by Carly Fall
Jesus, that sounded childish, but his heart had been slowly put through a meat
grinder for the past twenty-seven years, and he wasn’t about to add a little salt to the wound to make it even more pleasant. It was just going to have to be that way because he couldn’t put up with any more pain.
And speaking of which, he really needed Cohen back so that he could get a little
relief from his demon. He needed to workout. Badly. The cooking wasn’t doing it, and he certainly wasn’t in any shape for fighting, but maybe…
He turned back to Beverly. Damn, she was pretty. Maybe he should get the good
ex-doctor between the sheets and roll around for a little while. He wasn’t really in any shape for that either, but there were always different positions they could try out…
Nah. She deserved better than him, way better than what he could give her. She
needed to be worshipped and made love to. He had nothing to offer but raw fucking.
So he would just have to deal until Cohen got home.
He lifted his torso from the bed and cursed silently while looking at his watch. He was due for a briefing session with the Warriors in fifteen minutes.
***
Hudson found the rest of the Warriors in the War Room waiting for him while
tossing around a football.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, making his way to a chair and catching a toss. As he
threw it to Talin, he noticed that they always sat in the same chairs in the War Room, just as they did in the dining room. Neptune, the overweight black cat, jumped up on his lap curled up into a ball, and began purring. Hudson smiled and stroked the fat feline.
“No worries,” Noah said. “Now that everyone is here, let’s get down to business.
This one’s pretty ugly. You know that guy that cannibalized that other guy’s face in Florida?”
“Oh, man, please don’t tell me it’s a Colonist. Please, Noah. Just once make one
of these sickos a human,” Rayner said, crossing his arms across his chest, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, the leather creaking.
“Wish I could, my man. Wish I could.”
“But he can’t,” Talin chimed in. “I did the family tree. It ends at his grandpa, and we know what that means.”
There were a few hushed curses and then silence.
Yes, they did know what it meant. They had found that an untraceable family tree
meant a Colonist was involved.
“The tree ends at Grandpa, so it looks like he passed on some of his stellar genes to his grandkid,” Talin said. “And there’s more good news. Looks like another guy with tendencies to gnaw on people has turned up. He’s on the run from the police. I’m trying to get a handle on his family tree as we speak.”
Talin glanced over at his computer. “Still working. Hopefully it will be done
soon.”
Hudson sighed. He hated those Colonists and the havoc they wreaked on the
people of Earth. The guilt he felt ate at him, but he also knew within his heart that their mission was a losing battle. It didn’t matter if they caught all the Colonists, because their offspring would carry the genes of evil that the Colonists had running through them.
But cannibalism? This went to a whole new low of demented and a new high on
the gross meter. However, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Jeffrey Dahmer, another Colonist, also liked to dine on his victims. Those Colonists had so many wires crossed.
“So what’s the plan, Noah?” Rayner asked.
“Well, thankfully the police were able to gun down that guy in Florida. I’m
hoping they’ll get this other guy as well. Talin’s looking into it to see if either one has ever become a daddy, and then…well, we’ll just go from there.”
“Any new info on the fucker who sliced and diced Hudson?” Rayner asked
opening his eyes. Hudson knew that Rayner would love nothing more than to give that Colonist a long, slow, painful death for messing with Faith and killing her family.
“I’ve been watching the police reports in the area, and there was a maid that went missing at the hotel Hudson was staying at, but that’s about it. A couple other possibilities but, nothing that screams Colonist behavior,” Talin said.
“In the next couple of days, I’ll be going through the reports Talin’s been
gathering,” Noah said. “Right now I’m up to my nuts in this shit in the U.K. that Jovan and Cohen are working on.”
Rayner nodded. “I can take a look at the reports and see if anything stands out. Do we have crime scene photos as well?”
Talin nodded. “I downloaded them last night.”
“Good,” Rayner said. “Maybe Hudson should look as well. Or at least give them a
one-eyed glance.” After a moment, he burst out laughing, as did everyone else.
“The swelling’s going down,” Hudson said above the laughter. “I’m not a total
Cyclops.”
The laughter continued, and when it died down, Hudson said, “When I’m healed,
Rayner, you’re going to regret that.”
Rayner waved him off as Noah said, “Okay, lay of Hudson. Although that was
fucking funny, Rayner.”
Suddenly Hudson felt like an insect was crawling on his stomach. He stood and
pulled up his shirt. One of his wounds was oozing, dripping down his torso. “Aw, hell,”
he said.
“Looks like you got yourself a leak,” Talin said, tossing the ball to Noah.
Hudson nodded.
It seemed as though Beverly would be staying around whether he wanted her to or
not.
Chapter 22
Charles sat in the car parked on the lip of a cliff. Through his binoculars, he stared off into the desert, seeing nothing but brown dirt and cacti, and he had to wonder if his obsession with killing these Warriors was making him a little mad. By human standards, he was already stark raving fucking crazy. By Colonist markers, maybe getting there.
Now his left eye twitched full time, but his right hand was also shaking. He didn’t know if it was the rage, irritation, or determination to get the job done that was making him lose control of his muscular function, but whatever it was, he was certain that killing all the Warriors would bring him a little bit of peace so he could continue his life.
He looked at this obstacle of killing the Warriors as a brief pause, like when you were walking down the street and your foot itched and you had to stop to dig into your shoe and scratch it. He would get past this and onto his normal path. Hell, maybe he could even convince Diego to take him back. That was if Diego didn’t dismember him first.
Diego had provided a shield for him to work under, but that didn’t seem to matter now. If he killed the Warriors, he was convinced that spilling Warrior blood would make him invincible. He would be able to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and it didn’t matter.
And he intended to rain down death wherever he went.
Flipping on the radio, Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train” blared, the chorus sinking
in: I’m going off the rails on a crazy train.
No shit.
He rubbed his hands against his pant leg. He had been here for who knew how
many hours waiting and watching the barren desert for his chance to move in. When that would come, he didn’t know. He imagined he would see an SUV with one or more of the Warriors in it, and then he would take advantage of the depleted numbers and somehow get into their little hidey-hole.
He laughed out loud as he imagined flaying Hudson like a fish and strangling that redhead very, very slowly. He’d also like to get his hands on that pretty blonde female and have a little fun with her.
That blond Warrior who had rescued Hudson also had it coming. Shit was about
to get really ugly for the Six Saviors.
He giggled some more and had a thought. What was the on
e thing that him and
the Warriors had in common? Of course. It was the government finding out that there were aliens living among humans. Charles had also kept tabs on what happened to the
“aliens” who were caught, as well as the people who claimed they saw aliens. The data wasn’t pretty.
Visions of the Six Saviors laid out on slabs of metal and being dissected alive
danced in his vision. He began bouncing up and down on the car seat, terribly excited by the images his brain conjured up.
But who would he call? What government agency handled “alien” calls?
He pulled out his phone and decided that Google would have the answer. Hell,
they had the answer to everything else.
Maybe he’d step back and let the government handle the Six Saviors. The thought
made him a little sick. He wanted every one of those bastards for himself. Maybe he’d even make a necklace of their teeth or something like that.
Oh yeah, he was off the rails, fully riding that crazy train.
He began to hum while checking out where to turn in alien life forms on Google,
but not to the song on the radio. It was a completely tuneless string of notes that sounded as pretty as a Beethoven symphony to his ears.
Chapter 23
Beverly woke feeling renewed. She had no idea how long she had been asleep,
but she hadn’t slept that well in ages.
She turned her head to look for Hudson and was disappointed when she found
nothing but empty space next her.
Lifting the pillow, she brought it to her nose. God, she loved that sexy, smooth, yet edgy smell Hudson had. It sent warm, sensuous waves through her body, all ending up in a big ball of desire in her belly.
Sighing, she brought the pillow to her chest and closed her eyes. For the first time since her mom’s suicide, she knew she was going to be okay. She had been hesitant to tell Hudson about her mother, the addiction, and losing her ability to practice medicine. She felt relief that a stranger had been so accepting, and she realized that maybe she needed to go a little easier on herself. After the initial hesitation, the words had flowed so freely with him, and she was really happy she had talked to him.
The phone ringing startled her, and she stared at it unsure of whether she should pick it up. Before she could make up her mind, it stopped for a moment, and then started again.
“Hello?” she said hesitantly.
“Hey, Beverly,” Hudson’s low voice rumbled through the phone. “You up?”
“Yes.” His voice seemed to rattle her bones, and in a really, really good way.
“Okay, I’m on my way down. Looks like I’ve sprung a leak in my stomach.”
Beverly sat up and swung her legs over the bed, going into full doctor mode.
“What color is the fluid?” she asked.
“You can see for yourself in a minute, okay?”
“Okay. I hope an infection hasn’t set in.”
“You and me both,” he said.
She heard the soft click of the phone, then stood up and stretched. Ten minutes
later Hudson was stretched out on the bed, and she was undoing the buttons of his shirt.
She examined the wound on his chest closely. “I don’t think there’s any
infection,” she murmured. “I do want to clean in up, though. Maybe put one more stitch in.”
Going to the bathroom, she pulled out the needed supplies from the cabinet. As
she returned to the bed, she didn’t meet Hudson’s eyes, but she could feel his gaze on her, watching her every move.
She cleaned the wound and decided on one more stitch. A few minutes later, she
was done, and she sat up, meeting Hudson’s eyes. Her breath caught as she met the dark pools. They stared at each other for a moment, and she envisioned leaning down to kiss him, taking care to avoid the cut in his lip. She imagined what it would feel like to have his hands travel up and down her body, to feel his hard chest against her.
He cleared his throat, bringing her back to reality. “It’s almost dinner time, and I could use some help if you don’t have anything better to do.”
She started laughing. Here she was thinking being selfish and thinking about sex, and he was being selfless and thinking about feeding those he loved. Shaking her head, she teased, “Hudson, I’m busy. I’ve got so many things to do I don’t know where to start.”
Hudson chuckled and brought his hand up to his mouth. “Knock it off, Beverly.
You just made my lip crack open again.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, still giggling.
There was a beat of silence.
“What do you say?” he said in his deep, quiet way.
“I’d be happy to help you,” she said softly. She hoped there was a lot of chopping involved so she could feel his body close to hers, and his hands on hers as he showed her the finer points of wielding a kitchen knife.
“Good,” he said. “Would you mind helping me up?”
Beverly took his hand in hers, surprised again at the energy that flowed between
them. Giving him a pull, he was able to stand.
“We’ve got Mexican on the menu tonight.”
Beverly smiled. She loved Mexican food.
Chapter 24
Preparing dinner had consisted of being in close quarters with Hudson. He had
showed her how to gut a green pepper, chop an onion at warp speed, and she helped him measure out dozens of spices.
“I hate that store-bought crap,” he said, as he measured the cayenne pepper. They talked about this and that, and he asked about the restaurants in Tucson.
“There’s one that’s a lot of fun, although I’ve only been there once. It’s called Kon Tiki. The food is pretty good, but the atmosphere is awesome!” She told him about the straw huts, the life-sized Tikis, and the huge Gila monster they used to keep in an enclosure.
He smiled and said, “It sounds like a fun place. I’ll definitely have to check it out sometime.”
He found himself thinking of Iris, and how conversation with her had been similar to conversation with Beverly. It flowed easily, and when there were breaks in the chatter, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
His demon clawed and roared, twisting his insides.
Abby came in and offered Beverly some white wine. “That sounds great, Abby.
Thank you.”
As she watched Hudson and Abby talk, she couldn’t help but feel there was more
to the relationship than met the eye, almost as if they were somehow related, and not just friends as Abby had said. Possibly brother and sister? Cousins? The suicide note had asked Noah to take care of Abby, but she couldn't place the relationship between Hudson and Abby, and she made a mental note to ask. She noticed that Hudson talked to her in an almost fatherly way, which seemed ridiculous since they looked the same age, give or take a couple of years.
Faith and Rayner came in to offer their help, and the conversation got livelier as Rayner rode Hudson. “Damn, Hudson. You look like ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag, if you know what I mean.”
Hudson rolled his eyes.
“Seriously, man, the pretty boy ain’t so pretty anymore!”
Everyone laughed, and Abby poured more wine into Beverly’s glass.
Hudson shook his head. “I look better than you on my worst day, Rayner,” he said
with a slight grin.
“Man, that day has arrived.”
The alarm on the stove went off, letting them know something was done. “All
right. Everyone out of my kitchen. Except Beverly. She’s the only one around here with any manners.”
“We’ll get the table set, Hudson,” Abby said, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek.
“Tell Noah and Talin dinner is in five, if you wouldn’t mind, honey.”
She nodded and left.
Hudson leaned against the counter and took a deep breath.<
br />
“Are you okay, Hudson?”
He looked at her and nodded. “Just tired. It’s draining being in pain, Beverly.
Totally draining.”
***
Beverly looked around the table. Noah and Abby sat together, as did Rayner and
Faith. The talk was light, the laughter heavy, and the food was the best Mexican dishes she had ever tasted.
So she had seconds.
And then thirds.
She watched as the platters of food disappeared at an alarming rate, tracked the
conversation, and drank more wine. She felt Hudson’s stare on her and she turned to him.
“Everything okay?” he asked, taking a sip of scotch.
“I’m good, Hudson.”
She looked around the table again, envy whipping through her. How she longed to
belong to something like this. It was a family, and she felt the pang of loss at losing her mom, and she wondered again if she would ever have a family of her own.
To her, a family had always consisted of one of the nuclear variety—a mom, dad,
a kid or two, a dog and a fish—give or take on the animals. Knowing that chances were high that she would never have biological children of her own had devastated her. But sitting at this table, she realized that family came in many different forms, and the true definition didn’t consist of people from the same blood lines, but people who cared deeply about each other.
Hudson took her hand. “You sure you’re okay, Bev? You look like you’re about to
get teary on me.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “You’re very fortunate to have these people,
Hudson,” she said quietly. “Don’t ever forget that.”
“Hey, what are you two whispering about down there?” Noah’s voice boomed.
“Something the rest of us should know? Haven’t you told Beverly that there are no secrets in this house, Hudson?”
Beverly looked at Noah, who was smiling. He gave her a wink. “You’d be
surprised at the secrets in this house, Noah,” she said with a grin.
Ooh’s and aah’s came from those around the table, everyone wanting her to dish.
She laughed and had more wine.
“You all sound like a bunch of little old ladies,” Hudson said. Beverly could tell he more than half meant it.