by Mel Teshco
Chapter Nine
The ticking of a wall clock could be heard easily in the sudden, thick silence. But Dot’s speculative face broke into a sudden grin when she said, “Oh you two! Honestly, if you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”
Asher went to speak and Marissa shook her head no. Dot’s life might be a whole lot better—and safer—not learning the truth.
Dot pushed the plate of scones toward Asher. “Here you go young man, Asher was it?” At his nod, she added, “Put these on the table please.” She waggled her knotted fingers. “My old hands aren’t as strong as they used to be.”
Marissa carried the teapot and milk to the table, following Dot with her sugar bowl and tea cups. She took a seat before accepting a scone and biting into it, jam and cream splattering across her little plate. She needn’t be concerned though, Asher was already chowing through his second scone, a dollop of cream sitting on a corner of his mouth.
He clearly enjoyed this kind of Earth food. She grinned and sipped her sweetened tea, relaxing despite the danger that might even now be closing in around them. It all seemed so normal, Dot more like a maternal grandmother than a stranger they’d only just met.
Besides, it was possible they were safer here than outside the house on the run. At least they were concealed. At least they were resting up and Asher was managing to eat some calories to help with his next shift.
Dot dabbed her thin lips with a napkin. “So tell me, what do you two do for a living?” She cocked her head to the side. “I’m allowed to ask that much at least, aren’t I?”
Marissa nodded. “Of course. I own a property where I run a small herd of cattle and pray every day for some rain to help feed them.”
Dot’s eyes sharpened speculatively. “Yeah well, it doesn’t look like you’ve been eating much lately either. You’ve been living it tough.”
It wasn’t a question and Marissa didn’t have the capacity to answer, not when sudden tears threatened and her throat closed up. The fact that a stranger realized her life hadn’t been easy somehow underscored her pain over the last few years.
“I guess I have,” she admitted. Her hands clenched into fists on the table. “I lost my fiancé a year ago.”
Dot leaned over and put a hand over hers. “I’m sorry to hear that pet. I know how it feels to lose a loved one. My Tommy died in duty. I’ve never loved another man since.” Her clasp tightened and her eyes glinted. “It’s different for you though, even this blind old duck can see that. You two have something special. Don’t give that up for anyone or anything.”
Marissa looked up at Asher with a shaft of longing hitting her front and center. Whatever she felt for him couldn’t be denied. She’d experienced a connection to him from the very start, a connection that had only grown every second she spent in his company.
He stared back, his eyes glowing faintly, a telltale sign of his desire, his non-humanness. He reached over and covered her other hand. “Dot is right,” he said throatily. “We do have something ... something I’ve never felt before.”
Marissa’s breath caught, her feelings tumbling one after the other until yearning settled on top of the pile, a yearning she felt sure was shining in her eyes as she stared back at him.
Dot cleared her throat. “Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up then.” She looked up with a faint, pleased smile. “Is anyone in the mood for a sandwich?”
Asher nodded. “Please.”
Dot’s cackle reverberated inside the house. “I guess a big man like you needs to keep his strength up.” She turned to Marissa. “Aren’t you the lucky one?”
A slow burn crept up Marissa’s face before Dot turned back with her cackle pitching sharper, higher. Like a set of badly played violins.
“Eat those scones up, the both of you.” Dot called out over her shoulder. “I might still enjoy cooking, but I lost interest in eating a long time ago.”
It explained Dot’s svelte figure. She was thin as a post, but still bright and active as she bustled around in the kitchen, grabbing a loaf of what looked like homemade bread, then opening the refrigerator for sandwich ingredients.
Marissa took one more scone before she pushed the half-dozen others on the plate Asher’s way. “You have them. You need them more than I do.” At his faint frown, she added, “And I’m not hungry, two is plenty for me.”
She rarely ate more than two meals a day, so she wasn’t lying. Despite how delicious the scones were, she had to almost force herself to eat a second one.
Dot returned a few minutes later with a sandwich piled with lettuce, tomato and what looked like corned beef. A delicious combination, but Marissa wondered what Asher would make of these flavors. Surely food on this planet was vastly different to the food on Riddich?
She turned to Dot as the older woman took her seat again. “So what about you Dot, what brought you to this place?”
Dot sipped her tea. “You mean, what brought me to the middle of nowhere?”
Marissa nodded. “Yes.”
Dot sighed, looking pensive. “Tommy and I moved here a handful of years after he joined the army. It seemed as though he needed to live in relative peace and quiet, surrounded by nothing but bush and jabbering birds and with no one gunfire or commanders barking out commands.”
Marissa blinked. “What happened to Tommy?”
“He did a brief stint as a private and clearly excelled. He moved into Special Forces soon after before he was offered a promotion into another department. Except it was something no one else was meant to know about, something ... fantastical.”
Asher paused from devouring his sandwich and Marissa tried to ignore a frisson of alarm that told her whatever Dot said next was monumental. She cleared her throat and asked, “What was his department?”
Dot lost the faraway look in her eyes, and then rubbed at her eyes before she said, “He worked for the PDA—Paranormal Detection Agency—a government based department that tracks down any creatures that don’t fit into the ‘normal’ box.”
Holy shit. Had that been the same department who’d been looking for Asher?
Marissa blinked, focusing on Dot. “So you believe there’s such a thing as shape shifters?”
The older woman bit into her bottom lip, her uncertainty obvious. “After Tommy admitted where he worked, he wouldn’t talk any further on the subject. He grew evasive, said he and his men never found anything remarkable.” She sighed. “I might even have believed him, except if that was the case, why would such a department even exist?”
Asher pushed his empty plate away. “Because he was trying to protect you and ensure you didn’t know too much. It might also be why he wanted to live where few would bother to find him—and you.”
Dot blanched a little and murmured, “Yes, maybe you’re right.”
Marissa blew out a slow breath. “Does this organization still exist?”
The older woman’s eyes turned serious. “It does as far as I know, though after one of the PDA’s senior chiefs was burned alive in a mission, I heard things got quiet for a while.”
Asher’s whole body tensed, his stare intense. “Burned alive ... do you know exactly how that happened?”
She shook her head. “No. It was pretty hush-hush. Though from all accounts the man, Mr. Briggs I think was the name he went by, wasn’t well liked or terribly missed. I know Tommy never liked the man. Of course, Tommy died long before Mr. Briggs met his end.”
Marissa put a hand on Dot’s knotted fingers. “You said Tommy died at war?”
Dot’s smile was strained, the weariness beneath her paper-thin skin more than obvious. “Yes. He was shot by one of his own men. They called it an awful accident, but I never believed a word of it. Tommy wasn’t shot by mistake.”
Sympathy was a hard knot inside Marissa’s belly. “You think he was set up?”
Dot nodded. “I know he was. In my heart I believe he was too ethical for the nefarious things that went on behind the scenes. He didn’t tell me much, but he did say
there were some civilians they’d brought in who could sense supernatural beings—“
A loud knock on the door startled them all, even Asher, and Marissa realized he’d been so caught up in Dot’s revelation he hadn’t heard anyone approach the house.
Dot glanced at Asher and Marissa, and then yelled out, “Who is it?”
“It’s Special Forces ma’am. Open up. We need to talk to you.”
Dot’s eyes widened. She stood and threw the tablecloth across the giveaway extra plates and food, before she whispered, “Follow me.”
When the knock sounded again, she shouted, “Just give me a minute, I’m getting dressed. Not like I get many visitors out this way.”
Dot grinned and whispered. “Don’t worry, Tommy always had a backup plan.” She peeled a rug from the hallway and lifted a hatch. “Get down there and don’t move until it’s quiet.”
Marissa nodded, her pulse trembling. “Thank you, for everything.”
Dot nodded. “You’re good people, both of you. I won’t hand you over to the same heathen government agency that killed my Tommy.”
Asher closed his hand over Marissa’s and guided her carefully down the stairs into pitch blackness. A darkness that seemed to consume them the moment Dot closed the hatch.
“Don’t be scared,” Asher murmured next to her.
She swallowed hard. “Sorry, I’ve always hated the dark.”
“Let me help with that.”
A muted red glow drove away the immediate darkness, and she turned to discover the light source was Asher’s eyes. Relief at his chasing away the shadows mingled with something stronger, deeper. Like a piece of her melted at his care, at the way he always looked after her.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hand in response, and she realized why he kept quiet when she heard the easily audible sound of voices above.
“You’re certain ma’am you saw no one recently?”
Shit. She recognized the officer’s arrogant voice. She only hoped Dot wouldn’t feel pressured by his imposing presence.
“I said I hadn’t young man, do I really need to repeat myself again?”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Marissa couldn’t help but smile. She needn’t have worried about Dot. The older woman was fiercer than a mother hen with a brood of chickens.
“Of course not.” The officer actually sounded chastened. “You won’t mind if we take a look around?”
“Be my guest, not that you lot were invited inside in the first place!”
Marissa’s smile faded as dark thoughts intruded. What if the soldiers or government agency or whoever the hell was after Asher, actually caught him? She shivered. Better to be dead than treated like a lab rat and experimented on.
Her blood turned cold at the idea. Asher was warm and vital, and in the short time she’d been with him, she’d grown closer to him than she imagined was possible. She wouldn’t let him die!
Footsteps sounded overhead, the heavier tread of probably half a dozen soldiers checking each room, doors opening and softly closing. She imagined if they were really suspicious and not half as mindful of Dot, they wouldn’t be anywhere near as careful.
“Thank you for your time ma’am, and make sure you lock your doors.”
“I’m not some wet-behind-the-ears ninny, but thank you for your concern,” Dot said imperiously.
When Dot pulled open the hatch a few minutes later, her eyes were bright with excitement and glee. “You two are safe for now. Those idiots didn’t have a clue.” She cackled and added, “What a pity the PDA doesn’t appear to have supernatural trackers anymore.”
“We can only hope it stays that way,” Asher murmured.
Though the hottest part of the day had long ago slipped past, Marissa blinked into the glare as her eyes adjusted. She hugged Dot, aware of the older woman’s frail body even as she stepped back and smiled at her. “Thank you for all you’ve done, you don’t know how much that means to us.”
Dot’s face melted into something motherly. “Oh, I think I do.” She turned and grabbed a set of keys off a little hook on her kitchen wall, then handed them to Asher. “Take my car to wherever it is you need to go.”
Marissa gasped. “We can’t do that to you!”
Dot shook her head. “Of course you can. I trust you two will have someone drive it back to me once you get to your destination.”
“That goes without saying ... but are you sure?” Marissa asked.
“Believe me, I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure. Now the car’s old but she’ll get where you need to be. Just one more thing though.” She looked at Asher. “Who or what are you?”
“Perhaps it’s best I show you,” Asher said mildly, as though talking about nothing more important than the weather. His eyes suddenly glowed, lit up from within as though fire danced behind his stare. Perhaps it did.
Dot pressed a hand to her mouth. “I guessed you were something extraordinary the moment the PDA showed up on my doorstep.” She cocked her head to the side. “I hope you evade the bastards. And I hope you find your happily ever after with this wonderful young lady.”
Marissa didn’t have the heart to tell Dot that she and Asher had been strangers before today, even if it did seem so much longer than that. Like their journey together had started so much longer ago.
After exchanging quick hugs, Dot all but shooed them out of the house and into the small shed out the back, where a dusty old Holden sat idle.
When Asher climbed into the driver’s seat and fired up the engine, Marissa turned to Dot one last time to give her another hug. Emotion welled up within. “You’ve restored all my faith in human nature.”
Dot’s bony arms squeezed her hard. “And you’ve made me realize the love I had for my Tommy wasn’t a one-off thing. I’m happy to see true love still exists in this world.”
Marissa pulled back. “I’m sorry that you lost the love of your life.”
Dot’s eyes shone. “Yeah me too.” She cleared her throat. “Whatever happens, don’t let them bastards get Asher.”
Marissa managed a smile. “I’ll do everything in my power to see that he stays safe ... and free.”
Chapter Ten
Marissa had a lump in her throat when she climbed into the car and lifted a hand in goodbye to Dot.
Asher pushed the gearstick into first, kangaroo-hopping the car before pulling smoothly away. And suddenly Marissa was laughing and crying all at the same time, her emotions pulled every which way.
“Oops,” Asher said, glancing her way with a grin. “Guess I’m not used to driving Earth cars.”
She swiped away a tear. “Don’t be sorry, you’re a damn good driver considering this is only your second time.”
Asher negotiated the rutted dirt road snaking between trees and brown grass, the sky a cloudless azure and the bright yellow sun descending fast toward the horizon. “On Riddich, driving is second nature. We have no choice really, being that our planet is three times the size of your Earth with a fraction of inhabitants.”
She sniffled back any remaining tears and asked, “Why are there so few of your kind?”
He tensed, his hands clamping tighter on the steering wheel and his shoulders flexing. But his voice sounded smooth and devoid of emotion when he said, “Our women only have a very small window of time in which to reproduce. Even then, a lot of women choose not to conceive so their future kin won’t go through the torment of shifting.”
“Do the women have some kind of birth control then?”
He nodded. “There is a weed on our planet, it grows almost everywhere. Ingesting its crushed up flowers once a month prevents pregnancy.”
She blinked, trying to imagine the inner debate of deciding between having children and seeing them suffer, or not having children at all. It seemed like an appalling choice.
But how must Asher now feel knowing all chance of keeping his race alive was practically impossible? That his whole species must be on th
e brink of being wiped out?
She clasped his thigh, aware how small her hand looked in comparison, and how he filled the whole seat and sucked away all space in the car. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through. It can’t have been easy.”
He put his hand over hers, his warmth seeping through her skin and making her breath catch and her nerve endings dance.
“It’s been horrific,” he conceded, “but I’m blessed to have survived.” He glanced at her. “Blessed to have found you.”
She had an insane urge to lift his hand to her mouth and kiss it. What the heck, she did it anyway. Her lips tingled as she kissed his knuckles, her whole body alive and aware. She released his hand and looked at him. “I’m the one who feels lucky.”
His eyes glowed. “Then I can only trust that whatever the future holds won’t change your mind.”
“I doubt that very much,” she admitted softly.
“I hope you’re right.”
I know I’m right.
She stifled a yawn, weariness suddenly falling over her. “I think all the excitement is catching up on me.”
His smiled almost looked sad. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I just follow the Sydney signs, right?”
She pushed away the odd sensation that he was hiding something. “Yes. I’ll take over from you before we get anywhere near the city. Wake me up when the road turns into a big highway.”
He grinned. “Yes ma’am.”
Marissa closed her eyes with a smile, feeling all mistrust melt away even as the miles slipped past as she drifted in and out of sleep. Intermittent dreams of a Riddich warrior filtered through her mind. It was only when the warrior became a fearsome dragon who sent a ball of fire in her direction that she woke with a start.
Asher glanced at her from the driver’s seat. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, though her skin was drenched with sweat and her heart rate galloped. “Yeah, I’m good now.”
He frowned, clearly not convinced. “Well the good news is you slept a few hours away.”