~ Bonus Story ~
An Alien Abduction Romance
Sam’s world has always been much too small for her liking. Between her father’s political machinations and her mother’s desperate attempts to hold onto her old way of living before the divorce, young Samantha found herself as more of a footnote rather than a chapter in her parent’s lives.
All that changes when Sam accompanies her father on one of his fabled business trips, and finds herself sold into the clutches of those that might not be entirely human. In her desperate attempt to escape, she meets the rugged, hardworking James who quickly becomes embroiled in the plot.
Together the two of them find themselves in an impossible situation with impossible beings on an impossible ship. Faced with dangers they never could have dreamed, the two must unite to escape from the creatures holdi
* * *
Chapter One: Monotony, Thy Name is Capitalism
Sam
I looked out of the window of our limo as we pulled into the front of the resort. I was well aware that most people would be in awe of the lavish place we were staying in the heart of Mexico, but it wasn’t even the nicest place I had been that year. I knew I sounded totally spoiled as I thought it, but I couldn’t help but feel like all of the five-star resorts we were visiting were blending together into a mishmash of opulence and boredom.
“You keep scowling like that and you’re going to get frown lines, Sam.”
My eyes lazily slid to my father, who had looked up from his laptop for the first time in hours. Of course, the first thing he said to me had to do with my looks. As both a billionaire and a Congressman, he was obsessed with outward appearances. His approval rating was directly affected by what people thought of him, and unfortunately his voting demographic’s opinions seemed to be largely influenced by what they saw, rather than anything he actually did in office.
“Don’t worry, you’ll just pay for botox for me, isn’t that right?” I asked, voice sickly sweet. Naturally I didn’t want botox, and I didn’t give a flying flip about frown lines, but I did love being snarky to Daddy Dearest.
He rolled his eyes and returned to his laptop. And thus, ended our conversation, leaving me alone with my thoughts until the driver parked our car and we had officially arrived.
I got out of the car immediately and powerwalked to the concierge that was waiting for us. He looked surprised by the speed at which I approached him but didn’t say anything about it, so I was grateful.
“How wonderful to see you, Miss Vantin.” He said, affixing me with a bright, professional smile. I appreciated not being ogled on sight for once, it was a welcome relief from the cat-calls or lingering stares that I usually felt when walking into a fairly metropolitan area.
Not that I was some untold beauty, but I knew I was pleasing to the eye. A few years ago, I would have been called chubby. But now that ‘thick’ was in vogue, I was considered a hot item. I had been blessed with my mother’s figure, and needless to say, her cup ranneth over. Granted, she eventually had been worn down by the pressures of being a trophy wife and replaced her natural gift with artificial ones. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with plastic surgery, I just preferred when people chose it for themselves because they wanted it, not because they felt a pressure to stay eternally young so their husband wouldn’t divorce them.
It hadn’t worked out for her in the end either. They’d separated when I was fifteen and fully legally parted two years later.
My mother had been granted full custody, with my father still retaining visitation rights. It was as amicable a break as it could be given the situation, and at least dear ol’ Dad had the graces not to publicly be with anyone since.
But privately, that was another matter. I’d been on enough trips with him to meet pretty ‘business partners’ or ‘receptionists’ who then disappeared the next day. I wasn’t an idiot; I knew exactly what was happening, but I appreciated that father was given mother time to grieve her old life and relationship before marrying someone else half her age.
It was about the only selfless thing he’d ever done, but hey, at least there was that.
“Congressman Vantin!” The concierge continued. “We are so happy you chose to visit us again. Your suite is ready and we have a full meal waiting there for you. We have a full packet of all our luxurious services laying out as well, for you to choose as you will.”
“And what about me?”
He looked to me again, eyes widening just slightly. “I don’t know what you mean, miss?”
“I asked for whatever the closest thing you had for a dirt bike. It should have been on page three of our reception packet.”
“Oh! That was for you! Then yes, we have that prepared. You simply need to call down to the front desk as soon as you’re ready.”
“Good.” I didn’t want to think of spending more time with my dad considering that he had a meeting as soon as we arrived. I couldn’t imagine anything more boring than listening to him and a whole bunch of other beurocrats prattle on about who was going to give who a reach around politically. “I’m going to change and then I’ll be back down in fifteen minutes.”
“So soon? Surely you would prefer to relax, just a bit? I know from your itinerary that you’ve taken a ten-hour flight just to get here.”
“Trust me, this will relax me. Fifteen minutes.”
“Of course, miss. I’ll make sure that the front desk knows asap.”
“Thank you.” I gave him a nod then powerwalked through the lobby and to the elevator. My dad wasn’t behind me, but I couldn’t care less. I already knew what password to punch into our door and I wanted to get in and out before his business friends all poured in.
It wasn’t that any of them had ever done anything towards me, but I couldn’t help but feel their oppressive gazes on me every time I was around them. Then again, could you blame me? These were the same men who voted against measures that would help millions and valued the dollar sign far above human life. They were the type of people who only cared about their interests, and would ruthlessly pursue them until they were sated. The only issue was, they didn’t even know the meaning of the word. There was nothing as unquenchable as a businessman’s thirst for money. It was like they were the cardboard cut-outs of movie villains, and yet they were one hundred percent real.
I reached our room, a spacious, sprawling suite with a full kitchen, meeting area, living room and two bedrooms each with their own private bath. I probably should have taken a moment to absorb its beauty and be grateful, but I was on a mission.
Beelining towards the same room I had the last time we visited, I grabbed my suitcase which had already been brought up by the bellhops and popped it open. It took a little bit of digging to get one of my riding outfits, but I managed to pull it out then quickly change.
I heard the main door of the suite opening and the concierge yammering placations to my father. That was my cue. I hurried out between them with a blurted goodbye and practically ran to the elevator before my Dad could try to order me to stay and be eye candy for his little meeting.
It wasn’t until the doors closed in front of me that I heaved a sigh of relief. Who knew, if I was lucky, maybe I could avoid all of his constituents for the entire week we were here.
Why did I come if I hated his business dealings so much? Because my father had asked, and refusing him could endanger the generous separation settlement he gave my mother. Not that he had ever threatened to do so, but I got the distinct feeling after nineteen years of observation that he was not a man one said no to without repercussions.
And so, I agreed. As I agreed to every other business meeting before. As I would continue to agree until my physical shell was no longer pleasant enough to provide a business advantage to my father.
I shook my head as the elevator landed in the lobby and I walked out. At least I had riding to look forward to.
Chapter Two: The Cost of a Life
Sam
There was
something particularly invigorating about riding a dirt bike along natural trails, listening to only the sound of my engine and the environment whipping past me. It was like escaping to my own little world, one without the responsibilities handed to me.
Hah, there I went, sounding spoiled again. Oh, boo-hoo, I was a little rich girl with daddy problems and too many men found me attractive. I was pretty sure that if I had to listen to myself, I’d think I was an idiot. But I couldn’t help the way I felt. I couldn’t stop the dissatisfaction that flooded me every time I went on one of these lavish trips.
But there was no disappointment in the bike. No demands of full faces of makeup and voluminous up-does. Just me and a whole lot of mess. Oh, and the adrenaline wasn’t bad either.
Eventually, I did have to head in. There was only so long that a single tank of gas could last and I did need to eat. I lasted about three hours, before turning my bike around and headed back.
At least I could be grateful that his meeting was bound to be over. Businessmen could rarely meet for more than two hours before their natural compulsion for hookers, gambling or alcohol grew to be too much and they would all dismiss themselves. Or at least that’s how it seemed to be with all of my father’s buddies.
Strapping my helmet to the handlebars, I left the bike to be tended to by the same hotel staff that had set it up for me and then headed back to our suite.
We were supposed to have had one of their luxury cabins which was at the fringes of the sprawling resort and offered a bit more privacy than usual, but an unpredicted flood had badly damaged most of them and they were no longer fit for hosting anyone at all. Not that I minded the penthouse suite we had at the very top of the building, but the long elevator ride and the sheer amount of people I potentially had to interact with was less than ideal. The only upside really was that things got to us faster, such as room service and fresh towels, and that if there was an apocalypse, we could escape to the roof quite easily and call one of the many helicopters used by tourist traps in the area.
I smirked to myself at the thought. I always liked to imagine crazy adventures, like zombie apocalypses, or a drug cartel coming to kidnap us, so I could play the part of an action hero and kick some serious ass. But real life wasn’t like that, and in the end, I was just a nineteen-year-old girl who did her best to hide her inner adrenaline junkie. Besides, I was sure if anything like that happened to me, I would end up being just as scream-y and useless as all those side characters I rolled my eyes at in the movies.
Finally, the lift stopped and I walked out into the short hall leading up to our suite. But for some reason that I couldn’t explain, my stomach dropped and I felt an undeniable wave of dread wash over me. I looked around, trying to place if something was wrong, but as far as I could tell it was the exact same as I had left it.
Curious.
Senses on high alert, I headed down. I made it to the door without any event and punched the code into the door. I walked in, only to stop dead in my tracks as I realized my father was very much not alone.
“Samantha!” He said, standing and turning to me with open arms like it was a goddamn celebration. I winced at the sound of my full name. I hated when he used it; the word sounded so pandering and cloying in his mouth. Like he wanted something. “So good of you to join us.”
“She is dirty.”
My eyes flicked to the speaker, a nondescript business man who was sitting with a group of at least ten other also nondescript businessmen. Their suits were all the same color and impeccably pressed, and they all sported the same genetic haircut without a single strand out of place. If it weren’t for slight deviations in their features, I would have thought that they were all clones.
“I just came back from a ride,” I said, looking suspiciously at the group. Something about them was so off that I couldn’t help but feel on edge. “I’m going to go clean up.”
“Actually, come sit. I have exciting news I want to share with you!”
A cold feeling rushed down my spine, but I didn’t see a way around it, so I slowly walked to where the men were gathered and sat across from them on the loveseat.
“What’s going on, Dad?”
He clapped his hands and crossed over to sit on the arm of my chair. “You know how Daddy has been working on his campaign this year, and how we’ve really been building our approval rating.” Ugh, I hated when he used the term ‘Daddy’ as much as I hated how he tried to make his obsession with his position sound like my issue by saying ‘we’ and ‘our’.
“Yes. I’m aware.” I answered flatly.
“Well that’s all been with a singular goal in mind.” He looked at me expectantly, like he wanted me to finish his sentence, but I just stared at him stubbornly. To his credit, he continued smoothly without my input. “To keep climbing higher and higher! Always growing, never stagnating. And what’s the highest one can go in the grand ol’ U.S. of A?”
I just shrugged balefully at him. I could feel the businessmen all staring at me, the weight of their gazes weighing on my entire being.
“The presidency! Baby! These men are going to help me be the President of the United States of America!”
My eyes did actually go wide at that and I had absolutely no idea what to say. “Uh, that’s great. Congratulations, Dad.” I wanted to ask him what his stance was on any of the big hitting platforms, but I knew better than to harsh his buzz when he got manic like this. And he was clearly manic. His face was flushed and there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, while I could see his pulse a’thumpin’ away through the veins at the sides of his neck.
“I’m so glad you feel that way darling!” He clapped my back, a little too hard. “Now, I’m sure you know that hitting the presidential trail is going to require a lot of sacrifice from all of us. There’s money, networking, television interviews and campaigning across the states just to name what comes to mind first.”
“I know,” I murmured, still staring at the businessmen who were all still staring at me. There was just a whole lot of staring going on in general and I didn’t like it one bit.
“I’m sure you do, Sammy, and those resources would normally be out of scope for us, but these amazing men have agreed to back me and make sure that in two years, this family will be in the White House!”
“That’s awfully generous of them.”
“Isn’t it!” He cried, standing again.
“So, what’s the deal? You become their lapdog? Lobby whatever they need, make sure bills are passed that are conducive to their own ends?”
“Not at all, baby, and that’s what makes this opportunity so amazing! They don’t need a puppet in power, they have plenty of that already. All they want is one, singular, wonderful thing.”
I crossed my arms, the hair at the back of my neck standing on end. “And what’s that?”
Dad rounded on me, his expression so joyous that there was no way I could ever expect what was coming next. “You, my dear.”
The universe froze for a moment as I looked at him incredulously. He couldn’t be serious. This… this was some sort of joke, right?
But then the door opened and I heard several people walk in. Craning my neck, I saw more men in suits and the tell-tale bulges under their arms that gave away their weapons. Movement to the front of me drew my attention as well, and I looked back to see the original group had all stood and what I assumed was their leader held a hand out to me.
“Come with us peaceably,” he said, tone low and dangerous. “And you will not be harmed.”
Once more I looked from them to the group behind me and then back. Fire, scalding and volatile, rose in me and I looked the bastard right in the eyes. “Like hell I will.”
Before he could react, I kicked off of the coffee-table, flinging the whole loveseat backwards. I rolled as soon as I hit the ground and scrambled to my feet. The group that had just entered was rushing towards me now, pulling out their weapons. I had no chance of beating such a large group, so I had to
get out. And fast.
I threw myself over the attached kitchen counter, sliding over it until I crashed into the floor yet again. The men tried to follow me, but I gripped the fridge and brought it down between us.
That seemed to buy me enough time to scramble out the door. In the corner of my eye, I saw someone move to tackle me, so I dove at the last second and tucked myself into a roll.
I somehow ended upright despite the fact that I hadn’t tumbled since my gymnastic classes when I was eight, and the man crashed into the wall behind me. I would have celebrated, but my attention was drawn to the windows along the hall, where I saw more men on the outside.
“How is that possible?” I gasped, taking a step back in shock.
I didn’t have much time to ponder the answer, because the closest window shattered and more men were pouring in.
I would never make it to the elevator. There was no chance. Stumbling back, my head whipped around for some sort of escape from these wall-crawling, daughter demanding assholes.
Then I found it. The fire exit tucked into the corner of the corridor. I sprinted towards it as fast as I could, mentally saying a thankful prayer that I was still wearing my riding boots instead of some pair of designer stilettos. I slammed through the door with a force that would hurt my shoulder the next day, but I didn’t care. I needed to escape.
I ran down the first flight of stairs, but I could hear footsteps thundering down after me. I just wasn’t descending fast enough! My brain whirled as I tried to think and sprint at the same time, and that was when I noticed that the staircase was elliptical in shape, bordering close to a circle. Maybe I could…
No. That only worked in movies!
But I could hear my pursuers getting closer and closer so I supposed I didn’t have much of a choice. I slowed down enough to swing a single leg over the railing, leaned forward, and then let myself slide.
To Love A Hitman Page 34