Hunted by the Alien

by Dena Christy

  "There's nothing that says that the killer will hurt them. All they have to do is tell him that I'm not there, and the killer can go on his way." She had difficulty believing it, but if she was going to be able to get through the time in this apartment while she waited for Broge to come home, she needed to tell herself something.

  How the hell had the killer found her? She thought she'd covered her tracks when she'd gone home. She was certain he hadn't followed her at the time, but of course didn't know with certainty. Perhaps he'd been waiting somewhere unseen when she'd fled her apartment and away from the bounty hunter.

  It made sense, since he had been at the bar a very short time after she had arrived.

  She hoped Broge was unharmed. He had to be. Taking him on would be a different proposition than taking on her client. Broge could handle himself. And he was a lot bigger than the killer, that would certainly count for something.

  As she moved like a caged animal in the middle of Broge's living room, she came to the conclusion that pacing around wouldn't help. When she'd first arrived at her apartment, all she had wanted to do was take a shower. The bounty hunter had thwarted that plan, but perhaps now would be a good time for that. Perhaps Xander was making Broge stay until the club closed before he let him come home. A glance at her watch told her that it would be a while before he got here if that was the case. And Broge certainly wouldn't mind if she availed herself of his shower.

  She picked her duffle bag up off the floor and set it on the sofa. Pulling her toiletry bag out of it, she turned and went toward the bathroom. She'd put on the clothes she was wearing back on again, since her supply of clean clothes was limited. And with the killer still after her, she didn't know how long she was going to be on the run.

  She turned on the shower and stripped out of her clothes. Stepping under the warm spray, she sighed. It felt good to finally wash away the fear and anxiety that had plagued her that day. The shower cleared her head. She would need it if she was going to come up with a plan.

  As she washed her body, she ran through her options. Going back to her apartment was out of the question because the bounty hunter knew where she lived, and she was sure that he was conscious by now and actively looking for her.

  Which meant that two men were hunting her at the moment. The killer and the bounty hunter. If she had to pick which one she would rather find her, the bounty hunter was the one she'd take. At least he had proven that he wasn't going to hurt her. Well, not when he'd first interacted with her. There was no telling how he would behave if he found her now. She was certain that he wouldn't underestimate her again if he managed to catch up with her.

  She rinsed the soap off her body and put some of her shampoo in her hair. The bounty hunter wasn't going to catch up with her again. And her bigger worry was the killer. He was the one she had to evade at all costs.

  The best way to do that would be to get the hell out of Tari A'Veelo. If the killer was looking for her in the city then the best place for her would be somewhere else. She had enough money to go anywhere she wanted. And while she didn't exactly want to go back to Tusko M'Kedi, she didn't have much choice. She needed to get the information off her chip, since that was what was making her the killer's target. And the only person she could think of to help her would be Remy.

  And she had never gotten rid of her old home in Tusko M'Kedi, so she would have a place to hide when she got there. The question was, how to get there?

  She busied herself shampooing and conditioning her hair. Public transportation was her only option. Not exactly ideal, but she could make it work if she disguised herself. She had her old alias, and some prosthetics in her makeup kit. Used in conjunction with the red wig, she could use her skills to make herself unrecognizable. She could just be another anonymous passenger on the maglev journey to Tusko M'Kedi. Thankfully she'd had the foresight to take her old ID with her. And she had more than enough cash to buy passage to Tusko M'Kedi a hundred times over. She'd go see Remy and he'd help her get out of this.

  After one final rinse, Cheria stepped out of the shower, feeling a lot better about her situation. She dried herself and felt like a weight had been lifted. She now had a plan and as soon as Broge came home she would put it into action.

  She redressed herself and took her toiletry bag to the living room and put it back in her duffle. As she closed the bag she heard the sound of the front door unlocking and relief went through her. Broge was home, which meant that he was safe and she hadn't gotten him killed.

  "I'm so glad you're back. I was going crazy in here by myself." A smile crossed Cheria's face as she called out to him. She shouldn't have doubted Broge's ability. Id he was here, perhaps it meant that he'd incapacitated the killer enough that he wouldn't be a threat for a while. Perhaps he had bought her enough time to get the hell out of the city.

  Silence was her only answer, and she moved away from the living room toward the front of the apartment.

  "Aren't you going to say anything?" Maybe he was hurt. How typical of her to think about herself and for it not to even occur to her that perhaps he hadn't been as unscathed by his encounter with the killer as she supposed.

  She stepped into the hallway that led to the front door and a wave of cold fear washed over her. There, in front of the door was not her friend Broge, but the bounty hunter. He held a wicked looking blade in his hand and the smile that crossed his face was cold and sent a shiver down her spine.

  "What would you like me to say? Surprise?"

  Chapter 7

  Satisfaction surged through Rone as he faced his quarry. The shocked horror on her face when she'd first stepped on the threshold of the hall and saw him almost made the effort he'd gone through to get here worthwhile.

  But his satisfaction was tempered by the knowledge that three men were now dead. Two of them would still be alive if she hadn't outsmarted him in her apartment. That was on him, but now the time for her games was over.

  He moved a step toward her and he gave a short sharp scream. Turning on her heel, she ran in the opposite direction down the hall from where she'd first appeared.

  His mouth pressed tight as he followed her on hasty feet, but she managed to get inside a room and slam the door shut behind her. What made him think that she would make this any easier than she had thus far? Did he think she was going to take one look at him and surrender? All his encounters with her so far had proven she didn't have it in her to surrender.

  "This will be an easy hunt for you. Think of it like providing an escort to a helpless woman," he mumbled under his breath as he replayed his initial conversation with Angis about this hunt. He should have gone with his first instinct and refused this job. None of his other hunts had given him this much trouble. He'd much rather deal with a hardened criminal than this wily woman.

  He tried the door knob, found it locked and cursed under his breath. Knowing her, she was out the window and sprinting down the street by now. He was going to have to spend his evening chasing after her.

  He gripped his blade and resisted the urged to hack the door into ribbons in his frustration.

  "I'd get out of here if I were you. When Broge comes in here and finds you he'll do a lot more than shoot you with a stunner.” Her distressed voice on the other side of the door set relief through him that at least she wasn't halfway across the city by now. He didn't know who she was talking about, perhaps the man was a friend and owner of this apartment. Maybe he was her lover. Rone didn't care. He was so angry for not seeing this turn of events that he would relish a fight from someone who could bear the brunt of his frustrations, because his honor would not let him take those frustrations out on her. No matter what she did to provoke him.

  "Unlock this door, woman. Your flight is over." He rattled the door knob for good measure but didn't really expect that she'd obey his demand. That would be out of character for her.

  "Go fuck yourself."

  That was how he would expect her to behave. The muscle worked in his jaw as he refra
ined from pointing out to her that her instructions were an anatomical impossibility. She was pricklier than any female he'd ever encountered and he relished the thought of this hunt being over. He would collect his money, go home and find a mate among the far more amiable females on his planet. A Thonaxian woman would be a balm after having to deal with this harridan.

  He backed up a few paces and prepared himself for what he would do next. He certainly wished the bounty holder luck when he left her in their custody because she was certain she would cause as much trouble for them as she was for him.

  He lifted his leg up, drew it back and slammed it into the door, sending it flying open. She screamed again as it hit the wall and bounced back to hit him in the shoulder as he stepped through the door.

  Pure terror was on her face, and he didn't regret that she had cause to look like that. She had brought this upon herself by her refusal to come with him when he'd first found her. Perhaps now she would take him a little more seriously.

  "Stay the fuck away from me." Her eyes were riveted to his blade and a quick scan of her person revealed she wasn't holding any weapons. If she had one at her disposal he was certain she would be holding it right now.

  He sheathed his blade, since he had no intention of using it against her if he didn't have to. And with her trembling on the other side of the room, his blade was not a necessity.

  "It's over, Cheria." He softened his voice in the hopes that she would see the wisdom of surrender. No matter what she'd done, she was still a female and he didn't want to hurt her. "Come with me."

  She shook her head as she moved so the bed was between them. He sighed as he reached into his pocket for the silver cuff that would prevent her from running again. It was obvious that she was going to make this necessary since he couldn't trust her to cooperate.

  They stared at each other, and he knew it was only a matter of time before she betrayed herself and gave him some indication of what she was going to do. He watched her carefully and she moved slightly in one direction while her eyes showed she was going to go the opposite way in an effort to get around him. He pretended he was going to fall for her trick and as she switched direction to dart by him, he reached out his arm and caught her around the waist.

  "No." Her voice was a loud howl in his ear as he lifted her off her feet. He maneuvered over to the bed and put her body on it. She squirmed and clawed at his arm as he moved his body to cover hers. He used some of his body weight to hold her down as she writhed and wriggle under him.

  She bucked underneath him. "Get off me you big brute."

  She was certainly a bossy little thing and made him work hard to try to get a hold of her wrist. It would have helped him if he'd been willing to put his full body weight on her, but he was big enough to crush her, and killing her was not his intent.

  She wriggled and squirmed under him and somehow ended up with her legs on either side of his body. He partially lifted his upper body and looked down at her.

  She froze where she was, with his big body on top of hers and with her legs on either side of his hips in a pantomime of intimacy. She paled and he took advantage of her stillness to put the silver cuff around her wrist.

  He should have removed himself immediately, but for some reason his body didn't move. Her eyes darted down to his mouth and then back up to his eyes. He swallowed for a moment as her actions planted the thought of kissing her in his head. What would she taste like?

  The notion was like a bucket of icy water thrown over him. What the hell was he thinking? He wasn't going to fall for her feminine charms again.

  "Get off me." Her voice was a strained whisper, and he quickly levered himself up off her and stood beside the bed. He ignored the thoughts that ran through his head at the sight of her in her prone position. She was a job, nothing more. And once he was on his home planet with a mate by his side, she would be a distant memory.

  * * *

  Cheria lay on the bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell had just happened. The intimacy of their position must have done something funny to her brain because for a brief second she'd looked at his mouth and thought about what it would be like to kiss him.

  He'd been so close that his warm breath had fanned against her face and all she would have to do was raise her head up a fraction and her mouth would press against his. As a distraction it might have worked, but then there would be the problem of how to get away from him with her lips locked against his.

  Obviously the stress of him finding her had turned her mind. He was her enemy, the one who stood between her and freedom. She should be trying to calculate her next move, not thinking about his lips. That was more important to her survival than trying to figure out why she'd thought about kissing the alien currently standing quietly by the bed, waiting for her to get up.

  She'd foolishly gone in the wrong direction when she'd run away from him. Her duffle bag and stun gun were in the main living area and now she was vulnerable and defenseless.

  But in her panic at seeing him in Broge's apartment she'd run for the bedroom, thinking she could escape out the window. The bars on the glass had prevented her from going anywhere.

  And she'd known true fear when he'd kicked the door in, with his vicious looking blade in his hand and a fierce scowl on his face. When he'd grabbed her and put her down on the bed, with his big body on top of her, she'd realized for the first time how lenient he'd been with her during their encounter in her apartment.

  He could have done anything to her as she struggled against his body weight. He could have brutalized her and she would have been helpless to stop him. But all he had done was put a silver bracelet on her wrist.

  "You have caused me enough trouble, woman. It is time to go."

  Apparently she wasn't moving fast enough to suit him and she rolled so she was sitting up on the edge of the bed.

  "I'm not going anywhere with you." She knew that she was pushing her luck and trying his patience, but the words were out before she could think better of it.

  And they were true. She was not going anywhere with him, at least not if Broge arrived in the next few minutes. Or if she managed to get the stun gun in her duffle and shoot him with it again.

  Broge was her best bet because she had a feeling that the bounty hunter would not be fooled into letting his guard down again.

  Even if Broge returned, there was no guarantee that he would win in the struggle against the bounty hunter. He was bigger than Broge, but hopefully Broge's personal connection with her would give him an advantage that made up for the differences in their size and weight.

  The alien moved toward her and her eyes traveled up over his big body to his eyes so she would have a clue about what his intentions were. Fear made her insides quake when she could read nothing in his eyes. Had she finally pushed him too far?

  He took her by the arm and pulled her up from the bed. His hold was gentle but unbreakable as she tugged against it.

  "Further struggle will serve no purpose for you except to tire yourself needlessly." His face was impassive as he led her out of the bedroom.

  "So you say. You should know enough about me by now to know that I'm not the type who will go quietly with you." She tugged at her arm again and to her surprise he let her go. But he remained only an arms length away from her as they went down the hall and to the living room. Her eyes darted to her bag and she quickly calculated in her head if she would get to it before he had a chance to stop her.

  His eyes narrowed at her looked from her to the bag. If she was going to do something she needed to do it now. She lunged for the bag but he moved his body a lot faster than she expected for someone his size and seized the bag before she had the chance to grab it.

  "What is in here that makes you so eager to get it. Your blade, perhaps?"

  Blade? What the hell was he talking about? She didn't have a blade.

  "There is nothing in there except my personal belongings. Please give it to me." She held her hand
out despite the fact that she didn't expect him to give it to her. And he didn't. He may have underestimated her when he'd first encountered her in her apartment, but that was a mistake he obviously wouldn't be making a second time. The bounty hunter was far from stupid.

  "Then you won’t mind if I inspect it before turning it over to you." His hand went to the side pocket of the bag and she closed her eyes in resignation. "What do we have here?"

  He opened the pocket, and she silently cursed when she saw him pull out her stunner and tuck it into the waistband of his pants.

  Great. Her only weapon was now in his possession and short of wrestling it away from him there was nothing she could do about it. He did a quick search of the rest of her bag and resentment burned through her at his pawing through her things. Once he finished, she held her hand out.

  "If you've finished rifling through my personal belongings, I'd like to have them back."

  He handed her bag to her and turned so he was facing in t he direction of the front door. She stayed where she was, with her feet glued to the floor in the living room. She wasn't leaving, at least not yet. There was still the slim hope that Broge would return.

  A speculative look crossed the bounty hunter's face. "If you think to stall to give the owner of this apartment enough time to come to your rescue, you are fooling yourself. We can wait if you want, but do not think that I’ll be lenient with your friend. Are you willing to risk his life for your sake?"

  Damn him. Of course she wasn't willing to risk Broge's life. No matter how big and strong Broge was, that vicious blade the alien possessed would cut him to pieces in moments in the hands of a skilled fighter. And she had no doubt that the bounty hunter wielded his blade like an expert.

  "You win." For the moment. She'd run out of time for rescue by Broge, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try to escape him. Surely he'd drop his guard at some point and she'd get a chance to run.