Raines, Elizabeth - Wanted [Wicked Missions 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

“Izabella Szabo,” Spencer replied before a haughty grin spread over his face. “Why, Callie…Are you jealous our contact is a woman?”

She folded her arms over her breasts and scowled. Of course she was jealous! She had feelings at stake here! The men, on the other hand, obviously didn’t. She swallowed her hurt. “No. Not at all. Go on. Have fun.” Shit, her pouty tone only added to her humiliation.

Hammond’s knowing smile made her narrow her eyes. “Izzie’s really nice, super smart, and damned pretty. But she’s nothing but a business contact. Honest.”

“You’re the one we want,” Spencer added, his voice washing over her like a warm caress.

She fought the urge to let them comfort her. All she could think about was the Ampirica and her suffering children. And Izabella Szabo.

Fuck!
She really
was
jealous. “Whatever…”

Whirling the seat to face forward, she saw two people waiting next to the pile of boxes on the loading dock. A Dracorian man and an equally tall woman stood there, their eyes constantly scanning the area as if they feared being discovered. In their line of work, she couldn’t blame them.

The woman was exquisite, dressed in a snug black leather jacket and denims that hugged her body so tightly, it was amazing she could move at all. Lightly muscled, she was sleek as a cat. Her long, red hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. She was so pretty, with her flawless skin and big, green eyes, she probably had to beat men off with a stick. With Callie’s luck, that beautiful redhead had to be Izabella Szabo. “We’ve got company,” she said. “Are those your contacts?”

Glancing at the pair, Hammond picked up the bag full of uni-credits they’d gotten from Carlos Pontierri on Bromond. “Yep. That’s Izzie. I think the guy with her is her new partner. Let’s go, Spence.”

The men left the cockpit, and Callie decided to stay put and watch the transaction. Lying to herself that she just wanted to keep an eye on Hammond and Spencer in case they ran into trouble, she tapped a few buttons on the com, wondering if she’d be able to pick up any audio from their earpieces. They were supposed to be recording, so that input had to be going…somewhere. Unfortunately, technology wasn’t her forte. If one of them needed intravenous fluids, a wound stitched, or a hypo-spray, she could handle
that
. But technology? She snorted a small, sarcastic laugh.

Punching the buttons she’d seen Hammond fiddling with while they fine-tuned the receivers, Callie finally narrowed her choices down to three switches. “It’s gotta be…one of…these.” The first two produced no sound, but the third time was a charm as Spencer’s voice boomed through the tiny room. She quickly found a way to reduce the volume and then settled in to find out what she could discover.

“You’re alone?” the woman asked.

Spencer and Hammond both nodded.

“Good thing you two ditched that chick. Carlos took a contract out on her, just like you thought,” the woman they’d called Izzie said in a lightly accented voice, rubbing her hand on her forehead as if trying to work out a dull ache. “Shit, there are contracts out on both of you, too. The heat should die down now that you’ve washed your hands of her. But you’re gonna have to do a ton of ass-smooching in the future.” She turned to the alien who’d accompanied her. “Think you can call off the dogs, Achchim?”

So the Dracorian’s name was Achchim… “Fuckin’ bastard,” Callie whispered. Dracorians never worked with anyone who wasn’t scum too, and the thought of her guys being mixed up in business with one of them made her gut churn. Not only were their morals reprehensible, their looks were off-putting. Red eyes. Six fingers. Mottled yellow skin.

“A choice, I don’t have,” he replied with the typical Dracorian muddled English, leveling a hard stare at the men. “The money to me, that shipment back to Bromond, and Carlos I’ll tell back in his good graces you want to be.”

“And the girl?” Spencer asked. “Not that I care or anything…”

Achchim shook his head. “Dead she’ll be. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Dead she’ll be. Good money Carlos is paying to be sure.”

A flash of anger crossed Hammond’s face, but it disappeared so quickly, Callie would have missed it if she hadn’t known him better. The Dracorian clearly failed to see it, looking bored as his red eyes continued to scan the docking area.

“All Carlos knows is that she’s a nurse,” Izzie stated, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. “Can’t seem to get much more information. You guys know her name?”

“Just knew her as Callie,” Hammond replied, making Callie grateful he wasn’t going to give them any more facts about her to make it easier for bounty hunters or reward seekers to find her. She knew it was foolish to wish she’d hear some kind of emotion in his voice, especially when he was trying to protect her.

“Knew? Don’t you know where she is now?” Izzie asked. “Could you find her if you had to?

“Why care you?” Achchim gave her a hard shove on the shoulder that made her stumble a step and then glare at him in return. “Time to claim that money, we don’t have. Business, we must do.”

Rubbing her shoulder, Izzie replied, “Fuck you, Achchim. Carlos has a helluva bounty on her head. I mean, the chick had the balls to shoot his nose off! For that alone, I’d like to meet her. Plus, I could use the unis.” She grinned at Hammond and Spencer. “If I didn’t like you clowns as much as I do, I’d claim the bounty on you, too.”

Achchim laughed, snorting through all four of his nostrils.

“We don’t know where she is now, anyway,” Spencer finally said. “We had some fun with her, then we ditched her.”

“Oh?” Izzie settled an inquisitive stare at Spencer. “Just fucked her brains out and dropped her off on the next moon you passed? Then why shoot up that docking platform on Bromond for her? Shit, guys. Neither of you has
ever
had trouble getting laid.”

“We didn’t fire back because of her,” Spencer replied, the irritation plain in his curt tone. “Carlos had those assholes shoot at us, too. Of course we fired back.”

“You could’ve just left her there and let ’em have her,” Izzie pressed like a hungry prolobeast seeking a meaty groundling cub. “You didn’t have to drag her onto the
Ecstasy
.”

Spencer shrugged, as did Hammond, making Callie start to worry. No way could they appear
that
nonchalant without actually feeling that way. Not unless they were the universe’s greatest actors.

No. No, her guys cared for her. She was sure of it. They were just protecting her.
That’s all.

“She was pretty,” Hammond finally said. “A damn good lay. Nothing more.”

A damn good lay. Nothing more
.

Callie’s heart dropped to her feet, and she swallowed hard. He couldn’t mean it. He was just trying to throw the pair off their tails.

Wasn’t he?

“What moon did you drop her on?” Izzie asked. “Did you at least leave her with some money for her…services, or did you just skip out?”

“She’s
not
a whore,” Spencer said, gritting his teeth.

Izzie laughter rang out loud and strong. “So you
did
just skip out. Geez…fuck her and then don’t even pay her? Cheap bastards.”

A low growl rumbled from Hammond. “Let it go, Izzie.” He gave a slight incline of his head to Achchim, whose gaze was otherwise occupied.

Although she didn’t seem placated, she finally gave the guys a nod. “Where’s the Ampirica? Graveland wants it back.”

“Why? He got his damn money.” Hammond nodded at the duffle he’d dropped at Izzie’s side.

“That greedy bastard?” Izzie shook her head. “He’ll want to sell it again.”

“I’ll get it in a minute,” Spencer replied. “Tell us what’s next.”

“You need to get Carlos off your ass. You can do that by getting Markus Graveland on your side.”

“Markus?” Hammond asked. “Thought his name was Syrus Graveland?”

Achchim shook his head. “Prison he’s now in. Brother the business runs.”

Although both Hammond and Spencer looked shocked, it was Spencer who voiced the question in their eyes. “Prison? Who would have the balls to catch Syrus Graveland?”

Izzie chuckled. “Some chick—a Belusian named Lorianne Seabreeze. Or something like that. Word is she set him up for a drug sting.”

Callie’s heart skipped a beat before it started pounding a rough gait in her chest. “Lyrianna,” she whispered. Did her men recognize the name? From the stoic expression on both their faces, they didn’t. She sat up, watching intently. Her thoughts were already running a million kilometers an hour over the awful things Spencer and Hammond had said about her, but she’d assumed they simply didn’t want their associates to know she was still with them, figuring they were protecting her. Now, it took all of her control not to rush out to the tarmac and demand answers. She needed to know about her sister. And she also needed to know they didn’t really think of her like some whore.

“Word is you’re lookin’ for someone,” Izzie added.

“A Belusian,” Achchim added. “Woman the same as brought down Graveland, perhaps?”

Spencer shook his head. “Nah. Just a lady we heard about. Supposed to be very…talented. Likes threesomes. You know what I’m talkin’ about.” He elbowed Achchim hard enough the Dracorian grunted in response.

“Didn’t your little Callie chick like threesomes?” Izzie had the balls to ask.

“Ask about Lyri,” Callie said, wanting to scream it at the top of her lungs. Somehow she knew this Izzie was holding cards she wasn’t showing. “Ask her. Ask about Lyri.”

“As a matter of fact,” Hammond said, settling his hands on his hips, “she was
awesome
. Liked all sorts of kinky shit. Jealous we didn’t invite you instead, Izzie?”

“Fuck you, Hammond,” she replied. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you and Spencer had her holed up somewhere.”

“You know, Hammond, we can go back and get her now,” Spencer suggested. “We could claim that reward and get back in Carlos’s good graces in one punch. I mean she was fun and everything, but business is business.”

A wave of nausea hit Callie when Hammond rubbed his chin as if considering the idea. “How much did you say the reward was?” His question made her hold her breath.

“More than enough to make it worth your while,” Izzie replied.

The responding grin on Hammond’s face forced a shocked gasp to slip from her lips. “Should we hand her over to Carlos? I sure wanna make it
worth our while
.”

Callie hit the button to end the link. She’d heard more than enough, panic sizzling through her. There was too much danger to stay. Danger to her. Danger to them. The time had come to run. She hurried out of the cockpit, knowing that no matter how much she loved Hammond and Spencer, she couldn’t trust them now, not after what they’d said. She didn’t want to believe they’d betray her, but she simply couldn’t shake the fear.

That’s what you get for falling in love with drug smugglers, dipshit!

She had no choice now. Carlos wanted her, and he only wanted them because of her. If she left, she’d be sure that not only was she out of the gangster’s reach, but the guys wouldn’t be hunted any longer. They’d find a way to get back into his favor and get their lives back.

Grabbing a black shirt from the drawer, she yanked it over her head and shoved her arms in the sleeves. A pair of drawstring pants—thankfully black as well—completed the dark ensemble. She had to roll up the sleeves and the pant legs, but at least she’d be able to blend into the shadows.

Sneaking out would be easy since she’d discovered the escape hatch on the side of the ship—a bolt hole almost every smuggler had as a way to dump cargo or slip out if the ship was boarded. Callie popped open the door, peered around, and then lowered herself to the tarmac. With her heart breaking, she hurried away into the night.

* * * *

Spencer tried to hold his temper, feeling an almost overwhelming need to wash his mouth out like a child who’d used a dirty word because of the horrible things he’d had to say about his beautiful Callie. He kept reminding himself it was for her own good, that they were trying to protect her. But the lies were bitter on his tongue. Hammond clearly felt the same, although he was better at hiding his emotions. Spencer was sure he was the only one who noticed his partner’s discomfort every time either of them had made a deplorable remark about Callie. It took all of Spencer’s well-trained discipline not to clench his hands and to keep his expression as bland as possible.