Forbidden Reunion (Galaxy Smugglers Book 2) Read online

  “Something’s not right,” Falax says, and the concern in his voice worries me. Without another thought, I go for my blaster, but my hand is caught in Cade’s death grip. I can feel his claws prickling into the skin on my wrist. He shakes his head slyly as he moves my dress to grab my blaster. I try to kick him away, but it’s too late. He tosses my only weapon onto the table. The mob bosses don’t seem too surprised.

  “You thought you’d clean us out?” One of them asks. “Take the money and the gems? And just because you’re in a nice dress we were supposed to fall for it?”

  “Uh, yeah, that was the plan. I thought it was pretty solid,” Falax says dismissively. “But seriously, Becca, you should probably think of something fast.”

  Cade leans in closer. I can smell fermented bean pods on his breath. "These four eyes can see everything," he says. "Even through your silly plan." In a flash, he bends me over the table, holding my wrists in a death grip. "Any last words to deliver to your widower-to-be?" He chides. "Yeah," I say with a smirk. "Tell him thanks for the heels." I lift up my foot and slam it as hard as I can into Cade's. I can hear the sickening crunch of my stiletto heel as it pierces through his shoe and into his foot. He screeches a horrible sound and tries to fire at me. "Hey! No guns!" A mob boss says, but the room has already erupted into a firefight.

  "I think it's time to bounce," I tell Falax as I dodge another blast from another smuggler. "On the way," he says. I slide under the table as the room falls into chaos. I can see limbs and tentacles swinging wildly as rivals collide and try to let off some steam. I reach over and grab for my blaster, shooting it into the shoulder of one of the smugglers. I duck and dip from the wild swings of my attackers until I'm thrown up against the wall by a man with four tentacled arms.

  I squirm from his grip and sink my teeth into his slimy flesh. He rears back, and as I fall back to the floor a horrible burn sears into my shoulder. I've been hit. I look up and see Cade. Briefcase and gems in one hand, blaster in the other. He takes off running, and I slip past the chaos to follow after him.

  "He's going to the roof!" I exclaim as I tear through the casino crowd, just missing Cade as he steps into a closing elevator. I grab an open one and pace nervously, clutching onto my burning wound. "You okay?" Falax asks. "Just peachy," I say. The elevator dings and I step out to see Cade rushing up a flight of stairs. "He's still in my sights." "We can't let him get away or we are so screwed," Falax says. "You just focus on my getaway," I reply as I rip off my heels and carry them up the stairs with me. The rooftop is freezing cold, and I cry out as I see Cade disappearing over the edge. "He jumped!" I exclaim, only to see lights and blasts of fire as a getaway ship flies up into the night.

  I almost fall to my knees from terror. The gems and the money are both gone, and so will our heads once we tell our client that we messed up. The sky lights up again as a small dropship hovers closer to the rooftop. Rope trails down and I grab onto it, waiting to be pulled up so I can tell Falax the wonderful news.

  Some honeymoon this turned out to be.

  CHAPTER 2

  THREATS

  FALAX

  I stare over our balcony at the glittering water below. The deep red sun of Tetra has just begun to sink below the horizon. This isn't my ideal honeymoon location, but it's definitely the best place to go when you're trying to avoid your boss. Becca filled me in on everything, and I realized that we didn't think our plan through all that well. You can never rely on transactions with other mob bosses and smugglers. Everybody's too busy thinking about the money in their own pockets these days. But then again, so are Becca and me.

  Speaking of Becca, she's been in the shower for a little while now. I step back inside our room, passing by an empty bottle of wine and pastry crumbs, the aftermath of my and Becca's binge to celebrate our fantastic failure. No matter though, I'm not about to let this mess up ruin our potential plans.

  "Come in," Becca says as I knock on the bathroom door. As I open it, I'm met with a cloud of steam that floods from the room. Through the cloud, I can see a dazzling silhouette of my mega hot wife as she runs her hands through her hair. This isn't the first time I've seen her naked, but I still find myself a little stunned whenever I do. "Still pouting?" I ask as I silently pull off my clothes and slide the glass door of the shower to the side.

  "Maybe a little," she says in her pouting voice.

  The shower is almost a room on its own, with rain like faucets on the ceiling spilling down over Becca's luscious body. She turns to face me once I step in, and I'm blessed to have a glimpse of her perky sudsy breasts. I'm drenched in seconds as I make my way over to her, wrapping my arms around her narrow waist, feeling the water dripping from her soft skin.

  "What's got you down, dearest?" I ask. Becca frowns, and it's really cute, though I wouldn't dare say that to her when she's mad. She may be the most beautiful girl in the galaxy, but when she gets upset you better take off fast or fall victim in her wake. "I can't believe I let Cade get away," she says. "It's been a couple days now and we haven't heard from Kagin." She presses her body closer into mine, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm worried, Falax." She adds with a sigh. I kiss her softly on the forehead. "There's nothing to worry about," I assure her. "Trust me, this isn't my first rodeo with Kagin. I can definitely weasel our way out of this one."

  “You think so?” She asks.

  “Uh, you tell me,” I say. “I’ve been doing this for years now and I’m still here aren’t I?”

  She looks up at me with her soft brown eyes. "You wouldn't take a job without me, right? Even if it's too dangerous, we're still a duo here. No solo missions?" She asks.

  “Are you worried about me?”

  “Of course I am,” she turns to show me her blaster burn on her shoulder, still bandaged up. “This could’ve been much worse,” she says. “I feel like now that we’re, you know, married, we should be more careful about what missions we take.” "That didn't stop us when we were together before," I add. Becca raises an eyebrow at me. "I'm your co-pilot, remember? You asked me to be." I can tell she might be actually worried about me, even though I'm perfectly capable of dodging danger. Still, I don't want to start our marriage off on the wrong foot which would be very easy to do if, you know, I were dead. Not long ago, I had another co-pilot that I told Becca about, even though that was back when I was in the King of Kellion's army. I've blocked those memories since, thanks to Becca. But something about her words still stirred me a bit.

  “Alright,” I say, kissing the bandage on her shoulder. “We can be a little more careful. No promises though.” I wink at her. She playfully hits me on the chest. “Feeling better?” I ask.

  “I guess,” Becca says. I cup my hand around her wet hair, pressing my forehead against hers, feeling the soft tip of her nose brushing against mine.

  “What can I do to make you feel one-hundred percent?” I ask.

  “Oh, I can think of a few things,” she says, her eyes traveling towards the more personal space between us. She doesn’t have to say any more for me to know where this is going. She tilts her head just slightly to the side, to let me lock my lips onto hers. She tastes incredible, sweet, mixed with a twinge of salt from her skin. I grip her tightly against me, my hands searching for more of her, wanting to explore all of her body.

  Becca’s breaths are lost under the pouring water, but I can see her chest heaving as our kisses grow deeper. We’re hungry for each other. I knead her ass in my hands, and I’m nearly caught by surprise once her hand reaches down to gently tug on my growing erection. I give a soft moan, the sensations incredible as they travel down my loins. I’m aching for her now, and while she clutches me I push her closer towards the nearest wall, extending my fingers down to feel the wetness between her legs. So warm and inviting, throbbing as her lips start to swell under my touch. She sighs heavily into my neck as I insert my fingers even further inside her walls, curling them just slightly to pleasure her.

  My lips leave hers, planting soft kisse
s on her neck until I’ve reached her gently rising and falling breasts. Her hands grab for my hair as I suck gently on her nipples, the buds tantalizing as they roll over my tongue. I can feel a buzz traveling through me, urging me to take this even further. I grab for her thigh, my thumbs digging into her flesh as I lift it up to my waist. She looks at me with a mischevious grin, and I can tell she’s just as ready as I am.

  I slide in easily, one inch at a time until she’s completely taken me in. She rears back with a moan, her hands interlacing around the back of my neck while softly grinding up and down over my shaft. Every inch of her is silky smooth… and I mean every inch. I try to steady myself as I keep the rhythm going, picking up the pace just a little more as I go even deeper. “Falax,” she breathes. The sound of my name excites me to the point where I just want to make her come so she’ll scream it.

  In a swift motion, I turn her around, pressing her against the wall of the shower again so I’m facing her bouncing ass instead. She arches her back and lets me enter even further. I can feel my tip brushing against that spot she loves the most. “Don’t stop,” she begs as I thrust harder and faster. It’s almost too much for me to keep holding on, but I grab her by the hips and deeply grind into her. Her ass slaps tightly against my stomach with each thrust. Soon, Becca looks over her shoulder at me, her mouth agape with pleasure as I watch her eyes roll. She cries out my name as I feel her contract around me, muscles tightening until my cock is suddenly dripping while she comes.

  My head spins, and just the sound of her moans sends me into a spiral of pleasure until I find myself throbbing. It wavers over me as I finish, her name softly on my lips until I pull myself out from her. I’m catching my breath, leaning back to let the shower wash over our dirty, dirty deeds.

  “Look at that,” Becca says in between breaths. “I’m feeling good as new.” I pull her close as we share a laugh under the water, and I bury my face into her neck. “Happy Honeymoon,” I tell her.

  I dry myself off in front of the mirror, basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking. Suddenly, I hear Becca’s worried voice emanating from the main room. “Falax,” she says. “I think you need to see this…”

  “What’s going on—“ I’m about to ask while I step out, but I already see what the answer is.

  On the table, next to the empty bottle of wine, is our comlink, flashing on and off. A name scrolls across the call screen: Kagin. "You decent?" I ask. Becca gestures sarcastically to her complimentary hotel robe. "What do you think?" She asks. I wave her away and take the call. The comlink screen opens up as a hologram, and I can see Kagin's smug face staring back at me. He's been a client for the past year or so, and the sight of him still fills me with dread.

  He’s a large alien with dark sagging flesh and deeply set yellow eyes. Horns adorn his head and shoulders, piercing through his nicely pressed suit. He sits with his hands laced in front of him, giving him the appearance that he’s always expecting something, which is one-hundred percent of the time. I try with fail to cover up my exposed chest, wrapping my towel tighter around my waist. Kagin’s also got a thing for hot alien guys, which is what I happen to be.

  “Kagin,” I say as I straighten up. “What’s going on? How’ve you been?”

  “Is this another one of your bribes?” He asks, looking me up and down. I cover my chest with my hands. “Uh, do you want it to be?” I stutter. He rolls his eyes.

  “You know why I’m calling,” Kagin growls. “Where are my gems?”

  “Well, funny thing about that…we, uh, don’t have them.”

  “I thought you’d work things out with Cade,” he says.

  “We thought so too, but he had other plans.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning…he stole them. But don’t worry! We’ll certainly get them back for you. I have my partner on it as we speak.”

  Kagin presses his forehead into his clawed hand. “Falax…” he sighs. “I’ve given you more than enough chances with this. I think it’s safe for me to say that if you don’t complete this job, I’ll have to take further measures regarding your contract…”

  He picks up a small space slug, crunching it in between his sharp rows of teeth. I cringe at the guts of his snack squelch in his mouth, and I don't need any explanation of what he means by further measures. "We'll have them in a few more days," I promise. Kagin nods before hanging up without another word. I hate when he does that.

  CHAPTER 3

  ANALYSIS

  BECCA

  "What are we supposed to do?" Falax asks as he pulls the hood of his cloak over his head. We've flown to the technical district on a nearby meteor. We're surrounded by clunky outdated hover cars and booths filled with people trying to sell us spare parts and old computers. "Kagin's going to squish us into a pulp if we can't come up with those gems." I'm too preoccupied with a small tablet in front of me, with a small blip leading us to a nearby restaurant. We should be meeting her in just a few more steps. "Hello? Are you even freaking out as much as I am right now?" Falax says as he covers my tablet with his hand. Honestly, I'm not freaking out. One of us just happened to put a little more effort into this plan.

  “Get out of here,” I say, brushing him off. “It should be around here—“

  “Do you honestly think your friend could help us?” Falax asks. “Isn’t she a little—“ He gestures to his temple, swirling his finger in circles. “She’s not crazy,” I say as I pull him into a nearby alleyway. “Just a little…eccentric.”

  We reach the restaurant, a hole-in-the-wall place that smells amazing. Steam emanates from behind a curtain covering the doorway. I pull it aside and guide Falax past the patrons at a cramped counter and towards a narrow hallway. There's a metal door hidden at the very end. I knock on it, my fist clanging and echoing in the small space. A lock jitters, followed by several hisses as a complicated door mechanism activates. "Some security system," Falax says under his breath.

  The door whooshes open, and a slender figure appears in the doorway, towering over both of us. Her name is Quin. She’s a needle-thin alien with a long neck and enormous eyes that hide behind a pair of welding goggles. “Ah, the newlyweds have arrived,” she says rubbing her spindly fingers together. “Come in, come in.”

  Quin fixes up her special tea from her home planet. It tastes a little like sour mud, but I politely sip it regardless. I have to nudge Falax to do the same. We watch as she nervously shuffles around her closet-sized space, filled with piles of computer equipment and wires hanging every which way. “I’ve been working on a little something for you,” Quin says. “But I thought you’d like the original back.” She rummages through her junk piles until she pulls out something long, hard, and trusty.

  My classic baseball bat! I had it on my cross-country van trip, and Falax and I have carried it all around the galaxy on our missions. It's getting a little worn around the edges, though, so Quin offered to make me one of her signature gadgets in exchange for saving her life a while back. Falax and I were taking care of a contract, but when I saw her imprisoned by desert raiders I went on a little side mission to set her free.

  I clutch the metal bat lovingly in my arms. It’s been a minute since we’ve been together, and I’ve definitely missed bashing evil aliens with it. Quin settles on a rolling chair and scoots awkwardly towards us with a teacup of her own. “So, what brings you here today?” She asks.

  “We have a bit of a…situation…” Falax says with a sigh. “We lost some Hearts of Reina to another smuggler. We’re not doing so hot with Kagin right now.”

  “Oh, Kagin…” Quin’s eyes widen even larger. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “Yeah, it’s not looking good,” I add. “But luckily, this lady has a plan B.”

  “Wait, what?” Falax asks. “How come you didn’t tell me?”

  “Uh, I’m telling you now,” I say. Falax shakes his head. “Could have saved me a lot of trouble,” he mumbles. I reach into my satchel and pull out a transmission device. “I ha
ve this, but I remembered the power cores are strictly a product from your, uh, warehouse…” I try to find the right word to describe her place.

  “I prefer to call it my techno-geek hovel. Alas, say no more,” Quin says as she takes the device from my hand. She talks to herself as she scampers off to a corner, pulling on a pair of magnifying glasses. “How long ago did you plant it?” "Wait, plant what?" Falax asks. "Someone please give me answers. Preferably ones that point towards us staying alive."

  I place my hand over his mouth, covering the fangs that protrude from his bottom lip. “Relax Captain Hot Pants,” I say. “I slipped a tracker into the money case before we handed it over.” I turn my attention back to Quin. “It’s been about two days since I planted it.” Falax raises an eyebrow at me. “How clever of you,” he says. “How come I didn’t detect it?”

  Quin raises up the transmitter, clicking a shimmering power core into the back of it. It hums to life, radiating a soft purple glow. "Because this is a new material I've been working with," she explains. "It's a little temperamental, though. We'll see how this goes." I hover nervously around her as she fiddles with the device. "A-ha!" She exclaims as soon as the transmitter's screen turns on. It scans for a while until it pulls up a nearby planet. "Looks like your friend didn't get too far. This is showing he's still on Bacch!"

  "No way. It can't be that easy," Falax says as he grabs the transmitter. I cross my arms and smirk at him. "You're not the only crafty one around here, you know," I say. "But how do we know he didn't ditch the tracker on Bacch?" Falax counters. "Didn't you see his ship take off?"

  “A cover-up?” I suggest. Falax thinks it over.

  “He’s moving!” Quin exclaims, her eyes locked on the screen. Sure enough, the little dot connected to the briefcase starts to blink, slowly but surely moving across the map of Bacch’s surface.