The Hunted Chapter 22 snippet (new writing)

It feels good to have my normal hair color back, Kate thought while approaching her motorcycle. While being a blonde threw some of the bounty hunters off the trail, it definitely wasn’t me!

Kate stopped beside the motorcycle and reached out. The metal felt cool to her hand while she ran it down the body and over the seat. The thrills and exhilaration that riding it gave was matched only by flying an M-22. If there were something that she would miss from this world, the bike would be one of them.

She straddled the seat and kicked the motor into action. A purr like a contented cat filled the air and Kate revved the motor up. While it would be nice to just take the cycle out for a ride and never come back, Jennifer’s life was more important then doing the cowardly thing.

If it’s me they want, Kate thought, accelerating into traffic, then that’s what they’re going to get!

The traffic was a nightmare to ride through even at such a late night. Didn’t people ever sleep on this planet, Kate wondered, because it sure as hell didn’t look like they did! With all the ground cars driving slower then she wanted to ride, weaving between and around them became the best strategy.

With the wind blowing her raven hair back like a mane, Kate let her mind start to wander. What would things have been like if she had never arrived on Necko? Would the people who had died at her hands still be alive, or would someone else have killed them?

A half-forgotten face popped up into her mind’s eye, and Kate felt a tear run down her cheek. Oh my God, Kate, she thought, how could you ever forget about Travis? You promised him that her would never be gone from your memory and he almost was! The very man who shared your bed as a lover for the first time!

Travis Baker, she mused, a most gentle soul and completely out of his element on Necko. How he had survived ten years in the arena had been somewhat of a mystery. The man hated to fight, that was obvious, but for some reason when there was no choice, Travis could be more ferocious then a caged tiger.

God it had felt so good, to be touched by a man who actually felt love for her! After the repeated rapes by Ferini, Kate thought she would never fall in love with a man, but Travis had changed that. His infectious smile, the blushing it caused at the worst moments…everything about him made it inevitable she would fall in love.

His death had been one of the cruelest parts of Necko, Kate reminded herself, the tears blown off her face by the wind. If that bastard Honeycutt hadn’t set the trap for me, then Travis wouldn’t have sacrificed his life for mine! It should have been me that died, not him!

Kate gripped the handlebars tight in her hands. How could you ever reconcile the fact that you should have been the one who died, she thought. There wasn’t a reason for Travis to have done that because Honeycutt had won! The battle was over and I was defeated! Why did he do it?

He loved her.

The thought came thundering down on Kate like and avalanche. Travis had loved her enough to die and that was something she should have reflected on. How could a monster, a cold-blooded killer have someone who wanted to sacrifice to save them?