I considered it all part of my research of this species. Getting to know their habits, social or otherwise. Anjol didn't seem to agree, but I wasn't planning on drinking any more of this bourbon anyway. I didn't believe in torturing myself without good reason.
I got the feeling I was being watched, and when I scanned the room, I saw that someone was indeed staring at me. Someone I recognized.
Josie. She was friends with Paige and very well might know where I could find her.
“I would warn against that, Baz,” Anjol said.
I didn't listen. I didn't have to wait too long to talk to Josie, because before I could walk toward her, she came over to me, swishing her hips and walking in a way that made most of the human males in the room stop and watch her.
She stopped at my table and smiled down at me.
“May I have a seat?”
“I don't believe it's my seat to give away,” I said. “They belong to the club. Is that not correct?”
She gave me an odd look as Anjol quickly explained the meaning behind the phrase. I cleared my throat and looked at her before laughing and trying to play it off.
“Sorry,” I said. “My sense of humor is a little odd sometimes. Yes, please, feel free to sit down.”
Josie sat across from me and stared at me in silence for a few seconds. The way she stared at me unnerved me a bit. It was like she was trying to figure something out. Like maybe she was trying to read my mind. Humans couldn't do that – could they?
Anjol responded quickly. “No, Baz. Humans are incapable of reading minds. At least most of them, it appears. Some claim to have this ability, but it's deeply contested and I can't find any real proof.”
“What's going on with you and Paige?” Josie asked, interrupting Anjol's voice in my head and confirming what he'd told me. No, she couldn't read minds. Otherwise she wouldn't be asking me such a question. “I mean, how serious are you about her?”
“Serious? I take her very seriously,” I said, and Anjol explained what the phrase meant. “I like your friend very much, and I can honestly say she's unlike any woman I've ever met before. I'm just worried about her.”
Josie ran a hand through her hair and laughed. “Aren't we all.”
“Why are you worried about her?” I asked. “Has she given you reason to worry?”
Josie looked at me again, this time as if she was trying to come to a decision in her head. She was deep in thought, and the silence hung in the air for a little longer than I was comfortable with. Finally, she spoke.
“If I tell you this, you have to promise me it won't get back to Paige, okay? And know that I'm only telling you because I think you're good for her. That, and I know my best friend well enough to know she's probably trying to push you away right about now.”
“Yes, she is, as you say, pushing me away right now. In fact, she's asked me to avoid contact with her for a little while,” I said. “How did you know?”
“Because Paige is Paige, and she's a stubborn woman who always pushes men away before it gets too serious. You know that means she likes you, right? Because once she starts having feelings for a man, that's when she runs away.”
I was not sure about the feelings part of that equation, but seeing me kill two alien assassins directly in front of her could probably have the same effect. But I knew I couldn't let Josie know about that part.
“Do you know where she's at, Josie?” I asked. “I really need to find her and speak to her.”
Josie sighed, not meeting my gaze for a moment. Finally, she said, “Yeah, I do. But hear me out first, Baz. You have to know a few things about my best friend before I'll let you go to her. You need to understand where she's coming from.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling like the clock was ticking. I needed to get to Paige quickly, but I couldn't argue with Josie or risk alienating her. She could prove a very useful ally. “Go on.”
Josie sighed and then nodded to herself, as if to provide herself with some encouragement. Or perhaps she was trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing.
“Paige was in an abusive relationship not all that long ago,” she said. “Her ex, Shane, wasn't really physical abusive, but it was getting there. He just – well, he was always manipulating her. He was always lying to her and treating her like shit. He cheated on her left and right. He had a nasty habit of treating her like trash, but giving her just enough kindness to keep her hanging there on a string before he tore her apart again.”
I leaned back in my seat and tried to process all that she was telling me – as well as having Anjol fill in the blanks on many of the colloquialisms Josie was using.
Josie spoke softly, and as she paused, she looked down at my drink and asked, “Are you going to finish that?”
“No, you are more than welcome to this,” I said.
Josie took a long, hard swig as if she was drinking water. Humans. They never ceased to amaze me with the most ridiculous of talents.
“I'll pay for you to get a new drink,” she said. “What would you like?”
“I'm fine. I need to be leaving soon anyway to find Paige.”
Josie nodded, wiping her lips with a napkin before continuing. “Paige has always had problems with trusting people. Her folks haven't been much better, but she's trying to fix things with them, I think. She's trying to stop pushing people away and maybe learn to love and trust again, which is why she's there. It's where she always went when Shane and her fought. Despite her problems with her folks, it was her safe place. It's where she grew up.”
Her parents' house. “Do you know how I can find her parents' home, Josie?”
“I have an address.”
“That would be incredibly helpful,” I said, knowing that Anjol could use the address to locate the house and direct me there. “How far is it from here?”
“Not that far, but listen to me, Baz. When you go to her, you need to be honest. Any sign of a lie or half-truth will send her running for the hills,” she said. “You can't lie to this woman. She will smell it from a mile away, and it's a sin she'll never be able to forgive. If you care for her, you need to be totally and completely honest with her. Can you do that?”
I nodded. “I believe that I can. Yes.”
If she believes what I have to say. I didn't want to lie to her, but how could I tell her who I really was? There was no way for me to do that without sounding like – to use human parlance – a lunatic. Now she knew the truth of it all, but if what Josie said was right, would Paige be able to forgive me? Would she be willing to give me a second chance? Or was my 'sin' unforgivable to her?
I sighed. It probably didn't matter in the end. I was not chasing after her to reunite and beg for forgiveness. Forgiveness would be nice, yes, but I wanted to keep her alive. That was the most important thing to me right now.
Keep her alive first. Then, maybe, I could hope for forgiveness.
Chapter Three
She was in a place known as Big Sur, California, which was about an hour and a half from Sapphire Bay. That was where I would find Paige. I couldn't walk there, and without my ship, there was no way I could fly.
So how would I travel that distance?
I stood outside the Mahogany Tavern and stared at the cars lining the street. I needed one of them.
“According to their code of law, grand theft auto is a jailable offense on Earth, and I'm afraid your diplomatic immunity won't help you here, Baz.”
Maybe not, I thought to myself with a smile. But I'll only go to jail if I get caught. And that won't happen, Anjol. We won't let it happen.
“Are you asking me to help you break the law of this land, Baz?”
“Human laws, Anjol. These are human laws and we're not human. So technically, we're not breaking the law at all.”
Anjol didn't seem entirely convinced, but there wasn't much he could do. He was still in my brain and still had to follow my orders or risk being shut down.
“Fine,” he huffed. “But please, let
's find a car that someone won't miss for a while, which should give you a chance to get out of town before the local authorities are called.”
“Good idea. But how would I do that?”
“The house at 3221 Whitaker Ave belongs to a Dr. Howard Jenkins, a cosmetic surgeon. His office hours are eight in the morning until five in the afternoon tomorrow, so it is highly probable that he is at home and in bed right about now, given the human penchant for sleep. Check for lights and use your thermal imaging to confirm. But if so, that should give us enough time to get to Big Sur before he realizes that his car is missing.”
“Anjol, for someone who doesn't like breaking the law, you seem to have some skill with it.”
Whitaker Avenue was just one street over from the Mahogany Tavern. An easy walk. The house was large, set back from the street and the entire neighborhood was dark. People were in bed, ready to be at work bright and early the next day. I used my thermal imaging to confirm that this Dr. Howard Jenkins was in bed. Circadian rhythm charting told me that he was in deep REM sleep. Perfect.
As Anjol directed me to the vehicle, he also helped me unlock it.
“Modern cars on Earth have keyless entry and start systems,” Anjol explained. “I just need to override their system – and there we are.”
The car started and was surprisingly quiet. I was still standing outside, but I could hear the engine purring. It was a beautiful car – it was called a Tesla. It looked sleeker than most of the other the cars on the street and seemed to have been built using more advanced technology.
“Are you going to admire the car all day or actually drive it, Baz?”
“But how, Anjol? How does one drive a car?”
“First of all, you need to get in the driver's seat, just like you would your ship.”
“Ahhh right. Yes.”
I climbed into the car, and the seat adjusted for me automatically – likely thanks to Anjol. The steering wheel was a comfortable distance away, and my feet were lined up to the pedals of this transport.
“The one on your right is the accelerator. The one of the left is the brake. Push on the gas to go faster…No, Baz, wait until we put the car in gear first.”
The engine roared to life when I pressed the pedal, but we hadn't moved.
“Thankfully so,” Anjol said, “or you wouldn't be on your way to Big Sur. You and this vehicle would be in that family's living room.”
Anjol directed me to put the car into reverse and to press lightly on the gas. Of course, lightly is a matter of perception, and there was a lot of room for error when you were only conversing with someone in your head.
“Shit!” I cried out, turning to look behind me. Using human slur words was new to me, but this felt like the appropriate time to try one out as we were moving very fast in a backwards direction.
“BRAKE, Baz! The pedal on the left!”
I pressed down on the brake, making the car stop faster than we'd gotten going.
“So that's how this works? Okay, I think I got it.”
I could hear Anjol protesting that thought, but he continued guiding me. We pulled out of the long, narrow driveway and onto the main street. Anjol explained that I needed to stay in my lane – and then explained the concept of lanes to me. We drove slowly down the road until lights shined brightly through the window behind me. A loud sound caused me to jump and nearly run not just out of my lane, but off of the road entirely.
“He's honking at you,” Anjol said. “Likely, for going too slow. To use a human colloquialism, you are driving like a little old lady.”
I pressed down on the gas a little harder, and my heart raced. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling. It was actually something of an adrenaline rush like none other as I took off down the highway, leaving the car with the loud horn far behind us.
Chapter Four
Now what? I asked myself as I stared at the house where Paige was staying.
It was quiet and dark, but there was a soft glow in the front window. The light was still on and someone was moving around. I couldn't tell who it was, but I had an idea it was Paige. Or at least, I hoped it was Paige.
With no sign of space ships or any of my brother's pet assassins, it was safe to assume they hadn't arrived yet, which gave me time to talk to her about what was happening – and perhaps, what had happened already.
Not having any other plan in place, I realized the only option I had was to knock on the front door. Paige would not be pleased with me, I had no doubt about that. But I had to get to her. I had to warn her and keep her safe. If anything happened to her because of me...
Walking up to the front door, I found that I was more nervous about approaching Paige than I was about driving a strange, new vehicle or even facing my brother. It wasn't a life-or-death fear, but a fear of something else – something painful, but not exactly deadly. Something I'd never felt before.
“Rejection,” Anjol answered for me. “You're afraid of rejection.”
“Rejection?” I asked myself.
“Yes, it's a fear that Paige will refuse to talk to you–”
“I know what it means, Anjol. It's just new to me, I guess. I've never feared being rejected by anyone before, for any reason.”
“No, you haven't Baz. That's why I'm explaining it to you, so you understand.”
“Thank you,” I answered, unable to keep the sarcasm from dripping off my tongue, “because reminding me that she could reject me is making this a whole lot easier.”
“You're welcome.” I sometimes forgot that sarcasm was often lost on Anjol.
I stood in the doorway, peering through the window. I saw Paige sitting on the couch, watching something on the television. A bowl was sitting on the table in front of her.
Well, here goes nothing, I thought to myself.
I cleared my throat and knocked lightly. I knew it was late, and I had no desire to wake her parents or anyone else who might be in the house. I watched as Paige jumped up from the couch, looking around the room as if she wasn't sure where the sound had come from. Afraid she'd catch me peeking in the window – something Anjol reminded me was considered stalking and entirely inappropriate – I stepped back and knocked again.
The door opened just a crack, and I saw Paige's large eyes staring back at me.
“Baz,” she said opening the door further, her eyes widening. “What are you doing here? How in the hell did you find me?”
I had sworn to keep Josie's confidence and would not go back on my word. But that meant lying – something I was not happy about, nor comfortable with. But I had no choice.
“Anjol,” I said. “My bionetic computer system. He can find things.”
It was a lame answer, and I cringed as I'd said it. I was just hopeful that she didn't press it and accepted the advanced technology line. She looked behind her as if afraid there was someone back there. She was wearing a pink tank top and striped pajama bottoms. Her hair was pulled back and her face was free of makeup, but in that moment, she was more beautiful than I'd ever seen her before.
“What are you doing here so late?”
“I needed to speak with you, Paige,” I said, unable to look at her. Because when I looked at her, I wanted to touch her, for she was a thing of pure beauty, and I knew that wouldn't be acceptable.
When I finally brought myself up to meet her gaze, she was smiling ever so slightly. But as soon as our eyes met, she pushed the smile away and looked behind her again.
“My parents are sleeping Baz–”
“It is quite important, Paige. Or else I wouldn't have disobeyed your wishes.”
She opened the door further, motioning for me to come in. “Okay, but please, be quiet. They can't catch you here.”
I nodded, just happy to be let in and that I hadn't been rejected. Not right away at least.
Paige shut a door leading to a hallway and turned off the television before motioning for me to sit on the sofa with her. I sat and she stared at me.
“Well?” she asked. �
��What is it, Baz? Why did you drive all this way in the middle of the night?”
I opened my mouth, but the words weren't easy to say. I tried to figure out the best way to tell her that her life was in danger, all without actually frightening her. Because if she kicked me out, there was no saving her.
“I have reason to believe you're in danger, Paige,” I began. “And I'm here to keep you safe.”
She laughed, but I could see that it wasn't in amusement. She paced the room in anger. There was a firm set to her jaw and a narrowing of her eyes that made her displeasure very clear. She was very mad at me, and she was letting it show, all while trying to keep her voice down in order to avoid waking her parents.
“I'm in danger?” she said. “Are you kidding me? And what, you're going to keep me safe?”
“I'm the only one who can, I'm afraid.”
I told her all about the assassins, how my brother knew about her and he was set on killing her, all to break my spirit.
“Wait, why would it break your spirit, Baz?” she asked, her voice coming out soft.
Josie said I needed to be completely honest, and this was one of those times I knew it was necessary. “Because he knows I care for you, Paige. He knows that it would hurt me deeply if something happened to you.”
Paige made a noise that reminded me of a mouse – a squeak of sorts – as she looked at me with eyes that were widened again. As she looked at me, I could see that some of the anger in her peeled away. But she had a serious expression on her face.
“You care for me?”
“I do, actually,” I said. “A surprising amount.”
Paige sat back down beside me, and for a moment, I saw something other than anger in her eyes. She actually looked – happy? Relieved? I did not know with any certainty. I was not the best at reading human emotions – or understanding them, truth be told – but she was calmer now and not lashing out anymore, which I took to be good signs.
Rocor (Dragons of Kratak Book 5) Page 23