Finding Lara (Distant Worlds Book 3) (13 page)

“I guess Warrung figured
out someone took his ship,” she said loudly into the melee.

Barnos just grunted, too
busy to answer.  Then the whole ship went dead beneath his hands.

“Fuck, fuck, fuckity
fuck,” Barnos muttered trying to get some power to the commands to work his
tech.  With another curse, he unhooked from his seat and would have floated
away if he had not grabbed the back of the chair.  “Come on!”  He made his way
carefully to Lara, while she wrangled with her seat, trying to release her
restraints.  He used his cybernetic arm to snap the lines and pull her out of
her chair.  “We have to get to the escape pods before we lose the oxygen.  The
failsafe kicked in and cut power to everything.  We are floating dead up here.”

The silence after such a
ruckus was almost deafening.

“Why aren’t they shooting
at us?” Lara asked holding onto him and trying to kick off to help him move. 
But she did not really need the grim look he shot her for the answer.  Why
destroy a perfectly good ship when they could just latch on and pull them all
back to the death games space station?  There was no reason to kill them
outright.

They made uneven progress
to the life pods.  And it was not until Barnos had shoved her in and followed,
squishing her between his broad chest and the walls of the one-man pod, when it
occurred to her to wonder why there was only one pod.  Most ships had at least
two.  Another thought hit her, taking her breath away, as the doors snapped
closed sealing them in.

“Barnos,” she started to
push him back, her eyes frantic on his, “what about the Baralians?!”

He wrapped her tightly in
his arms ignoring her struggles.  Lara caught the regretful look in his green
eyes before the pod jettisoned them into space, leaving the great beasts to
certain death.  And catapulting them at nearly light speeds into the nether
region.

***

Barnos was still holding
on to Lara hours later when the speed of the pod slowed down to normal, which
meant a habitable planet nearby.  He knew it would have breathable air because
pods were programmed to take the survivors to the nearest planet that could
sustain them.  Whether it would have technology and communication was another
matter.  All they could do was thank their lucky stars to have escaped and
survived this far.  And hope that Warrung did not put tracking beacons in his
pods.  But since their luck had not exactly been stellar up to now, he was not
going to count on it.  As soon as they landed, they would take the emergency supplies
and ditch the pod, and the communication pack that Warrung could definitely
trace, and get as far away from the pod as they could.  Which meant, if there
was a town with tech around they might survive to call help.  If it was a
primitive world with just the basics they were fucked.

It took nearly as long
for them to land on the planet as it did for them to travel across half the
solar system to get there.  When they did land, they both stepped out of the
pod, feeling beyond grateful just to be out of its tight confines.  Barnos
might have spent the time more pleasurably if there had been a little more room
to maneuver, and if Lara was not crying silently into his chest the whole
trip.  He couldn’t say he blamed her for her tears this time.  Even he felt bad
about the beasties, and they sure as hell would come in handy.

There was a small
possibility Warrung’s cyborgs would reclaim the ship before the air ran out,
and that they would not kill the Baralians on sight but simply return them to
the games.  Not a high enough possibility to suggest it to Lara and get her
hopes up, but it was there.  Once he got off this planet, returned Lara to the
dubious safety of her too lenient father, and beat the shite out of that fucker
Tolan Lark, he would do his best to find the games again.  If he could save the
beasts for Lara, he would.  He did know that the next time he had the chance to
kill Cor Warrung he would be the one with the advantage.  If Warrung and his
cyborgs didn’t find them and kill them first.

Barnos looked around at
the jungle surrounding them.  The pod had brought them to a source of water
rather than a town, which meant the programming was significantly different than
the usual life pod, or there was no town to find.  Looking up at the placement
of the sun that the planet revolved around, he bit out a curse and started
hauling the supplies out of the pod.  “We need to get these and get gone before
Warrung traces the pod.”  He turned and looked Lara over in her scarf dress. 
At least she had on boots.  He hauled out a plastic container and pulled out
nanite armor and an extra blaster.  It made him smile where very little else
happening had.  He took the blaster and holstered it in the extra flap on his
thigh.  The supple suit he threw at Lara.  “Change into this.  The nanite will
protect you from a lot of hazards an unknown planet can offer, and it will
regulate your body temperature and help you conserve water.”

Lara caught the suit on
her face, making him wince looking at her.  She pulled it down so she could
glare at him.  “I know what nanite armor is for,” she said with a little snap
to her voice he appreciated.  He appreciated it so much he grinned at her,
making her shake her head and move back toward the pod.  She circled it until
she was out of his sight.

“What are you doing?”

“Changing,” she said and
he could hear the fabric rustling.  “Isn’t that why you threw it at me?”

“No need to hide the
goods on my account, sassy,” he said putting a wicked spin on his tone, even as
he went back to distributing the load.  “If this planet is as isolated as I
think it is, we could be here for a long time.  I don’t know about you, but I
know how I plan on spending my time.”  When she came back around the pod, he
waggled his brows at her suggestively.  “And clothes are optional.”

She shook her head.  She
made her words as disparaging as she could while trying not to laugh.  “Is
there ever a time you
don’t
think about sex?”

He considered that while
he tucked her scarf dress into the bulging bag and hefted it to his back.  “Not
to my immediate recollection.”

Lara looked around and
then at him, eyeing the bag.  “What am I carrying?”

“Your beautiful self?” 
He ended it like a question, smacking a kiss on her lips, then just turned her
by her shoulder and sent her walking ahead of him while she sputtered her
arguments.

“We need to move fast. 
If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you carry the bag when we’re out of
danger.”  He lied.  “How about that?”

Besides
he thought, watching the skintight nanite armor stretched across that luscious
ass while she walked ahead of him,
a pack on her back would spoil the view.

Since they needed a
higher view to see exactly what they were dealing with, they headed towards the
mountains they could see rising out of the jungle in the distance.  Lara pushed
through large green leaves and dense thickets.  The only thing good about the
wild fullness of the jungle they traversed, besides the sheer untouched beauty
of it, was that if someone did come after them they would not have an easy time
tracking.  There was just too much camouflage and life peppering the world.  Lara
hoped that meant somewhere they would find civilization.  It was rare that a
planet of this much life would be overlooked.  The death games had been beyond
Alliance space and the pod might have taken them farther still, but Lara would
be surprised if such a lush planet had been left completely untouched.  In any case,
she was grateful for the extravagant nanite armor included in the survival
stash because it regulated her body temperature and kept out any insects or
poisons that might be in the primitive plants around them. Somebody was
thinking ahead and had the platinum to waste on a spare suit that may have
never been needed.

Once they had trekked far
enough and Barnos felt safe exposing their backs, he took the lead.  It was
something of a relief to have that big body pushing a path through the jungle
she could follow, rather than the other way around.  Though having Barnos
stalking behind her made her feel a bit like a fawn being slowly pursued
through the jungle by a tiger.  Might have been the way he watched the foliage
around them with guarded intensity and then watched her ass with a completely
different kind of potency.  It was most distracting.  Then they switched places
and they started really moving.

“Keep up, sassy,” Barnos
called back, sounding energetic.  “I want to make that mountain before
nightfall.”

Lara blew out a tired
breath and walked faster.  “The gravity seems excessive here,” she muttered,
trying to excuse her feeble efforts, but walked faster to catch up.  Abducted
by slavers, sold, then sold again, and trying her best to survive her brief
stint as a slave on the death games station had not exactly been good for her
sleep patterns.  Even before she ended up in yet another firefight and stranded
on a jungle planet, she was exhausted.  Add in a trek through unexplored
jungles, and after a few hours, every heavy step was an effort.  But she
persevered.  She did not want to be caught alone in a strange jungle, on a
possible primitive or unclaimed world by herself.  That one time with Nori on
Raulis 4 had been enough of a lesson, even before the reaming Nori had given
her when she finally found her again, and that had been surrounded by
civilization within a few days’ walk.  This was something altogether more dangerous. 
Nor did she want to let Barnos down.  He had been through as much, trying to
survive the fights and cyborg battles, and he was carrying the supplies.  If he
could keep walking, so could she.

Lara blew out another
breath, this one a determined huff, and raised her weary chin.  At least with
the Faustian boots and nanite armor, she did not have to deal with blisters or
the prickly heat on her skin.  Moisture was whisked away and circulated back
into her skin as fluids.  And temperatures stayed constant, no matter how hot
it got around them.  But that did not mean she was not feeling the heat of the
place, and the long miles — she was.  She was just determined to beat it back.

Barnos knew he was
setting a punishing pace.  He fully expected at some point for Lara to start
complaining and fall back, and he would have to resort to bullying or carrying
her, which he did not want to do.  Not in this oppressive heat and punishing
landscape.  Instead, she found her second wind, time and time again.  She never
did what he expected, not one time.  He was beginning to wonder if the Lady
with the lush hair and sweet smelling skin was as perfect as she seemed.  Not
perfect as in without fault.  She was appalling in a fight, and she had a
terrible time staying quiet even in the direst circumstances.  Unless,
apparently, she was exhausted and trekking through alien jungles. 

He thought about
everything they had been through together, and he realized pampered and petted
as she had no doubt been as a child of the high diplomat, she was frankly
amazing.  Smart with a gift for languages and dealing with people.  Straight up
sexy as hell, and soft in both body and heart.  Lara was also something else he
related to strongly; she was a voyager, a seeker.  She called herself an
adventurer which seemed funny when you looked at her.  She was just so . . . fragile. 
But it was true.  She sought out the unexplored and the unseen places.  Faced
danger and new friendship with equal serenity and grace, and never called
quits.  Thinking about the calamities they had faced, one after the other, he
knew he had been right in the beginning — she did need a keeper.  She was just
too naive, too trusting by half, too liable to walk into a dangerous situation
blithely just because it was the right thing to do and all that bloody tripe. 
He had never met anyone who needed a keeper more.  But this was the first time
it occurred to him that he wanted the job.

The thought stopped him
in his tracks, literally, and the Lady in question ran into his back with a
small oomph, and bounced back, landing on her arse on the prickly floor.  She
blinked up at him, exhaustion and determination equally fierce in her eyes. 
Curling hairs had escaped her braids and wisped around that amazing face.  Even
in the freaking heat of the jungle, sweaty and frazzled, she looked good to
him. Innocent and sexy all in one.

“What?” she asked looking
from him to the foliage around them.  Then finished on a whisper.  “Did you
hear something?”

He snorted.  If he had,
would talking be a good thing?  He did not say it aloud though, because the
truth was he had no idea what to say.  He had wooed many women.  Fucked even
more, and enjoyed every minute of it. But never had the idea of keeping one
forever entered his head.  So he said nothing.  Gave himself time to come to
his senses.  After all, they were facing death around every turn these days. 
Perhaps the adrenaline highs were getting to him.  Maybe it would go away once
they were stuck on this planet a few days with nothing trying to kill them.  Hell,
they could be trapped together for weeks without anything to distract them from
each other.  Whatever he was feeling would die soon enough when the usual
boredom set in.

He reached down and
grabbed Lara by the upper arm, hauling her back to her feet and into his
chest.  Then he did his best to clean the debris off her ass with a friendly
hand, ignoring her little squeak at the familiarity.  “No time for sitting down,
sassy,” he said leaning back so he could smile cheekily at her.  “We’re almost
there.”  He kissed her hard on her open lips, smacked that plush arse, and ignoring
the outrage growing on that pretty face, he took off walking again.

After a few sputters, he
turned to see her shaking her head and looking at her feet.  “Infuriating man,”
he heard her mutter in a strangled voice, and then a laugh was forced from her
throat and she shook her head again, the humor winning over the heat.  “Ridiculous.” 
When she looked up to follow him again, he caught the glint of laughter in her
eyes.  He turned quickly and started walking even faster.  She never did what
he expected. 
Not one bloody time!  
How did a man get bored with that?

***

Lara was so tired when
Barnos finally stopped she literally just dropped where she stood.  He came to
stand over her; she looked up his massive body from her position flat on her
back, arms and legs spread eagle and she was just too tired to care what she
looked like.  They had walked all day, and then climbed a mountain.  She was
not moving from this spot.

“Is this an invitation?”
he asked, his usual good humor irritating under the circumstances.  Why wasn’t
he tired?

“No, this is emphatically
not an invitation.  I am dirty and tired and hurt in every part of my body.” 
She gave him a good glare that must have lost something on delivery because he
chuckled as if it was cute.  “I just spent who knows how many cycles trekking
this wild land only to end this hellacious day by climbing the sheer side of a
mountain.  So, no, this is not an invitation, and the fact that you can even
think about sex after having the same day as me,
while carrying all the
supplies
, adds insult to my injury.”

“You did good, sassy. 
Real good,” he said and his eyes on her had not the slightest mockery to them. 
In fact, they looked tender.  “I can’t think of many people who would have
weathered all that you have in the last few weeks and still made that climb.” 
He held out the extra blaster towards her and she looked from him to it with
what she was sure was the same stupid look on her face.  “Keep the blaster
handy.  I’m going to scout out this cave and see what I can find.”  Then he
gave her that challenging smirk.  “You do know how to use a blaster don’t you?”

She did not dignify that
with a response, just took the thing, made sure it had a full cell and that the
safety was locked.

He smiled at the
competent way she handled the weapon.  “Now that is damn sexy,” he grumbled the
words, his eyes heating even behind the smile.  She lost her breath but he went
on before she could think of an answer to that. “Think you can stay awake until
I get back?”

She opened her mouth and
then closed it; she was fighting the burning behind her eyes, but something
about both his care for her feelings right now and his obvious belief that she
was worth looking at, when she felt anything but, made her want to curl into
his arms and bawl like the baby he would think her if she tried it.  Probably
not the best response after his ‘you did good’ speech.  She cleared her throat
and licked her dry lips, then met those handsome green eyes and told the
absolute truth, “I can make you no guarantees.”

He laughed.  “I’ll be
quick.  But if you get eaten by wild animals after all of this I’m going to
look like a right arse.”

“Well,” she said,
irritated all over again, “I won’t look so good either.”

He was laughing while he
walked away, and Lara had to admit she enjoyed his sometimes idiotic sense of
humor.  In fact, there was a lot about the pirate she was enjoying.  Too much,
when he was a notorious womanizer, and would probably disappear the second they
got out of this alive, if they did not die here.  Still, she lay there
exhausted by the entire ordeal, knowing they were not even close to out of
danger, and she couldn’t think of anyone else she would rather be in such dire straits
with.

Nori, she knew, would
always make her feel just as safe.  Her father, some of the marines she trusted
to know what to do in any situation.  But none of them had that zest for life
and adventure that Barnos added to everything he did.  After having this time
with him, fraught with perils, heated kisses, and raunchy jokes, she could not
deny that he added a certain zing she had been missing until now.  He was
irritating, true, and so very loud, and he had an instinct for survival that
superseded justice and mercy at times, but his practicality she had to admit
had saved their lives more than once.  He could be both brutally honest and
then flat lie like a dog when the mood struck him.  She sighed.

Laying there on the
prickly jungle floor with who knew what ready to crawl on her she was too tired
to worry about it, but not too tired to think of that heated look he had left
her with in parting.  The fact of the matter was, as insane as it was to do it,
she was going to jump his bones at the earliest opportunity.  She was going to
emulate the notorious pirate and live in the now.  Because whatever his faults
he had one saving grace that she could not deny.  He lived every moment. 
Two
saving graces
, she thought with a secret smile,
if he is actually as
good as he thinks he is.
 But that was still to be determined.  For now,
she was just going to lay here and try to stay awake while her pirate captain
scouted caves and did uber-manly things.  Then, when she was rested enough that
she could once again move without pain, she would help set up camp and try to
stay alive long enough to find out.

***

Barnos held the light
high, grateful more than he could say that there seemed to be no critters
living in the cave.  In fact, he had yet to see a single animal.  So far, they
had run across a whole lot of plants and insects, but no birds, no animals,
nothing big enough to cause them any troubles, and it was making him bloody
nervous.  Where were all the animals?  Never mind the human settlements he had
been hoping to see.  When they reached the mountain there was nothing for miles
but more jungle as far as the eye could see.  He hoped that when the sun went
down he would be able to see some lights signaling someone else alive on this
rock, but until full dark, he would have to wait and see.  That would also be
when he hoped not to see movement from around the pod signaling they had been
tracked.  Until then, the cave would offer shelter from the weather and a cover
for their own fire.  He would have to collect some wood and probably carry Lara’s
unconscious form inside but he needed to get it done before dark regardless. 
He turned back to return to Lara, aware just then that he had been gone for
quite some time, and she was probably sleeping out in the open surrounded by
dangers while he explored a clearly empty cave.  He headed back.