Delivered to the Aliens: Cosmic Connections (12 page)

“I like you amiable.” That grin was back and he leaned in for a kiss.

A hand on his chest stopped him. She forgave him but she wasn’t ready for that.

“I got closer that time,
asali
.”

Chapter Sixteen

Sophia

Sophia fought her instincts to keep glancing hopefully at the door every time it opened. The last customer left as the sun set.

Miri stood expectantly at the door. “Well?”

“We’re just going to talk,” she said.

Molig shoved a basket filled with food stuffs at Sophia. A quick glance revealed three bottles of beer, flaky meat filled pastries and fruit. “Tell Alton he shouldn’t trespass on his sister’s hospitality much longer,” he said gruffly.

Miri gave him a sharp elbow to the side. “Ignore him, Sophia. My tongue caused this problem. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

Sophia liked Miri, Wells and Molig but she was ready to go home. When Alton and Zan’s homestead became home, she wasn’t exactly sure, but the notion sat right with her.

The heat of the day still lingered but the air cooled as she approached the river. Sophia heard footsteps behind her. She set the basket down and spun around, prepared to greet her Brace. What she found were the three thugs from the bar.

“Pretty little thing like yourself shouldn’t be wandering on her own. It’s dangerous,” the largest one said, a sneer on his pinched lips. The other two males chortled. The large one continued, “You know how hard it’s been to get you alone? Your pussy must be pretty damn sweet for those Guardians to never stray far.” More laughter.

This was bad. She needed to get out of there.

Sophia spun on her heel and only managed two steps before strong arms clamped around her. Hot, fetid breath pressed against the side of her face. A wet, disgusting tongue licked her cheek, followed by more giggling. She thrashed vainly, unable to break the male’s grip. “How about we find out how sweet she is,” said the male holding her.

Sophia screamed. A hand clamped over her mouth. She bit down, hard but not hard enough to break tough Corravian skin. Her effort to fight back earned her a slap.

“Don’t rough her up too bad,” the big one said.

“The Terran wanted her alive. He didn’t say anything about pretty.” More stomach curdling laughter.

Her hands were bound behind her back. A gag was placed over her face, covering her mouth and nostrils. Breathing became a real struggle. A hand in the middle of her back pushed her forward.

“Come on. Let’s get her back to Ma.”

Alton

Something wasn’t right.

Zan sensed it, too. His partner’s tail grew agitated and swished from side to side. “You think she’s waiting on us?”

A report of a clutch of mornclaw eggs kept them occupied well into the evening. Alton insisted on showering and changing out of his armor before meeting with his mate. She was mad enough at him. He didn’t need to be covered in bug guts.

They headed toward the river. Alton scented many things, the cool water, night blossoms, the remaining aroma of evening meals, but not his mate. The overturned basket on the ground confirmed his ill ease.

“Can you smell her? Track her?” Alton asked.

Zan crouched near the ground, touching the basket like it could tell him its secrets. “She wasn’t alone. I smell… another male.”

Alton growled. Another male with his mate. His mate, a defenseless, fragile Terran. He breathed deep, trying to taste the air. Could he smell her fear? Her panic?

Zan echoed his growl. “Stale beer and body odor. I recognize this scent. Gavis.”

Yes. Now he could detect it, the fetid odor that clung to the male who thought to harass his mate in the bar. “What does he want with our mate?”

Zan stood, lifting the basket. He checked the contents. Still good. “I suspect it’s not what Gavis wants but what his ma wants. Esterlin has a bee in her bonnet about Sophia.”

“Would they hurt her?” The notion of anyone laying a disrespectful finger on Sophia made him insane.

“I think they’re bright enough to know hurting her is a bad idea.”

“Agreed.” The men headed for the truck. They need to go to the homestead and gear up before staging a rescue. Fortunately, they knew exactly where Gavis would take Sophia.

Gavis was such a mama’s boy. He always went home to his ma.

Chapter Seventeen

Sophia

Unseen hands removed the bag over her head. Sophia blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim light. She was in a barn. Hay covered the dirt floor. The sound and smells of Bova calves filled the air. Tied to a chair, Sophia craned her neck to get a look at her surroundings. At the far wall, large, white sacks of a wispy, cottony material were stacked in a pile.

In the corner, corralled by the hum of a sonic enclosure, was a glossy black creature about the size of a large dog. Sophia recognized the rounded body, six legs and massive front pincers from the faded posters in the settlement: a mornclaw. It paced the enclosure, legs skittering across the floor.

Gavis leaned over the barrier and stroked the beast behind its head plate, cooing reassuringly. It was his pet. The male kept a pet monster. Disgust coiled in her belly. The white cotton bags were not bags but egg sacs.

A strong hand landed on the back of her head and pushed her head down.

“Eyes down.”

She did not recognize the voice. Linis or Vinis, like anyone could tell them apart. Still gagged, Sophia wanted to spew profanities at her abductor. Alton and Zan would find her. Panic briefly flared at the idea that her mates might believe she stood them up.

No.

They would realize instantly that something was amiss. She’d dropped the basket containing their meal and Gavis and his brothers weren’t smart enough to pick the basket up.

Her mates would find her.

“You’re a dumb one, ain’t ya, Sophia.”

Her entire body tensed at Derek’s voice. No. No no no. She left him behind. He could have easily figured out where her shuttle was headed when he confronted her on Aldrin One, but why would he? She had no more money for him to take. She had nothing.

Derek crouched in front of her and smiled. He patted her legs sympathetically. He gave a nod to the male standing behind her and the gag fell away. Sophia took a deep breath, preparing to scream, but a hand pressed against her throat. “Don’t,” Gavis warned.

“Why couldn’t you have sold the painting, huh? Look at what you made me do,” Derek said.

Her brows knit in confusion. Derek had it appraised last year but discovered her beloved painting wasn’t worth insuring. At least, that’s what he told her. “You said it wasn’t worth the canvas it was painted on.”

“Oh, the painting? Your mother was a hack. But the paint? I found investors very interested in your mother’s proprietary formula. Seems the formula she used for her personal projects was different from the one she developed for commercial use.”

Sophia recalled a few half-hearted offers from pawn shop owners to buy the painting, but she always turned them down. The money would have been good for a couple months’ rent, not nearly worth selling a treasured artifact created by her mother.

“I tried leaving you hints, but you weren’t smart enough to take the bait. I even enlisted Frankie.”

“Frankie would never—” The idea that Frankie would ever work with Derek was laughable. Frankie hated him.

“Oh, not directly, but she is very susceptible to suggestion. Do you know how many customers at the bar had to mention art collectors and art auctions before she mentioned it to you?”

Frankie did mention an art collector looking for undiscovered Terran painters.

“But still you didn’t take the bait.”

“If you wanted it so bad, why not just take it?” Like he did with anything she had of value.

“Because you loved that ugly picture. You wouldn’t roll over and accept that it was stolen. I needed you to choose to get rid of it, to need to sell it. And did you? No, because you’re a stubborn dumb cunt. How many jobs did you have to lose? How many months behind on your rent did you need to be?”

Sophia bit her lip. Derek wanted to make her upset. His words hurt but she refused to cry. The days of him being able to wound her were over. She wasn’t the same girl she was on Aldrin One, needing his approval. “Go fuck yourself,” she spat.

“It was clever of you to run to those two Corravian brutes. Even if you did have to sell yourself. How much did they pay you?”

Sophia refused to respond.

“I heard it’s a million credits,” a greasy voice said behind her. Not the deep rumble of Gavis, the tone was higher. Linis or Vinis. Sophia had difficulty telling apart. Someone’s tail brushed against her face, rough and scaly. She flinched away from the unwanted touch. “I bet a million credit pussy is pretty sweet.” Laughter rippled through the men.

Sophia held Derek’s gaze.

“Is that true? They paid a million for your cheap ass? Lucky me, getting it for free.”

Barely. They hardly had sex when they were together. Derek spent more time in the bar or at the gambling tables than in her bed. “Please, like you could keep it hard long enough.”

The open palm smack across her face turned her head and the chair wobbled with the force of the blow. Copper flooded her mouth. Sophia grinned with her busted lip. Struck a nerve did she?

“Well shit,” a third voice said from the back. “She stinks of them but I don’t mind sloppy seconds. I want a piece of her, too.”

Derek paled. He wasn’t a rapist. Sophia felt certain of that. He would hit her, beat up her self confidence and call her every name he could think of, but force her? No. But the Corravian thugs he hired might be and he would be helpless to stop them. It was three to one. If Derek stood in their way, they’d overpower him with their superior size and numbers. 

“What would your mother say,” Sophia said, desperately grasping for anything to cool the males. “Contaminating your superior genes with my Terran filth?”

Gavis licked his lips. “What mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

She needed to change the subject and fast. “How much could the painting be worth, Derek? It wasn’t cheap coming here.”

He quoted a figure that made the breath catch in her throat. The one million credits she would get from the Cosmic Connections deal was fresh-start-money. The credits he’d get for selling her painting was fuck-you-and-the-universe-money. It was enough to tempt her.

“Why not steal the painting now? I’m all on my own here.” As she said the words she realized they were not true. She had Alton and Zan. She had Miri, Wells and Molig. They were her family now and had only ever offered her kindness and concern.

“You think I didn’t try? Those two brutes live in a damn fortress.”

“I heard you trying to break in,” she said. The skittering noises at night. Sophia assumed they were mornclaws trying to breach the homestead’s shielding.

“First I tried pulling them away with those disgusting bugs.”

Sophia’s gaze drifted back to the large white sacks. The surface rippled, like something inside demanded to be let out. Mornclaw eggs. Gavis bred them. Alton warned her that mornclaws gestated rapidly. How soon until those eggs hatched and the barn was overrun with hungry bugs? Gavis wasn’t so foolish as to stockpile eggs on his own land. No one was that foolish, right? But he was foolish enough to keep a full grown mornclaw as a pet. He must have some way to keep them from hatching. 

Derek continued, “That worked but I couldn’t get in the house. Then I tried to get you alone but they never strayed far.” For good reason, apparently. “Then I found the obvious solution. I hired local muscle to bring you to me. I’ll ransom you for the painting.”

That would work. Her mates would hand over the painting without a second thought. No matter how precious the object was to Sophia, it was not worth her life. They would not hesitate for a minute. 

“Enough talking,” Gavis said, tugging at her shirt. “Let’s see what a million credits buys.”

Sophia thrashed against the constraints that lashed her hands behind her to the chair. Her feet were free. She kicked at the ground, forcing the chair to fall backwards. She landed hard, the back of the chair digging into her spine. She rolled to one side, inching away.

A pair of strong hands lifted her up. “Where you going, little Terran?” Gavis’s rank breath on her face made her flinch.

“Alton and Zan will kill you if you hurt me.”

“I’m not afraid of them.”

“They won’t give you the painting, Derek, if I’m hurt.” It was a desperate move but she was pretty desperate. “They’ll destroy it and you won’t get your money.”

“Wait!” Derek’s command stopped Gavis. “She’s right. We still need her. Unsullied.”

Gavis released Sophia. She slumped into the chair with a sigh of relief, safe for the moment. 

Alton

It was not a challenge to track Gavis and his two brothers. Their obvious trail led directly to a derelict barn on their property. The mornclaw infestation hit their ranch hard. Years after the local infestation was mostly contained, the ranch never recovered.

Alton studied the barn with his visor.

“How many?” Zan asked

“Three Corravians. Two smaller ones. Must be Terran.”

“It’s her.”

“And the other?”

“About to be liquidated.” Zan’s hands flexed. His weapon of choice, two thin swords, were strapped to his back. Alton preferred long range weapons. He had his rifle ready. He’d lay down cover and let Zan charge. It was their typical strategy and it worked well for them.

“Think they have a trap inside?” Alton asked.

Zan snorted. “Not clever enough to lay a trap.”

“Don’t underestimate the enemy.” It was a refrain he often said before they charged into a mornclaw clutch. The bugs were mindless but vicious. Even a mindless creature would lash out in desperation when cornered.

“We are the superior warriors,” Zan said. “It’s not a fight worthy of us.”

“They have our mate. We need to be careful.” Four against two trained warriors was not even a concern. Gavis and his brother were big but they had no skill. They were slow and lumbering. But they would be armed. And the other Terran was unknown. They could be a worthy opponent.

“I am tired of talking. I want our mate in our bed, so let’s get her.” Zan moved silently through the tall grass. His armor was a deep navy, blending seamlessly into the night. Alton followed, just as quiet and just as deadly.

They slowed their approach when they heard voices from the barn. Gavis and his brothers and the clear, worried voice of Sophia. Another, unknown male spoke in Terran accented Universal.

Alton knew who the Terran male was: Sophia’s ex, Derek.

He crept toward the open door. Light from inside spilled out onto the ground. He stayed to the shadows and positioned himself for the best vantage. From this spot he remained hidden by the shadows yet had a view of the interior. Sophia was bound to a chair. Gavis and his filthy brothers crowded around her, excited and touching his mate provocatively. He growled, causing Zan’s tail to twitch. 

Unacceptable.

Four males. Unarmed. No contest.

Then he spotted the real danger.

An adult mornclaw was contained in a poorly secured paddock and a dozen mornclaw egg sacs clustered along the back wall. If they hatched, a hundred bugs would swarm out. If the adult escape the paddock, it would attack. He and Zan wore armor and could resist their toxic bite and razor sharp claws. Sophia was completely exposed.

Fire was best for cleaning out an egg clutch. They did not bring their flamethrowers. He’d have to get creative.

Alton took aim with the rifle and waited for Zan’s signal. The fight was already over. The men inside just didn’t know it yet.

His partner crouched, ready to spring into action. He took a deep breath and nodded to Alton.

“I’d thank you kindly to keep your paws off my mate,” Zan said.

Sophia

Zan appeared in the door, framed by the night, like a wraith. At once he launched himself, moving with a deadly feral grace. He ran in as quick as a blur, drawing his swords.

Alton squeezed the trigger.

Gavis was dead before he hit the ground.

Linis fell when Zan sliced his tendons.

Vinis tried to flee but Zan lobbed a sword in his direction, pinning him to the ground.

Alton hit Derek in the kneecap, dropping him to the ground.

The fight was over before the barn occupants had time to react.

Zan untied Sophia and carried her to the exit. He nodded to Alton. Time for clean up.

Alton plunged his knife behind the head plate on the adult mornclaw. It gave a shrill cry and thrashed until the light left its strange iridescent eyes.

“The egg sacs,” Sophia said, twisting in Zan’s arms. “I saw them moving.”

“I will handle it,” Alton said.

“Use the fertilizer.” Sophia pointed to the stacked bags. Alton gave her a confused look. “The ammonium nitrate will burn if you feed it a spark.” He nodded, understanding. He ripped open the bags and dumped the content over the now pulsing egg sacs. The rest of the fertilizer bags were placed around the clutch. Satisfied, he stood back.