by Anna Argent
When she spoke, her voice wavered with nervous excitement. “I think there’s one more cut on my back.”
“Turn around.”
She did, and a second later, the robe fell from her shoulders, baring her to the waist.
Smooth ivory skin greeted his eyes, marred by a few bruises and a single cut at the base of her spine. The blue fabric pooled at the curve of her bottom, revealing a set of dimples above her ass cheeks. The sinuous lines of her waist and hips were intoxicating. They made his hands tingle with the need to grab on and never let go.
A drip of water fell from her hair, cascading down her spine. He followed its path with the tip of his finger, and watched in amazement as her flesh prickled in its wake.
Her body shivered slightly, but he knew it had nothing to do with being cold.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “What’s wrong? Is it too deep to treat like the others?”
The cut. Right. He’d forgotten all about why he was here, staring at so much pretty, womanly skin.
He went to work treating the wound. “You’ve got several bruises too. Do they hurt?”
“Not right now. Nothing hurts right now.” She held the robe over her breasts as she turned to face him. “You make everything feel better.”
The heavy tread of sexual need stomped all over his good intentions. “If you don’t cover up, honey, I will fuck you.”
Her pupils flared and her nipples tightened further. “I’ve always wondered what that would be like.”
“You haven’t been with a man?”
“I’ve never felt the need. But I’m feeling it now. Big time.”
How in the world did a woman as beautiful as her go this long without some man sweeping her off her feet and soundly into his bed? Were all human men blind, or was it a case of her rejecting them?
She slid closer to him and settled one hand on his chest. The robe was still hanging on, barely clinging to her nipples like a rock climber dangling by one hand from a sheer cliff.
Radek had never cheered for gravity to win as hard as he did now.
The heat of her hand sank into him, weaving its way into his blood and bones. Into his heart.
He couldn’t let go and set his baser instincts free. Not with an innocent. What if he hurt her? What if he confused her by letting her think this thing between them was more than chemistry?
Blazing, white-hot chemistry, sure, but that was all it could ever be. He was a prisoner. She was Soricalia—a leader of high status. If his people discovered that he’d taken advantage of her, he’d be in prison for his own crimes, rather than those inherited from his father.
Radek stood and put some distance between them. “I’m going to go walk the perimeter and make sure none of the Raide’s war slaves tracked us here.”
Confusion lined her face, along with more than a little hurt. “Did I do something wrong?”
More proof of her innocence. “No, Ava. I was the one who was wrong. I shouldn’t be alone with you like this.”
“Why not?”
He didn’t know how to explain it to her without telling her that he was considered a criminal. And the way she looked at him now—as if he were a free man respected by society—he didn’t want to lose that. It made him feel whole again, like he still had a future.
“You have to trust me when I say that it’s not right for us to be together in any intimate way. You’ll understand when you go home, but for now, you’re going to have to take my word for it.”
She shook her head in disgust. “You don’t have to make up stories. If you’re not into me, just say so. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
“Oh, I’m into you, all right. In fact, if that robe slips down any farther, I’m going to be into you as far as a man can go.”
Color swept over her cheeks and down her chest, turning the swell of her breasts a lovely, rosy pink. “Then why leave?”
“Because I promised my mother I’d be a man of honor, and fucking a virgin who may or may not regret it when the sun comes up is not the kind of thing a man like that would do.”
Before she could break what little self-control he had left, Radek slipped out of the window the way he’d come in.
He would guard her house tonight, making sure her family rested safely. Then tomorrow, when she woke, he’d take her to the nearest window and send her on her way. Untouched.
It’s what a good man would do, and Radek desperately wanted to be a good man.
Chapter Twelve
Ava knew it was coming, but when police woke her out of a sound sleep early the next morning, she wasn’t ready.
Mom was already at work. Emily was at school, and Radek was nowhere to be seen.
She tightened her robe over her flannel pajamas, and invited them in.
Tracy, the fire chief, was a short, rotund man in his early forties with rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes. His hair had gone prematurely gray, making him everyone’s first choice for playing Santa at Christmastime. She’d known him her whole life, but never had he looked as serious as he did now.
He was accompanied by two local officers—Ben and Robin—who had also known her forever and looked like they were going to scold her.
She got everyone seated at the kitchen table and started a pot of coffee. “Sorry I’m not dressed yet. It was a late night.”
Tracy folded his pudgy hands on the table. “We understand. Sorry we woke you.”
“Nothing coffee can’t fix. Have you heard from Rudy? He hit his head pretty hard.”
“He was held in the hospital last night for observation, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.”
“I’ll go see him later today. Seems I’m going to have a bit of extra time on my hands with no job to attend.” And then she realized, “No one has told the owners what happened yet. I need to call them.”
She headed for the landline, but Tracy stopped her cold. “We’ve already contacted them. And we’d prefer if you refrain from speaking to them unless one of us is present.”
Whoa. That didn’t sound good. “What? Exactly why are you gentlemen here?”
“We need a statement from you.”
“I gave one last night.”
The two young cops shared a look she didn’t understand, beyond knowing it was definitely not good.
“Yes, ma’am,” Robin said. “We read that.”
“Don’t call me ma’am. I used to play dodge ball with you, for heaven’s sake.”
Tracy said, “We’re here in an official capacity.”
“Is that cop speak for you’re in trouble, Ava? Because if it is, you should know that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The coffee pot hissed, indicating it was finished with its job. She poured four cups and handed them out.
“Can you please tell us again what happened?” Tracy asked.
Ava sipped her coffee and repeated what she’d said last night. “We smelled gas. A lot of it. I grabbed Rudy and we hauled ass out of there. We hadn’t made it all the way across the parking lot when the whole building went up in flames.”
“Neighbors reported a disturbance right before the explosion,” Robin said. “What was that?”
Well, crap. She was a suck liar, especially when the people she was lying to had known her for years.
“I don’t know. It was a hell of a night. The biker festival kept me too busy to notice. I didn’t even have time to pee. Maybe some of them got rough with each other.”
Ben hadn’t spoken yet. He’d always been quiet and thoughtful, and until now, she’d found it endearing. “Our report said that the back wall of the restaurant was ripped off. By giant spiders with lasers.”
Ava let out a laugh that was part humor and part nerves. “Just how drunk was your tipster?”
Ben didn’t so much as grin. “Not at all. She’s a seventy-year-old lady who has never been in trouble a day in her life.”
“Unlike you,” Robin said.
Ava grabbed Robin’s coffee cup and snatched it
away. “No more caffeine for Mr. Surly Britches. I haven’t been in a fight in years, and you know it.”
“Enough,” Tracy nearly shouted. “I wouldn’t even be here entertaining such a ridiculous story if not for this.” He reached into a sack he’d brought in and pulled out the claw of one of those monsters inside an evidence bag. “What the hell is this, Ava? And why were you willing to lie about it?”
What could she tell them? That there were monsters gunning for her? They’d lock her up in a mental ward before lunch.
“It looks like one of our poor lobsters got a little overcooked in the fire,” she lied.
“Biggest damn lobster claw I’ve ever seen,” said Robin.
Tracy’s jolly face was stern. “The Billy Hill Grill didn’t serve seafood. I checked.” He kept staring at her in expectation.
“What do you want me to say?” she asked. “That we were attacked by spiders with lasers? That’s insane. What did Rudy say?”
“He has no memory of anything past lunch yesterday. Concussion,” Ben said. “You’re our only eye witness who was inside at the time.”
“Listen, guys,” said Ava, completely frustrated. “I have no reason to burn the place down. I’m out of a job now, in case you weren’t aware. My income goes to support this house and keep Emily in college. There’s no way in hell I’d do anything to jeopardize that. Period. If you want to talk about crazy giant spider laser attacks, go somewhere else. I have to find a new job.”
She stood, giving a clear signal their conversation was at an end.
The men took the hint, though grudgingly.
She thought she was out of the woods when Tracy asked, “Our witness also saw a rather large man come out of the building last night. She said you drove away in his big truck. What do you have to say about that?”
“Do you see a big black truck outside?” she asked. She knew it wasn’t there. She’d noticed it was gone when she’d opened the door for them.
“No, I don’t. Thank you for your time, Ava.” Tracy was out the door. She was almost free when he turned back. “Just one more thing, and I want you to think about it carefully.”
“What’s that?” she asked, hand on her hip.
“I think you should come down to the station in an hour or so, once you’re awake and dressed.”
“Why in the world would I do that?”
Tracy’s bright blue gaze hit her, and it was filled with disappointment. “I never said the truck was black.”
*****
Radek couldn’t leave his weapon behind for the humans to find. He’d been forced to drop it in the fire in order to pull the dead Cyturs into the hottest spot, but leaving alien tech lying around for the locals to find was a big no-no.
While the handle of his maulst was merely wood, and would have burned in the fire, the head—forged in a fire far hotter than the one last night—would have survived. He had to get it back.
Unfortunately, the restaurant fire had been deemed suspicious, which apparently meant that every law enforcement officer and bored fireman needed to be here, putting up barricades and keeping people out.
He’d been watching the burned building for the past hour, hoping that the police and fire officials milling about would leave just long enough for him to find his weapon. He knew exactly where he’d left it. All he needed was two minutes to dig around in the ashes.
A car drove up to the scene and came to a screeching stop. A young man in plain clothes got out. He searched the crowd for someone, and as soon as he found the older man, he made a beeline for him. They spoke quietly for a moment, and then the young man showed him something on his phone.
Radek was too far off to hear what was happening, but he saw shock overtake the man, saw fear blanch his face. He made some kind of announcement to the group, and each of them displayed ranges of anger, disbelief and horror.
Something had happened. Something big. Something bad.
Radek abandoned his covered position and hurried through the trees out to the road. He walked along the sidewalk until he encountered one of the uniformed officers.
“What’s going on?” he asked, giving the cop a concerned frown.
“You need to go home, sir. I’m sure the Emergency Broadcast System will be making announcements on what to do shortly.”
“I don’t understand. Did something happen?”
The young cop’s brown eyes were filled with fear when he said, “We’re being invaded.”
“By who?” Radek asked.
“Not who. What.” He gave a nervous look around. “Whatever they are, they’re not human.”
Radek pulled out his phone and brought up a news site. The video that played was shaky and filled with bleeped out profanity, but the subject matter was clear enough.
Dregorgs—two of them—roaming a busy street in broad daylight.
Radek had hoped for more time, but it was too late. The Raide invasion of Earth had officially begun.
Chapter Thirteen
Ava sat glued to the TV. Every station showed the same video footage of two giants covered in fleshy gray folds moving down a main street in Atlanta like it was a Sunday stroll. They didn’t do anything more than walk—there was no killing or destruction—but that was enough.
The video zoomed in for a close up of their faces. They had tall, narrow eyes with orange irises and black slits for pupils. There were long, thick whiskers on their jaws, sticking out of several folds of dense, elephant-like skin. Their teeth were rough and gray, like chunks of granite, and all Ava could think about was whether or not they liked the taste of human flesh.
With shaking hands, she tried to reach Mom and Emily by phone again. No luck. All the circuits were busy. Not even her texts went through.
Another video surfaced and was shown on TV. This one had been taken in the dark, and it showed the distinct outline of the same spidery creatures they’d fought last night.
A deep sense of panic began to coalesce in her gut, making it hard to breathe. Her family was out there, unprotected, and she couldn’t even speak to them.
The front door opened and Radek busted in like the world behind him was caving in.
Hell, maybe it was.
“You’ve seen,” he said.
His jeans were covered in soot and ash. There was more under his fingernails, as if he hadn’t had time to wash it away. He gripped something in one fist, but it was too black and charred to identify.
“I’ve seen,” she said. “What the hell is going on?”
“This is how it starts.”
“How what starts?”
“When the Raide invade a planet, they start by causing widespread fear and panic.”
“Mission accomplished. What’s next?”
“They haven’t even started. These are only the first public sightings, so they’ll likely be dismissed as a hoax so as not to cause widespread panic. Your governments will try to keep people calm, but it won’t work for long. There will be more sightings--too many to explain away.”
“What do we do?”
He took her hand and pulled her toward her bedroom. “You need to pack a bag. As soon as the next window to Loriah opens, I’ll update Trathen. We’ll send you home so that you can help devise a strategy that will make the most of human technology, strengths and weaknesses.”
“I’m not going anywhere—not while my family is in danger.” She tried to rip her hand out of his, but he held firm.
“Listen to me, Ava. Things are going to get bad here. Very bad. But there’s still time. Your infrastructure hasn’t been destroyed yet. It will be, but not until the Raide are sure they’re done using your news networks and social media against you.
“I will prepare your family for what’s coming. They can gather food, water and medicine. They can hide in the basement until you return. But if you don’t go—if you stay here and fight without any knowledge of the enemy—there is no hope for your family at all. They’ll be taken as either war slaves or hostages to ensure the g
ood behavior of other slaves.”
“What does that even mean? What the hell is a war slave?”
“The Cyturs we fought last night.” He pointed to the TV, where they were once again playing the video of those fleshy giants. “And Dregorgs. Both are from planets the Raide have conquered and enslaved. These poor creatures fight for their masters, because if they don’t, the people they love at home will be killed.”
“We have weapons. The United States is the strongest nation on the planet. We’ll nuke their asses to dust.”
Radek grabbed her by the arms and forced her to look at him instead of the TV. “Do you really think human weapons are any match for an invading army that has the technology to get here from another solar system? The Raide are in a league all their own. Believe me. My people have been fighting them for two decades and are barely holding ground.”
“So what do we do?” she asked, nearly beside herself with worry. “My mom and sister are out there, and they have no idea what’s going on.”
“Have you tried to reach them?”
“Repeatedly. The circuits are busy.”
“Everyone is on the phone talking about the sightings or trying to reach loved ones. Keep trying, and eventually you’ll get through. In the meantime, you need to pack a bag and leave your family a note. They need to spend every penny they have on supplies. When the government can no longer pretend that this is a hoax, the stores will be empty within hours. It won’t be long after that before people stop going to work. Without workers, everyone will lose power and communications. Any money left in a bank will be no more than a few ones and zeroes in a database. Your family needs to spend everything they have now for survival. It’s critical that they know to stay here now, before the roads clog up, or fuel runs out and they can no longer get home. They need to hide and arm themselves. Don’t let anyone in.”
“I don’t own a gun. None of us do.”
“It’s too late to buy one. They’ll have to depend on their ability to hide so they don’t have to fight.”
A fierce need to protect trampled over her, destroying every other emotion. “I’ll be here to fight for them.”