Page 68 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

Obeying the speed limit, as per its program, was way too slow for him right now. Hand-flying, he sped up, steering the aircraft to the part of the city that his AI had pin-pointed as the location of Maya’s call.

She was in trouble. He could tell by the panic in her voice when she screamed his name. Unfortunately, that was all she’d managed to say before the call went dead. Trying to re-connect didn’t work. He dreaded to think what might’ve happened to her.

The controls grew slick from sweat under his palms. Warnings blared from the speaker, announcing the unacceptable speed violation.

He’d never heard this sound before because he’d never violated anything in his life before now. It’d been natural for him to move along the groves of rules and laws, to stay within limits and follow a routine. He’d respected both the laws of nature and the laws of people, never crossing the line.

Yet he would break all rules and cross all lines for Maya.

Without a moment of hesitation, he increased the speed of the aircraft even further, pushing it to the limit.

An alarm whined from the control panel. The authorities had been notified of his violation.

Good.

If they followed him to Maya, all the better. As long as they didn’t try to delay him.

Among the cacophony of noises made by the control panel, his tablet pinged. A red dot flashed on the white screen, indicating he was getting closer.

A tall tower rose among the low-rise buildings on the outskirts of the city. To his knowledge, the tower carried a utilitarian purpose, not a residential one. No one lived there. But according to the tablet, that was where Maya had called him from.

A pale light illuminated the dome on the top of the tower.

He slowed down the aircraft and took it around the dome in search of a landing platform.

Then he saw her.

Maya, his quiet, gentle, delicate Maya, stood on the ledge outside of the rooftop dome. Her green dress billowed in the wind. Her fingers gripped the glass without purchase. There was nothing to prevent her from plummeting to her death with a strong gust of wind.

His heart stilled, his limbs growing cold. His fingers turned to ice on the controls.

“Hold on, sweetheart,” he murmured under his breath, as if she could hear him. “Just hold on, please. I’m coming.”

Egus and Hezer reached for her from the edge of the landing platform. A scorching-hot bolt of anger exploded in his chest.

They took her! Put her in danger. Scared her enough to send her onto the ledge.

How dare they!

He killed the engine before the aircraft came to a complete stop before it even touched the fake grass of the landing platform. He opened the door and leaped out of the seat.

“Thormus?” Hezer noticed him first as Egus was too preoccupied with coaxing Maya into taking his hand. “How the fuck—”

Kear planted his fist into Hezer’s jaw, cutting off his question. Hezer stumbled back. He didn’t look surprised at the attack. He knew he deserved it.

Hezer grabbed the nearest flowerpot filled with dirt and dead plants. Clearly, maintenance was not a priority in this place.

“Get out of the way!” Hezer lifted the heavy pot over his head.

Kear ducked, kicking a leg out. His left hoof shoved Hezer in the chest with force, knocking the air out of him. He tripped, falling backwards and dropping the flowerpot. Kear caught the pot in the air and pivoted around. Egus squeaked behind him, leaping for the door with impressive speed. Kear couldn’t let him escape.

“Not so fast.” Swinging the flowerpot, he tossed it after the traitor.

The heavy pot hit Egus between the shoulder blades, sending him to the ground, face first.

Hezer struggled to his hooves, but Kear shoved him back to the floor.

“You’re not going anywhere, either,” he gritted through his teeth.

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