Catch a Falling Star Read Online Free Page A

way. He wasn’t going to ask nicely again.
    He wanted to leave.
     She wanted him to leave. So, he should leave. On his own.
     Lyrianne used the club to aid her in turning so she could point
     the light beam in the direction of the crash. She didn't seem
     worried about him anymore, having turned her back to him.
    “See that glow out
     there?” It wasn't very bright but in the darkness it was visible
     among the trees. “That's where you need to head. It shouldn't
     take you more than three quarters of an hour or so of hiking to
     get there. But there's probably someone there, most likely
     already dismantling it.” She seemed to reconsider her certainty.
     “Though they might still be waiting for it to cool down. It was
     on fire and there was an awful lot of popping, sizzling and
     exploding going on inside it...“ Just a tiny exaggeration for
     effect, she thought. “I wouldn't recommend getting too close for
     another reason, though. Folks can be pretty aggressive about
     their claims.”
    She was staring out
     at the glow, wishing now she'd had a way to tow the whole thing
     back with her. She'd forgotten the Federation pilot while she
     started making a mental list of all the things she could have
     gotten with the star metal and technology she'd had to leave
     behind.
    Her inattention
     proved a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget when she was suddenly
     disarmed, her club thrown back towards the barn. The arm that
     encircled her waist was thick and unforgiving; the hard point
     pressed beneath her ribs even less so.
    “I do beg your
     pardon, querida . I truly do. But I think you can
     understand that I need to get back to my ship if I am to get off
     this dustbowl, yes? And I need a quicker way to get there than
     my feet.” Sounding infuriatingly amused, the pilot’s breath was
     warm on the back of her neck when he added, “You will not
     provoke me, eh? I think that would be very bad for you.”
    Provoke him? The
     young woman's reaction was a rise in her temper. She'd show him
     provoke! When he'd grabbed her, she'd tensed up and she worked
     on that first rather than answer him. Progressively relaxing
     muscles from head to toes, she took slow, even breaths then
     carefully shifted weight to her bad foot. She then braced
     herself for the pain as she lifted the other leg to kick back
     and up, simultaneously striking up toward his head with the
     metal shaft of the flashlight.
    Close as he was, he
     felt her muscles contracting, anticipating a strike but not
     knowing where it was coming from. He managed to take the foot to
     his inner thigh and not the groin but the flashlight connected
     solidly with his jaw and his head snapped to the side. He let
     her go and stumbled back, the pistol in his hand now pointing at
     the ground.
    When he released her,
     she was forced to put all her weight on the ankle and that
     brought tears to her eyes. Still, she managed to put the other
     foot down and bring the bad one up, hopping quickly into a turn
     to face him. The triumph she'd felt fell away as she looked at
     him.
    “I'm sorry! Are you
     hurt?” She was shocked that the flashlight had connected. That
     was the first time she'd ever hit anyone other than
     occasionally, accidentally, clocking one of her brothers when
     they were rough-housing. Fat Farley didn't count. He'd deserved
     it. She put a hand out toward the Fed pilot, feeling guilty.
     That's when she noticed the gun. Her eyes opened wide and she
     gasped. “You... you... That's a gun! I thought it was... ”
    Though she tried to
     put her weight back on her bad foot, she quickly realized it
     wasn't a good idea. Desperate to put space between them, she
     tried to hop backwards, afraid to look away. It took only a
     couple of hops before she came down on loose soil and lost her
     footing, landing on her butt with a jarring impact to her
     tailbone and spine. It was enough to bring out a cry of pain and
     more tears.
    The flashlight had
     fallen