“Probably nothing.” She pulled away from the pump and stopped at the road, waiting for an opening to turn out of the lot. When she checked the rearview mirror, her breath hitched. The cop car was right behind them.
The onramp for Interstate 70 was just down the road. Just two more turns, a left and a right, and they’d be free and clear. Local police didn’t have any jurisdiction on the interstate…did they?
She turned left onto South Frontage at the first opportunity. Her heart pounded, and her eyes darted repeatedly to the mirrors. The cop pulled out behind her, moving in the same direction, and steadily closed the gap between their vehicles.
“Zoey?” Ren’s voice was firmer.
“Trying not to panic,” she replied, hands tightening on the wheel.
Her gaze swung forward. The onramp was only a couple hundred feet away.
The cop threw on his lights. Scalding heat and icy cold flowed through her veins simultaneously.
“Oh God. No, no, no no no. This can’t be happening right now,” she said quickly, breaths short.
The cop remained behind her, rolling along steadily to match her pace. Her knuckles went white, and the anxious blend of fire and ice spread out from her veins to encompass her entire body, making her skin itch beneath the heavy clothing even as she shivered.
“Control, Zoey,” Ren said. “Can we outrun him?”
“What?” She gave him a brief, incredulous glance. “No! That’ll make things worse.” Refocusing on the road, she shifted her eyes continuously to the mirror and back again. “I don’t know what to do! I-I have to pull over.”
“Then do what is expected of you in this situation,” he said, words calm and measured. She didn’t know if he simply didn’t understand why freaking out was the reasonable response right now or if he just couldn’t feel fear, but he betrayed not an ounce of worry.
“Okay. Okay, I can do that. I can do this.”
She took a deep breath and checked the speedometer to make sure she wasn’t speeding in her panic. The upcoming turn lane had eliminated the shoulder on her side of the road, so she proceeded straight into the roundabout, following it around until it opened into a hotel parking lot.
Forcing herself to continue breathing steadily, she parked in the first open spot — which faced a steep hill — lowered her window, and turned off the engine. The cop pulled up behind her, trapping them between a mound of snow in front and his vehicle behind.
“Is there anything I need to do?” Ren asked.
“Just…just keep your head down and your hands up on the dash.” Zoey watched the cop in the rearview mirror; it looked like he was doing something on the computer mounted in his cab. “Oh, this is so not good.”
“Zoey?” The question in Rendash’s voice drew her attention to him. He held up one of his hands; its green scales and lacking finger were difficult to miss in broad daylight.
“So, you just… I don’t know, Ren! Just go invisible.”
“I’m fairly certain that he’s already seen me, Zoey.”
She glanced in the mirror again. The cop had opened his door and was climbing out. “He’s not looking right now, though. Just do it!”
Ren obeyed, but not before giving her an exaggerated frown.
The cop walked around his car, dropping one hand to his belt — close to his gun. Zoey moved her hands to the top of the steering wheel to keep them visible.
“Afternoon, ma’am,” the cop said as he walked up to her car. “I—” Brow furrowed, he lowered his sunglasses and looked past her into the cab. “Where is your passenger?”
“Passenger?” Zoey laughed nervously. “It’s just me.”
“There was a man in the passenger seat, a very large man, right before I walked over.”
“I-I don’t know what to say, officer. It’s just me in this truck. Maybe it was just a…a reflection on the back window?”
He backed away, settling his hand on the grip of his pistol as he searched the immediate area. Allowing the truck wide berth, he walked around to the passenger side. Zoey watched in the mirrors as he dipped, probably checking underneath the truck, and popped back up.
Her mouth was terribly dry.
The cop’s eyebrows were low when he returned to her window, but his eyes were wide and troubled. He stammered and stuttered a few times before he regained his composure, and his demeanor made a subtle shift from confused to annoyed.
“License and registration, ma’am.”
“My license is in my purse, and I’ll have to get the registration out of the glove compartment. Is that okay?”
“Not a problem.”
Moving as slowly and non-threateningly as possible, she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to her purse, removing her license from her wallet. She leaned over the passenger seat, placing a hand down to hold herself up.
But her hand didn’t land on the seat.
Rendash released a muffled grunt.
Zoey cringed. She knew exactly where she’d set her hand by the feel of it. “Sorry,” she whispered.
“Everything all right, ma’am?” the cop asked.
“Yeah, one sec.” She opened the glove box and rummaged through the contents. She froze when she discovered a black revolver with a short barrel tucked between various papers and the owner’s manual.
It probably would’ve been the last thing she saw that night in Utah if Ren hadn’t intervened.
The chill creeping along her spine had nothing to do with the cold air flowing in through the open window. There was a gun in the truck, and there was a cop behind her!
“Control,” Ren whispered, barely loud enough to hear.
Easier said than done, big guy.
Zoey rounded her lips and exhaled slowly. She plucked the registration out and closed the glove compartment. Sitting back in her seat, she extended her arm through the window to hand the cop her license and the registration.
He seemed to only give the license a cursory glance. “California, huh? Bet this weather’s a big change for you. Do you know why I pulled you over today, ma’am?”
“I don’t.” She returned her hands to the steering wheel. It took a lot of willpower to keep her fingers from fidgeting nervously.
“The tags on this vehicle’s license plates are two months expired.”
“Really? I didn’t think to check when—” she swallowed, giving her a moment to recall her would-be murderer’s name “—when Matt leant me the truck. I’m so sorry.”
“It happens. But it’s something that really needs to be corrected, miss—” the cop lifted the license closer “—Weston.” The cop tilted his head.
A two-ton ball of dread sank in her stomach.
“Zoey Weston?” He shifted his hold on her license and pulled his sunglasses down again, leaning closer. “Would you mind removing your sunglasses, ma’am?”
Oh, shit. Shit shit shit.
“Sure,” she replied in a small voice, raising a hand to comply.
His eyes rounded. “You’re the woman whose car they found on I-70 in Utah, aren’t you?
“Um, yeah. Car broke down on the interstate, which is why I’m borrowing the truck.”
“I’m going to need you to come with me, Miss Weston,” the cop said, taking a step back. Zoey noticed that his right hand had settled on his gun again. “I’m sure we’ll be able to get all of this sorted out.”
“Am…am I being arrested?” she asked, the weight of her dread growing.
“I’m sure we’d both rather it not come to that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Please step out of the vehicle, ma’am.”
“If I haven’t committed a crime, I’d like to leave. I’ll take a ticket for the expired tags.”
“I won’t ask again,” he said firmly.
“I haven’t done anything!” Well, she had, but he didn’t know that! Her hands shook despite her crushing grip on the wheel.
The cop took another step back and thumbed the radio on his shoulder, dippi
ng his chin down and to the side to speak into it. He requested backup.
“We need to leave,” Ren whispered from beside her.
“I know that!” she snapped at him, and immediately felt sorry for doing so. It wasn’t Ren’s fault.
“Now.”
“We’re kinda stuck, don’t you think?”
She didn’t realize until it was too late that it must’ve looked to the cop like she was having an argument with her invisible friend in the passenger seat.
The cop drew his gun. Though he didn’t point it directly at her, Zoey’s heart stuttered before pounding so hard and fast that there might as well have been a herd of wild horses galloping through her chest. She lifted her hands, struggling to breathe, but her tight chest and constricted throat made it hard.
“Step out of the vehicle. Now.” If there’d been any friendliness or civility in the cop’s voice earlier, it was gone now, replaced by a hard edge.
Fear soured her stomach as she lowered a hand to the handle and opened her door. Once it was opened wide, she lifted her hand again and slid down until her feet touched the ground. It was only then she noticed the small crowd that had gathered fifty or so feet away, most of them bundled in winter gear with bright hats and scarves.
“Move to the front of the vehicle and place your hands on the hood,” the cop commanded.
She obeyed, wishing that she’d put on the pair of gloves she’d taken from the cabin. Her breath came out in puffy clouds as the sound of boots on pavement signaled the cop’s cautious approach.
This was it. She’d hoped for more time with Ren before they separated, but at least they’d come to know each other in what little time they’d shared. Tears brimmed in her eyes, blurring her vision.
The truck rocked as though a great weight were moving inside. The cop muttered something in confusion as the shocks squeaked.
A startled gasp erupted from the onlookers.
“What the fuck?” the cop said in awe.
Zoey turned her head to see Rendash, fully visible, standing just outside the truck. He reached up and pulled off the sunglasses, opening all his eyes and directing them at the cop. She’d never seen so much fury in his expression.
“On the ground!” The cop shouted.
Zoey shifted to see the cop’s gun aimed at Ren. Something cold wrapped around her heart and squeezed.
Why didn’t he just go? Why is he risking himself now?
“No!” she shouted, stepping toward Rendash.
The cop swung his arms, directing his pistol at her.
Control, Rendash reminded himself.
Fuck control! That human threatened my kun’ia.
Ren slammed the door shut and thrust an arm to the side, catching Zoey and forcing her behind him.
The human in front of him was some sort of soldier — a peacekeeper, perhaps, or an enforcer. Ren was unfamiliar with their designations for such positions. It didn’t matter, either way. Fear had settled into the man and made him weak, and that weakness made him dangerous.
Rage burned through Rendash’s body like a ravenous wildfire; this enforcer had drawn a weapon and aimed it at Zoey. His Zoey.
That was unacceptable.
“On the ground, now!” the enforcer shouted, backing away while adjusting his hold on his weapon.
Removed from the confrontation by scant distance, a small crowd of humans watched with expressions of shock and horror. Rendash didn’t care; Zoey’s safety was more important than being exposed. He couldn’t allow her to be harmed or taken. He couldn’t continue without her.
“Put your weapon down,” Ren growled at the enforcer.
“Requesting immediate backup,” the man said into the device on his shoulder. “Repeat, request—”
“I will not tolerate you directing your weapon at an innocent,” Rendash said.
“Down on the fucking ground, hands behind your head!”
A strange wailing sound carried to Rendash on the wind, slowly growing stronger, as though something were approaching. Was it more enforcers? Were they so foolish — or so arrogant — as to announce their approach?
“You cannot have this female. She is mine. Return to your vehicle.”
“Ren,” Zoey pleaded, placing a hand on his back, “just go. This is going to get bad unless I do what he says, do you understand? You need to just leave! Don’t let them get you!”
“They will have neither of us, kun’ia,” he said gently, turning his head to see her from his outer eye. She stared up at him with fear and concern straining her face. He shifted aside the hanging fabric of his coat and reached back to her with his lower arms, hoping to offer her some comfort.
“Holy shit,” the enforcer said.
“We are leaving now,” Rendash declared. The threat of violence from the enforcer could easily have been answered with violence, and Ren was prepared to act — his nyros were functioning far better than they had since his arrival on Earth — but Zoey’s safety was tantamount. Battle, however brief or limited in scale, often took unforeseen tolls, especially when innocent non-combatants were near.
“Just…just get the fuck down!” the enforcer shouted.
Rendash took a step to the side, guiding Zoey to stay behind him with his lower hands.
He saw it in the male human’s eyes — a flare of terror, a gut reaction that any aligarii child in the Khorzar would have been conditioned to avoid — and projected a shield a fraction of an instant before the man’s finger squeezed the trigger of his blaster.
A chaotic eruption of sound dominated those drawn-out moments; five booms in quick succession, the hiss of the shield — flashing purple with each impact — destroying the projectiles, screaming from Zoey and the human onlookers, the intensified wailing and roaring engines of more enforcer vehicles as they raced along the nearby road.
Instinct.
Rendash darted forward, keeping the shield in front of him. The enforcer stumbled backward, firing several more shots. The shield pulsed but held firm.
The enforcer’s path was blocked by a vehicle; he nearly fell over when he struck it, and fear twisted his features into something primal. Such fear was not uncommon on a battlefield, but it served as a reminder to Rendash that these people were not nearly as advanced as his own.
The technology that aligarii took for granted was awe-inspiring and potentially terrifying for humans.
Somehow, it was enough to convince Rendash to be merciful.
He grabbed the man’s extended hand, and bones crunched as he wrenched the small, black weapon from the human’s hold. The enforcer screamed. Rendash threw the weapon into the snow before grasping fistfuls of the man’s clothing, lifting him overhead, and hurling him into the nearest pile of white. The human vanished in the deep snow.
Rendash surveyed his surroundings. Several of the human onlookers had fled, but several more remained in place, holding up small, rectangular devices — phones, similar to the one Zoey had possessed.
The other enforcer vehicles screeched around the turn and came to abrupt halts nearby; Ren counted four, with at least six more enforcers.
Their truck was blocked in, and he had no desire to battle more humans. The risk to Zoey would be too great. Ren alone couldn’t protect her from all angles.
“Ren!” Zoey yelled. “Oh my God, Ren, are you okay?”
He turned to see her hurrying toward him. She stopped, eyes roving over him, likely searching for wounds, but there was no time for that. Due to her limited field of vision, he doubted she could see the other vehicles while her eyes were focused on him.
The door of one of the newly arrived vehicles swung open, and another uniformed enforcer climbed out with blaster in hand.
Ren wrapped his arms around Zoey and poured as much strength into his legs as was possible, filling them with searing heat. Her startled cry — along with the shouts of the other humans — was lost in a rush of wind when he leapt high into the air, directing them toward the snowy hill behind the black stone lot.
Zoey clung to him with startling strength.
The impact of his landing jolted his legs, but it wasn’t nearly as jarring as it had been the night he escaped. He leapt over tall trees and landed on more black stone at the end of a road lined with dwellings. Zoey began to speak, but her words were cut off when he jumped again, and again, and again, putting increasing distance between them and the enforcers.
When they reached the cover of the thicker trees in the hills behind the clustered human dwellings, Ren decided it was better to remain on the ground. Holding Zoey firmly against his chest, he ran between the trunks, crunching snow beneath his boots and forging a wide, deep trail in the unbroken white.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally slowed, only that his instinct shifted his priorities to the conservation of energy and allowing Zoey to catch her breath. Down the hill, barely visible through the trees, lay more human dwellings, but he was confident that they had adequate cover to avoid detection — at least for now.
The trail he’d left behind was obvious, and it wouldn’t take the enforcers long to locate it.
“Are you all right, Zoey?” he asked as he set her on her feet. The snow came up to her thighs. Her legs gave out, and she grasped his arms to remain upright. He accepted her weight easily. “Just breathe, kun’ia.”
Panting, Zoey looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. Her entire body shivered, and she clutched at him with desperation-fueled strength. “W-what are we going to do?”
“We need to get as far away from here as we can, as quickly as we can,” he said, smoothing a hand over her hair.
Her eyes locked with his. “Why didn’t you go? Why didn’t you leave me? You could’ve gotten away!”
“Every time you had a chance to betray me, to leave me, you chose to stay with me. How could I abandon you, after everything?”
“Because the worst they’d do to me is toss me in jail! They weren’t going to hurt me. But you? They would’ve killed you!” She twisted to look behind her. “God, he was shooting at you! And all those people, Ren… They had their phones, recording the whole thing.”
Ren cupped her cheek and guided her to face him. Despite the danger to herself, her only concern was for him. The way that made him feel was indescribable; how could he ever have considered leaving Earth without her at his side?
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