“The bounty is for Victor Campion. So be forewarned, I’m going to bring him in and collect the vast bounty, with or without you.”
Raphael froze.
Victor. What’s happened?
Francine heard the man Raphael called Edgar say Victor Campion and immediately recognized the name. The Campions were royalty on Ichor-Delta and noted as such throughout their galaxy.
The name Boudreaux was most assuredly a royal name, however, there were others in the lower echelons of that society named Boudreaux. Possibly like the names Smith or Jones in Earther terms. However,allCampions were royal.
“Victor Campion?” Francine said the name out loud without realizing she intended to speak. “I know that name.”
Raphael had straightened abruptly when Edgar said the name. He gazed at Francine with a certain amount of pain in his expression when she repeated it.
With Angel in one hand, still chewing on her finger, she put her free palm on Raphael’s chest. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?” she whispered.
His expression relaxed slightly. He inhaled a deep breath, winked at her and turned toward Edgar. “I willdefinitelynot help you hunt down Victor.”
Edgar shrugged. “Then I’ll just take the entire bounty and the credit when I catch him. I was trying to do you a favor.”
“No, you weren’t. You need me along to have even a snowball’s chance in hell of finding Victor.”
Edgar’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Perhaps he didn’t understand the Earther reference. “You won’t catch him, Edgar,” Raphael said in a dangerously low tone. “You’re wasting your time even attempting it.”
The other man’s expression soured, as if he knew Raphael spoke the truth, then slid into a smirk. “We’ll just see about that, won’t we?”
“No. You’ll see how ludicrous this job is once you’ve spent a month—or however long you last—without so much as a sighting. I pity you.”
“You’re making a mistake, Boudreaux.”
“No. You are. Leave Earth, Edgar. Don’t come back. And do not bother trying to track down Victor Campion. You’ll just embarrass yourself.”
Edgar grabbed hold of the lapels of Raphael’s jacket and leaned forward. Francine bit her lip, and held Angel closer, worried about what might happen. When Raphael did nothing more than give him a cold stare, the portly bounty hunter spit on the pavement, let go of the lapels and walked away, whistling as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Foolish man,” Raphael said into the air, and turned to fix his gaze on her. Her tension eased, despite the intensity of his stare.
“What are you going to do?” Francine asked.
“About him?” Raphael pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Edgar, exiting the parking lot. “Nothing. Like I said, I’m on vacation.”
He gifted her with another spontaneous and beautiful smile. “Okay. Will you hold my kitten while I run back inside the store to get a few new pet owner supplies?” She held Angel out to him. He smiled and cupped his large hands beneath hers.
“Sure.” The kitten released her finger, jumped into Raphael’s hands as if she understood what they’d said and attacked one of his fingers, putting all four paws and her tiny teeth into the effort.
Francine noted the interesting ring on his right middle finger. It was a silver and black infinity band with purple baguette stones set in a channel around the center of the metal. It looked expensive and, if the stones were the heliotrope gems or violet diamonds she suspected, it was anextremelyrich piece of jewelry.
No doubt Raphael was every inch the dangerous bounty hunter he looked like outwardly, but she also saw a different side. A wounded side from being kicked out of his royal family over some long-ago indiscretion, or simple rebellion. Or maybe he was another of the many illegitimate children thrown into the gutters of Ichor-Delta without any care, someone who was, if Mr. Edgar were to be believed, not worth very much.
Francine didn’t believe him, though. A man who kissed her like he wanted to devour her and make her his sensual focus was a treasure no matter where he started his life. Francine wanted to be his entire focus, if for only a short time. The length of his vacation. Perhaps she would hire him to be her bodyguard and take that trip to Ichor-Delta to attend Pru’s nuptials. She wouldn’t even mind having a bodyguard with benefits, as Mr. Edgar had so crudely insinuated. In fact, even a temporary arrangement would be just fine with her.
Once her parents learned a Boudreaux from Ichor-Delta was attending Pru’s wedding and reception on Francine’s uninvited and unwanted arm, they’d never embarrasshimby having her shuttled back to Earth. They would grit their teeth, bear up and never make a scene in front of their peers, at least in this instance. It was likely her only chance to see Pru’s wedding. Not to mention, being on Raphael’s arm for any reason would be a boon.
Her parents would surely find a way to punish her, but Francine’s desire would be fulfilled in the short term. Besides, showing up at a big event without having to worry about being kicked out would be worth any later punitive action, especially if she attended on the arm of Raphael Boudreaux, darkly sensual bounty hunter, fellow soul wounded by his family and blazingly incredible kisser.
Francine hurried back into the store, nodding at the night manager and a stock boy on her way to the pet aisle to get one of the kitten starter supply kits she’d shelved only a few nights ago. It had everything a pet owner needed for a new kitten. There was kitty litter, a litter box, a rug to place the litter box on, litter box liners, a cozy cat bed, a food bowl, a water bowl, a mat to put the bowls on and three kitten toys. She also got a bag of kitty food and some kitty treats.
The new cashier, Roberta—Francine hadn’t spoken to her yet—rang up her purchases. She grinned and asked, “Did you just buy a cat?”
