“Sir, we have orders to ignore your orders. We’re here to take you home. ”
Tannis reached past him and slammed her palm on the comm unit, closing off the sound.
“I didn’t like the sound of his voice,” she said to the room in general. “Rico, can we outrun them?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Shoot it out?”
“I reckon we’d last about thirty seconds.”
The ship lurched sideways as another blast hit them. This time Callum managed to keep his feet until Tannis knocked into him, and they both went down. He landed on his back—an uncomfortable position when you had wings and a hole in your butt—with Tannis on top of him. His arms went around her automatically, and for a second he held her close. Her body was slender and firm, though he could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest. As he pulled her tighter, she stiffened, pushed her hands between them, and shoved hard. He loosened his grip, and she got to her feet, wiped her hands down the side of her pants, and glared at him.
Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet. “Don’t look so pissed at me,” he said. “You must have known this was a possibility—I was hardly going to pay you that exorbitant sum just to go on a joy ride. The reason I chose this fucking crappy ship and its fucking misfit crew was because you’d successfully managed to evade our forces. So whatever it is you did last time, do it again.”
“Rico?”
“Won’t work. That was one ship. We try and do the same, the smaller ships would spot us.”
“What did you do?” Callum asked. He’d read the account. The captain had reported that El Cazador had simply vanished from the monitors.
“We landed on the ship. It took us out of range of the scanners.”
“Clever.” It was, but he could see it wouldn’t work in this situation.
Rico crossed the room and sank into the pilot’s chair, running his hand through his hair, which had come loose from its ponytail. Skylar moved to stand beside him, resting a hand possessively on his shoulder. It was obvious the two were a couple, which explained why Skylar had parted ways from the Collective. No one had ever left before, and he wasn’t even sure it was possible to leave. Maybe physically, but not mentally. Whatever else Meridian did, it tied them together until at times it felt as if they were one consciousness.
They were a gestalt and gained power from being united, though they’d never understood how it worked and how they could make the most of that power. It was another of the things he wanted to investigate. Another of the things the Council didn’t want to look at too closely. They shied away from scrutinizing anything that might suggest they were somehow no longer human. As though by ignoring it, they would take away its potency.
Fools.
But it was another reason he’d chosen El Cazador. The colonel had reported Skylar’s defection and hadn’t understood the reason, though he said Skylar’s recent psych reports had stated she was bored and restless. That sounded familiar, and Callum had been interested to meet her. She didn’t look bored and restless now. She appeared vibrant, unconcerned about the possible attack.
As he watched, the vampire dragged her down onto his lap. “For inspiration,” he murmured, and she laughed.
“Get used to it,” Tannis said from beside him. “Bloody ship’s like a love nest these days. Rico, we’re under attack here.”
“Oh yeah, but I reckon they’re not going to completely obliterate us, not with his Leadership on board.”
“Another incoming,” Janey said. This time everyone was prepared and managed to stay on their feet or in their seats.
“What we actually need now,” Rico said, “is a miracle. Like divine intervention.”
“Like God coming in to save us you mean?” Janey asked.
“Just like that. Where the hell is Alex when we need a few prayers?”
“Well, I don’t know about God, but how about the next best thing?” Janey tapped a few keys to reset the viewer. The Endeavor vanished, to be replaced by a whole fleet of smaller ships. She focused on the leader, getting a close up. The ship was a Mark Three cruiser, white with a huge black cross on the side.
“The Church of Everlasting Life,” Rico murmured. “How nice of them to join the party. Have I mentioned how much I hate the Church?”
“Frequently,” Tannis said drily. “Are they after us, do you think? Could they still want Alex back?”
“I have no clue. Maybe they’re not happy that we killed their High Priest.”
“You killed Hezrai Fischer?” Callum asked.
“Rico did.”
“Yeah, he was an asshole. But all the same, they might not see it that way.”
“Or maybe they’re not after us at all,” Janey said.
“Why do you say that?” Tannis asked.
“I just plotted their course. They’re heading for the Corp’s ship. I don’t think they’ve even noticed us. And they’re battle ready—looks like they’re about to attack.”
“Why would they do that? The Church has always been allies with the Collective.”