Star Wars - Love is a Warm Blaster - Unpublished Read Online Free Page A

Ubese merely tittered even louder. “Oooh. Feisty, too! I must have her. Come on. Love… how much?”
    “She’s not for sale, ‘Thermal’. And even if she was…”
    Daniera gave him a look over her shoulder.
    “…You couldn’t afford her in a million years,” Love hurriedly finished.
    Mah-Luu looked annoyed as he tossed the cred stick back at Love. “Even trade. Her for Induki.”
    Love shook his head. “That’s not an offer.”
    “You’re right,” Mah-Luu said, triggering the detonator. “It isn’t.”
    Two burly Rodian bodyguards appeared at the door, dressed in scarlet-colored cloaks and brandishing blaster carbines.
    Love glared at Mah-Luu. “We had a deal!”
    “So much for those pesky ethics,” Mah-Luu giggled as he switched off the detonator.
    Daniera had not moved her weapon. “In case you forgot, there’s a blaster pointed at your head.”
    Mah-Luu chuckled, nodding to his guards. “And one pointed at each of yours. With reinforcements on the way. Not the best odds.”
    Love’s right hand was snaking into his coat as he talked. “I always prefer to play the hand I’m dealt.”
    “Too bad I don’t feel the same way.” ‘Thermal’ began to chortle wildly. “House rules, you know.” He touched a bloated finger to another button under his desk, opening a comm-Iine. “Vab, take Induki for a vacation. Now.”
    Daniera locked eyes with Love. He gave her a quick wink and then suddenly dropped like a wounded bantha, landing flat on his back. The heavy blaster was already cradled in his hands and before the first guard could lower his own weapon to draw a bead on the now-prone enemy, Love pulled the trigger.
    A deafening roar echoed through the room as a pulsing blaster bolt exploded into the Rodian merc, knocking him off his feet and more than a meter backwards. The guard slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground, his chest smoldering and blackened.
    Without taking her eyes off Mah-Luu, Daniera whipped her gun arm around and snapped off three rapid shots into the remaining merc.
    Mah-Luu tried scrambling to his feet, but Daniera already had the barrel of the gun re-trained on him. “Oo-ta goo-ta, Tubbo?”
    Love grinned as he joined Daniera.
    “Rescind that last order,” she demanded. “Tell Vab to bring Induki in here.”
    The Ubese merchant sneered at her. “Surely you wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man…”
    “No,” Love answered for Daniera, “but I would.” And he unceremoniously shot Mah-Luu point-blank in the chest.
    Daniera cried out in shock, spinning around to face Love. “Love, you are a maniac!”
    “Thank you.”
    “How could you—”
    “Relax, sweets,” Love said as he twisted a knob on his blaster back to its original setting. “This thing does have a stun setting, you know.”
    She looked back at ‘Thermal’, who had flopped back into his chair and was on the starspeeder to unconsciousness.
    “Great, but what about Induki?”
    Love suddenly cocked his head to the side. There was the distinct whine of repulsorlift vehicles close by.
    Before Daniera could even open her mouth, Love started for the door. He paused in the hallway for a split second, then hurried back into the room and punched the stunned Mah-Luu in the stomach. The thermal detonator in the Ubese’s hand popped up into the air, and Love easily plucked the device from its ascent. He then spun on his heel and sprinted out into the hall.
    Daniera was right behind him. “Love, you are certifiable!”
    “Thank you.”
    She gestured frantically. “That way is a dead end. We’ve got to go back the other—”
    The words died on her lips as she heard the sound of many booted feet approaching from that very direction. “Love! We’re about to have some company.”
    Love was still running for the wall at full speed even as he thumbed the switch to activate the thermal detonator. He sent the device spinning ahead of him and began to count out loud the six-second timer delay.
    Closing in from