Fool Me Once (Privateer Tales) by Jamie McFarlane Page A

smacked you around so much?”
    “Yes. He's the one who followed me. They are Red Houzi. I need to get out of here. I can’t draw you into this any further. You should have left me there.”
    “Look. The only smart thing you did all night was call me when the shit got real. We’ll deal with Red Houzi if it comes to that.”
    “Anyone home?” A male voice came from a room or two away. I had no idea of the layout of Tali’s home. All I could see was Tali sitting on the table in front of me and an old brick wall behind her.
    “Back here, Jordy.”
    Jordy was much closer to my idea of what a Special Forces operative would look like. Two meters if he was a centimeter, broad shoulders, tanned face, thick-muscular arms and a quick smile. He carried a small synth-leather case.
    “Whoa, that’s not right,” he said, looking at me. If I didn’t hurt so much I might have been offended. “Somebody’s been using pretty girls for punching bags again. Want to tell me where he’s at?”
    “You take care of him for us?” Tali asked, her voice suddenly taking on a silky quality. Hmm, she had some game in that rock hard face of hers.
    “Better believe it.”
    “Patch up Lena here first?”
    “Wouldn’t have it any other way. What hurts the most?” He looked at me with those crystal clear blue eyes.
    “My hip.”
    “Alright. Let’s take a look at it.”
    I started to peel my skirt downward, it was hard to shimmy it off while lying down. The material had lost its flexibility and there was a hole the size of my fist on the right side. I hoped my panties would maintain enough integrity to not also pull off. Fortunately, Tali was quick with a blanket to keep as much of my dignity intact as possible. I appreciated the gesture.
    “Ooh, that’s a right nasty hit there. AK blaster round if I know my wounds, which I do. Bet that hurts plenty. Not a bad spot to get hit , though. Your skirt’s a goner, and I wouldn’t make any quick moves in those panties. Sure a shame about …”
    Tali, who had been leaning over to also inspect the wound, drew back and slugged him in the shoulder. “You don’t talk about a woman’s panties.”
    Jordy’s voice got a little higher, “I’m just saying … they aren’t being held on by much.”
    She slugged him again.
    “Okay I give! So you want the good news or the bad?” He looked at me, his bright blue eyes twinkling.
    “Bad news.” It hurt to talk.
    “You’re going to end up with a scar. It’ll be a lot smaller than it is now, but no way are you getting outta this without a scar. I got the bleeding stopped and I’ll put a patch on there that will get you up and running in a couple of days.”
    “I can’t stay here.” I said.
    “We’ll talk about that later. Let him finish,” Tali said.
    “Let’s take a look at that pretty face of yours.” Jordy gently held my face in his large hands. He probed my jaw delicately with his rough fingers. I jerked back when he touched my cheek. Jordy swore under his breath and for a moment I saw a shift in his face from the carefree playboy character to someone much more dangerous. He probed the rest of my face, carefully avoiding that spot. His finger paused on the long scar that ran across my right eye. “Story behind that one , I’ll bet.”
    He waved a small instrument over my cheek and sighed with relief. “Oh thank you , Jupiter, it’s just a fracture. So any other clothing you want to take off for me before I patch you up?”
    He was laying it on pretty thick and I wasn’t probably his best audience. He was exceptionally cute, but was also a player. I'll admit it was nice to have the attention of such a good looking man, but I was sure Jordy and I were never going to happen.
    “No, you’ve seen it all.” I didn’t have the energy to banter with him.
    His hands were steady and he took great care in applying medical glue to my battered face. He tsked at the sight of several other poorly healed lacerations on my face and gently