The woman stopped her assault on Raphael to flash fierce baby blues in Francine’s direction.
Raphael, arms at his sides, had not moved to hug the woman in return.
Francine marched forward, shot her hand out and said, “Hello, I’m Francine Hayward Duvall, Raphael’s fiancée. And you are?”
“Raphael?” she said. Even her voice was beautiful.
“That’s the name I go by now,” Raphael said, taking a half step back from the most beautiful female Francine had ever seen.
“Really? Why?”
“Because I didn’t think he looked like a Luther. So he changed it for me. His fiancée.” Francine tilted her head to one side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
“I’m Elda Lark. Pleased to meet you.” The woman nodded once in Francine’s direction.
“She’s the bounty hunter I told you about,” Raphael said.
“The fake fiancée bounty hunter?” Raphael nodded.
Francine was aghast. “You pretended to be engaged toher?”
Raphael and Elda looked at each other. He said, “Yes. Why?”
Francine sighed. “But she’s so…beautiful. I’d been hoping she looked like an oily, stink-reeking crust fish that’d been left in the sun too long. But she doesn’t.”
Nobody said anything for a full count of three. Then Elda laughed, long and hard, even bending at the waist in her mirth.
Raphael smiled. “Are you jealous of Elda?”
Francine’s eyebrows rose in sudden embarrassment. “Maybe.”
“She’s like the sister I never had. I promise, Francine. You do not have to be jealous. Right, Elda?”
Elda straightened up, nodding because she was laughing too hard to answer verbally. After she settled, she said, “He’s like the brother I never wanted. No worries. But I’m stealing that oily, stink-reeking crust fish line. That’s hilarious.”
Francine laughed along with her for a moment, but her mind spun furiously. She figured out quite a few things in the next few seconds that passed. Elda was a bounty hunter. She was looking for someone. Victor was mere steps away in the master bedroom covered in dust and spider webs, clearly hiding in a dusty, horrid place. He was on the run with a bounty on his head. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together and arrive at four.
What would happen if Elda discovered that Victor Campion was here? Nothing good.
Chapter Eleven
Raphael closed the front door. Now that he’d headed off the jealousy train, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine why Elda Lark, the fierce female bounty hunter, was here, but he asked the question anyway. “What are you doing here, Elda? How did you even know where I was?”
Elda’s expression hardened, all amusement gone. “What if I told you I’m on the hunt for a bounty?”
“What bounty?” He could guess.
Elda’s features flattened. “Victor Campion.”
“What makes you think that I know anything?”
“You two are best friends. At least you used to be. Let’s call it a hunch. I figured that if I followed you across the galaxy, you might eventually lead me to him.”Yep. Right again.
There was an appropriate saying on Alpha-Prime for this very situation.Space Potatoes!
“Bad luck.” Raphael shook his head, trying to figure out a way to get her to leave. Not that it would do much good. Even if she left, she’d likely still tail them to the ends of the galaxy.
