The sound of more knocking on the
front door filtered into the bedroom accompanied by a not so polite
cough from Shelly. He’d all but forgotten about Bethany’s friend
who’d been trapped inside with them and had witnessed their
intimate moment.
He let out of low frustrated growl
before he released Bethany. “Follow me,” he ordered.
Both females trailed after him as he
stomped back to the door and then wrenched it open. The Tauran male
pointed to several sets of approaching headlights coming up the
road. Vren nabbed his arm and jerked him inside the house before he
shut the door.
“
Vehicles are heading this
way,” he told Bethany.
She ran to the kitchen window and
peeked out. “It has to be Caleb and some of his men. Hide. I’ll
talk to them.”
“
No!” Both Vren and
Morshant said in unison.
It was a human word that even Taurans
were familiar with. They shared knowing glances.
After he took a quick look at the two
females, Morshant turned his attention to Vren. “Will their males
harm them?”
“
To get to me, perhaps.
I’ll kill anyone who tries…”
To harm my
female.
“
Then we should leave
before they arrive. There is still time to reach the
shuttle.”
“
They’d be safer if we took
them with us,” Vren said, attempting to keep Bethany with
him.
“
Strictly forbidden. Tram
gave orders. Only you, alive or dead.” Morshant touched his ear and
fell silent. As he listened his expression shifted from concern to
relief. “My shuttle pilot reports there are three NASA aircraft
headed this way. They’ll be here soon to rescue the females. We
should go before they arrive.”
“
Would you two stop
blabbering to each other in your private language long enough to
get out of my way?”
Vren whipped around to stare at
Bethany. He’d forgotten that he and Morshant spoke to each other in
their own languages because of the translator implants. The human
females couldn’t understand what they said.
His female had a small hand weapon
stuck into the front waistband of her trousers and a longer weapon
clutched in her left hand. She stormed around him and Morshant to
retrieve another weapon, which leaned near the door. Bethany tossed
it to Shelly.
“
Take this shotgun. It’s
loaded with three shells already.” She threw a bag to her friend.
“Here are some extras. Stay inside, take cover and shoot anyone who
walks through the door.”
Shelly appeared terrified, but she
managed to stammer, “O…k-kay.”
“
I’ve heard about the great
skill and courage of D’Lyrian warriors,” Morshant said with a
sneer. “There was never any mention about how you train your female
companions to fight your battles.”
Ears swept back, Vren growled
viciously at the Tauran’s insult, then leveled his angry glare at
Bethany. “They won’t fight!” He spoke the words in her language to
make his point clear so there was no confusion.
“
They’ll kill you,” she
waved her hand toward Morshant, “and him.”
“
I must go now before any
harm comes to you. Stay inside as long as possible. Tell these
human males I threatened you and forced you to help me.” His heart
pounded with fear for her, but he had to go. The struggle to keep
his own raw emotions under control made his voice sound harsh and
uncaring when he snarled. “I must leave you. I have no
choice!”
The look of shock and
anguish that came over her face tore a jagged hole in his heart.
She’d misunderstood him, but he was out of time and couldn’t delay
any longer, not even to explain. Resolved, he turned away and
practically shoved Morshant through the door before the Tauran
could swing it open. Without a backward glance, he stormed out of
the house. The door closed behind him with a resounding
bang
.
NASA’s security force would arrive
soon, and they’d protect her. Nevertheless, he didn’t feel right
about leaving. It was his responsibility to care for her, but his
very presence placed her in grave danger. He had to go.
Chapter Seven
Dazed by his sudden coldness and
dismissal, Bethany stood rooted in place at her doorway, unable to
move and barely able to breathe. How could he treat her like that?
One minute he was caring and loving, holding her in a gentle
embrace while he kissed her passionately. Then the next, he tossed
her aside as if she were an old piece of junk, unworthy of his
notice.
“
Bastard!”
“
Did he just ‘wham-bam’
you? What an asshole!” Shelly huffed. “Now what?”
“
We face an angry mob of
assholes who’re gonna be royally pissed off when they find out
their trophy up and flew away.”
The roar of oversized engines along
with row upon row of headlights mounted on monster-sized trucks
announced the imminent arrival of Caleb’s four-wheeling posse. One
by one, each of the trucks parked in front of her porch. Their
lights were so bright Bethany’s living room was illuminated despite
the storm shutters covering the windows. She took a quick peek
through the small glass panel on her front door and counted four
sets total. Apparently Juan, by some miracle, had been able to stop
the rest of the convoy Shelly had seen on her arrival.
Shelly sidled up beside her. They
clasped hands and waited nervously. They didn’t have long. A
gravelly voice spoke over a loudspeaker the minute the truck
engines died.
“
This is the border patrol
along with the Texas game warden, Ms. Montgomery. Come out—now! No
weapons. Keep your hands up where we can see them and no harm will
come to you. Answer if you understand!”
No harm? Sure, when pigs
fly.
Bethany gripped Shelly’s hand tighter.
“Okay! My friend and I are coming out. We’re unarmed!” They
uncertainly looked at each other before putting their weapons on
the floor.
“
Oh, god! This sucks,”
Shelly whined, and her voice quivered in rhythm to her bottom
lip.
Bethany turned the knob and cracked
the door open to take a peek outside first. She estimated there
were about a dozen men in all. They stood in groups of three beside
each vehicle. She slowly opened it the rest of the way until they
could walk out together. They held their arms up high as they
exited. The bright headlights blinded her at first. The glare made
it hard to keep her footing as she came down the porch
steps.
Heavy feet pounded on the ground,
rushing toward them. Rough hands seized Bethany’s wrists. Startled,
she cried out as the man wrenched her arms behind her back while
another grabbed her by the neck and pulled her toward one of the
trucks. Shelly let out a stifled scream, but Bethany couldn’t turn
her head to see what was happening to her friend.
The men pushed her to the
side of the truck and then shoved her against the metal door. The
impact knocked her breath out and pain shot through her chest. Her
eyes filled with tears as she fought to suck in a breath of air. A
familiar male voice shouted.
Caleb.
“
Where is that chicken shit
alien scum hiding? Tell me now or you and your fancy friend won’t
like what you see in the mirror tomorrow.”
“
He’s gone,” Bethany
managed to choke out the words. Panic set in when she heard Shelly
scream again. “Caleb, stop! Another alien came and took him. I
think they had a shuttle. They’re gone!”
“
You lying
bitch!”
It shocked her when he didn’t believe
her. He shouted out more orders.
“
Bart, take John and Ray.
Search the house. The rest of you spread out and search every one
of the outbuildings. Break the locks if necessary. Find that
bastard!”
Bethany blinked away her tears and
struggled through her pain just to twist her head around. She
spotted Shelly kneeling on the ground in front of one of the
trucks. Her wrists were lashed to the heavy-duty bumper, and she
was crying in obvious pain. The men had used thick zip ties and
they’d cinched the plastic straps too tight.
“
Let her go!” Bethany
shouted at the two men standing guard over her friend. She
recognized both of them—Raymond Holden, the local game warden, and
Manuel Lopez, a border patrol agent. Both were her two least
favorite
leerers.
“Cut her loose. She’s in pain!”
Raymond snorted derisively. “That
ain’t nothin’. If you don’t tell Caleb where that alien is, she’ll
be in a world of hurt, and you’ll be next.” They shared evil
grins.
Their threats made her blood run cold.
Her only hope was to convince them that Vren had gone. Frantic, she
looked around and spied Caleb as he walked out of her house. The
look on his face was spine-chilling scary. He must’ve been helping
his men search her home, and he didn’t look happy with the
results.
Caleb stomped over to her. The men
jerked her around to face him before they released her and backed
away. He towered above her, and when he spoke, his voice rumbled
with menace.
“
Tell me where he’s
hiding.”
“
He’s gone, Caleb. They
came and took him!”
At that moment, a most fortunate event
occurred. She prayed that it added to the truth of her statement. A
rushing sound, like wind blowing through thick leafy branches,
approached and passed over them. They all looked up in time to
catch the sight of a streamlined, shiny white aircraft as it sailed
over their position. The illuminated shuttle banked left, then
climbed higher and higher until it was out of visual range. Bethany
wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Surely, Caleb would
believe her now.
He did, but he certainly wasn’t happy
about it. “You stupid bitch!”
He backhanded her hard, striking the
side of her head with enough force to knock her to the ground. The
blinding pain hit immediately after the shock of the blow. The back
of her head had struck the running board of the truck as she fell,
adding to the agony. Semi-conscious, she was aware she ached all
over, but Caleb wasn’t done. He grabbed her hair and jerked her to
her feet, then tugged her toward the house.
Bethany struggled to keep up,
shuffling her feet and knees when she stumbled in her efforts. The
agony was so intense she wanted to pass out just to make it stop.
He halted a few feet from the front steps and released her. She
crumpled to the ground.
“
Torch it.”
“
Right, boss!”
Through her pain-filled stupor,
Bethany realized what he planned. “No! Stop! Caleb, don’t
do—”
He grabbed her shoulders, digging his
fingernails into her skin as he picked her up. Bethany stood,
swaying weakly in his grasp.
“
Shut up! Or I’ll throw you
inside to make the news story even better. You caused
this.”
The smell of gasoline was strong right
before a burst of heat billowed out from her home. Flames erupted
and engulfed the structure in minutes.
“
Move the trucks back.
Hurry!” Caleb hollered to his men.
“
I guess most of the boys
are still checking the other buildings, boss,” one said.
“
Ray and I will help move
them,” another man volunteered for himself and Ray.
While the men were distracted, Bethany
tore her horrified gaze away from her burning home to search for
Shelly. Her friend was gone, no longer shackled to the truck’s
bumper. Raymond and Manuel were missing too. Bethany thought she
heard Shelly scream again before Caleb pulled her away from the
extreme heat of the fire. She managed to put one foot in front of
the other, on auto pilot since her mind was too shattered to think
and her pain was too intense from so many sources, the least of
them being her physical injuries. Caleb eventually shoved her to
the ground and then walked away.
Her home was gone along with a man
she’d misjudged. A different man from her past had hurt her, over
and over, for many months. That memory paled in comparison to what
Vren had done. The few short hours she’d spent with him had made
her feel alive again and awakened emotions she’d thought were long
dead. Now everything was gone. Bethany stayed down, curled into a
fetal position and shut her eyes. She was beyond caring anymore.
The coolness of the dirt felt almost comforting.
All around her men shouted excitedly.
The sound of gunfire filtered into her awareness. She heard the
loud whine of a strange engine and had to close her eyelids tighter
to keep sand from blowing into them as a strong wind whirled around
her. Another barrage of gunfire erupted, then ceased. There was
more shouting interspersed with male voices screaming in fear and
pain. It was the painful shrieks that brought her around. She
pushed up to a half-sitting position and tried to see through the
smoky haze. A very angry-sounding growl came from somewhere behind
her. Another one, deep and threatening, rumbled in the distance off
to her right. She thought the second came from the direction of her
barn.
Who let the dogs loose?
Were her barn cats safe?
Bethany almost
laughed at the absurd thoughts, but the motion would just hurt too
much. If anything, she needed to find Shelly. A different growl
rose above the din of men yelling and shouting. It grew in pitch
and intensity until it transformed into a name—hers. It sounded
familiar.