“Indeed.” Cerulean jumped to the table and picked up his Vegan-sized glass.
“I can drink to that.” Brendan eyed the contents skeptically and shrugged. “I hope.”
Ari lifted his drink and tapped it to Sarah’s, sharing the toast—which he’d learned simply meant sipping the delightful beverage after a brief statement from one of the people participating in the toast—and was not at all related to heated bread.
Brendan grimaced and set the glass back down. “Ugh, that is disgusting. I think it just added five years to my life, though. Is there kale in that? You health nuts always put kale in things.”
Sarah grinned at him. “That would be telling.”
Brendan smiled back. “Did you guys really pair-bond within less than forty-eight hours of meeting?”
“We did.” Sarah leaned into Ari and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“That is a story I have to hear.” Brendan reached for Kira’s hand and interlaced their fingers without seeming to think about the act. Kira’s lips twitched up in a smile.
Ari could feel his own smile all the way to his toes. His heart felt light and full at the same time. Endless possibilities had opened up to him. All because of Sarah.
“Well, it started with these lizards…” she said.
Epilogue
“What do you mean you can’t trade with me anymore?” Carol tapped her pencil against the smooth surface of her desk with increasing speed. The graphite broke.
“Please understand, Dr. Addison.” Craig’s voice crackled on her phone, some new interference entering their conversation—probably since he was calling her on a different channel than normal. “Barbara and I are working with the Department of Homeworld Security now. We can’t jeopardize Earth’s chance of forming a first contact committee by continuing our smuggling operations. The safety of your planet is at stake.”
“I need you to understand. This is a matter of life and death.”
She shouldn’t have let that slip out. And yet, the little gasp she heard Craig let out gave her a glimmer of hope.
Please, please, please, give me what I need.
“If it’s that important…” he began.
Her heart seemed to be stuck in her throat during his long pause.
“You should approach the Department for help,” Craig said.
Her voice seemed clogged with all the possible words she could use to try to tell him he was wrong, that he needed to help her, even if she couldn’t explain. If she shared too much, she would cause more harm than good.
“They’re very helpful people,” Craig said.
“Every other time you’ve mentioned Sadirians, you warned me to never trust them.”
“Well, yes, but these Sadirians aren’t like the others we’ve encountered. And they’re working with some very friendly humans. If you can explain what you need those particular chemicals for—”
“I can’t.”
Craig and Barbara, she barely trusted. These others were complete unknowns. Carol couldn’t risk it. She’d find another way.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said.
She ended the call, then slammed both hands on her desk with enough force that her pencil snapped in half. She dropped the pieces and dusted off her hands. After a few deep breaths, she started to sort through the data that she had about her situation.
By her calculations, she had enough serum on hand to last another month. Barely. She would find another supplier. She had time.
Right, a few weeks is enough time to make contact with another alien smuggler who can provide me with chemicals that aren’t found on Earth and won’t ask for anything in trade that will harm my planet or other sentients—or ask too many questions.
Craig and Barbara had only asked for various seeds and small amounts of soil samples. It had been easy to provide, especially after they’d told her they would be using them to assist with recovering other planets’ compromised ecosystems. She’d worked with the Lyrians long enough to trust them—for over twenty-five years.
Ever since he was born…
She pulled out her phone and dialed the first number on her recent call list. When it went to voicemail, she wasn’t surprised. It was the middle of the workday for people with regular jobs.
As soon as she heard the beep, she said, “Kyle, it’s your mother. Call me as soon as you get this.” She hung up and set the phone on the table.
She couldn’t run out of serum. She would find a way to get what she needed.
Too much was at stake for her to fail.
—
The Vegans aren’t the only “little green men” (and women) running around on Earth. Our next couple are about to get the surprise of their lives! And then things really get complicated. Read on for a sneak peek at Invasive Species.
Invasive Species
The Department of Homeworld Security
Book Eight
Chapter One
“This was a mistake.”
The bartended pointed at the beer in front of Kyle. “That’s the drink you ordered, buddy.”
“No, I was talking to myself,” Kyle said.
The bartender shrugged and walked away.
“And now I really am talking to myself.”
Kyle looked over at the group of friends who had insisted he join them on their trip to the bar. Supposedly, Mitch was feeling down after his most recent breakup and needed moral support. Watching him chat up every woman who passed his table made Kyle wonder if that had been a ruse. Mitch had once said, “The more beefcake in the window, the more customers stop by to shop.”
Kyle picked up his drink and turned toward the mass of people dancing or playing pool or just trying to get from one place to the other in the packed room. His skin was crawling.
Mitch wasn’t exaggerating about Kyle’s beefcake status. Navigating the thick group was going to be a pain in the ass just from his sheer size. The messenger’s bag Kyle always carried would only make things worse. It wouldn’t be easy to avoid bumping into people with the narrow spaces they were leaving between each other.
He watched the patterns of movement in the crowd, weaving in and out among them with only minor jostling and quite a few muttered apologies until he reached a corner that was a little quieter than the rest of the place. A couch filled the area, with a low coffee table in front of it.
Unfortunately, the couch wasn’t empty. An auburn-haired woman looked up at him from the book she was reading.
He looked at the cover—a sleek spacecraft on a star field with two familiar characters’ faces superimposed in front of it all. Maybe not “unfortunately”.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” She smiled, her amber-brown eyes crinkling a little as if she really meant it.
He glanced around, not really sure what to say. “I don’t mean to interrupt. If you’re at a really good part, I can go.”
“A really good part?”
He gestured toward the book. “You’re going old-school. It’s a special experience.”
She laughed. “True. But I hate to send you back into that morass of humanity after you fought so hard to escape.”
“I appreciate your compassion.” As soon as he could, he would head home for some peace and quiet.
After he talked to the intriguing redhead.
“How can you read with all this noise and…chaos?” he asked.
“I have seven younger brothers and sisters. You learn.”
“Wow, I can’t even imagine.” When she arched an eyebrow at him, he added, “Only child.”
“There were days I dreamt of that. Not many, though. My siblings are cool.”
He looked around at the empty seats, and said, “Are any of them here with you?”
“No, I’m with…” She looked around, then sat up a little straighter. “Hang on.”
Kyle caught a glimpse of a dragon on the bookmark she tucked into her book before setting it on the table. She pulled out her phone and r
ead something that made her let out a little snort.
“Apparently, I’m with a bunch of bailers who left an hour ago and didn’t bother to tell me because ‘I was busy reading’.” She picked her book up again and leaned back. “If they wanted me to pay attention to them, they shouldn’t have scheduled this outing on a release day.”
Kyle scoffed. “I’m missing book club for this.”
That same eyebrow arched on her forehead as she looked him up and down. He let out a sigh.
“No, I wasn’t the High School quarterback, and yes, I do love to read. This ridiculous growth spurt,” he gestured to his torso, “happened in college. It’s genetic—according to my mother, the PhD in genetics—and it drives me crazy.”
“How you must suffer from your amazing physique and Hollywood hero good-looks.”
He tried to ignore the sparks that crackled down his spine at her words. “Amazing, huh?”
She let out another snorting laugh. “This is a really bad pick-up ploy.”
“I just wanted to get away from the crowd. When I came over here, I couldn’t even see you. I wasn’t trying to pick you up.”
“Sure.”
“But after talking to you…”
She smirked. “My mastery of sarcasm and choice in mentally stimulating pastimes has captured your interest?”
“That and your choice in authors. I set my alarm for midnight so I could wake up and read that book as soon as it downloaded.”
This time, she all-out laughed. “You read Scifi Romance?”
“I call it ‘space opera’ to avoid annoying conversations. And I read everything.” He waved his hand toward her book, and said, “Don’t think I didn’t notice that High Fantasy style bookmark you’re using. I know another genre-hopper when I see one.”
Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to look at him for the first time. At his face, mostly, which was a relief.
“The only reason I’m here is because I already finished it,” he said. “I had to see how the author resolved the plotline with the missing space station and find out whether Daphne and Boreal would find each other again.”
“But it wasn’t resolved. They found the space station, but Daphne wasn’t there.”
He lifted his glass. “And that is why this beverage has alcohol in it. It’s going to feel like a long wait for the next book.”
She laughed again, but the edge to it was gone. Then she scooted over on the couch.
“Thanks.” He sat next to her, and said, “I’m Kyle, by the way.”
“Tracey.”
He leaned forward to look at her book again. “If you’re only half-way through the book, how do you know about the space station? We didn’t see what happened to it till close to the end.”
“Second read-through. You weren’t the only one up at midnight reading a digital copy. Then I ran to my favorite bookstore as soon as it opened to get a paper version.”
“That is dedication.”
“Yeah. I bet you read yours on your phone at the gym.”
He pulled off his bag and set it on the table, then reached inside and pulled out his pristine print copy of the book. “I was saving it to read tonight, but my friends dragged me here.”
“What’s that?” She pointed at the table.
His heart seemed to stutter, then started pounding. “That’s my autoinjector.”
He grabbed it, then turned it over in his hands, making sure it hadn’t been damaged when it rolled out of his bag. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t even noticed it. There were about seven hours till he needed his next dose, but after the last time he’d been late… He never wanted to go through that agony again.
“You allergic to peanuts or something?” she said.
Kyle placed the injector back in his bag and made sure it was sealed tight. “More like the planet. Ever read H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds?”
“Yikes. You seem a lot nicer than those invading Martians.”
“Thanks.” He let the word drip with sarcasm, since it seemed to be her native language.
“On behalf of Earth, we welcome you,” she said. “And your allergies. As long as you’re not, you know. Trying to take over the planet.”
“That isn’t on my agenda for tonight.” He leaned back against the couch, grinning at her as their banter put him at ease.
A super-cute bookworm who knew classic Scifi as well as modern. He might not be after the planet, but he was seriously interested in the “Earthling” in front of him. This was the most fun he’d ever had flirting. How long could they keep up the jokes about him being an alien?
‘I wish,’ he thought. ‘It would explain a lot.’
“Next time you’re sucked into an outing on a release day, you should download the audio version,” she said. “You can enjoy your book with headphones while you pretend you’re drinking and listening to the conversation.”
It took him a minute to remember what they’d been talking about. When he did, he sat back, struck by how much more tolerable that would make gatherings like this in the future. “That is a great idea. I can’t believe I never thought of it.”
“Like I said, lots of siblings. You come up with coping mechanisms.”
“When I came over here, I didn’t mean to interrupt your reading. But…”
“But now that we’re talking…” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “You don’t really want to stop.”
“Yeah.”
“Me either.”
He didn’t try to mask his grin as he held up his copy of the book. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
—
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Thank you for reading Duel Citizenship!
Cassandra Chandler
About the Author
Cassandra Chandler uses her vivid imagination to make the world more interesting, spawning the ideas she turns into her whimsical Science Fiction romcoms and darkly evocative Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Romances. Fast-paced and funny, lighthearted or dark, her stories will introduce you to characters you want to be friends with and worlds where you’d like to build a vacation home.
Look for More Titles by Cassandra Chandler
The Blades of Janus
PACK
PROGENITOR
The Department of Homeworld Security (novellas)
Gray Card
Resident Alien
Business or Pleasure
Tied up in Customs
Entry Visa
Duration of Stay
Duel Citizenship
Invasive Species
Export Duty
The Department of Homeworld Security (novels)
COALITION RECKONING
The Forbidden Knights
FORBIDDEN INSTINCT
The Summer Park Psychics
WANDERING SOUL
WHISPERING HEARTS
LINGERING TOUCH
Other Works
CRAFTING A WRITER’S LIFE: Building a Foundation
Seconds (short stories)
“Second Sight”
“Second Skin”
Coming Soon
The Blades of Janus
PERIHELION
Duel Citizenship Page 9