“You know what, Eleanor, I’m perfectly capable of handling those matters.”

  “Well, I thought I’d ease your burden a bit. You look a bit taxed this morning.” Every

  one was concerned about her. Tyler hadn’t wanted to let her leave, and even Dylan had seemed

  uncomfortable. Johanna had told her to behave, and to try to be civil with Quinn. She’d

  promised to be on her best behavior but the way things were looking now, she knew that

  something would probably get her riled.

  New Monaco was not a welcome sight. It was still as grand as it had been six months

  ago, and she felt a big lump of dread forming in her stomach. She didn’t care for the crime

  infested planet at all, and since she’d nearly met her maker here on more than one occasion, she

  wasn’t very excited to set her feet down on its soil. Plus, seeing Devlin again was like putting a

  whole tray of food in front of Ross and telling him not to eat it.

  “Remind me that I’m here for a really, really good reason. I don’t know why I agreed to

  meet Quinn. I should have just started the search without him.”

  “Would you like me to accompany you to the Caterra Casino?” Eleanor asked, just as

  they shuddered into the docking port.

  “Of course. You’ll be taking me there.”

  “Oh. I don’t know about that,” Eleanor murmured.

  Samantha groaned. “What are you talking about now? Your whole speaking in code

  thing is getting old.”

  “Lord Devlin is over there, and it seems as if he brought his own mode of transportation.

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  That looks like the latest luxury class Pixie 500.”

  “Huh?”

  “It’s a luxury hover car. It’s equipped with the latest entertainment devices.” Samantha

  didn’t like the sound of that. Entertainment took on a whole new meaning when applied to Lord

  Devlin. The less temptation she had when around Dev the better.

  “I thought you were the best hover car to own?”

  “I am. But I’m more of a fighting class of car, not so much a luxury car. Obviously, he

  thinks his planet is really safe now.” Samantha looked around to where Eleanor was pointing.

  “Yeah, or he’s added more goons to the goon patrol.” Samantha leaned forward and

  gestured toward the heavily armored hover cars and motorcycles that were grouped around the

  bright purple Pixie 500. She watched as Devlin started toward them. “Eleanor, whatever

  happens, I want you to follow me. I certainly don’t want to be stuck alone with that man without

  backup.”

  “Certainly, Samantha. I promised Johanna I would take care of you, so I can’t really stay

  here now can I?”

  Samantha huffed out a large gust of wind. She couldn’t stand everyone always thinking

  that she was a reckless idiot. Eleanor opened her door, and Samantha stood up. Her boots

  clanged against the metal platform. Other space ships that were small enough to enter the

  atmosphere whizzed above her head.

  “Samantha, you are looking well…interesting.” Devlin’s eyes twinkled. They roved

  freely across her body. She didn’t like the way he was smirking at her. Nonetheless, the way he

  looked at her…her blood felt like it was on fire. She restrained herself from doing something

  rash she’d later regret.

  “Dev, keep your eyeballs to yourself. You just saw me earlier. Trust me, I don’t look any

  different now than I did then.”

  “Have you looked in a mirror lately? And besides, I see you still hold that old spark for

  me.”

  “Why does everyone keep asking me if I have looked in a mirror lately?” she grumbled,

  crossing her arms. She totally glossed over his latter statement. If he saw that spark in her eyes

  that told her she wasn’t masking her true emotions well enough. She’d have to toughen up her

  defenses to his charming ways. “Well, Lord Devlin, let’s get this show on the road. By the way,

  have you heard from your sneaky little wife in the last month?”

  “Ex-wife.”

  “Ah, yes,” she murmured, catching the way he sounded so defensive of her all of a

  sudden. He didn’t want her to think that he had anything still to do with the old Lady Devlin and

  that in an odd way, warmed the cockles of her heart. “I seem to recall Johanna saying something

  along that line to me, a few months ago.” She was lying through her teeth, and he knew it by the

  way he arched his eyebrow at her. In truth, she’d looked up the latest news from New Monaco

  when they were on Earth, hoping and praying that Dev would ditch the little bitch as soon as he

  could.

  “Our marriage was dissolved as soon as I dropped her stinking ass off on that

  godforsaken planet.” He reached out, and before she could move back, he had his arm slipped

  through hers. His touch made her feel a little bit too excited. She wanted to draw away like

  she’d been doing for so long with Tyler but she didn’t have the heart or the strength. Devlin

  made her weak in the knees God help her.

  “You’re giving me the willies, Devlin. What’s up with the so close routine? Because

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  here’s a little cyber news flash, you’re definitely too close for my comfort.” The carefree lies

  slipping past her tongue amazed even her. She was getting back to the way she was able to treat

  Dev when he had Tyler all trussed up and ready for the noose.

  “Just play along with me. You’ll find out why in due time. I’m not enjoying this any

  more than you are.” Tingles raced through her body. Devlin was lying as well, but the way he

  looked at her, made her hesitate. There was something about the glint in his eye that shut her up.

  Ordinarily, she would have become really loud, but something had him on edge, and she wanted

  to find out what that something was.

  “How has life been treating you?” Maybe she could pull off the shooting the breeze

  routine. Maybe. She didn’t really care how life was treating him. Every time she looked at him,

  she had to fight the intense longing she had for him. She had to deny herself the greatest gift and

  in a way, she hated that about him. She wanted him to pursue her. She wanted him to not take

  no for an answer when it came to the bond they shared but he wouldn’t…or he couldn’t.

  “Samantha, we last saw each other only a mere six months ago.” The way his voice

  dropped to a husky tone told her that 'mere' had nothing to do with the time they’d spent apart.

  He felt the magnetic pull between them just as keenly as she felt it, and it only deepened day

  after day. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to fight it, she would have to have some sort of resolution

  to it, and that resolution involved them skin to skin, making sweet passionate love to each other.

  Fog clouded her brain; she almost lost her balance, and leaned on him until she could steady her

  breathing. “Are you okay?” he halted, staring deeply down into her eyes. It was on the tip of her

  tongue, she wanted to say, she missed him, that even though she hated him one minute and loved

  him desperately the next minute, she still wanted him. She craved him. She exhaled a

  shuddering breath. Nodding her head, she said shakily, “Fine. I should have eaten something for

  breakfast.”

  He grinned. “You and your appetite. You love food more than anything else, I would

  reckon. As I was saying before you almost fainted....”

  “I don’t faint, Dev,” she said anger tingeing her tone.

  “Of course you don’t, Samantha. That would be a chink in your armor and we can’t have

  anything denting that impenetrable armor of yours, can we?”

  The dig he’d tossed at her smarted. He was dancing around the issue of their attraction

  but she would have to be a dunce to not take notice of what he hinted at.

  “Now where were we in our conversation? Ah, yes, nothing of any great importance has

  happened to me in that time. Though I did hear about your comical performance on Earth from a

  friend of mine. What I would have paid to see that.” Humor sparked in his startling blue eyes.

  She groaned.

  She had no idea that he still had close contacts on Earth. Come to think of it, she didn’t

  really know that much about Devlin. She knew he had that abnormally and dare she say it, sexy

  British accent, and knew he was a lord of some sort, that had decided to expand his fiefdom by

  coming out here to New Monaco. But other than that she didn’t know anything about him. She

  studied him intently, trying to see some resemblance between him and The Red Falcon. But

  other than the sway of their gait, they didn’t look at all alike. And The Red Falcon might have

  taken on some of Devlin’s mannerisms just by being around him for all of those years.

  He motioned her toward the hover vehicle that Eleanor had called the Pixie 500. It was

  indeed a magnificent hover car. It was long, sleek, and had a definite air of sophistication about

  it.

  “This must have cost a pretty shiny penny,” she murmured in awe.

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  “It must have,” he shot back, opening the door for her. He released her arm, and she felt

  bereft without his soothing warmth up next to her.

  Staring inside, her mouth dropped open. She’d never seen anything quite like it in all of

  her years. It was like looking into a mini apartment. “Do you need my assistance in climbing

  inside? Because I am at your service.” She shivered. What the hell was he getting at anyway?

  Did he really think they had any time for a dalliance? Though she was tempted, she had to keep

  him at an arms length. If she got involved with him now her life would become so bloody

  complicated. She thought of Tyler back on the Excalibur and her heart burned and not in a good

  way. She shook her head, while she tried to come up with a clever retort. Instead, she jumped

  inside, and sighed when her butt connected with the soft plush leather seat. Gunfire ripped out

  around them all of the sudden. Instantly, she was alert and ready. Devlin had his hand on the

  door, and he was beginning to slump forward.

  “Oh, shit! Devlin!” Her voice broke with emotion. By the looks of it, he’d been hit in

  the shoulder. Dashing forward, she caught him before he could fall. “Damn, you’re one heavy

  bugger.” She dragged him inside and settled him beside her. The door automatically shut, and a

  figure of a small woman appeared in front of her.

  “What course of action would you like me to take?”

  “Get us the hell out of here! Raise your shields, and shoot back at those dirty rotten

  bastards!!!” She wanted them all dead. If she didn’t have to take care of Devlin she would have

  made sure they died by her own hand.

  As if he sensed the intensity of her emotions and what she was thinking about, he met her

  anxious gaze. Smiling, he made her heart leap. He was still very much alive, thank God.

  “Your wish is my command.” The small woman disappeared, and Samantha was thrown

  back against the seat as the Pixie 500 took to the air.

  “Devlin?” She rolled him over, and frowned when she noticed the blood streaming out

  across his white shirt. “Oh, my God.” Her hands started to glow, and she hoped he hadn’t

  noticed. He was slipping away into an unconscious state of mind. Her mind reached out to

  touch his, just as his eyes closed. Could she heal him with her powers? Or was it too risky?

  Thinking on impulse, she opened his shirt and pulled it aside, so she could look at his wound.

  Fortunately for him, it was just a laser burn and didn’t seem to harbor any poisoned little

  electronic bugs. He had fallen unconscious, though he was beginning to moan. “Devlin,

  wakeup you silly bastard! Please, wake up. I need you to wake up!” She reached inside of her

  black gadget bag for a piece of healing gauze. It was a wonderful invention, and in lieu of being

  in a med bay and having a skilled physician on hand, it did wonders. Gently, she pressed it

  against the wound. Within seconds, it molded to his skin. In a few hours, his wound would be

  completely healed.

  “Jane?” he murmured, rolling his head to the side. She grunted. Whoever this Jane was,

  was probably his last harlot that he had slept with. Jealousy swept through her. She pushed it

  down and tried to smother the bitch. Shaking him gently once again caused his eyelids to pop

  open. Recognition dawned as he locked his gaze on her. “Oh, it’s you. Samantha.” He sounded

  disappointed.

  “Glad to see you back with the land of the living too, Lord Devlin.” Her heart sank down

  into the pit of her stomach. Her hands shook as she swept them over his chest. His muscles

  tightened beneath her gentle caress. He looked at her and in that instant; she was nearly tempted

  to do the unthinkable. Leaning toward him, she gazed intently at his lips. What would they feel

  like pressed against her own. As if in a trance, she continued to lean in toward him. His eyes lit

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  up with fire, as something important occurred to him. He’d just remembered they were still in

  what could still be a dangerous area.

  “Vanessa, take us to the Caterra Casino.” He sat up straighter. The color started to return

  to his cheeks.

  “Right away, Lord Devlin.” A voice filtered through the intercom and it sounded

  remarkably like the woman whose holographic projection had just filled the car.

  “So that’s this AI’s name.”

  “Yes.” He flexed his fingers and she winced at the look of pain that flashed across his

  features.

  “I think I have a pain pill somewhere in here....”

  “No.” His curt reply surprised her. “It will only cloud my head. I need to be in full

  control right now. Samantha, you just might be out of your element.”

  “Out of my element…yeah, right, whatever. Obviously, you still don’t know me. Care

  to tell me who tried to knock you off just now?” He grimaced, and sighed.

  “Not really.”

  She stood up, and went to sit on the opposite seat. She had to put distance between them

  or she’d be finishing what she almost started. “Look, Lord Devlin, I just saved your sorry ass,

  and you owe me an explanation. I want some answers, and I want them now!”

  “I have a rival.”

  She coughed. Then she began laughing. “Tell me another one.” It was too much! The

  thought of Lord Devlin being pushed off his gilded throne really made her happy. Maybe then,

  he’d be humbled to a point where he’d want to come after a lowly bounty hunter like her.

  “This is not a laughing matter, Samantha. Do you realize that New Monaco actually

  helps to make the galaxy a safer place for people like you?”

  That got her attention. “What do you mean people like me? Unless you haven’t already

  noticed, I can take care of myself quite nicely. People like me, my fat aunt Harriet!”

  “You’re jumping to the wrong conclusions. What I meant to say is that I do not put up

  with slavery, or any other demeaning sort of trade.”

  “Ah. Is that all? I guess I now have my explanation for why you have a mobile army at

  your beck and call. How much does that set you back, anyway? I mean I know you have deep

  pockets and all…but that must be steep.”

  Devlin rubbed the side of his temple. “Samantha, I am on the brink of war. War! This

  isn’t the kind of a scuffle that you sometimes find yourself facing. This is SERIOUS!” His eyes

  hardened. His voice dropped to a mere, strangled whisper. Her chest constricted. War, huh?

  She didn’t do wars. The mob war she’d found herself in six months past had been quite enough

  for her. There had been that time when she’d found herself in the middle of a world Civil War

  on Nova Spain, and she almost hadn’t gotten out alive. She wasn’t going to make that mistake

  again. No siree bob. Maybe she could just leave with Devlin on one of his fancy ships and chuck

  her relationship with Tyler out into space where it could go to rot.

  “How could all of this blow up over the course of six months, and if it was this serious

  why didn’t you ask for help?”

  “Would you have helped me, Samantha? I am not even sure if you like me let alone if

  you would be willing to help me. Besides, I have other more powerful allies. You are not as

 

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