Page 47 of Alien Rescue

Zanr gave a disbelieving snort. “Incompetent humans. You will give me their information. Now tell me what happened when you were kidnapped?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” She had to live with the memories; she didn’t want to talk about it, as well.

“Tell me what happened?” he said again.

Why couldn’t he just leave it alone? “They killed my mother and it was my fault,” she screamed the words at him. She bit her lip, pulled her legs up, and hugged them. She used the pain on her lip to anchor herself. To calm down.

“I do not believe that. Tell my why you think it is your fault.”

“My mother made the drop-off?”

“Drop-off?”

She lifted a hand to push through her hair and remembered he’d braided it. “It is a human term. It means a person brings the money the kidnappers demand.”

“What happened when your...mother made the drop-off?”

“I saw my mother and wanted to go to her, but they wouldn’t let me, and I panicked and jerked loose from the kidnapper holding me. It just got so crazy then. Everyone started shooting and my mom got killed. It was my fault.” She’d never forget seeing the surprise on her mother’s face. The red stain that spread over her middle. The way she fell like a broken doll.

She kicked the coffee table. “So now you know—happy now?”

“Not when you are so sad. Did these kidnappers run away after they killed your mother?”

“Yes, they grabbed the money and ran.” The kidnappers had disappeared, and she still had nightmares about them finding her and locking her in that suitcase.

Her father had been livid. She touched her cheek. He’d slapped her and told her she was unworthy of belonging to her family. Had said she’d caused the death of her mother. Was that why she allowed Parnell to manipulate her? Guilt? She still didn’t want to accept that he had betrayed her, but she’d hidden from the truth long enough. Sometimes—she swallowed—sometimes you never get to go home again.

Restless, she got up and paced up and down inside the tent and then stormed outside to pace on the roof. The foul odor that hit her nostrils was a welcome reminder of where she was. She screamed to the heavens—all her anger and frustration and fear. Zanr appeared next to her.

“I can’t stop thinking about Parnell betraying me.” Of how her father rejected her. She would never again think of Parnell as the respected Director. And one day, she’d accept that she’d lost both her mother and father on that dirt road when she was eight. She’d lost her everything.

Zanr stood quietly watching her, his face expressionless as always. Behind those mysterious eyes, swirling with red, she could see him thinking and plotting. The kidnappers were long gone, but if they were still alive, if she was them, she’d go into hiding.

She held out her hand. “Let’s go inside. I can’t stand the smell anymore.”

Back inside the weirdly spacious tent, she hid a wicked grin. She knew just how to make herself feel better. How to forget. “Can your wall thingie produce a deck of cards?”

The red in his eyes disappeared to be replaced by a deep, endless black. “Of course.”

“Ever played poker before?” She made sure to sound only mildly interested.

“I studied the game,” he said.

“Fancy a game? We could make a small wager,” she said and it was difficult to hide her glee. It felt good to focus on winning, on showing him her skill. She didn’t want to think about the past anymore. Or the fact that she might not have a future.

He grunted and instead of spitting out food, a deck of cards appeared out of the wall of the tent.

She bounced on her toes. “How did you do that?” What kind of database did he have if he could tell it to produce a pack of cards to play poker with? At least, she assumed that was what he’d grunted.

“Superior Zyrgin technology,” he said and handed her the cards he’d caught with smooth dexterity. “Teach me.”

Rose took the cards out of the colorful packaging and shuffled them. She’d show him superior. She made sure to fumble a little while she shuffled, and she could see him cataloguing each move.

“This is how it works.” She dealt the cards and explained the rules to him. “There are fifty-two cards in a pack. See the numbers and letters at the corners of the card.” She held up the different cards for him to see. “It is ranked from high to low. You have an ace, a king, a queen, and a jack, and then cards from two to ten. Then you have four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.” She explained the game and finished with, “And the highest hand wins.”

They played a few test games. He was a quick study. But not quick enough—she had learned poker from one of her nannies when she could barely talk. They’d spend hours playing. It was the one game her father had played with her before her mother died. Until she’d lost to him twice. When she couldn’t prove herself a competent player, he’d lost interest.

Rose made sure to lose a few of the test games and to act out a little. Bluffing was half the fun. She won the first game and he won the next two. She was getting ready to suggest a bet when he said, “Do humans bet credits?”

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