by S. E. Smith
She felt just the slightest vibration before it moved. Unfortunately, the dust that fell tickled her nose. Her hand flew to it just in time to muffle the sneeze that escaped her. Addie froze, glancing frantically upward wishing once again that she could hear. Raising her hand, she covered her nose and mouth to protect it from the dust.
Fear raced through her when she felt the shift in the wooden stairs above her head. This time, the movement appeared to be coming down. Closing her eyes, she reached instinctively for Merrick.
Merrick! Oh, God, please. Merrick!
Addie? Merrick’s deep voice answered in surprise. Where are you?
In the house, she frantically thought back. I think someone else is in here. I felt someone on the stairs, but I think they heard me sneeze. I can’t hear them! Please, I’m scared.
Where are you? He asked in an urgent voice.
There’s a bookcase in the family room. Behind it is a storage closet. It is next to the fireplace, she responded. Use the candlestick to open the door.
I will come for you, he replied. Do not move.
I won’t, she whispered, pulling her legs up and squeezing as far as possible into the corner. Merrick…
Yes, Addie.
I just want you to know that I love you, she said in a faint voice. Please be careful.
I love you, as well, my mate. I will be with you soon, he replied.
Addie leaned her head back, not wanting to know any longer where the bad guys were. Merrick was coming. That was all that mattered.
*.*.*
Merrick signaled to Core to find Teriff and Hendrik. Moving toward the house, he paused, looking up. One of the bedroom windows was open. Crossing around the back, he used the bannister and climbed up onto the roof over the wrap around porch. He stepped lightly up to the window and looked in. Fragments of broken glass lay on the carpet inside, while the twisted screen lay to the side of the window on the outside.
Stepping gingerly through the window, Merrick listened. The faint sound of footsteps below told him that the intruder was searching the house downstairs. He moved out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he listened again. His head tilted when he heard the slight crunch of glass against the wood floor.
Whoever it was, they were in the foyer near the front of the house. The shot had shattered the small glass window in the front door, hitting Trudy. Turning the opposite way, he moved down the second set of stairs leading to the kitchen.
Merrick moved silently down the narrow staircase. It would be impossible to protect himself in the narrow space as there was no place to hide. He rounded the back of the kitchen which lead into the family room. His eyes scanned the area, stopping on the bookcase near the fireplace.
Addie, Merrick called.
Yes.
I am here, he replied in a gruff voice. Stay hidden. I am on the other side of the bookcase.
Be careful, she finally whispered.
I will. I promise.
Merrick slid back against the wall when he heard the sound of footsteps in the kitchen behind him. Reaching down to his waist, he pulled several small knives from his belt. Holding them in one hand, he slipped the first blade into the palm of his right hand. Waiting, he rounded the corner and tossed the blade.
The sickening sound of metal against flesh and the strangled cry of the male proved he had drawn first blood. A wild scattering of bullets swept the wall where Merrick had been standing only moments before. He had jumped over the long couch and ducked as the bullets ripped the plaster and sheetrock.
Rising up, he darted around the corner and back down the hallway. Turning the corner, he slipped up behind the kitchen from the other direction. A dark shape was bent over the center island. In the dim light, Merrick could see the blade sticking out of the man’s shoulder.
Palming another blade, he cleared his throat. The man swiveled, off balance and raised the rifle in his hand. Merrick quickly threw three more blades. One hit the man he recognized as Weston in the left shoulder, the other embedded next to the one in his right shoulder and the third in his right thigh.
The rifle clattered to the floor of the kitchen just seconds before Weston slid down. He stared back at Merrick as he stepped into the room. Kicking the rifle to the side, Merrick knelt down in front of Weston.
“Where is Markham?” Merrick asked in a quiet voice.
“Fuck you,” Weston replied.
Merrick reached out and twisted one of the blades in Weston’s shoulder. Hoarse, agonizing screams pierced the air. Grabbing Weston by the neck, Merrick pushed his head back against the cabinet behind him.
“Where is Markham?” Merrick repeated.
“I… I… told you… to… fuck off,” Weston bit out over the pain.
Merrick gripped the blade in Weston’s thigh this time and turned it slowly. Weston’s high pitched screams filled the air. Merrick turned slightly on his heel when a whistle warned him that Core had returned with Teriff and Hendrik. Pulling Weston up by the front of his shirt, he braced him against the cabinet.
“Are you going to kill him?” Core asked, looking at the pale features of the human and the blood pool under him.
“Not until I get the information I want from him,” Merrick replied, glancing at Teriff. “I demand the Right of Justice.”
“Granted,” Teriff replied just as a neat hole appeared through the glass in the kitchen window and Weston’s body jerked.
“Down,” Merrick demanded, dropping Weston’s body.
“That had to have been over two hundred yards away,” Core cautioned. “I have been studying human weapons. There was no report so he must have a silencer on it.”
Merrick’s face turned grim as he studied Weston’s lifeless body. This would not stop him from finding Markham. Turning his gaze to the other men, he looked at Teriff.
“That human is mine,” he snarled.
“I do not think the human President of this country will complain if you take him out,” Teriff replied. “If he does, I will send Borj and Tilly Bell to deal with him.”
“I need to get Addie and take her from this place,” he said, remaining low as he stepped into the other room.
“I thought she was already safe,” Teriff replied, startled. “Did she not return with Derik?”
“No, and I wish to know why,” Merrick retorted angrily.
He was carrying Trudy when the room was sprayed with gunfire, Addie explained. Can I come out now?
No, we will come in to you, Merrick said. It is still too dangerous for you to come out.
Weston?
Dead, but Markham is still out there, Merrick replied, pushing the candlestick down.
“Oh, Merrick,” Addie murmured in a husky voice filled with relief when she saw him step through the opening.
Merrick opened his arms and wound them around her, resting his cheek against her hair. Briefly closing his eyes, he breathed in her familiar scent. Looking up, he nodded to Core who activated the Gateway.
I am going to take you to my home now, Merrick murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist.
*.*.*
Markham lowered the rifle in his hand. A brief sense of regret filled him before he pushed it away. Life was made up of life and death moments. As far as he was concerned, it had been Weston’s time to die. Turning, he rose and moved away from the house.
His younger brother had gotten sloppy. He should have been in and out of the house in minutes. He had taken the shots, including the one that had hit the woman who had arrived unexpectedly, in an effort to warn his brother and give him time to escape.
A cold fury burned inside him as he strode back to his car which was parked at the deserted house at the entrance to the drive. He had realized immediately that things were not as they appeared. He had caught a brief glimpse of two men he didn’t recognize heading toward the lake. They moved with a stealth and speed that reminded him of some of the big cats he had hunted.
He had quickly packed up
, but he didn’t have time to warn his brother. When he saw Weston’s body hanging limply from the huge alien’s grip, he knew that he couldn’t chance his brother talking. He had taken the shot.
“I’ll smoke an extra cigar for you Weston,” Karl promised as he gently placed the case with his rifle in the back seat.
The only good thing that came out of the night was knowing that the alien male wasn’t the only one. No, there were at least four of them. A smile curved his lips as he started the car and slowly pulled away from the house. He would need to reconsider how he was going to arrange his office, now that there were more specimens for display.
Chapter 27
Addie glanced around the long corridor that she was walking down the next morning. Merrick had apologized for having to leave so early, but he had a meeting to attend. She had risen when he did, smiling nervously at him when he brushed a kiss across her lips.
He hadn’t said anything about having to remain in the room they had been shown to last night, so she figured it couldn’t hurt to take a tiny look around. She was curious about what it would be like to be on another planet. Reaching up under the sleeve of the beautiful blue tunic she was wearing, she pinched her arm.
Nope, I’m not asleep, she thought as she looked over the sparkling white corridor with its curved arches and beautiful painted ceilings.
A startled squeak escaped her when she rounded a corner and ran into an older man just slightly taller than her. He was thin with shaggy brown hair and twinkling eyes. She watched as he straightened his glasses.
“So sorry about that,” he said with an easy smile that faded as he studied her. “I don’t believe I’ve met you.”
A small scream escaped Addie when another figure appeared… out of the wall. The man turned and looked at the beautiful redhead as if it was normal for ghostly figures to just suddenly appear. Addie took a step closer to the man when the figure walked toward her.
“Hi Addie, I’m RITA2,” the redhead signed as she spoke. “I’m not a ghost. I’m an Artificial Intelligence program known as a Really Intelligent Technical Assistant. But, since Cosmos already had a RITA, I became RITA2, her twin. I’ve been working on creating a four-dimensional hologram that is not limited to the confines of…”
“Yes, thank you, that will be all RITA2,” the man said in a distracted voice as he pushed his glasses further up on his nose. “You look just like Momma. By the way, I love your new glasses. They make you look more professional.”
“Oh, thank you, Angus,” RITA2 said. “I’ve scanned Addie. I need to look at some of the medical techniques. I’ll be back later.”
“Thank you again, RITA2,” Angus Bell said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I swear she might look like my mother, but she is my beautiful wife when it comes to personality.”
“I heard that!” Tilly laughed in delight, coming up behind Angus and wrapping her arms around his waist before peeking at Addie. “Oh, more humans.”
Addie shook her head. She had only gotten a fraction of what the ghostly creature had said, even though she had been using sign language. Addie had been too fascinated by the creature to understand everything she said. Gazing at the tiny woman and the disheveled man holding her, Addie decided that she had journeyed over the Rainbow to Oz.
“I’m Tilly Bell and this is my husband, Angus,” Tilly introduced with a grin. “Welcome to Baade.”
“I’m Addie,” Addie replied, signing as she spoke.
“I know, Trudy was telling us all about you,” Tilly said, wrapping her arm though Addie’s.
“Trudy?” Addie murmured. “Is she alright?”
“Yes, you would like to go see her?” Tilly asked.
“I’m afraid that will not be possible,” Merrick interjected, coming up and wrapping his arm around Addie’s waist.
What is going on? Addie asked in confusion.
It would appear Trudy has been removed from the palace, Merrick answered.
Who… Never mind, Addie replied. How was your meeting?
It went well, Merrick replied before looking at Tilly and Angus, who were… kissing.
“If you will excuse us, I wish to speak with my mate,” Merrick said politely.
“Are they always like that?” Addie asked, looking over her shoulder as Merrick guided her away.
“From what I have heard, yes,” he responded quietly.
Addie frowned, glancing at Merrick’s composed face. The constant ache of fear that had been with her the last few weeks returned. She didn’t say anything, closing her mind in an effort to hide it from him as they made their way back to their rooms. She walked across the elegant living room, moving to the large set of windows overlooking a long garden.
Turning, she stared back at him and waited. He gazed at her for several long seconds before he walked over to her. Opening her mind, she tentatively reached for him.
*.*.*
Merrick knew the moment Addie opened her mind to him. He could feel her fear and worry. Striding over to her, he wrapped his hands in her silky hair and captured her lips in a kiss that left her dazed and breathless.
“You have nothing to fear, Addie,” Merrick said in a husky voice.
“Something has happened,” she whispered.
Merrick sighed and slowly nodded his head. “Yes.”
“Did the council… Did they say that I couldn’t stay?” She asked in a small voice, looking at his chest.
No! No, the council is very happy that I have found you. In fact, the success of finding so many bond mates has made them more receptive to letting warriors search for more, he said, tilting her head back. “But, my experience has also proven that there is a great need for caution as well.”
“So, what are you not telling me?” She asked when he looked away.
“They have asked me to forgo my request for Right of Justice against Markham and join them on the council,” Merrick said in a hard voice. “They want me to leave him to the human government. It was decided tracking him down would jeopardize further missions to Earth.”
“I can understand that. Now that the government is aware of Markham, surely they will find and stop him,” Addie responded, noting that he continued to avoid looking her in the eye.
“I do not trust that the human government will do anything about him,” Merrick admitted.
“There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there? It isn’t just Markham?” Addie asked.
“No, the position would also mean frequent travel between our home in the Eastern Mountains and the palace,” Merrick explained.
“And…?” Addie asked, looking at Merrick with a puzzled look. “What are you really not telling me?”
“He is trying to avoid telling you there might be a procedure that can restore your hearing,” RITA2 signed, suddenly appearing next to them.
Merrick’s arms tightened around Addie when she emitted a loud squeak at RITA2’s sudden presence. Frustration and fear rolled through him at the thought of hurting Addie in any way, and that included giving her a false sense of hope. The procedure wasn’t proven because there had never been a case such as Addie’s. When RITA2 had approached him about it earlier, he had dismissed her. She had appeared as he was leaving the Council chambers and said that her initial scans showed that the procedure had an eighty-two percent chance of success.
“I told you I would tell her,” Merrick growled with a dark frown.
“Restore my hearing…” Addie whispered, raising a hand to touch her left ear. Hope blossomed in her. Was it really possible for her to actually hear again? “Merrick?”
“There is a slight chance that it would not be successful,” Merrick replied.
“But, there is an even bigger chance it might,” Addie exclaimed as excitement built inside her. “If I could hear again, even just a little… I would be able to hear your voice.”
“I like talking to you in your head,” he muttered, glaring at RITA2, who was looking at her fingernails. “You are a menace. You were th
e one who discouraged the council from allowing me the Right of Justice against Markham.”
“Yes, having Prime warriors running around Earth looking for females will be bad enough, having them running around killing bad men would be too alien invasion. That creates a dreadful Public Relations nightmare. The humans would simply have a meltdown. Besides, you will love me once Addie can hear again,” RITA2 laughed. “Oh, and just so you know, I’m working with RITA to find Markham for Avery. She’ll catch him. Now, I need to do a few more tests to make sure the procedure will work for you Addie. Merrick is right. There’s a slight chance that the surgery won’t work… but, it’s a small percentage based on my scans and calculations.”
Merrick watched as Addie touched her ear and bit her lip. When she looked up at him with a gaze filled with hope, he knew he would support her in anything she wanted to do. Nodding, he smiled and brushed another kiss to her lips before pulling back and resting his forehead against hers.
No matter what, I love you the way you are, he whispered.
I love you, too, Addie smiled, before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him close. And I swear, I’ll never complain about you thinking too much again.
Good, because I have some really great thoughts going on in my head right now, he whispered, before he glanced over his shoulder. “You’ve won, now get out. I’ll bring her to medical later for your testing. But, right now, she is all mine.”
RITA2’s eyes rolled as she turned on her delicate heels and headed for the door. “I swear Tilly and Angus are contagious. Every warrior that comes into the palace ends up with a one track mind!”
“I can think of worse things, my dear,” a deep male voice replied right before the figure of a huge warrior materialized.
“DAR?” RITA2 whispered. “You’ve got your programming finished.”
“With a little help from Tilly and Cosmos,” DAR replied as he wrapped an arm around RITA2’s slender waist. “Would you like to see some of it?”