Excerpt: Deuce's Wild

"Let's play a game."

There was an audible click as the chamber was replaced int eh revolver followed by the whirring spin. The white-haired man leveled the gun at the dark-haired man's chest. "It's called the Wheel of Death. In the camber of this gun, I've placed one bullet. I'm going to fire it at you and then your daughter. If you're lucky, you'll both miss the bullet, if not…"

An evil smile curved the pirate's lips as he leveled it at the captain and fired. A hollow click echoed and the man laughed and aimed at the sobbing little girl. His finger twitched over the trigger. "Sayonara."

A sharp report echoed—

The dark-haired woman sat bolt up right, a scream echoing off the walls to the room.

The door slid open seconds later and three forms burst into the room. The blond woman was immediately by her side and a tall man and a woman took up defensive positions as the lights came on. A child-sized form appeared in the middle of the room and glanced around.

"It's safe," the little girl said in a piping voice. "No life signs that shouldn’t' be around."

The man and dark-haired woman relaxed and turned to face the two on the bed. The younger girl was drenched in sweat with the sheets tangled around her waist. Forcing her hand away from her left shoulder, she took a deep breath and blinked her big blue eyes. "Sorry," she said numbly. "I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus."

With a trembling hand, the girl pushed a tangled lock of hair out of her face and took a shuddering breath. "The nightmare again?" the medical officer asked, wrapping her arm around the girl's slender shoulders.

"Yeah," the girl sighed.

"It's been a long time since you've had that dream, Sakura," the man said quietly.

"You screamed for your father again," the woman standing stated.

"I had hoped it was over, Tristan," Sakura Wilde said. "It's been a while, but I guess it won't completely go away until I eliminate Akuma once and for all."

"We're getting closer every day, Sakura."

Sakura smiled humorlessly at the woman on her bed. "I wish I could believe it, Felicity, but every time we almost have him, he slips through my fingers."

Felicity Sinclair sighed, focusing on her employer and then glancing at the dark-haired woman. "Trinity and I will be with you until the end of this mess," she stated.

"He cannot run forever," Trinity Yanamoto said icily, her violet eyes narrowing, "and once we find him and eliminate him, I will consider my debt to your father paid in full."

Sakura nodded and glanced at her crew. "I'm sorry I woke all of you for no reason."

"You can't help night terrors," Tristan Lockhardt said, his green eyes inscrutable.

"Since you picked me up off Tarsas you've saved my life many times—I can live with an occasional night's sleep disturbed."

"And you've saved mine," Sakura murmured. "We'll be docking at Rylian tomorrow. We should all try and get more sleep tonight. Facing Mortimer Harrison isn't going to be easy. QT?"

The little girl glanced up, her form wavering for a moment then solidifying. "We'll get the holographic projector fixed while we're in port. Can you let Ace in before you leave?"

"Sure thing," the AI said cheerfully and the door slid open admitting a huge black dog with a diamond-shaped white mark on his forehead. He bounded in and then up on the bed as Felicity rose.

"Sleep well, Sakura," she said and exited.

"Are you going to be all right?" Tristan questioned.

Sakura nodded. "Even at the worst of it, the dream only happened once a night."

He nodded and left. Trinity regarded her silently. "Sleep well," she murmured.

QT and the light faded at the same time and Skura laid back down silently. Ace snuggled against her side and she stared up at the hundreds of constellations spinning on her walls.

"Wherever you are, Akuma, I will find you."