Page 58 of Alien Rescue

He nodded and picked up his spoon. He’d eaten his pink slop again. “I’ve been thinking. Morgan is from Portland, as well. I know his family is there and I believe he also has an apartment. There’s no reason for him to hang around New York. If we follow him, he might lead us to the submarine.” And if she got the chance, maybe she could find out why he hated her and her family so much.

He gave her a look. “We do not need to follow him. If I shake him hard, I am sure he will tell me whatever I want to know,” he said, calmly, as if he talked about the weather.

Rose glared at him. Parnell had told her about torture and how it was sometimes necessary. She didn’t agree then and she didn’t agree now. Especially with an alien who didn’t have any respect for humans. “He won’t talk that easily.”

“He will if I cut off his fingers.”

Her stomach churned and she glared at him, not believing what he’d just said. And no matter how much she wished it was a joke, she knew he was serious. “Don’t you dare hurt him. We will follow him and see if he leads us to a clue, and that’s the end of it.”

He loomed over her. “You are not the warrior here,” he said quietly. Coldly.

Rose froze. Not this again. He’d been so easygoing and almost endearing, she’d forgotten she was dealing with a dangerous predator. How could she have forgotten a day after he’d told a man he needed to know his place?

Her body became heavy with fear and for a few seconds, she couldn’t speak. He stared at her with cold, black eyes, not breaking contact, not backing down. The warrior, who’d made such tender, passionate love to her this morning, was nowhere to be seen.

“You have no right to harm him just because you want information.”

“This world belongs to Zyrgins and that human refused to give information to a Zyrgin warrior.”

It slapped her in the face, how different he was—alien in the true sense of the word. She could never allow him to lull her into believing him harmless again. He was ruthless with a disregard for humans that was frightening. “I can’t believe you’d torture him for no good reason. For all we know, he doesn’t know anything.” The man who’d told them about the boat may have lied, as well. Just to get them to go away.

“A Zyrgin warrior should never be denied.”

“I will fight you every step of the way. Do not think you will harm that poor man and I will stand by and do nothing. I have skills; I can stop you.” And why the hell did she tell him that? She should’ve kept quiet and incapacitated him when he least expected it. Now he would be on his guard.

He clasped a hand on her shoulder, very gently, but still it managed to be threatening. His iris became shiny black, like icy ponds. “I will leave you here and get the information from the human.”

“No, you won’t.” She shook off his hand. “And stop trying to intimidate me. If you harm Morgan, I will never spend any time with you in the sleeping place.”

He stared at her, unblinking, for so long she had to concentrate not to fidget. “You want to breed with him?”

“No.” She knew, if she didn’t talk fast, Morgan was a dead man. “I’ve never liked him. He’s a mean, sarcastic man, and the only reason I don’t want you to torture him is that I don’t believe in torturing anyone.”

“You wish me to act like a human. I am not human. You have to accept that your warrior is a Zyrgin warrior.”

Rose stared at him, her heart breaking into pieces. “And I am human and you have to accept that. I could never make love with a warrior who tortured my colleagues.”

He stared at her so long, she was giving up hope he’d ever compromise when he said, “I will torture bad humans,” as if he offered a compromise.

“Let’s agree to follow Morgan. He’s our best chance of finding anything. You don’t torture him or anybody else unless we both agree.”

He stared at her with narrowed, pitch-black eyes, and then at last he nodded. She blew out the breath she’d been holding. She’d braced for another round of “I am the warrior and not you,” but he nodded.

They got on the hoverbike and parked on the roof of the building opposite Morgan’s. Hours later, Rose jumped off the machine and stretched. “Staking out is hard work.”

He straightened. “We are going to stake Morgan?” He seemed quite happy with that idea.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, it’s a human expression. It means we watch him all the time.”

“I like my meaning better.”

“I bet you do.”

Two hours later Morgan at last emerged. He looked around him and then started walking. They followed him and it was excruciatingly slow following someone walking while they were on a hover machine.

He went to a small shop and bought something, and then went back to his apartment to drop it off. They followed him, wandering all over the place. “He’s just walking. We’re wasting our time,” she said in Zanr’s ear.

“No, he is trying to make sure no one is following him.”

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