But we'd save them all. And then we'd take down the men who'd enslaved them to begin with. I swore that on the graves of my ancestors.
Book 3 – Protection
Chapter One
Riley
There was no way I could sleep. Not only was I trying to come to grips with being abducted in the first place, I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it had been alien beings who'd taken me. Aliens – like, from another planet. The more I ran that thought through my mind, the more unreal it seemed to me. Alien abductions were just an urban legend – right?
Yeah, that's what I'd always thought. I'd always believed that alien abduction stories were told by those people looking for some media attention. Or people who'd done way too much crystal meth and were seeing things.
But as I stared out the window at – well – outer space, there was no denying it. Not anymore. I was in an alien craft, piloted by an alien being – who'd just rescued me from alien abductors. It was overwhelming and it continued to make my head spin.
My heart raced every time I looked at the stars hurtling by and thought about where we were. Honestly, I'd never cared for flying in a regular airplane, but being in a space ship? In outer space? It induced a level of anxiety I never thought I could reach. I suppose I broke a personal record – go me.
I tried to focus on other things. Tried to focus on the other women who were in the craft with me. Make sure they were okay – or as okay as they could be given the circumstances. Anything to help distract me from the reality of what was happening. And some of the time, it worked. Some of the time, I was able to push it to the back of my mind because there were so many other things going on.
But in those moments where it came rushing back to the forefront of my brain, I still couldn't believe I was even there. And it filled me with a terror I'd never known before. But at the same time, it filled me with a sense of awe. Granted, it was a few grains of sand in a beach of fear, but – I was in space. Aboard an alien space craft. I had to admit, as terrifying as it was, it was sort of cool at the same time.
I turned from the women to our host and pilot. He'd said his name was Jendrish. What was he exactly? He kept talking about us as if we were so vastly different than him. Yeah, there were a few differences, but he looked human-enough to me. Yet, he referred to us as humans, implying he was something else. But what was he then?
It was too much for me to wrap my head around. All I wanted to do was sleep. But I was too wired to even do that.
“Are you okay, Riley?” a female voice spoke up from behind me.
It was a girl named Charlotte – a sweet, southern belle with curly red hair and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen who was all of about sixteen. She was one of the ones we'd saved. One of many. But there were others like her we'd had no choice but to leave behind. We couldn't save everybody. And that was a thought that continued to weigh heavily on me. I didn't know what was going to happen to them with any certainty, but I knew whatever it was, it wouldn't be good. The guilt was a lancing pain in my heart.
“Yeah, I'm just trying to take it all in, that's all,” I said.
“I know, right?” she said, standing beside me and looking out the window.
All of the wonders of the galaxy were out there. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. And just so damn unreal. We stood in silence for a few moments, just taking in the scene before us. Charlotte looked as awestruck and terrified as I felt.
“It's hard to believe this is real, but I'm seeing it with my own eyes,” she said. “I'm not crazy, am I?”
Her question was a serious one, and I couldn't blame her. I'd asked myself the same question about a billion times already.
“If you are, I suppose that I am too,” I said.
“At least I'm not alone in my insanity then.”
We shared a laugh over that, but the laughter wasn't all that heartfelt or long-lasting. It almost felt like we were trying to force some levity into the situation. After our laughter died, we fell quiet once more. The others were asleep, and I knew Charlotte and I should be too. We needed some rest after everything that had happened. But sleep was more than a little hard to come by at the moment – for obvious reasons.
“What do you think of him?” Charlotte asked me. “Jendrish? The alien guy. Do you trust him?”
I sighed. “I honestly don't know what to think. I mean, he seems sincere,” I said, keeping my voice low. “And he did risk his own life to save us. But to be perfectly honest, I have to wonder why he'd do such a thing. Why risk his own life to save a bunch of women he didn't know? I had the really unsettling thought that maybe, this was just another trap, you know? How would we know any different?”
“Yeah, I guess we wouldn't. And I hope you're wrong about that. I hope this isn't another trap,” Charlotte said softly. “He seems like a pretty decent guy.”
I cringed at her description of him. “But is a guy at all? I mean, is he even human?”
“No,” he responded. “I'm not human. To answer your question.”
We both jumped at the sound of the voice behind us. It was Jendrish. We hadn't even heard him walk up. He moved so quietly – like he walked on air.
“Jesus Christ,” I said, my hand over my heart. “I didn't hear you walk up. I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense by what – ”
“None taken,” he said, stepping up beside me.
He was smiling, and I had to admit, his smile seemed kind enough. His eyes were a vivid blue and seemed without malice or guile. I liked to think that I was a pretty good judge of character. I just didn't know if that sound judgment extended to alien beings or not. I supposed I was going to find out.
Though, I had to take back what I said about Charlotte having the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. That title would actually belong to Jendrish. Except his eyes weren't a normal human blue – they looked more like the blue of the sea in a picture from some exotic locale. A deep, rich blue with specks of cerulean mixed in.
“I'm not human,” he said. “I'm an Optorion male. It's just another description. Nothing more, nothing less.”
His hair was sleek and silky, falling down around his face and highlighting the paleness of his skin, which seemed to further bring out the blue in his eyes. He was beautiful, that was for certain. There was an almost ethereal quality about him. But I knew from hard earned experience that beautiful men were often the most dangerous men. Mike had been very good looking – though not as ethereal as Jendrish – and he knew how to use that appeal to his best, and my worst, advantage.
I didn't doubt that Jendrish knew he was handsome too. I just wondered if he used his good looks to manipulate women the way Mike had. Like I'd said, I didn't pick up on any guile on his part, but then, when it came to those gorgeous men, they were often able to hide their darker side. They didn't advertise that they were manipulative assholes and you only found out when it was too late.
“I'm going to get some rest,” Charlotte said softly, excusing herself.
I thought she probably felt a little uneasy in his presence. And after all we'd been through, I didn't blame her. I wasn't exactly the picture of comfort in the presence of a man who looked a lot like the men who'd abducted me. But – he'd given me no reason to not trust him. Quite the contrary, in fact. He'd gone out of his way to show me that he could be trusted – he had risked life and limb to save us, after all.
“Good idea, Charlotte,” I said. “I'll join you in a bit.”
Jendrish leaned against the wall next to the window and smiled as he looked at the vastness of space beyond. “Did you ever think you'd see something as magnificent as the universe in all its glory?”
“Not in a million years,” I said. “I've actually only flown in a plane once – when I first moved out to San Francisco. Scariest experience of my life. Well, at the time, at least.”
Jendrish was quiet, as if he expected me to say more. But I wasn't one to talk about myself, not even with those I might consider friends. And I hardly knew this man
. I wasn't about to unload my entire life story onto him. He continued to look at me, an inscrutable expression on his face. It was as if he were trying to see into me, trying to figure out what made me tick.
Little did he know, I'd spent a lifetime crafting high, thick walls that were pretty impenetrable. Nobody saw anything in me that I didn't want them to see. I didn't reveal anything I didn't want revealed. When it came to protecting one's self, I was a master.
An awkward silence descended between us and when he continued to not say anything, I decided to shift the tables a bit and see if I could get him anything.
“What made you do what you did?” I asked.
He turned his gaze from the stars outside the ship to me, his brow furrowed. “You mean rescuing you?”
I nodded, and he looked down at his hands. He looked somewhat nervous, perhaps a little uncertain. I expected a lie – just because I'd found that most men can't look you in the eyes when they're lying. But he turned his gaze back to mine and held it steady before he answered.
“Because that's the type of person I am,” he said. “I was raised in a diplomatic family and joined the Royal Guard to protect and to serve the people of Optorio. And what I witnessed inside the building where you were being held – it was shocking. Deplorable. That's not the planet I fought for. Not anymore.”
Funnily enough, I almost wanted to believe him. He sounded sincere. He sounded genuine. But it almost sounded too good, too perfect.
“A diplomatic family?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
“My father was a diplomat on Optorio and I grew up in an environment where we talked openly about relations with other species and civilizations. My father often took me to meetings with diplomats from other worlds. He even took me to diplomatic sessions offworld. It gave me the opportunity to meet others out there – people outside of my own species. It gave me an opportunity to learn to appreciate those who aren't like me. My father always wanted me to remember that any decisions our planet made affected the universe around us. Honestly, he wanted me to go into politics instead of the military. I think he was a little disappointed.”
Jendrish looked away for a split second, as if to collect his thoughts. His smile was gone though, and had been replaced with a much more serious expression.
“Your father, where is he now?” I asked.
“He's dead,” Jendrish said solemnly. “He passed away not that long ago.”
“I'm sorry to hear that,” I said quietly. “And your mother?”
Jendrish closed his eyes before speaking and when he did, I could hear the pain and raw emotion in his voice.
“She died during childbirth – which is why I'm an only child.”
He too was alone in this world, just like me. Just like the rest of us who'd been taken. Without even thinking about it, I reached out and stroked his arm, gently.
“I'm sorry, Jendrish,” I said.
“And you?” he asked, turning toward me. “What about you? What do you do down on Earth?”
What do I do? As in a career? I felt ashamed to answer him, to admit that I was basically nothing but a worthless waitress at a cafe – so I didn't admit to that part. Instead, I focused on the more positive aspect of my existence, such as it was.
“I'm in school,” I said. “Trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.”
“Oh? What are you studying?” he asked.
“Criminal justice,” I said quickly. “I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet exactly. But I do know that I want to stop the bad people from doing shit like this, you know?”
Jendrish cocked his head and got a faraway look on his face. It was as if he were listening to somebody speaking – somebody apparently, only he could hear.
“Oh, criminal justice – as in, you want to be a judge?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” I laughed. “Maybe a police officer. Perhaps a criminal prosecutor. I haven't decided which route I want to take yet. But I still have some time before I have to decide. Though honestly, I don't know that I could meet all of the physical requirements to be a cop, so law might be the better option for me anyway. ”
“And why couldn't you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in a curious manner. “Meet these – physical requirements?”
“Because look at me,” I said, pointing to my curvy physique. “I'm a little out of shape, and not sure I'd pass the trials.”
He nodded as if he understood. “That is something you can train for though, correct?”
I shrugged. “I suppose so,” I replied. “I just don't know if I can do it.”
“Why not?”
His question was the definition of simple, but for some reason, in that moment, it resonated with me. I always assumed there'd be no time to do any hardcore training – I hardly had time to sleep as it was, much less work out and get into top shape for the police academy. But that wasn't something I wanted to explain to him. I thought it was venturing too far into the personal territory and that was the last place I wanted to go.
Before I could come up with a good response though, he spoke again. “Honestly, after everything I saw from you tonight, I believe you would make a very fine police officer. I think those women in there would agree with me as well.”
I could feel the heat in my cheeks and knew I was blushing a deep shade of red. I wasn't one who took compliments very well – and no one had ever really said such a thing to me before. Honestly, I didn't believe I could actually do it. And since no one told me otherwise, it just sort of became fact in my head. I had always prided myself on not needing a cheering section, but in truth, not having one, not having that person who stood behind you and said, “you can do it,” made me believe I couldn't actually do it. Without somebody to reverse my own hypercritical self-evaluation, I'd always just assumed that I couldn't.
“Thank you,” was all I could mutter. “I think I'm going to try and sleep now.”
That last part was a lie. Honestly, I just needed to step away from Jendrish. I didn't know how to deal with compliments, especially coming from somebody I didn't know. I still wasn't sure I could trust him yet.
I wanted to like him so badly. Wanted to believe that he really was the genuinely good guy he came across as. But my ability to read people was all skewed, because once upon a time, I'd thought Mike was a good guy too. So, not only was I not sure I could trust Jendrish, I honestly wasn't sure I could trust myself, either.
“Good night, Riley,” he said, his voice like an echo floating on the currents of air behind me. “Sleep well.”
Chapter Two
The other women were curled up together, sharing a few blankets between them. Most all of them were huddled close together, perhaps partly for comfort, perhaps partly for safety and the feeling of security.
As I walked back through the room, stepping over and around the sleeping forms, I could see that only a couple were actually sleeping, judging by the looks of it. Others stared at me – a few of them like I was an alien myself – as I entered. Their eyes were wide, some of them red and puffy from crying, most all of them unable to sleep.
Not that I could blame them – I was in the same boat as they were. All of this was terrifying and strange. And not all of them had the sense of wonder I had in looking out the window and seeing the vastness of the universe all around us.
But my heart was filled with sympathy for them. Everybody was exhausted, terrified, and emotionally wrung out from the ordeal. I wished I could convince them all to get some sleep. According to Jendrish, we were in for a long trip home, but I knew that sleep seemed impossible. Our minds were too busy trying to process it all and the horrors of what we'd experienced were all still too fresh.
Charlotte stared back at me from the floor, her big, blue eyes wide. “What did he say?” she whispered.
I joined her on the floor and gave her a small smile. “What do you mean?”
“What did you guys talk about? Did he tell you why he saved us?”
“He did,” I said with a sigh.
“And?”
“And he said that he rescued us all because it was the right thing to do.”
Charlotte looked at me with eyes that were narrowed and an expression that could only be described as – skeptical. Sadly, you met very few knights in shining armor these days. Chivalry and the idea of doing something good just for the sake of doing it seemed like antiquated concepts. Ideals that were long outdated.
Anymore, most men simply wanted something from women like us. It was beyond difficult to believe that somebody like Jendrish would just come sweeping in to rescue a horde of helpless women out of the goodness of their hearts. At least, it was beyond difficult to believe for a skeptic like me since tough times seemed to the norm. I didn't run across very many altruistic men.
“Huh. You know?” Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow. “I almost believe him too. He's just so convincing and believable.”
Sadly, I believed him too. Or at least, I wanted to believe. But what did I know? Though I was good at reading people in general, I'd always had some seriously bad blind spots when it came to reading men. That was why I'd let myself fall for a sadistic, manipulative asshole like Mike in the first place – which is one reason my whole life was a goddamn train wreck.
And it was most certainly why I could never fully and truly trust men.
My eyes were growing heavy, but there was no way I wanted to sleep. I felt the need to keep watch, just in case this were all a trap of some sort. I couldn’t adequately explain why, but I felt an overwhelming responsibility to these women. I felt like it was my job to keep them safe.
It was ridiculous, of course. There was no way I could do anything to ensure their safety. Despite that though, I still carried around that burden of responsibility on my own shoulders.
“So tell me about yourself, Charlotte?” I asked, just to break the tension inherent in the silence between us. “Do you have any family? A boyfriend back home, maybe?”
Charlotte was quiet for a few moments before looking at me and simply answering, “No.”
Mated to a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 3) Page 37