Love in Troubled Times

by Gayle Riley

  She’d done everything right. She’d been an honest person. She’d worked hard and earned good grades. Yet it seemed like there was this huge mountain that she had to climb every day, this huge and ever-increasing debt. There was no way she would ever reach the top of the mountain, no way she would ever conquer this obstacle, throw its weight off her shoulders triumphantly. It felt like she was trapped, locked in a life of low-wage living, spending eighty percent of her money on rent, and the rest on food and just enough alcohol to make me forget, to make the pain go away, to make it all not seem so miserable. So worthless. What was the point? How much longer could she go on living this solitary life? Pretending like she was happy? Like she was really seeking fulfillment in her work and not just trying to fill the holes in her soul?

  Everywhere she looked, Samantha saw happy people smiling, kissing, cuddling, loving each other, people going home to houses and lives and children. A life.

  “Is everything okay?” Jaqueline asked.

  Samantha shook her head from side to side. She must’ve zoned out. She didn’t know how long they were there at the table and she was looking to her phone and she was just looking around, grasping at things, trying to make sense of her life.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s really nice to see you.”

  Jaqueline stared back at her with a blank expression, as if she didn’t care one way or another.

  They talked for a few more minutes and then said goodbye. Shortly after she left the cafe, Samantha’s phone started ringing. It was her boss at The San Francisco Chronicle. For a second she worried that she had forgotten to do something the day before.

  Her boss talked excitedly, hardly taking the time to breathe. It had to do with the mayor and the list of potential aliens that he had in his possession. According to her boss, some of the names were being leaked to the press. And as it turned out, some of the people who belonged to this supposed “alien race” were major players in real estate and finance.

  “Colin Rafferty,” her boss said. “I want you to go to his building and start asking questions.”

  Chapter 5

  Colin

  He fixed his eyes on Ian’s gut. It seemed to expand each time he looked at it. Once again he blathering on and on about the latest improvement in his golf game or his newest piece of golf equipment that was guaranteed to make him a more competitive player.

  When he talked about that foolish human game, requiring long pieces of metal or wood to strike a tiny ball, all he could do was shake his head in confusion. He’d never been able to understand the appeal of that particular human ritual. And of course, the men would say that they were making one deal or another, while they trudged their overweight, out of shape asses from one hole to the next.

  And every now and then, things would really ridiculous when the play and the lackey who had been assigned to him had to go deep into the woods in search of the tiny white ball. Tiny balls. Long, powerful sticks. Sometimes the symbols that these European-descended men clung were too damn obvious. And if all those reasons weren’t enough to denounce this silly human game. There was the absurdity and naivety of conducting any sort of business in an open air environment. No serious person would expose to potential spy—not to mention killer-drones in such a reckless fashion.

  But there were more pressing matters weighing on Colin’s spirit. This situation with the mayor could very quickly spiral out of control, putting their entire race in danger. For centuries they had lived harmoniously with human beings. There was no way to know how long that would be the case. Yet things did not seem promising.

  “Any more news on the mayor?” Colin asked.

  Ian immediately stopped talking. His body became rigid. Colin sensed that Ian knew something that he wasn’t disclosing. That pissed him off. For the second time in the last few hours, he felt a tide of anger rising within him.

  Their eyes locked. “What is it?” Colin asked, standing up, and walking around his desk. He put both his hands on Ian’s shoulders and stared deeply into his eyes.

  Ian’s head dropped. Then he slowly raised his eyes. “It started a few hours ago.”

  “What?”

  “Someone’s leaking the names to the media. I think that’s why the cops pulled you over. Did they say anything?”

  Colin thought back to the dramatic pull over the police department had prepared for him that morning. He tried to remember if that jerk who’d taunted him had said anything about the list. All he could see was that smiling, arrogant face.

  “The guy was an asshole but he didn’t say…”

  Colin went silent. His eyes opened wide. Then he remembered: “Be careful, Mr. Swartz. There are aliens among us.”

  He told Ian about the ominous words that the policemen had said right before letting him go.

  “Shit,” Ian said. “It’s only a matter of time now. I don’t think that we are safe here anymore.”

  It was a reality that they would have to deal with. But this wasn’t a time to panic. They needed to be cool-headed and iron fisted. If they were going to be attacked, then they would have to fight back. The police had been flexing their muscle showing what they were capable of.

  “Organize our tactical units,” Colin said. “And we need our best drivers on the road. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to ambush us.”

  “Ambush? You really think that they want us dead?”

  “Brother, we cannot afford to be naive. The threat is clear.”

  For the next several minutes they both remained quiet. Colin’s train of thought was disturbed by the buzzing of his phone. The name on the screen both surprised and alarmed him. It was one of pimply-faced kids who worked the front desk in his condo. Fuck! It was never good news when they contacted him. What else was going wrong?

  According to his informants, there was a female reporter, early twenties, snooping around, asking questions.

  “I have to get out of here,” Colin said. “I need to find out who that person is.”

  “An undercover? A cop posing as a reporter?”

  “The only way to know is to get over there.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Ian asked.

  “No. like I told you before. Get the tactical units ready. And make sure that we only have our best drivers on the road.”

  After giving Ian a few more instructions, Colin hurried out of the office. A bulletproof black SUV, being driven by his most trusted driver, was waiting for him outside.

  Twenty minutes later Colin’s battle ready vehicle skidded to a stop in front of his condo. He hopped out and quickly ran around toward the side door. A woman screeched and fell backwards.

  He took several more steps and stopped. Froze. What had he done? He slowly turned around. His eyes locked on a beautiful young woman lying on her back, distress etched on her face. For a few moments, they stared at each other in silence. A strange sensation passed through him as if he’d seen this face once before, had glimpsed those dark green eyes and those pouty, pulpy lips.

  “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head from side to side. No, she wasn’t okay. He took hold of her arm, gently turned it, getting a better look at the scrapes and scratches on her forearms.

  “I’m really sorry about this.”

  He wanted her to be okay. But he didn’t want to end up walking into a lawsuit. He had places to be. But standing over her, attending to her and trying to comfort her, seemed to be exactly what he should be doing in that particular moment. It had been a long time since he’d experienced something so intense.

  “Colin, let’s go!” His driver called out.

  He heard the sounds of several cars speeding in their direction. Not police cars, thankfully. But there was time to give thanks.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

  The shots started flying. Shooters were hanging out the windows of the rapidly approaching cars. They were steaming toward them. There was nowhere to run. Fuck! He looked down at the young woman. She screamed and cove
red her head as bullets ping and popped all around her. He crawled towards her. Grabbed her arm and dragged her into the back of the car.

  The shots kept ricocheting off the bulletproof exterior. But those sounds were never comforting.

  “Bruno, get us to the cove.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  The cove was a luxury apartment where Colin would sometimes conduct top secret meetings. Once they arrived, he carried the young woman to one of the most secure rooms in the building. She had passed out during the drive.

  She was banging on the door and screaming. She sounded like she was going crazy. He hadn’t meant to leave her in there. He rushed down the hallway.

  The door scanned his iris, then opened. She was pressed against the back wall, body heaving, a primal fear flashing in her eyes. What a strange, dynamic energy she possessed.

  He slowly raised his hands in the air, showing her that he had come in peace. But it wouldn’t be that easy to win her trust. She looked ready for a fight.

  “I’m very sorry. I don’t know what happened out there. But we had to get you to safety as soon as possible.”

  She was silent. The body heaving had slowed. She seemed to be regaining control of her emotions. He hoped that was a good thing. A fierce intelligence gleamed in her eyes. He just wanted her to give him a chance to tell her the truth.

  “Who are you? And why did you bring me here?”

  “Let’s just say that I’m your guardian angel,” he answered.

  She didn’t seem too impressed with the answer. He couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t one of his best lines.

  “Where did you bring me?”

  “A secret location that I cannot divulge to you.”

  “Why?”

  “You ask a lot of questions. A few too many for my liking.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  Colin looked her up and down. He thought back to the reason he had hurried back to his condo: the call from the front desk. There was a reporter asking questions. They had described her as young and attractive.

  “What do you do?”

  She didn’t answer right away. She seemed to sense that things might be taking a turn.

  “Journalist,” she said.

  “Journalist? So you were the one trying to gain intel on me?”

  He took several steps towards he. Maybe this was all a set up. Maybe she was just posing as a reporter. If so, who had sent her?

  “Hey, don’t come any closer!”

  He stopped. Stared. Who the fuck was she? H Colin had already brought her behind the scenes of his operation. Past the point of no return.

  He moved closer to her, hands at his sides in fighting position. “Who are you?”

  She took a deep breath before answering. “I’m Samantha Biscune, a reporter, well an assistant to a reporter at The San Francisco Chronicle.

  “Why were you in the lobby of my condo asking questions? Who sent you?”

  Samantha sighed and then explained why her boss had sent her to the condo.

  “That fucking list,” Colin said through gritted teeth.

  “So are you just going to hold me here?” she asked.

  He stared at her for a few moments. Electric charges, lightning strikes shot throughout his body. Her exposed flesh looked so succulent. He imagined all the things that he could’ve done to her. She had so much spunk and fire. He would’ve enjoyed taming her.

  She would’ve loved it as she drizzled down his cock as he screwed into her, drilling in, then drilling out, giving her a pleasure that only a man with his special gifts was capable of bestowing upon her.

  He spent the next few minutes explaining to her why he had to bring her here. And why exactly we needed to get the hell out of there.

  “Why should he trust you? You’re an alien.”

  Colin’s faced turned red. What did she know about him? Who was she to judge him?

  “I guess I could let you go,” Colin said, “but I don’t really want to do that. Not yet anyway.”

  “Why?

  Their eyes locked. A magnetic energy passed back and forth between them. He breathed heavily. She did the same. He put his hands on her shoulders and stared deep into her eyes.

  “I want someone to tell the story of my people,” he explained. “If our names are going to be disclosed forcing us to leave the country, I want Americans to at least have an accurate idea who we are.”

  “Do you really think that the situation is that serious?”

  “I’m sure of it.”

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was an encrypted message. They had to get out of the building immediately.

  Five minutes later, they exited through a secret passage. A black SUV awaited them. The back doors opened. He helped her onto the seat, then got in and slammed the door shut. They zoomed off, skidding into traffic.

  They were being hunted. Choppers hovered in the air. Sirens blared. Lights flashed. Within a few moments, they were full speed shot-gunning it down the highway.

  They had escaped, momentarily. They were free. But time was running out.

  “Oh my God. I’m so scared,” she said, curling up in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

  Chapter 6

  Samantha

  She felt honored that Colin had chosen to entrust her with the story of his people. This was a chance for her to do real work. When she told her boss what had transpired since she went to Colin’s condo, he didn’t believe. He told her to come to office the next day at 9 am.

  She informed him that that wouldn’t be possible.

  “Why not?” he barked into the phone.

  After hesitating for a few moments, she quickly hung up. She couldn’t say anymore. Colin had brought her to a secret location where they would be staying for at least the next two weeks. She would interview him and then write up her piece. Then she hoped that she would be able to go back to her normal life.

  Over the course of the next week, they spent a lot of time together. each day she found herself falling for him just a little bit harder. But that was crazy. It would never work.

  She was human. He was an alien. She was a journalist. He had ties to secret societies all around the planet. He would hate having someone like her around. He would never allow it. Or maybe he would use her, manipulate her, turn her into a double agent. Either way, the consequences would be dire. And the ultimate consequence would be death. What was she allowing herself to get dragged into? Was she really this desperate and hungry for love? Was all it took to make her melt just some steamy glances? A little bit of sexual tension? Is that all it took? Just thinking about it was getting her hot and wet.

  Her hands slid into her panties. Maybe this was the excitement that he’d been missing in her life. Maybe now was the time for their bodies to be in communion. She struggled with these thoughts. She struggled with the contradictions of this attraction. There were so many reasons why she shouldn’t do it. So many logical, practical reasons. Love might force her to lose control of myself to lose control of the direction of her life. She might begin living for somebody else, abandoning her principles. But how did she know that? She didn’t. She loaded herself up with reasons to remain alone and single. But she wasn’t happy. There was an emptiness deep within her.

  What the hell was that feeling? Why were these strange emotions bubbling up in her stomach, each time she thought about him. So much confidence and strength in his gaze. Just thinking about it made her panties slightly damp. It also made the tips of her nipples stand erect and sensitive. How good it would’ve felt to have his hands gripping her breasts, squeezing them, as he stared deep into her eyes, as his hard, full cock pressed into her, pressed between her legs. How good it would’ve felt to have his full lips kissing her neck, to feel his teeth, gently biting her flesh. Her body flooded with desire. Her head floated.

  A sheen of sweat covered her. His hands slid expertly over her flesh, teasing, touching, tantalizing like no man ever had befo
re.

  She lay in bed, the room dark and silent, except for her breathing. Why did he have to come into her life now? Maybe she needed to focus on telling the story of his people and put her attraction aside. It was unprofessional. It was wrong. It was her duty as a journalist to remain as objective as possible. That would not be possible if she couldn’t fantasizing about him.

  But there she lay in bed, completely wrapped up in her erotic romance adventure, wondering, hoping, pleading with this man to bond with her to link his flesh with hers to pierce her soul with his brazen rod. She would scream his name, scratch and claw.

  There she lay in bed, experiencing a more intense sexual pleasure than she had felt in weeks, months, maybe years.

  Despite his alien nature, he embodied all of the best traits of an alpha male. She never imagined that she would make a good match with one of them. She always figured that the best thing was to have a man that would submit to her will. That was the way to keep a long-term relationship going. That’s what he’d always been taught. You have to train men. Keep them on a leash. Keep them focused. Those were the words that she had heard for so long. They only served to add to the jumble of confusing, contradicting, and unhelpful ideas that she had been taught about men and women.

  But with a man like Colin, how in the world would any woman be able to control him? It didn’t seem possible. Everything about the way he carried himself bespoke confidence and pride. He was not the kind of man who would ever submit.

  Something about that was so goddamn attractive. His energy was more intense than any man she had ever been around. It was the sort of masculine strength that she believed caused so much destruction and pain in the world. Yet when she gazed into his eyes, she didn’t get the impression that he was capable of doing anything evil in the world. He seemed like a genuine force for good in the universe.

  But still, it could never work.

  He didn’t seem like the type to settle down, at least not yet. He most likely had women lining up for him day and night, parading in and out of his apartment, leaving various items of their clothing—pocketbooks, purses, panties, perfume. All of them trying to shamelessly, mark their territory. There was no way that she could compete with that.