Fallen Star (23 page)

“Blayne and I spent the last three hours
warding your apartment,” Lor explained. “The shields won’t last
forever, but you should be safe for a night or two.”

She wasn’t sure what “warding” entailed.
“Did you create an actual barrier or just some sort of shield?”

“It’s an extremely sensitive alarm. You’ll
be warned if anyone approaches, even if they try to teleport in. It
will give Odintar time to flash you to safety.”

Which meant Odintar was coming with her. Her
stomach tightened while her pulse leapt. Why did she still feel so
conflicted? Their romance was exciting, exhilarating, but one night
of peace and quiet had its own appeal. Whether Odintar meant to or
not, he’d influenced each decision she’d made since he barreled
into her life. Still, they were trying to accommodate her needs and
she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

“Thank you,” she said to the three at
large.

“Tori’s in the lounge,” Lor told her. “Why
don’t you go visit with her while Odintar briefs us on the last few
days.”

Despite the polite wording, Jillian knew an
order when she heard one. She’d been dismissed, pushed aside so the
adults could talk without upsetting the child. “I’d be happy to, if
I knew where the lounge was.”

“Take a left, then a right, then another
left. Then it’s the second door on your right.” Elias used an
angled hand gesture to illustrate each turn.

“Left, right, left. Got it.” Suddenly
anxious to be away from the bossy men, she spun on the ball of her
foot and hurried down the hallway.

Warmth and encouragement seeped into her
mind, making her link with Odintar tingle. At any other time she
would have welcomed the affection. Right now, it felt too much like
what Indric had done. She found her end of the link and squeezed it
shut, blocking Odintar’s access to her mind.

She darted around a corner and collided with
someone. Stumbling back as the other person reached out and
steadied her. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” The hand grasping her upper
arm released. “You must be Jillian.”

Jillian looked up and fought for a reply.
Tall and curvaceous, the red-haired woman emanated authority while
still maintaining her femininity. Not an easy balance to achieve.
“Are you Morgan?”

The woman smiled and went from pretty to
stunning. “I am. Can I help you find something?”

“I was headed to the lounge. At least I hope
I was.”

“You’re almost there. Turn left at the next
corner and you’ll find the lounge a little ways down on your
right.”

Beauty was generally an advantage, but a
woman in Morgan’s position would be seriously hampered by physical
appeal. Jillian didn’t envy Morgan her challenges. “Thanks.”

“Will you be staying here now or were they
able to work out the logistics of your apartment?”

“I’m going home for a day or two. We’ll see
what happens after that.” She tried to sound as assertive as
possible. Too many forces already had influence on her
decisions.

Morgan’s sky-blue eyes narrowed as if she’d
object, then she nodded. “Very good. It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Jillian lingered in the hallway
as Morgan continued on her way. There was a fine line between
protective custody and captivity. Jillian would not allow these
people to make her a prisoner in her own life. She wouldn’t put
herself in unnecessary danger, but neither would she cower in the
corner like a frightened child.

She found the lounge and was relieved to see
that Tori was the only other person in the medium-sized room. Tori
sat at a square table working on a sleek laptop. She glanced up
from the screen and smiled. “Hey there, stranger.”

Jillian slipped into the chair across from
her. “Hey yourself.” The back wall was lined with vending machines
and couches had been arranged to one side, leaving room for the
tables on the other. “Did Lor put you to work or are you
researching a new design project?”

Tori closed the laptop and looked at
Jillian. “I think my set design days are part of my past. As soon
as this crisis is neutralized, Lor and I will probably go back to
Ontariese.”

This didn’t surprise Jillian. Lor was some
sort of hotshot on his planet, so Tori’s life would have to conform
to his. Still, it bothered her that Tori was willing to abandon her
entire life without a backward glance. “What about Angie?”

“Angie will likely come too. Blayne
wants—”

“What about what Angie wants? Or what you
want? Why are you rearranging your lives to fit the needs of these
men?” Tori opened her mouth, obviously ready to defend her choices,
so Jillian rushed on. “Angie has always been part Gypsy, but you
have a life here, an occupation and—”

“And what? An occupation was all I had
before I met Lor.”

“Thanks a lot. We’ve been friends for years.
That means nothing to you?”

Tori paused, her expression tense yet
compassionate. “You’ve never questioned my decisions, even when you
didn’t agree with them. What is this really about?”

“He promised there wouldn’t be any more
surprises and then—Bam! I get sucker punched.”

“Who made the promise and who threw the
sucker punch?”

Jillian tried not to sound melodramatic, but
the past week had been surreal. “After rearranging reality as I had
known it, Odintar promised he was finished screwing with me.”

Tori laughed. “I wasn’t aware that he’d
started screwing with you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do, but I’d like you to answer the
question. Has there been literal screwing?”

Jillian rubbed her eyes. She was so not in
the mood for Tori’s sense of humor. “Yes, we’re lovers. Now can we
return to the important subject?”

“Do you mean the part where you’re Bilarrian
royalty?” Tori grinned at her.

“Lor warned you?”

She nodded, clearly unwilling to let
Jillian’s grumpiness rub off on her. “I’ve heard that King Indric
is even better looking than Lord Drakkin. Is it true?”

“Why would you care and who the hell is Lord
Drakkin?”

“Aria’s mate. Remember, she’s on Bilarri.
Drakkin once ruled the mountain region of Hautell. I think one of
his sons is king there now.”

“There’s more than one king on Bilarri? Or
is Indric Drakkin’s son?”

“No relation, but Lor said they’ve been best
friends for centuries. Bilarri has four regions and each region has
its own monarch. Indric rules the deserts of San Adrin.”

That’s right.
Odintar had mentioned
the four regions. The people from each region were empowered by a
different element. It made sense that they’d have separate rulers.
Jillian tucked away the facts, not sure when, or if, she’d need to
know more about her homeworld. No, Earth was and would always be
her homeworld. Bilarri was simply the planet that had produced her
paternal grandmother.

“Is there any chance I can make a phone
call? I really need to talk to my Mom.”

“Does she do internet calls? I could text
her phone and tell her to go online. Internet access is scrambled
or encrypted or whatever. I had to register my facial scan before
they issued me a logon.”

“You can try. She has a smart phone, but
she’s bad about letting the battery run down.” She told Tori the
number.

Tori opened her laptop and sent the text.
“And you never answered the question. Is Indric hot? I’m asking
strictly as an artist, you understand.”

“Sure you are.” Jillian chuckled. Just
because Tori was married didn’t mean she’d gone blind. Artists were
notoriously visual and Tori was no exception. Besides, without her
work as a set designer, she would need a new artistic outlet. “King
Indric was arguably the best-looking man I’ve ever seen.” Indric
had been more classically handsome than Odintar, yet it was the
subtle savagery in Odintar that fascinated her.

“Form his image in your mind so I can see
him. I’m starting a sketch book of the different…species sounds so
strange, but I guess that’s what we’re encountering, different
humanoid species.”

Jillian thought about Indric, letting his
image form with as much detail as she could. She felt the brush of
Tori’s presence then her friend sucked in a breath.

“Okay, wow. I thought Drakkin was a
challenge. I’m not sure I can do justice to Indric.”

“Lor doesn’t mind you drawing all these
other men?”

Tori shrugged. “I’ve drawn just as many
women. Have you seen Morgan? OMG That woman is disgusting.”

Before Jillian could respond a musical
pinging drew Tori’s attention to her computer screen. “We’re in
luck. Your mom is logging on. Do you want video?”

“No. I don’t want to explain why I’m not at
home.”

Tori established the connection then slid
the laptop toward Jillian. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Jillian wasn’t sure the gesture was
necessary. Tori knew everything she knew and more.

“Hello? Are you there? Jillian?”

The anxiety in her mother’s tone drew
Jillian closer to the screen. “I’m here, Mom. Are you okay?”

“That’s my question? Where the hell have you
been for the past week? Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

Damn it. She should have rehearsed an excuse
for her thoughtlessness. In truth she’d been so busy and so
overwhelmed by all the changes that the complication hadn’t crossed
her mind. “I dropped my phone and can’t afford to replace it right
now. I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Worried? I was worried the first two days,
then I was frantic. Yesterday I got mad. Today,” she sighed loud
enough for the microphone to pick up the whoosh of air. “I’m
thrilled to hear your voice, but I’m still angry.”

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know what else I
can say.”

“I was going to come see you, but the
hospital said you’d been discharged. How are you feeling?”

She hated lies. Honesty might hurt more in
the short term, but it seldom sneaked around to bite one in the
butt. That was deception’s favorite game. Besides, she didn’t see
an alternative. At least not right now. “I’m doing as well as can
be expected. Getting around sucks, but I was able to sleep through
the night for the first time since this happened.”

“Are you at your apartment or are you
staying with someone?”

“I’m at home, but Tori and Angie are helping
out.” That wasn’t too far from the truth. “They’ve been
wonderful.”

“True friends are hard to find. You need to
hang on to those two.”

“I intend to.” Tension built as the
conversation lagged. “Mom, I understand why you don’t like to talk
about him, but I need to know more about my father.” Or at least
her perception of who he had been.

“He was a mistake, a youthful indiscretion.
That’s all you need to know.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not.” Now it was time
for some creative embellishment. If her mother honestly had no idea
her father had been anything other than a collage Romeo, she’d make
sure her mother never found out about…reality? Could she really
keep the truth from someone she loved? “Some of the blood tests
they ran while I was injured revealed something odd in my blood. I
was able to give them your medical history, but they really need
his too.”

A long pause followed. Jillian could picture
her mother’s tormented expression, had seen it often enough while
she was growing up to remember every detail. Questions about her
father always drew that reaction from her mother.

“Do you at least know his name?” Jillian
persisted.

“His first name was Jerry, but I know that’s
not what you’re asking.” Another long silence followed and Jillian
wished she’d done this in person. It would have been worth the
four-hour drive. “How ‘odd’ was what they found in your blood?
You’re not being harmed by it, are you?”

She knew. Those few questions made it
obvious. Her mother either knew or suspected. “The anomaly isn’t
harming me. They’ve just never seen anything like it before.”

“Oh, baby, you have to be careful. Or better
yet, drop it completely. Get a new phone number not just a new
phone. Move to another apartment. No, another city. If the wrong
people get ahold of your blood, they could…”

Soft sobbing came over the speakers and
Jillian wrapped her arms around herself. The past was fracturing,
bleeding, spilling over into the present. Would they be liberated
by the truth or consumed by the destruction. “It’ll be all right,
Mom. People are protecting me. I’m safe and so are you.”

“You can’t trust
anyone
. Jillian, you
have to listen to me.” Her voice was suddenly stronger, filled with
purpose. “This is so much bigger than you ever imagined.”

The last thing she wanted was to cause her
mother more pain. Her mother had already endured a lifetime of
isolation and fear. Much of it had been self-imposed, but that
didn’t matter now. “I’ll come get you. Pack a bag and be ready in
an hour. Don’t tell anyone you’re leaving.”

“In an hour?” A thin laugh followed the
question. “You can make it from Vegas to LA in an hour?”

“Just be ready.”

“All right. I’ll be ready.”

Jillian ended the call and powered down the
computer. She pushed back from the table and Tori walked back into
the room. “Sorry. I overheard most of that. What are you planning
to do with her?”

“King Indric offered her a home on Bilarri
and I intend to take him up on the offer.”

Tori nodded as Jillian handed her the
laptop. “You should go with her. Lor’s convinced the Shadow
Assassins are on the move. The receptionist gig is probably a waste
of time.”

“I’m not leaving until I have one last
conversation with Roxie. She might not realize what she knows, but
she could have seen all sorts of things that could be helpful. I’m
not going to squander the opportunity.”

“Fair enough. Let’s round up our men so you
can go get your mother.” Tori tucked the laptop under her arm and
headed for the door.