she hadn’t felt anything but the need to survive. Like a trapped wolf ready to gnaw its own leg off, she’d acted quickly and without remorse.

  “Gray was good people, mon,” Demery said. “As good as people get on this side of the fence.”

  Red’s eyes narrowed. “He was a threat and planned to turn us over to Roark. You heard him. We’re wanted dead or alive. Personally, I’m partial to breathing.”

  Demery slowed. “You don’t know Roark was the one who put a bounty on your heads, mon.”

  Red rounded on him. “Don’t be naive. Who else would’ve done it? My grandfather?” she shouted. “Doubtful. Not many people can afford to part with that many credits. But Roark can. He’s amassed a fortune while he’s been in politics.”

  “Point taken,” Demery said. “I still think we could’ve worked something out with the Sand Moles. Now I’m never going to be able to trade with them.”

  “I’m sorry we messed up your commerce opportunities,” she said sarcastically. “Fifteen thousand credits hanging over our heads make me a little twitchy on the trigger. Who knows how many people have heard about the bounty by now. We aren’t going to be safe anywhere.”

  Morgan came over and put his arm around her. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “All we need to do is reach the encampment Jeb spoke of.”

  She gave a pained laugh. “It stopped being okay a long time ago. And who’s to say that Jeb was telling the truth? I know you didn’t sense deception, but he could’ve been lying.”

  “He wasn’t,” Demery said. “I know the place. It’s real. I’ve been there or at least been by there on my travels. I’ve never actually stopped.”

  “Let’s hope they weren’t the ones who told him about the reward,” Red ran a hand through her loose hair. She’d been in such a hurry to pack and leave that she’d forgotten to tie it back. Maybe she should cut it. Long hair wasn’t meant for these conditions. Like compassion, it only got in the way.

  chapter ten

  “I

  ’m going to take off now,” Chaos said, gathering her things to head back to her shuttle. She’d spent most of the night scouring the area, but hadn’t turned up anything else. The sky would be lightening in a few hours.

  “Where are you going?” Raphael asked.

  “I have some more things to check out,” she said. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t notice that she hadn’t answered his question.

  He lifted her tote onto his shoulder. “Perhaps I can come along and help?” Raphael suggested.

  “You said you were looking for your brother,” she said. “I don’t want to keep you.”

  “I am. If we are going in the same direction we could keep each other company.” His hand brushed her arm, the move casual but intimate. A subtle reminder of what they’d shared this past week.

  His warm scent washed over her and Chaos’ breath caught. When Chaos realized what she’d done, she growled in frustration. “I work better alone,” she said hastily.

  “If I make you uncomfortable, all you have to do is tell me,” his voice teased, but there was no mistaking the challenge behind his words.

  “You don’t,” she snapped, knowing it was a lie. Truth was Raphael had her coming out of her skin. “That would require feeling something for you.”

  “Exactly.” Raphael flashed her a grin that made her knees weak.

  Chaos didn’t know how she felt. One minute she wanted to punch him. The next she had to fight to keep from throwing herself in his arms. “You are impossible!” She groaned in frustration, then jumped into her maglev shuttle and started the engine. “I better not see you following me or I’ll shoot you out of the air.” Chaos slammed the shuttle into gear. It rose two feet off the ground and took off. She arced to the left, purposely traveling in the wrong direction to confuse him. She’d circle back soon enough and head to the boundary fence crossing.

  “You won’t see a thing. I assure you,” Raphael murmured as she drove away. He didn’t know what the little minx was up to, but he’d find out. Raphael hadn’t asked her to contact the commander of IPTT about Red and Morgan. He’d only planned to do so as a last resort. She’d taken it upon herself, which knowing how Catherine’s mind worked didn’t bode well for him. He thought he’d come up with a clever trap, one that would work out for the both of them, when he’d gotten her to agree to help him. But he obviously hadn’t been clever enough. Raphael had considered reading her thoughts, but he wanted Catherine’s trust. For some reason her trust was important to him.

  Raphael was torn between the need to locate Michael and the need to go after Catherine. He hopped into his shuttle and started the engine. Thanks to the eye replacements he’d had during the war, with a blink he could see as well at night as he could during the day.

  Catherine zoomed farther east. Raphael threw the shuttle into high gear
and killed the lights. She’d never see him back here. As long as he kept a couple of miles between them, the sensors on her shuttle would never detect him.

  Raphael followed at a steady pace, sipping on a packet of blood. Catherine had turned south ten minutes ago and seemed to be on a direct course for the boundary fence. The thought of her crossing into no-man’s-land alone curdled the blood in his stomach. What was she thinking?

  She may be powerful, but Catherine was no match for no-man’s-land. It didn’t matter that he’d intended to go there himself. She had no business putting herself in danger. He had the overwhelming urge to turn her over his knee and paddle her delectable bottom. His body liked that idea far too much. Raphael shifted to ease his burgeoning erection.

  Catherine stopped at a lot a quarter of a mile from the official boundary crossing station and parked her shuttle. Raphael had hoped he’d been wrong about her destination. She disembarked from the shuttle and gathered a pack that was almost as big as she was, then tossed it onto her back. He shook his head as she nearly toppled from the weight.

  He should just go back to Nuria and leave her. That was the smart thing to do. It wasn’t as if he was prepared for a trip into no-man’s-land. Raphael stared out the window as Catherine stumbled toward the crossing checkpoint. He hit the wheel in frustration, cracking it, then scrambled out of his vehicle. Stubborn woman. She’d get herself killed if she wasn’t careful.

  “Wait up,” he shouted.

  Catherine ignored him and kept walking. Raphael secured his vehicle and jogged over to the crossing. She had thrown her pack on the table and presented her neck for scanning.

  “State your purpose,” a guard wearing a navy quadrant inspector’s uniform said.

  “Business,” Catherine said.

  “Pleasure,” Raphael added.

  The guard looked at him askance. “Anything to declare?”

  “She’s insane,” Raphael said, glancing at her.

  The guard snickered. “Move ahead.” He ushered them on.

  “You are the most bullheaded human being I’ve ever met,” Raphael said, grabbing her arm and yanking her around.

  Catherine looked down at his hand and waited for him to remove it. Raphael pried his fingers open and glared at her.

  “I thought I told you not to follow me,” she said, showing her I.D. to the next set of guards at the checkpoint. “What are you doing here?”

  “I told you. I’m looking for my brother, Michael Travers.”

  Her green eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What would he be doing here?” she asked. “This isn’t exactly a travel destination.”

  “Probably the same thing you are,” Raphael said, exasperated. “I thought you said you were looking for evidence.”

  “Who said I’m not? You don’t know what I’m doing,” Catherine said, before quickly lowering her voice. “Unless you’ve read my mind.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have to read your mind to know what you’re up to. It’s written clearly on your little cherub face.” Raphael pulled out his I.D. He had expected to have time to return to Nuria to retrieve supplies before crossing into no-man’s-land, but Catherine had blown that plan into space. Now he’d have to buy what he needed from the trader store and they always marked things up.

  She shook her head. “You’re seeing things that aren’t there,” she said.

  “Am I?” he asked, ushering her forward.

  “Yep.”

  “Fine, have it your way.” Raphael exposed his neck to the scanner. Two beeps later he was walking down the long gray, sparsely lit corridor that would eventually open up into no-man’s-land. Catherine strode in front of him, her pack swaying from side to side like stacked plates ready to fall.

  “It seems to me,” he said, breaking the silence, “that we’d probably get a lot further if we worked together.”

  “I told you I’d keep our bargain and I meant it,” she said. “I don’t need your help.”

  “I have no doubt that’s true, but I could use your help finding my brother. You must have met him when you went to Roark’s office.”

  Catherine stopped dead, her shoulders tense. “He showed Bannon and me into a waiting room. I never saw him after that. He certainly wasn’t there when we left. Do you think he had anything to do with us getting drugged?”

  She asked casually, but Raphael heard the apprehension in her voice. “No,” he said. “I’m sure that was all Roark.” There was no doubt in Raphael’s mind that had Michael participated in something like that he would’ve let Raphael know. That knowledge should’ve stopped doubt cold, but it kept crawling forward, whispering insidiously in the back of his mind.

  “Why would he be in no-man’s-land?” she asked. Catherine’s expression told him she hadn’t quite believed his assurances.

  “That’s what I’m here to find out,” he said. Raphael dropped into the outfitting shop and picked up a pack, canteens, food, a tent, industrial-grade sunscreen, and protective clothing. His credit account took a major hit, thanks to Catherine’s impromptu trip, but it was necessary. He could stay out in the sun fairly long for a vamp, but he didn’t think he’d make it all day. He did have his limits, although Raphael rarely copped to them.

  Despite all her protests, Catherine had followed him into the store and was browsing the items. She picked up a hat and an extra canteen. He noticed that she bypassed the tents, so either she had one in that enormous pack of hers or she didn’t anticipate being out here long.

  It was too much to hope that she planned to share his tent with him. Raphael had never cared for camping, but he could get used to it if Catherine were his tent mate. He looked at her as he considered the possibility.

  She scowled back.

  Perhaps it would be better if they had their own space.

  Catherine hadn’t told him what she was doing here. Sure she’d mentioned getting permission from the commander of IPTT, but permission for what? It was one thing to look for proof, quite another to pursue fugitives. Raphael didn’t know what Catherine planned to do once she caught up with Morgan and Red. It was just one more reason he needed to go with her.

  Raphael shoved his supplies into his pack and stared longingly at Catherine’s bare neck. What he wouldn’t give for a canteen full of blood. Just looking at her stoked his hunger. Thanks to her nearness and the need she evoked, he’d finished the last of his supply on the ride down here.

  Catherine tipped her head and he glimpsed his teeth marks on the side of her nape. They looked more like love bites in this artificial lighting. He licked his lips as his incisors lengthened. The material on the front of his pants strained under his growing erection as he inhaled her feminine musk. He’d just have to improvise, when it came to feeding. The thought of what that would entail had his temperature rising. Catherine caught him looking at her and flushed bright pink. Obviously his expression had been patently transparent.

  “All done,” Raphael said.

  “About time,” she countered.

  He laughed. “I didn’t realize you were waiting for me. Had I known, I would’ve hurried,” Raphael said to get a rise out of her, since her actions had been blatantly obvious. “I take it you’ve reconsidered my offer.”

  She shrugged. “We can travel together and hope to find your brother along the way, but we go in the direction I want,” she said. “No arguments.”

  “Of course,” Raphael agreed, since he knew they’d be heading in the direction he needed to go. That didn’t stop him from hoping he was wrong about his brother, Michael. Maybe Roark had sent him somewhere else. It would explain his absence. Even as the thought flitted through Raphael’s head, he knew it was unlikely.

  He hoisted the pack onto his back and indicated for Catherine to lead the way. She did, but stopped when they reached the final gate. There she hesitated.

  “Having second thoughts?” he asked, in hopes she’d call the whole thing off.

  “No, just adjusting my pack.” Catherine made a show of sh
ifting her pack, then she stepped forward and pressed a button on the wall. Nothing happened for a second so she pressed it again harder.

  “Give it time. You are so impatient, my little storm,” Raphael said. “Don’t you know good things come to those who wait? Besides, the sun will be up soon. We’ll have to camp at the crossing until dark.”

  Catherine rolled her eyes. “Shut up, cliché man.”

  The final door slid open with a hiss. A blast of warmth greeted them with a dry embrace. The gaping maw that was the endless desert stretched out before them, waiting to swallow them whole. There were so many directions to go in. They could be anywhere.

  Raphael tried to ignore Catherine’s delicious scent as they proceeded into the fleeting darkness. It was difficult given the lack of distracting odors. The sand gave under his booted feet. This would not be an easy journey—his gaze fell upon his petite traveling companion—for either of them.

  Good thing she had a day to reconsider her folly.

  Chaos felt him behind her watching. Raphael did that a lot. She didn’t know if he was waiting for her to attack again or if he was sizing her up as a snack. She didn’t want to think that it might be sexual. It was hard enough walking this close to him without her body betraying her at every turn. Did he have to look so good?

  They waited at the gate for the rest of the night and all through the next day. There’d been nothing to do but sleep and talk. Raphael had regaled her with stories from his childhood. He’d charmed her, weakening her resolve to remain aloof. It seemed to take forever for the sun to set. Even after the fiery ball sunk below the horizon, it was still unbearably hot. The heat didn’t seem to affect him like it did her. Chaos was already sweating and they’d only been walking a few minutes. She’d be a puddle by the time an hour had passed.

  It didn’t help that her pack weighed a ton. She’d wanted to be prepared, so she’d requisitioned everything required for outdoor survival. Chaos had no idea what they might encounter on this side of the boundary fence, but she was determined to be ready.