6
Liam
—
Astrid scrambled off of him, nixing any hope Liam had that he’d taste her lips.
Swears resounded in Liam’s head. He sat up too, glaring at the approaching carrier. Those assholes had some seriously shitty timing. Although, now wasn’t the appropriate time for kissing, either.
Pushing to his feet, Liam grabbed Astrid’s hand and tugged her behind the escape pod. He glanced around quickly, looking for a point of escape. They could head past the stream or up the mountainside side on their left...
No, the cluster of large rocks were better. Maybe they’d find a hiding spot.
“Lets go, Liam,” said Astrid in anxious tones. “Why are we waiting here?”
“It’s too open to start running,” he said. “They’ll chase us with the carrier and catch up. We have to wait until it’s too late into the landing process for them to back out. Then we run.”
A doubtful look crossed Astrid’s features.
“I don’t know about that plan. It’s possible that as soon as they land, they’ll hop out and shoot us in the face.”
Dampness from the warm atmosphere formed on Liam’s forehead as they waited for the carrier’s approach. As soon as it was near the ground, Liam grabbed Astrid’s hand and sprinted off toward the rocks.
“Get in here,” he said, pointing at a gap between two large rocks concealed by thick brush.
She squeezed herself into the narrow area without protest and Liam followed. It was a small space, ensuring their fronts were pressed close. Liam groaned on the inside. It was bad enough in the pod when her soft, round behind was pressed right up against his crotch.
Now her breasts were mashed against his chest and her forehead grazed his chin. Her warm breath fanned his neck and Liam had to focus extra hard on the sounds of their pursuers as well as scrape the well of his willpower not to get hard.
The ground shook as the carrier landed. Not too long after, a familiar angry voice shouted orders.
“They couldn’t have gone far!” spat Teva. “Find them!”
Astrid trembled and Liam ran his hand down her back to comfort her. Big mistake. Just following the curve of her spine was enough to make him semi-hard.
The ensuing minutes went by in tense silence. Astrid’s trembling had subdued and Liam was grateful she was smart enough to stay absolutely still and not make a sound.
Footsteps pounded in their direction before slowing. Astrid darted an anxious gaze up at him and Liam released her in preparation of a fight if it came to one. He didn’t have a gun. He hadn’t carried one since… since three years ago, so he’d have to rely on pure physical strength.
The footsteps drew closer still and then went past them.
“Boss, I can’t find them.” The voice was eerily close. The man was probably standing right in front of the stone behind which he and Astrid hid.
“Where the fuck did they go?” shouted Teva. Liam enjoyed the image in his head of the man turning different shades in his fury. “It doesn’t matter,” he spat. “I know where they’re going anyway.”
Their voices and their footsteps retreated. Motioning to Astrid to stay put, Liam eased out of their hiding spot to spy on them.
Four men dressed entirely in black lumbered back to the carrier. One of them branched off, and Liam assumed it was Teva from his thinner build. Raising his gun, he opened fire on the escape pod until it exploded.
The deafening sound cracked across the open area, metal spraying everywhere as plumes of smoke rose up from the destroyed pod. Clearly satisfied with his handiwork, Teva spun on his heels and proceeded with his partners back on to the carrier.
Some minutes passed before three men left in a hovercar and the carrier took to the skies. Liam scowled at the aircraft. Those bastards had taken his RAC. It was an old model, but it had served him faithfully on all of his deliveries. Even though he was getting out of the delivery business, he would have liked to sell the RAC and recoup some of the credits he’d spent on it.
Good thing he’d had the good sense to store Camille in his garage.
When the trio in the hovercar disappeared over a hill, Liam returned to Astrid.
“They’re gone.”
“What was that noise?” she asked, easing out of their hiding spot.
“They blew up the escape pod.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” she said, shaking her head. “We can’t use the escape pod again.”
“Only a handful of criminals are intelligent.” Liam said, surveying his surroundings.
He suspected they were way off course from his destination’s coordinates, but he couldn’t confirm or deny his suspicions because he’d forgotten his HCD on his carrier. Testament to how much Astrid’s presence distracted him. At least he’d remembered to grab the package he was delivering.
They set off, following the path Teva and his men took. The hilly, undeveloped land seemed to go on forever. It discomforted Liam there were hardly any hiding spots. The trees dotting the area were short with narrow trunks and sparse yellow leaves. Not a thick crop of bushes or a large cluster of stones in sight. He supposed the openness worked to his benefit too. He’d see Teva coming right away.
“Please tell me we’re close to where you need to deliver this package,” said Astrid. The corners of her mouth were turned down and it bothered Liam he was the indirect cause of her unhappiness.
“Yes.”
Her brown eyes shone with hope. “Are you sure?”
“No, not really.”
“So why’d you say yes?”
“Because the answer to your question could be yes as much as it could be no. I chose the one that made you happier.”
She raised her hands and wiggled her fingers. “See these? They’re itching to wrap around your neck and squeeze. Hard.”
“My neck? What a waste,” he said with a devilish grin. “I know a much better place where you can wrap those fingers.”
She smirked. “Oh yeah? Well, this is what I’d do instead.” She fisted both hands, brought them close together and made a vicious breaking gesture.
“Good god, woman. Such sickening levels of violence is totally uncalled for.”
“Not when it’s deserved.”
Liam chuckled. He liked a woman that made him laugh. He also enjoyed that she put up a challenge to his flirting even though he knew she was attracted to him. The chase was fun. It made the moment when she finally gave in to him sweeter.
Their trek continued in companionable silence, the steady thump of their footfalls on the dusty path the only sound between them. Every so often, a refreshing gust of wind went by, bringing with it the scent of fresh grass, and soothing his too-warm skin.
They came to a fork in the road, and after a brief hesitation, they took the leftmost path. With each step, the black box jostled in Liam’s pocket against his leg, reminding him that it was a bomb counting down to destruction.
If he gauged the amount of time that had elapsed, he had about six to seven hours remaining before this thing blew up. Then again, if he ran out of time, he’d fling it in whichever direction was the safest. Then he’d have to return the half payment he’d already received.
But it wasn’t so simple. Clearly, whatever existed in this box was so valuable Tandra preferred it destroyed if it wasn’t in her hands.
He’d never met her, but he’d done his due diligence just like he always did for every client he delivered to. He knew she was a shrewd business woman with connections to powerful criminal organizations. And as much as he had friends in high and low places too, he didn’t doubt that if he didn’t hand over the delivery in time, she’d make sure he wound up dead.
“I think you were lying,” Astrid said out of the blue. She shielded her eyes from the sun’s glare to look at him.
Liam frowned. “About what?”
“Before that Teva guy called, you said you knew about the AP and the ELEA’s procedures because you watched a lot of crime shows. But I don’t believe that’s the reason.” She shook her head. “I think you used to work for the Air Patrol.”
“Why do you think that?”
“You don’t look worried that there are armed men looking for you, and who will probably kill you—us—if they do find you. You seem… experienced.”
“Not the Air Patrol,” he said quietly. “The Drug Crime Intelligence Agency.”
Her eyes widened with awe. “That’s a drastic shift in careers. Before, you stopped crime. Now, you’re conducting crime.”
“I’m not a criminal. I’m a delivery man.”
“Says the guy transporting a box containing something that’s possibly illegal.” She smiled. “Why did you leave the DCIA?”
Liam shrugged. “Because it wasn’t healthy.”
“Because of the dangerous nature?”
“Because whereas most people work to live, I lived to work.”