She wondered why.
“Does your cell work?” he asked.
Grabbing her purse, she checked it and saw it wasn’t even turned on. She hit the power button, held it but it was no use. “Nothing.”
“What the fuck.” His quiet murmur frazzled her nerves and she slipped on her flats, the only practical shoes she’d brought with her. She snatched up her regular purse, dumping the contents from her smaller purse into it before she went to the mini bar and swept everything inside of it into her purse. Candy bars, chips, little bottles of liquor and regular-sized bottles of water all tumbled inside.
“Good idea,” Russ said when she was finished. “Let’s go.”
They fled the hotel room, passing the elevators as they walked down the hall. The lights flickered on and off, as if the power was trying to come back on, but they weren’t going to take any chances. They were taking the stairs.
On the bright side, at least they were going down and not up.
She followed after him, struggling to keep up. The man was fast, practically bounding from one flight of stairs to the next and a large boom sounded in the distance, causing the building to sway.
“Don’t let it bother you,” he called back. “Just keep going.”
Samantha did as he said, focusing on her steps, the weight of her purse already causing her shoulder to ache. She’d thrown on a sweatshirt she’d purchased earlier at a random gift shop. She’d known it would be cold outside.
The moment Russ threw open the door her earlier thoughts were confirmed. It was cold as ice outside, the wind blowing past them sounding hollow and eerie. Not a soul was around. No scared and wounded people running down the streets, no ambulance or police sirens sounding. The street was quiet.
Too quiet.
“I don’t like this.” Russ grabbed hold of her hand, and they ran across the parking lot toward the garage. “Where the fuck is everybody?”
“I have no idea.” She panted, desperate to catch her breath but not about to slow down. Who knew who—or what—was lurking in the shadows? She’d watched enough scary movies to know nothing good happened when it was too quiet.
“Well, lucky for us I’m parked on the ground floor.” He turned right the moment they slipped into the garage, leading her to a black F-150 pickup. The garage was packed with cars, every slot filled yet not a single person was there.
It was as if they were the only two people in the entire place—the entire city.
But how could that be possible?
“Get in,” he commanded, his voice gruff as he hit the keyless remote, unlocking the doors.
She did as he asked, her entire body trembling with a combination of fear and cold. She exhaled loudly, her breath a cloud in front of her as he slipped into the car and shoved his key into the ignition.
“Pray it starts,” he said before he turned the key.
The truck’s engine roared to life and they smiled at each other, looking like giddy kids on Christmas morning. With a flick of his wrist he cranked on the heater then backed out of the parking spot.
“My family lives in Henderson. We’ll head there,” he said as they pulled out of the garage and onto the abandoned street.
“You’re local?” Well, maybe that was to their advantage. At least he’d know where to go. She’d be lost if she was left on her own.
A sobering thought.
“Yeah. Well, I’m here on leave. I’m in the military.” He cast her a quick sideways glance before turning his attention back to the street, swerving quickly to dodge an overturned car lying in the middle of the road.
Well, that made complete sense considering his outrageous body and quick reflexes, the way he took utter command of the situation once it started to fall apart. “What branch?”
“Navy. They gave me holiday leave. I got lucky.”
“I’ll say.” She watched him, the firm clench of his jaw, the slight tic there, his gaze narrowed as he maneuvered the truck with amazing skill.
Despite the fear and the worry and the utter shock she was experiencing, she couldn’t help but admire him.
If the end of the world was really going down, she’d really lucked out.
“I don’t get why no one’s out here. Why the entire street is abandoned.” He turned left at the next light—which was completely dark—and headed east. The street was just as empty, the power out, though a singular flash of white light shone for a brief second, illuminating the dark sky, thick with clouds.
“Is everything going to be okay? Are we going to be okay?” She had to ask, though she really didn’t want an honest answer.
Searching for reassurance and she probably wasn’t going to find it.
Russ looked at her, his expression solemn, his eyes filled with a hint of—gulp—fear. “I don’t know.”
Samantha was afraid he’d say that.
He didn’t get what was going on.
One moment he was buried deep in the sweetest, sexiest woman he’d ever met and the next the entire building felt as if it was going to collapse all while the city was being destroyed.
Yet they leave the hotel all in one piece and find…nothing. The buildings that surrounded theirs were smashed to bits, the power was out and the streets were abandoned. No one was around.
Where the hell were the panicked crowds? They should be fleeing the city in their cars in mass exodus. Or at the very least, running in droves down the sidewalk, looking for safety, looting closed shops, whatever it was that people did when their city was under siege.
He needed to get the fuck out of here. He needed to get home, make sure his family was safe, hell, make sure the entire city of Henderson was in one piece.
The further they drove out of Las Vegas the less the destruction appeared, though there was still not one sign of humanity. The entire city was shrouded in darkness.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re the only ones…here?” Samantha’s soft, trembling voice reached him and he glanced at her. Saw she was huddled in the corner of her seat, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared out the window.
Lifting up the center console, he patted the space beside him. “Come here.”
She undid her seatbelt and slid toward him, slamming her body close to his. Without a word she put on her seatbelt then rested her hand on his thigh.
He needed her close. Not only to make her feel better but to reassure himself as well.
Whatever was going down, this was some scary shit.
“I don’t know what happened to everyone,” he finally said, desperate to fill the silence that had overcome them both. He was a man who operated best under pressure, had been doing so for years. He’d fought a bitter war and came out the other side a survivor. Hell, he was willing to go back and fight some more. He was so damn loyal.
Or crazy, take your pick.
“There’s not even anyone out here,” she observed as he turned right and pulled onto the freeway. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
None of it did but he couldn’t focus on it. He had one goal in mind. Get them to Henderson.
Get them to safety.
Pressing his foot hard on the gas pedal, he watched as the speedometer hit seventy, then eighty…finally steadying at ninety. Not like any highway patrol was out to give him a ticket. He was gonna haul ass.
Her fingers tightened on his thigh, sharp and painful even through the thick denim, and he laid a hand over hers, squeezing in reassurance. She leaned her head on his shoulder, a soft sigh escaping her and the floral scent of her hair drifted up, tickling his nose.
He released his hold on her and clamped both hands on the steering wheel, peering into the darkness of the night. Damn it, it all felt so—normal. How he wished it were normal.
But it wasn’t. Not even close.
“What was that?”
Another flash of light appeared, this one brighter and shining upon the freeway ahead of them. Tapping on the brakes, he slowed, watched as the beam of light swung wide, as if trying
to capture them.
Glancing out the window, he saw it. A giant—plane?—above them.
“Something’s following us.” He hit the gas and gunned the truck, speeding to one hundred in less than a minute. Thank God for a turbo engine.
“What?” She grabbed the dashboard and peered into the sky, a gasp escaping her when she saw it. “What is that?”
“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to say it. It didn’t look like a normal plane, it didn’t look like military either. He’d seen enough of those to last a lifetime.
It looked…foreign.
As if it might be from another world.
The light shone directly upon them, illuminating the cab of the truck and momentarily blinding him. Samantha screamed as he swerved, his truck sliding into the median, the back end twisting with the impact.
The light disappeared.
“Oh, my God. They’re trying to get us.” She was panting, her voice rising. “Did you see that? Did you feel that? I swear it was trying to pull the entire truck up.”
Their gazes met, held. He switched the truck into four-wheel drive because the median strip was so rocky and the tires gripped the rough ground with ease.
Russ had definitely felt it. An inexplicable pull, just like in the fuckin’ movies. What the hell? Were they trying to capture them and yank them up into their alien ship? Was that what happened to everyone else?
Some sort of freaky alien invasion?
The light shone again from behind and he glanced over his shoulder, saw that it was gaining on them.
“Hold on tight. Go back into the passenger seat,” he warned Samantha, ready to do damage to his precious truck. He’d finally paid the baby off and rarely got to drive it, and now he was about to put it through the ringer.
He’d mourn the loss of his truck later. If his plan worked, it was the only thing that would get them through this.
Samantha did as he asked, her hand griping the handle above the door after she slipped her seat belt on. Sending her a look, he cocked a brow in question and she nodded once in answer.
Perfect. She wasn’t one who needed lots of explanation, thank God.
Steeling himself, he jerked the steering wheel as hard as he could, sending the truck spinning in a one-eighty. The light from above scanned back and forth, as if they lost their subject and he slammed on the brakes. Watched as the light continued on, leaving them shrouded in darkness.
“Did you lose them?”
“Not yet.” He hit the gas again, spurting forward, leaving a cloud of dust and gravel in his wake. He drove across the southbound lane and straight down the embankment, through a copse of trees until he came to a frontage road. Flicking off his lights, he stopped the car and breathed deep.
“Holy shit,” Samantha whispered, her voice shaking.
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. “Got one of those waters you pinched from the mini-bar?”
She dug in her purse and handed him one. He tore the lid off and drank half of it in one swallow, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he was finished. “Ready to go?” He set the water bottle between his legs.
“Where are we going? Where are we?”
“Not too far from Henderson. I’m going to take some back roads to get there.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “You’re going to drive in the dark?”
Russ eased his foot on the gas pedal, slow and steady. The light from above was nowhere to be seen.
For the moment. No way could he get too comfortable yet.
“I used to all the time when I was in high school.” They would drive the desert back roads with their lights off when they were kids, he and his friends. Like they had a death wish or something.
Now all of his teenage driving high jinks were coming into good use.
“Okay.” She blew out a harsh breath. “Do you think we’ve lost them?”
“No way. They’ll find us eventually. We just need to stay one step ahead of them.” Reaching out, he grasped her hand and squeezed it tight.
“Do you think? Oh, my God, I sound absolutely crazy, I know it.” She paused and turned her hand within his so their fingers entwined. “Do you think they’re aliens? Why do you think they want us?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled because he knew it sounded crazy but fuck it all, it was the truth. “Yeah, I think they’re aliens. I have no clue why they want us. Maybe they want you.”
Her eyes went wide. “Me? Why?”
“I don’t know. You carrying a secret alien baby or what?”
“No.” She released her hold on his hand and shoved at his shoulder. “Of course not.”
“Then I don’t know what the hell they want. But we’ll worry about that later. First, we need to get to safety.”
Russ hoped like hell he could actually keep them safe.
Chapter Four
Samantha felt like she was living the wildest nightmare of her life. Like she’d been dropped into the middle of a movie and there was no way of escaping. It had all become so surreal she wasn’t sure what was truly happening and what was tumbling around in her brain.
Unfortunately, she knew everything was actually happening. Her newfound lover was barreling down a country road with the lights off, driving like a bat out of hell. Trying to outrun the freaking aliens—or whatever the heck they were—who followed them from above in their mother ship.
God. It sounded absolutely nuts. It was absolutely nuts.
When that beam of light had shined directly upon them on the freeway, she’d felt it. A tug within her belly, grasping hold and trying to jerk her, Russ, the entire truck into the night sky and into that…that thing.
But somehow, Russ had outrun it. Or more like outsmarted it. He was rather skilled behind the wheel she had to give him that.
Closing her eyes, she pressed her forehead against the car window. It was ice cold, making her gasp and she pulled away from it, her gaze unerringly going to Russ.
He drove with a focus that was almost unnerving. Big hands tightly clamped around the steering wheel, his jaw hard as steel, his lips firm. She felt a little starry-eyed, staring at him, but really. He was her hero. He could’ve left her at the hotel and never looked back.
Lucky for her, he hadn’t. This thoughtful, big, strong man had a conscience. And he was doing right by taking care of her.
The night was dark and foreboding, the engine whining, the wind buffering against the truck. She saw nothing outside, no house lights, no streetlights, no sign of life. That was the part that disturbed her the most. The absolute lack of any human movement whatsoever. The entire area had turned into a ghost town. It was disconcerting, feeling as if no one else existed.
Scary.
“Tired?” His rumbling deep voice startled her and she jerked her head away from the glass, turning to find his gaze on her before he turned his focus back to the road.
“I am.” She yawned and stretched, her lids getting droopy. She hadn’t felt sleepy prior to him asking…
“Grab a quick nap.” He peered into the darkness, exhaustion etched all over his handsome face. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Get where?”
“My parents’ house.” His mouth tightened.
She knew he was worried, and her heart grew heavy for him. She hoped his parents were all right.
It wasn’t looking very good.
“I don’t feel right, trying to sleep when you can’t,” she murmured.
Reaching across the seat, he settled his hand on her knee and gave it a quick squeeze. Despite the danger and the insanity of it all, his touch felt good. Right. She traced the ridges of his knuckles with her index finger, needing the connection, surprised at the pleasure that bloomed within her.
If circumstances were different…
Samantha frowned. But they weren’t different. They couldn’t change what was happening even if they tried.
“Go to sleep,” he whispered, his voice low and soothing and she leaned her head back on
the seat, closing her eyes. The rumble of the truck lulled her, and her hand fell away from his though he continued to touch her. He slid his hand up higher until it was resting on the inside of her thigh and she sighed when he stroked her.
She tingled everywhere at his touch, and her mind drifted, drifted…
Until finally, she slept.
“She belongs to us now.”
“Confirmed. We’ve taken care of the male subject. He’s been disposed and is no longer an issue.”
Samantha remained completely still, her eyes tightly closed. She was too scared to open them and see who—or what—was speaking.
And taken care of the male subject? They must be speaking of Russ…
A sob welled in her throat, and she fought to keep it down. She couldn’t lose it now. She’d come too far and besides, Russ would be so disappointed in her.
Not that he was even alive to see her…
Something cold and hard touched her leg and she jumped, a yelp escaping her. Eyes snapping open, she discovered two giant metal objects standing next to her, pale blue light shining from where their eyes should’ve been.
“She’s awake. It’s time.”
“Strip her.”
They spoke in a foreign language unlike anything she’d ever heard before, yet she understood everything they said.
And she wasn’t about to let them get their…hands on her.
“Get away from me.” She kicked out a foot, but it was restrained. By what, she couldn’t see. “Don’t touch me!”
Invisible shackles wrapped around her ankles, then snapped about her wrists. She was lying on a thin bed spread-eagled and they were looming over her, their metal fingers gliding over her skin.
Her clothes had disappeared.
“N-no.” Samantha shook her head, struggling against her invisible restraints, tears stinging the corners of her eyes when she felt them touch her. One of the metal beings touched her breast, pinching her nipple so hard it hurt, and the tears came freely now. Flowing down her cheeks as she began to sob.
“Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me!”
Neon Chaos Page 3