Naura (5 page)

Chapter Nine

Naura parted the blinds and peered out the window for the hundredth time. The sun had set long ago with no sign of Tony and Vaulcron’s return.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her brother. “
Vaulcron
?” she mentally sent to him.
“I am sorry for interrupting your thoughts, but I need to know if you are safe.”

Long moments passed before an answer came. “
We were held up at a checkpoint nearby. Do not fear, my sister. We will arrive momentarily.”

Relief poured through her with his words. He had said
we
will arrive, which meant that Tony was safe as well.

Vaulcron’s voice was suddenly back inside her mind. “
Go through the side door in the kitchen, Naura, and push the black button on the wall. It will open the garage door.”

Naura rushed to do as Vaulcron asked. Easing the door open, she located the button situated to the right of the door and pressed it.

She watched in amazement as the wide door rolled up to lie along the inside of the ceiling. Humans were magical creatures, she thought, staring at the driveway in front of her for signs of her brother.
If only they possessed as much compassion
.

Lights appeared on the road, and the sound of an engine rumbled through the quiet of the night, announcing the large vehicle turning into the driveway and ultimately, the garage.

The driver’s side door opened and Anthony Vaughn stepped out.

Naura lost the ability to speak.

Tony’s normally long shaggy hair was cut short, and his unkempt beard had been removed to reveal a strong, square jaw and a pair of full, gorgeous lips.

He stepped around her, pressing the garage door button on his way inside.

Naura couldn’t move. Her heart pounded hard enough in her chest that she was sure her brother would hear it.

Vaulcron climbed from the back of the vehicle. “You look as if you saw a ghost, sister.”

“No. I…”

“What is it, Naura? You are flushed.”

“It is nothing,” she muttered, standing on tiptoe to kiss her brother’s cheek. “I am only happy that you have returned safely. That is all.”

He didn’t appear convinced, but thankfully he didn’t persist.

She allowed him to take hold of her hand and lead her back inside.

Tony sat at the table, making a sandwich as they entered the kitchen. “We need to talk,” he announced to the room in general.

Naura accepted the chair her brother pulled out for her and lifted her gaze to Tony. It hurt to look at him. She had been drawn to Tony since the first time she’d laid eyes on him, the day he saved her life by offering her his blood.

The horror she’d experienced while locked in the deep recesses of his mind had terrified her. The death of his wife and child had been the most brutal memory that Naura had ever witnessed.

She watched him now, sitting across the table, staring back at her with those lifeless eyes. No emotion swam in their depths. He was no more than an animated corpse.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“I am sorry,” Naura muttered, straightening in her chair. She’d been so lost in thoughts of Tony she hadn’t heard him speak.

“The government has captured two of your people.”

Naura glanced at Vaulcron to find him on his feet, staring at Tony with glittering eyes. Strange that she hadn’t heard him move.

She shifted her gaze back to Tony. “Are you certain?”

“According to Henry, they are being held in Fort Walton, at Eglin Air Force Base.”

“That would be Braum and Gryke,” Vaulcron growled, flattening his hands on the table. “They were thought to have died in the explosion last year. What is This Eglin?”

“As far as the public knows, it’s a military base about twenty miles from here, but it’s much more than that.”

“What do you mean by much more than that?” Naura interjected.

“There are things there that are kept from the public to prevent panic. The base's current primary purpose is officially undetermined; however, it supports development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.”

Tony took a deep breath before continuing. “The secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object folklore. Although it has never been declared a secret base, all research at Eglin is top secret, compartmented information “

Vaulcron swore a string of human curse words that sounded foreign coming from him. He glanced from Naura to Tony. “How do you know so much about this Eglin?”

“I’ve been there,” Tony admitted, taking a bite of the sandwich he’d recently made.

Vaulcron strode around the table and leaned in close to Tony’s head. His voice came out eerily soft. “Take me there.”

Blowing out a breath, Tony lowered his sandwich slightly. “Were you not listening? You don’t just take someone to Eglin. No one gets in without proper authorization.”

Tony glanced down at Vaulcron’s feet and let his gaze travel up the length of his body. “Besides, they would love nothing more than to get their hands on you. And her,” he finished, jerking a thumb in Naura’s direction.

Vaulcron straightened and ran a hand through his hair. “Then how do you propose we rescue them?”

“I have a plan.”

Naura watched as Tony snatched up his cell and pressed some buttons. Seconds ticked by before he spoke. “It’s me. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Chapter Ten

“Are you sure this will work?” Naura asked from her hiding place in back of the military vehicle.

Tony maneuvered them through a checkpoint with ease. “It has to or else we will all die. Which is why you should have stayed back.”

Henry’s car was in the driveway as Tony rounded the corner on his street. He pulled in directly behind the black sedan and switched off the engine. “Stay hidden until you hear from me.”

“
Be careful, Tony.”

Naura’s words resonated inside Tony’s head, laced with concern and no small amount of fear.

“Stay out of my head,” he bit out before exiting the vehicle and strolling up the drive.

A young soldier opened at the door before Tony could ring the bell. “Sir,” he rushed out with a sharp salute.

Tony kept his expression blank. “There’s been a change in plans, Private. I’ll be escorting Doctor Sutherland to the base.”

A wrinkle appeared between the private’s eyebrows. His Adam’s apple dipped as he swallowed. “I wasn’t informed of any changes in plans, sir.”

Tony could practically smell the guy’s nervousness. “What is your name, Private?”

“Talbot, sir.”

With lightning speed, Tony pulled his revolver from the waistband of his pants and had it trained on the young private before he could react. “Make a sound, and you’re a dead man.”

Talbot’s eyes grew huge, but he didn’t call out for help.

Tony jerked his chin toward the interior of the house. “Get inside and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Following the private inside, Tony closed the door and quickly took in his surroundings. “Place your weapon on the floor and kick it to me.”

Talbot’s eyes flashed with anger. He lifted his chin and reached for his weapon.

“Slowly,” Tony demanded, watching his every movement.

Freeing the gun from its holster, Talbot placed it on the floor and kicked it in Tony’s direction. “You won’t get away with this.”

Tony retrieved the weapon, shoving it into the waistband of his pants. “Turn around.”

“What are you going to do?” Talbot questioned, giving Tony his back.

Instead of answering, Tony flipped his revolver around and slammed the butt of it against the back of the private’s head. Talbot slid unconscious to the floor.

The sound of car doors caught Tony’s attention. He rushed to the window and inched the curtain to the side in time to see Henry striding up the driveway with another uniformed soldier in tow.

Tony eased over close to the door and pressed his back against the wall.

The guard stepped inside ahead of Sutherland, only to meet the same fate as the private. He crumpled to the floor at Tony’s feet.

“You killed him?” Henry cried, staring down at the fallen soldier in obvious shock.

Tony shook his head. “He’ll be out of commission for a while, but he’s not dead. Now get me something to tie them up with.”

Henry stumbled inside, stepping over the fallen man before disappearing into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with two rolls of duct tape. “This is all I have.”

“That’ll work.” Tony took the tape and went to work on securing the two felled soldiers before dragging them into Abbie’s old room and placing them on the bed.

He returned to the living room to find Henry sitting on the couch, wringing his hands. “What now, Tony?”

“I’m going to bring Vaulcron and Naura inside. They will stay here and keep an eye on the soldiers while I accompany you to Eglin.”

“Who the hell are Vaulcron and Naura?”

“Hauke’s siblings.”

Henry jumped to his feet. “You brought two of those creatures to my home?”

“Put a sock in it, Henry. You’ve already met Naura. She was the female they had in the tank at Winchester Industries last year.”

Anger rose up inside Tony with the memory of Naura’s half-dead body floating in that tank of salt water, nude and injured. He bared his teeth. “The one they’d planned to kill. Remember her?”

“I-I had nothing to do with that,” Henry sputtered, his face red with indignation. “I was merely doing what was best for my Abbie.”

“Horse shit,” Tony snarled. You have always put yourself before your daughter. Ever since Marlene passed away.”

“You leave Marlene out of this.”

Tony pulled the door open and stepped onto the porch. He spoke without looking back. “Get your things together. We leave in ten minutes.”

* * * *

Glenn Anderson paced in front of the two giant aliens secured in the holding tanks. They’d been pronounced dead on arrival, yet a tinge of color remained in their cheeks.

“Are you waiting on them to wake up and say boo?” Spivey joked, sailing into the room. He stopped in front of Glenn with a salute.

“Corporal,” Glenn greeted him with a sigh. “Any problems at the gates?”

Spivey’s eyebrows shot up. “Nothing that I couldn’t handle, sir.”

“They don’t seem to take kindly to the army infiltrating their base,” Glenn pointed out.

“Hopefully, we won’t be here much longer. I, for one, will be glad when this is over.”

“Me too, Spivey. Me too.”

Spivey cleared his throat. “Can I ask you a question, sir?”

Glenn moved closer to the glass, intrigued by the barbs on the aliens’ ankles. “Go ahead.”

“How come they brought these” —Spivey waved a hand toward the tanks— “things to this particular base instead of sending them to a more secure location like Area 51?”

“Because they’re using them as bait,” Glenn responded, keeping his gaze on the aliens.

“Bait, sir?”

Glenn abandoned his view to face the corporal. “To draw out Doctor Abbigail Sutherland. If she’s still alive.”

“Why do they want her so badly?”

“They believe that she holds the key to a cure for the Incola virus,” Glenn admitted with a frown.

“What does that mean for her if they apprehend her alive?”

Glenn turned away to continue his perusal of the tanks’ contents. “God knows, Spivey. But it can’t be good.”

Chapter Eleven

The sound of the hatch opening startled Naura. She held her breath in hopes that they weren’t discovered by an unfriendly human.

“You can come out now,” Tony murmured from the rear of the vehicle.

Naura threw back the cover draped across her body and accepted Tony’s hand of assistance.

The warmth of his skin against her palm sent shivers up her arm. She softly ran her thumb across his wrist, basking in the feel of him touching her.

He pulled away. “Hurry inside before you’re seen.”

“Yes, of course,” she whispered, releasing him and rushing toward the front door of the house without looking back.

Once inside, she came face to face with an elderly man wearing a white coat.

Neither of them moved as he stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

Naura found her voice first. She smiled and extended her hand like she’d seen the humans on television do. “Greetings. I am Naura, sister of Hauke.”

The older man stumbled back a step. “Don’t come any closer.”

Naura’s smile slipped, but she kept her palm open. “I mean you no harm.”

“I don’t care what you mean. I know what you things are capable of.”

Pain sliced through her at his words. He obviously knew of her encounter with her previous captor, the man she had infected while defending herself.

She lowered her arm to her side. “I am sorry for scaring you. I will not hurt you.”

He took another step back, crossing his arms over his chest in a protective stance. “My name is Doctor Henry Sutherland.”

Excitement soared inside her. “You are Abbie’s sire? I can see the resemblance. She will be overjoyed to introduce you to Arcanum.”

Henry frowned. “What is Arcanum?”

“He is Hauke and Abbie’s son. Your grandchild.”

More color drained from Henry’s face. “Abbie gave birth to one of those things? Ah, God, no.”

“I see that you now know,” Tony announced, entering the house with Vaulcron in tow.

“You should have told me,” Henry accused, staggering to the couch to sit with his head in his hands. “The government won’t stop until they get their hands on Abbie.”

“That is exactly why they will never know she’s alive. As far as you’re concerned, your daughter disappeared a year ago and is presumed dead,” Tony pointed out. “Do you understand?”

Henry lifted his head. “But she isn’t presumed dead. You said yourself that the aliens being held at Eglin were bait to draw her out.”

Abbie’s father craned his neck to gander at Vaulcron, standing directly behind Tony. “I see that you have taken it upon yourself to bring two of those things into my home. If they are caught in my possession—”

“You will die,” Tony finished for him. “Then I suggest that you get off your ass and do exactly as I say.”

“You two” —Tony waved his hand, indicating Vaulcron and Naura— “keep an eye on the men in the back bedroom and do not unlock the front door for any reason. I will be back as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

“What will you do?” Naura whispered, watching as Tony yanked Henry to his feet and moved toward the door.

“If everything goes as planned, I will get your people out of there and be back here by morning.”

“What if you do not return?” She hated asking, but the question had been plaguing her since she’d climbed into the back of the military vehicle.

Tony stopped on the porch and gripped the doorknob in his hand. “Then you both will make your way to the gulf and go home.” He pulled the door shut behind him.

Naura’s heart clenched at the finality of Tony’s words. He’d admitted there was a chance that he wouldn’t return, which meant one thing—he could die out there.

“He will be all right,” Vaulcron assured her, pulling her into his arms. “Do not fret so, or you will make yourself sick.”

“I have this feeling inside me, brother, a feeling of foreboding that I cannot shake. It has been with me since my arrival on the surface.”

“Perhaps you should go home. Staying here will not change the outcome. It only endangers you as well.”

She backed out of his embrace. “I understand that you want what is best for me, Vaulcron, and I love you for that. But Tony
is
what is best for me. I will not leave this place without him.”

Vaulcron took a step forward. “You cannot allow these feelings for Abbie’s uncle to take root inside your heart, sister. He is not good for you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “Do you not think I have tried? I have spent the last fifteen months attempting to ignore my thoughts, my desires for him. They only grew stronger by the day.”

“Naura…”

“Do not pity me, Vaulcron. Tony is my destiny, my mate. I do not understand the workings of the heart; I only know that mine is connected to his somehow. And there is nothing you can do to change that.”

Vaulcron rubbed at his eyes in a way that Naura had come to recognize as defeat. “I will not speak of it again.”

“Many thanks, Vaulcron.”

* * * *

“Doctor Sutherland will be here soon,” Spivey stated, taking a seat next to Glenn Anderson. “Do they really think this plan will work?”

Glenn shrugged a broad shoulder. “Who knows? But I suppose it’s worth a try.”

Spivey stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. “I seriously doubt that Doctor Sutherland’s daughter is still alive. And even if she is, the odds of him knowing her location are zilch. His phones are tapped, and he’s been closely watched.”

“Well, if Abbigail is still alive, there is one surefire way to find out. Dangle the dead aliens before her father in hopes of flushing out the one his daughter was last seen with.”

“And if she truly is dead?”

“Then we are all screwed. The virus has spread abroad to other states, other countries. It’s only a matter of time before it wipes us all out.”

“We should have moved her and the alien to Area 51 when we had the chance,” Spivey spat. “A vaccine would surely be in the works by now if they hadn’t escaped.”

Glenn couldn’t have agreed more. “The ball has definitely been dropped, Corporal. Let’s just pray it’s not too late to fix this.”