Forsaken (2 page)

For some reason the developments made Ashley grin like a precocious child who’d just gotten her way for the hundredth time. “Sorry, hon, but your frustrations work to my advantage.”

“You mean there’s an ulterior motive for this visit?” She chuckled. “I never would have guessed.” The waitress returned, postponing Ashley’s reply. They ordered and Raina waited until the waitress was out of earshot before prompting, “What’s going on? If you’re touring the East Coast with your mystery man, who’s counseling traumatized poodles?”

Ashley’s brows drew together and hurt sparked in her gaze. “You don’t need to make it sound so frivolous. I might not be trying to solve world hunger, but a disruptive pet can be very stressful. The service I provide enriches lives.” The waitress set a frosty mug full of diet cola in front of Ashley then quietly withdrew.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult. I was just wondering how your customers were dealing with your ongoing absence?” This visit was the third strange event Ashley had been involved in during the past two weeks. First, she claimed her building was being fumigated so she was going to spend time with her mother. Needing fumigation in New York City wasn’t surprising, but Ashley and her mother had never been close. Then someone broke in and ransacked the house during Ashley’s visit. According to Ashley, they’d made a terrible mess, but nothing was taken and no one was hurt. And now this impromptu visit with a mysterious man in tow. Ashley was too young for a midlife crisis, but something was definitely going on. “How’s your mom doing? Are you still staying with her?”

“Mom’s a trooper. I think I was more upset by the fiasco than she was. I really don’t like her living alone, which means exactly nothing. She won’t even consider any other option.” She suddenly sounded like she was reciting dialogue. Raina had never had reason to mistrust Ashley. Still, none of this felt right.

Rather than confront her, Raina ventured deeper into the conversation, carefully listening for contradictions and inconsistencies. “Home invasions are always traumatizing. She might not be as calm as she seems. You better keep an eye on her.”

“I intend to.”

“Then back to my original question.” She picked up her coffee mug before asking, “Aren’t all of these delays costing you customers?”

“Yeah, my home visits are basically nonexistent right now.”

Raina didn’t sense deception in the explanation, but again it didn’t make sense. The one-on-one sessions with difficult pets and their owners was the part of Ashley’s enterprise that she enjoyed the most. “So what’s important enough to keep you away?”

“Bandar and his people.” A dreamy smile briefly parted her lips. Raina was dying to know more about this mysterious stranger. “They need our help. Well actually, they need your help and I agreed to see if I could recruit you.”

“What sort of help?” She blew a strand of her hair out of her eyes and set down her empty mug. “I don’t have much time for anything other than work right now.”

“Your project hasn’t really started, correct?” Ashley’s gaze took on a calculative gleam that made Raina bristle. She knew that look, had seen the resulting mischief too many times to ignore it.

“That’s technically true, but I’m finally a senior fellow. I don’t want to screw that up. The university—not to mention my investors—expects progress on a regular basis. And the greenhouse complex is a mess.”

Ashley scooted closer to the table. “How long will it take to whip the greenhouses into shape?”

“That depends on how many people I can recruit. Even if I offer them credit in exchange for their work, I won’t have students lining up for this.”

“With a minimal crew, are you talking days or weeks?” Ashley persisted.

It was all guess work at this point. There were too many variables. Still, she gave Ashley a best estimation. “Two, maybe three weeks, if I can recruit four to six students.”

“Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Ashley’s smile was hopeful rather than triumphant, so Raina gave in to her curiosity. “Just spit it out. What is this about?”

“If Bandar provides a crew of strong, capable men to do the work for you, will you spend the next ‘two, maybe three weeks’ working on our project? It won’t delay your research. In fact, you’ll likely come out ahead.”

“What would I be doing?”

“Basically the same thing you’re doing here.” Ashley paused and gazed past Raina for a moment. Was she organizing her thoughts or concocting a believable story? Raina wasn’t sure why, but she still doubted that Ashley was being honest with her. “His country was decimated by a particularly violent war. It left the soil and ground water toxic for miles around. Traditional farming is impossible. They need to be able to grow food with limited space, recycled water and little or no dirt.”

“Why don’t they just import food from other locations? Hydroponics is seldom cost-effective. That’s been one of my biggest challenges.”

“The outpo-village is very remote.” She stumbled over the word village as if she’d started to say something else. “They really need to become self-sufficient.”

Enough of these generalizations. If she was going to consider a detour from her research, she needed details. “Which country are we talking about? What sort of weapon made the ground toxic? If the environment is tainted, is it safe for habitation? How did you cross paths with someone from a remote village? And does this have anything to do with the break-in at your mother’s house?” Raina watched Ashley squirm and grew even more suspicious. Ashley had never been a good liar and now was no exception. Raina had no idea what this was really about, but the war-torn village story was nonsense.

Ashley sighed and folded her hands on top of the table. “All right, Bandar works for a foreign government and the project is Top Secret. They need someone familiar with hydroponics, but I can’t explain the details unless you agree to join the project.”

At least that explanation fit what little she’d seen of Bandar. There wasn’t any way to weaponized hydroponics, but she still hesitated. “Can you tell me which government? There are quite a few I have no interest in assisting.”

“I’d never heard of it before and I doubt you will have either. It used to be part of the Soviet Union. This is a fledgling democracy struggling to recover from the ravages of war. I thought it would be right up your alley.”

“I don’t know. This is all a little too weird.” They’d been friends for a long time and there wasn’t much Raina wouldn’t do for Ashley. Still, Raina tried to listen when her protective instincts engaged.

“Will you at least meet Bandar and listen to what he has to say?”

She’d seen Bandar well enough to realize he was good-looking. Was Ashley hoping she’d be swayed by his physical appeal? That only made Raina more hesitant. “Can he tell me anything you haven’t said already? If I can’t know the details unless I’ve agreed to join the project, I’m not interested.”

Suddenly, Ashley pressed her hand over her mouth and groaned.

“Are you all right?” Raina scooted her chair back from the table.

Ashley shook her head then made a mad dash for the restrooms nestled in the back corner of the dining area.

Perfect
. This just got better and better.

Ashley hadn’t seemed ill before Raina turned down her bizarre offer and they hadn’t eaten anything yet. Was Ashley being coerced in some way? What could have upset her enough to turn her stomach?

The waitress approached the table, looking concerned and a bit uncomfortable. “Is she okay?”

“I’m not sure.” Raina stood. There was a slim possibility this attack was physical rather than emotional. She better go see for herself. “If the cook hasn’t started our order, you might have him or her hold off.”

After acknowledging the suggestion with a distracted nod, the waitress asked, “Do I need to call an ambulance or something?”

“I don’t think so, but let me find out what’s going on.” Raina quickly crossed the restaurant and knocked on the bathroom door. “Ashley? Are you okay?” No answer. Trepidation tightened her gut. Was something seriously wrong? “I’m coming in, okay?”

Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked, so Raina stepped into the small room and let the door close behind her. The toilet was surrounded by a privacy partition. The metal door swung open and Ashley stood there looking hale and hearty.

“I’m sorry.” Her expression pleaded for understanding. “Please, don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt you.”

Before Raina could reply to the bizarre statement, the world around her blurred. Her skin tingled and her muscles clenched. She inhaled, meaning to scream, but reality accelerated like a bullet blasting from a high-powered rifle. Everything faded to black, yet somehow she remained aware. One second of utter terror gave way to confusion and anger as reality came into focus again.

She stood in the middle of a room, trembling and unsteady. What the hell just happened? The walls and floor were gray with a faint iridescence. The upper portion of one wall was transparent, revealing an adjoining space. Two men occupied the smaller room. One stood and one sat. Both were dressed in black and gold. Their outfits were identical, uniform.

“Hello.” Her voice cracked despite her best effort to appear calm. “Where am I?”

Please, don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt you.
Ashley’s words echoed through Raina’s mind, but she found little comfort in the fact that her best friend was involved in…whatever this was.

A section of the wall to her right parted and a third man stepped into the room. His uniform was also black, but the gold stripes on his pants were wider and there was an intricate crest on the left side of his shirt, above where a human’s heart would be.

The thought sent a fresh rush of fear cascading through her body and she took a step backward. He looked similar to a human and yet the differences were distinct enough to make Raina doubt her sanity. He was tall and lean with broad shoulders and narrow hips. His wavy brown hair had been brushed away from his face, accenting the harsh angles of his features. And his eyes. There was nothing human about his eyes. They were almond-shaped and exotic, vivid purple rings dissecting a solid field of black.

Stunned and terrified, she stared at him in paralyzed silence.

The man seated in the adjoining room spoke into an intercom. Raina didn’t understand his words, but the third man responded in the same language.

Shit.
If they couldn’t understand each other, how was she going to find out what was happening?

As if the third man heard her panicked thought, he turned to face her. “Good morning, Ms. Solano.” He spoke English with an odd accent, guttural yet rolling, like Russian or maybe Czech. Was this why Ashley had claimed they were from Eastern Europe? “I apologize for your abrupt arrival, but there was no help for it.”

If they could communicate, there was hope. She took a breath, forcing air past the massive lump in her throat. “Where am I? Who are you?” Raina crossed her arms, barely able to think past the strange rushing in her ears.

He remained by the open doorway, giving her as much space as the room allowed. He spread his arms, fingers open, indicating he was unarmed. “No one is going to hurt you, Raina. We simply need your help.”

She took another step backward and looked beyond him. All she could see was a small section of corridor constructed of the same gray material as the room. “What… How did you… What the hell is going on?”

“I’m Commander Kotto Tarr. You’re aboard the
Crusader
. We’re
currently orbiting Earth’s moon.”

“I’m on a spaceship?” She whispered the question, unable to believe the words coming out of her mouth.

A smile slowly parted his lips, making him look a bit less savage. “Yes, you’re on a spaceship.”

Her logical mind bulked against the concept while her senses swamped her with proof. This was no hallucination, unless the scene with Ashley had been part of her delusion. Ashley had known this was about to happen and tried to warn her, soothe her. “What did you do with Ashley?” She crossed her arms over her chest, restless, almost desperate to escape the impossible situation.

“Ashley’s fine.” His voice was deep and authoritative, compelling her to believe. “She’ll be here shortly. I thought it wise to reassure the waitress that nothing—”

“You were spying on us?” She uncrossed her arms and narrowed her gaze as anger began to burn away her fear. Good, anger was strong. It allowed her to act, as long as she controlled it. “Why is she helping you? Oh my God. Do you have her mother?” There had to be a reason easygoing Ashley was cooperating with aliens.

He scowled, clearly insulted by the accusation. “As soon as you calm down, I’ll escort you to more comfortable surroundings. And then I’ll explain everything.”

“What is there to explain?” Her gaze clashed with his and he took a step forward. This was not a man used to being challenged. Still, she couldn’t seem to back down. “For some reason, you need a hydroponics expert, so you kidnapped one.”

“You’re my guest,” he insisted with a sardonic half-smile, “not my hostage.”

She raised her chin and arched her brows, surprised by her own defiance. Aggressive people usually had her scurrying for the nearest corner. Why did this man make her feel…feisty? “Then put me back where you got me. I have no intention of helping you.”