by Kelly Goode
‘Hey, Carson. It’s me. I hope Thai is ok.’
The aroma of lemongrass hit her along with Blake’s individual woodsy male scent as she entered her hallway to find him shrugging out of his battered leather jacket. He hung it over the end of the banister rather than the coat rack, which was a habit she’d long given up trying to correct, and carried the take-away bag containing dinner through to the kitchen. He casually kissed her cheek as he passed and motioned her to follow him.
‘Come on or it’ll get cold,’ Blake said, obviously expecting her to trail after him like an excitable puppy. He moved around her kitchen as if it was his own. He knew where she kept the plates, the cutlery, and the napkins and as he emptied the steamy chicken curry and rice onto two plates, she was hit with a premonition.
Her life seemed to race before her eyes – she saw herself in a white wedding dress, the two of them on honeymoon, Blake looking roguishly handsome as he rubbed her swollen stomach, and then months later cradling a dark-haired baby in his arms. They had a family. They were happy.
Carson inhaled sharply and Blake raised his eyebrows at her.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost, as the old saying goes.’
Her heart hammered inside her chest, as the montage faded from her mind and she felt an unexpected emptiness settle inside her stomach.
‘Earth to Carson,’ Blake said, as he set the plates on the small dining table and then helped himself to a bottle of beer from the fridge. ‘What’s wrong?’
Carson watched his throat work as he drained the contents. His long dark-blond hair was tied away from his face and his chin was covered with shadowy stubble. She’d tried so hard to keep her distance from him. She hadn’t wanted a partner. She certainly hadn’t wanted a boyfriend, and yet he’d chipped away at her defences and stolen her heart.
‘I love you,’ she said.
That obviously wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting, as he choked on the last of his beer.
‘I love you too,’ he replied, after he’d finished coughing and spluttering. ‘I’m sorry I threw my weight around in front of that fancy detective.’
Blake sat down at the table and she took the seat opposite him. He didn’t start eating until she had taken her first mouthful of curry. She usually loved spicy food, but couldn’t taste anything but the anxiety swirling inside her stomach.
‘Do you want kids?’ she asked, as she put her fork down and pushed her plate away.
Blake paused. ‘Not right now.’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘I know what you mean, Carson. Are you asking whether I want kids in general or whether I want kids with you?’
She remained silent, so he put down his fork and took her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and she shivered.
‘I’d love to be a father someday,’ he said. ‘I’d have a whole pack of wild-haired rug rats running around my farmhouse if I could.’
‘Have you ever come close to settling down?’
Blake shook his head.
‘What stopped you?’ she asked.
‘The alien invasion mainly.’
‘Mainly?’
‘Mainly,’ he repeated, as he leaned over and brushed his lips gently across hers. ‘Maybe it’s because I’d never met anyone I wanted to share my life with until I was assigned you as a partner. Do you want kids?’
‘Not right now,’ she repeated with a small smile. ‘But if I’m honest, I never thought I’d live long enough to have a family of my own. I was resigned to the fact that I was going to die alone.’
‘You’re not alone anymore. You have me.’
Carson stared across the table at Blake and saw nothing but love reflected in his eyes.
‘There’s nothing wrong with admitting what you want,’ he continued.
‘Yes there is. I’m supposed to be this tough alien exterminator. I shouldn’t be dreaming about babies with green eyes or waking up next to you every morning. Before you know it, I’ll be signing my name as Mrs Holloway like a love-sick teenager.’
Blake grinned, causing his dimples to show through his bristly cheeks.
‘You want to wake up next to me every morning,’ he repeated, and she made a show of rolling her eyes as she sat back in her chair.
‘I just inflated your ego, didn’t I?’
‘You certainly inflated something.’
In one swift movement, he got up from his seat and lifted her out of hers. She barely had time to squeak her surprise, before she was in his arms and he was striding up the stairs.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, as he kicked open her bedroom door. She frantically looked around to make sure she hadn’t left it in a mess, but it was tidy enough.
‘Let’s start with tomorrow morning,’ he replied.
‘What do you mean?’
Blake laid her down gently on the bed and covered her body with his. She wrapped her legs around his waist, liking the feel of him between her thighs. The bulge in his jeans rubbed in the exact spot that ignited a fire in her core.
‘We can’t predict the future. Let’s wake up next to each other tomorrow morning and take it from there.’
He kissed her hard on the lips, cutting off the sarcastic response she’d been about to make about scaring him away for sure if he saw what she looked like in the mornings. Her hands slid beneath his shirt and she scraped her nails down his spine.
‘I love you so fucking much,’ Blake whispered against her ear. ‘Before I met you, I didn’t know what I was doing on this godforsaken planet. Now I know you’re my reason for living - my home.’
He unzipped her trousers and pulled them down her legs. She helped him off with his shirt and then his jeans. Each item of clothing was hastily discarded to the floor, as teeth, tongues and lips sought skin until they were both naked and breathing heavily. Lust filled the room and Carson’s gaze briefly centred on the wound on Blake’s chest, but before she could remind him that he owed her an explanation, he slid inside her and all thoughts dissolved from her mind like melting chocolate.
Blake moved above her, building the perfect rhythm that made her tingle with anticipation. She locked her legs around his waist and matched his thrusts with her own. He captured her arms above her head and kissed her neck until she writhed beneath him, begging for a release. When he cried out her name, she fell over the edge, her orgasm spreading like lava. He rolled over and repositioned her so that her back was against his chest. Wrapped safely in his arms, she felt peace like never before.
‘I could easily get used to this,’ she said, squirming when he sniffed the back of her neck and then pressed kisses against the top of her spine.
‘So could I,’ he replied. ‘But there’s something I need to tell you first.’
His tone was gruff and anxiety quickly replaced her contentment.
‘What is it?’
She didn’t dare turn around to face him. His heart was thumping rapidly against her back and she felt her unease increase.
‘I’m an alien.’
His words came out on a single rush of breath and Carson stiffened. Her stomach seemed to drop all the way to her toes, but then she relaxed and started laughing.
‘Sure you are,’ she said, nestling deeper into the circle of his arms. ‘Good one, Blake. You almost had me there. The joke is on me. Go to sleep or I won’t make you breakfast in the morning.’
She felt the muscles in his arms eventually relax as he held her, but his responding laugh seemed unnatural.
‘That would be crazy, right?’
‘Yeah, really crazy. I love you, Blake.’
‘Love you too, Carson.’
31
The banging on the front door dragged Lydia from her slumber and she groaned. She’d fallen asleep in the armchair again, as she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go upstairs and share a bed with Don, knowing the man she really wanted to be with was spending the night in the her garden.
‘Freya? Billy?’ she cal
led, but the only sound that greeted her was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Her children had left for school without waking her to say goodbye.
‘Don?’ she called. ‘Don, are you here?’
There was no response, which meant he’d gone to work without waking her either. She wondered whether he’d watched her sleep and fantasised about strangling her. He was capable of it. She’d seen the look in his eyes when he’d told her the only way she was leaving him was in a body bag.
Lydia rubbed the left side of her neck, which felt tender from where she’d slept in an awkward position all night. As her gaze fluttered around the room, she finally noticed the time on the clock and sat bolt upright
Shit, she’d overslept and would be late for work again.
Her mouth was so dry that it hurt whenever she swallowed and she checked her hands, expecting to see them covered in blood again, but they were clean. She exhaled loudly. She needed to get her act together before Adam reported her behaviour to Chief Melman and he forced her to take time off work. She needed access to the laboratory in order to work on DNA splicing.
Lydia placed a hand on her forehead and winced. Her temperature was sky-high and her head pounded as if someone was jumping up and down on it. She looked down at the bite mark on her arm, which was scabbing over enough that she could pass it off as a different injury. Her symptoms were clearly side-effects of the jaktten saliva poisoning and she wondered how long she had left before she fully mutated. She’d felt herself come close on so many occasions. Soon she’d be unable to fight the craving for blood.
Whoever was knocking on the front door continued to make their presence known and her heart fluttered when she realised it might be Jonah checking on her again.
‘I’m coming,’ she called out shakily. It took a few seconds for her dizziness to subside before she was able to move from the living room to the front door. She glanced through the spyhole, disappointed to find her elderly neighbour standing there rather than the tall, muscular alien that consumed far too many of her thoughts.
Mrs Harris continued to bang her walking stick against the wood until Lydia pulled back the chain and opened the door.
‘Mrs Harris, what’s wrong?’
The little old lady did not wait for an invitation. She shuffled inside and called for her cat.
‘Mr Harris? Mr Harris? Are you in here?’
‘I already told you he wasn’t here,’ Lydia said, as she followed her into the kitchen.
‘I’m really worried about him, especially knowing he isn’t wearing his collar anymore.’
‘Maybe someone thinks he’s a stray and is feeding him.’
Mrs Harris screwed up her wrinkled face until her mouth disappeared beneath her saggy jowls.
‘Mr Harris is a fussy eater. He only likes fresh fish. Who else would buy him fresh fish?’
‘I’m sure he’ll be back soon.’
The old woman’s eyes watered beneath her wrinkled eyelids. ‘There have been reports of dead cats and foxes being found in the area.’
Lydia recalled the mess she’d found in her kitchen and her stomach undulated as she considered that it might not be the only animal she’d inadvertently eaten.
‘Where did you hear that, Mr Harris?’
‘It was on the local news. The report mentioned cats, foxes, and even a few dogs. At first, the police thought it was kids, but the last few animals were found ripped to pieces. Kids aren’t capable of that, are they?’
Lydia shook her head, but the real question was whether she was capable.
‘I’m sure Mr Harris is fine. Once he realises what he’s missing at home, he’ll come back with his tail between his legs.’
That seemed to placate the old woman, as she nodded her head and shuffled from the living room towards the front door
‘I’m sorry to bother you, dear,’ she said, as Lydia held the door open for her. ‘I feel like you’re the only one who cares in this street.’
Lydia wouldn’t go as far to say she cared, but it was a nice sentiment from the old woman, until she followed it up with a barbed comment.
‘Just remember, dear. Only drunken men and tired whores sleep during the day. People will start talking about you if you’re not careful.’
‘I had a migraine,’ Lydia replied and Mrs Harris squinted up at her.
‘You do still look a little peaky. Are you sure you’re not pregnant?’
‘One hundred percent sure.’
The old woman glanced around Lydia’s home and frowned.
‘Maybe you should also consider getting a cleaner, dear,’ she said. ‘I heard Chelsea was looking for work. A good wife always keeps on top of her housework or employs someone else to do it for her. You’ll never stop your husband straying with cobwebs in your corners.’
Lydia’s right eye started to twitch. Don’s extra-marital relations had nothing to do with her cleaning skills. He was just a selfish bastard. As for employing the woman he was fucking, the only job she’d pay her to do was take out the trash. That trash being Don.
‘Are you listening, dear?’
Lydia had such a graphic vision of strangling Mrs Harris with her American-tan stockings that her hands started to move of their own accord. It felt so good to picture the woman’s mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, struggling to breathe as more pressure was placed around her neck until her wrinkled face fell slack in death.
‘I said are you listening, dear? Your face looks strange and your eyes have changed colour.’
Lydia inhaled and it felt as if she’d suddenly surfaced from icy cold water. The vision had been so intense that she found her hands were almost level with the woman’s throat and she could taste blood in her mouth where she’d bitten her tongue.
‘I think you should leave now, Mrs Harris.’
She nudged the woman outside.
‘Keep a look out for Mr Harris. He really shouldn’t be out on his own if there’s an animal killer on the loose in the area.’
‘Cats can fend for themselves. As long as he stays away from this house, he’ll be fine.’
Mrs Harris stepped outside, but before Lydia could shut the door, she jammed her walking stick into the doorway.
‘I’ll come back later and check on you. You don’t seem right, dear.’
‘That’s not necessary.’
‘I insist. I’ll bring you some of my chicken soup.’
‘I don’t need soup,’ Lydia growled, kicking the walking stick out of the doorway. ‘I just need to take some paracetamol and go to fucking work.’
‘There’s no need to use that language around me. Just keep an eye out for Mr Harris and make sure you wash and change your clothes before you leave the house. It smells as if someone died.’
Someone would die if she didn’t calm down and Lydia feared that someone could well be her nosey neighbour or another neighbourhood pet.
32
‘Did you miss me?’
Lydia tried not to flinch at the sudden voice in her ear, but failed miserably. Her cheeks flushed and her heart raced, as she turned to face Jonah who stood beside the entrance to ISCU as if he had every right to be there.
‘Will you stop creeping up on me?’
He smiled mischievously. ‘Nope.’
Lydia huffed and rummaged inside her handbag for her identification badge. She was still a little shaken from her encounter with Mrs Harris, whereas Jonah looked good for a man that had kept vigil in her garden. He wore black jeans and a white short-sleeve shirt. His chin and cheeks were covered in darker silver stubble, but there were no signs of fatigue on his face.
‘I can’t talk now,’ she said, tapping her key code surreptitiously into the panel beside the door. ‘I’m late for work.’
‘Did you sleep ok?’
Lydia thought about waking up alone and frustrated, and then Mrs Harris’ interrogation.
‘Of course.’
‘Liar.’
‘What are you doing here?’
<
br /> ‘I’m here to provide a DNA sample.’
‘I changed my mind. I don’t need your help.’
She didn’t want to spend too much time around him. He was a dangerous alien, but more than that, he was a dangerous man. Dangerous to her fragile emotional state.
Jonah frowned. ‘I kept watch over you last night and now you’re pushing me away.’
‘I didn’t ask you to do that.’
He stepped closer. ‘I know you didn’t. You don’t ask anyone for help. Even when you need it most.’
Lydia stared into his eyes and was met with steely determination.
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Follow me.’
Jonah mock-saluted her, which made her smile but she quickly curbed it.
‘You should do that more often,’ he said. ‘You have a beautiful smile.’
She shrugged away his compliment. ‘I don’t like smiling.’
‘Why?’
‘It shows someone that I like them.’
She opened the door and was about to step inside when she remembered the new alarm.
‘We might have to do this a different way, Jonah. Chief Melman installed a new alarm, which detects when an alien enters our headquarters.’
‘That can’t be true.’
‘I was with the chief when someone brought in an injured jaktten and the alarm went off.’
‘I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been an alarm invented that’s sophisticated enough to detect a jaktten in its human form. We’re virtually identical when we’re like this.’
‘Are you willing to take that chance? Am I?’
Jonah nodded. ‘There could already be a jaktten walking around your HQ without you or your chief even knowing.’
‘I doubt it, but if the alarms go off, I’m blaming you.’
She stepped into the foyer and held her breath. Jonah followed her inside and neither one of them triggered the alarm.
‘Told you,’ he whispered against the top of her head. ‘Jaktten have been hiding in plain sight for decades.’