Page 36 of Alien Devil's Fortune

“This area is off-limits,” he said, hands on his hips.

“You mean down here?” I shrugged, playing as dumb as I could. “I was just looking for the bathroom.”

“Well, we’re going to have to see—” the guard began.

“Hey there,” I said, cutting him off. “Have you been working out?”

“What?” he asked, clearly confused.

“I mean, I’m sorry,” I said, looking embarrassed. “Did I say that outloud? I guess you caught me.”

“Caught you?”

“Well, you said to come find you,” I said, slowly using my finger to trace a pattern on his left bicep. “And I guess I wasn’t sure where to go looking.”

A vein jumped in his throat. “This isn’t the place. But later… I’ll find you.” His hand slid down my thigh, and I tensed as he came far too close to the top of my boot. “Make an excuse to stay after the party.”

Pushing him away slightly, I forced myself to giggle instead of run.

“Oh wow,” I gushed. “I’m not usually so forward. I’m going to go hide under a pillow for a while till my heart slows down.”

“See you soon,” he called as I walked quickly away, a smile breaking out from my face.

RYRIK

“Where is she?” I grumbled to myself.

I paced back and forth across our hideout. Over and over. From the moment Amber left on the mission, my feet did not stop moving. Sitting down or staying still was not an option while there was still so much unknown.

I looked down at the device in my hand, showing Amber’s position. The tracker wasn’t the most precise. I could tell that she was still in Conii’s section of the station but nothing more. It especially didn’t tell me if she was okay.

“Come on, Amber.”

Stuck there, I had no idea how Amber was doing. Was she safe? In danger? Running for her life? Hiding? Completely undiscovered as everything goes according to plan? There was no way to know.

All I could do was stare at the blinking dot representing Amber. I could’ve completed this mission and gotten her back twice over by now. Why did I let Amber talk me into letting her do it? This plan?—

Suddenly, the dot representing Amber moved. It left Conii’s and headed toward our hideout fast. It wasn’t long before it was at the hideout.

I waited for a breath and stared at the door. Then three quick knocks rang out. Followed by two slow ones. The secret code we’d set up to know it was her.

I leapt to the door and swung it open. Amber stood there, with her hands full of tiny data chips.

A warmth rose in my chest. A sensation I’d never felt that strongly, maybe ever. All my worry and concern for her melted away in the instant I saw her.

“Ryrik, I?—”

Instantly, I grabbed her and pulled her into the hideout, letting the door slam behind us. I held her close against me for a moment. Her arms wrapped around me in return and her hands scrunched the back of my shirt as she held me tight.

The scent of her hair hit my nose. It was an alluring aroma. Did she wear perfume for this mission? Or was her natural smell this…

“Amber,” I finally said after I found the strength to pull away from her. My eyes looked her up and down for any sign of harm. “How did it— Are you okay? Were you followed?”

“I’m fine, I promise,” Amber said. “And no, I wasn’t followed. I don’t think so.”

“But how did it go?”

“Believe me, I’ll have quite the story to tell you when all of this is over, but we don’t have the time right now.”

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