Page 11 of Alien Mine

“Batting I can do,” Yasmin said. “The kiddy pool? Meh.”

As she and Yasmin stuffed snacks and drinks away into their proper containers, Rachel kept one eye on Dyuvad rounding upthe rest of her family and the other on the young men splashing toward the floating dock. It worried her something fierce that those men had shown up out of the blue. Maybe nothing would come of it. Nobody had bothered her for at least a year now, but it wouldn’t hurt to start locking her doors again at night, just to be on the safe side.

Chapter Four

For the rest of the day, Dyuvad tried to pin Rachel down and ask her about the young men at the lake. She avoided him with the deftness of the wind sliding through the forest, often on the flimsiest of excuses. During the afternoon’s leisure activities, she clung to Yasmin’s side, chatting companionably with her next sister. After, she slipped into the kitchen and begged off talking to him in favor of preparing side dishes for the evening meal. When that was eaten and appreciated, she waved off his offer of aid and cleaned up the meal’s remnants herself, with Yasmin and her daughters for company.

That had exhausted the remainder of her time. She gave him a key to her home and invited him to use her entertainment center, then retired into her bedchamber, pleading fatigue.

If the situation were different, he might’ve been willing to wait her out. Rachel on her own wasn’t difficult to protect, but she wasn’t his assignment. Her daughter was, and with the children involved and the unknown threat still at bay, waiting wasn’t an option.

On the other hand, no woman appreciated being pushed. It was likely to get her dander up, as Fate put it, and that wouldn’t net Dyuvad the answers he needed.

That night, he lay in bed listening to insects chirping outside his window, contemplating the best way to break through Rachel’s reluctance. Charm wouldn’t do it. She seemed immune to his, hersweet blushes aside. His gut said honesty would be the best path, but how could he possibly tell her the truth?

He tucked both hands behind his head and grinned at the ceiling, imagining her reaction. Shock, disbelief, possibly the same smack to the arm she gave Fate when her brother made mischief.

He shook the thought away. Telling her was out of the question. She might react poorly or, worse, she might not believe him. So he’d have to find another way to wiggle her reason for leaving the beach after spotting those young men out of her.

He fell asleep sifting through ideas, and woke the next morning no closer to a solution than he had been the night before. He pulled on a pair of jeans, used the toilet, and brushed his teeth, all the while sorting through ways he could ease Rachel into opening up to him.

Rachel was already in the kitchen when he unlocked the door and entered. She whirled around, one hand on her heart, the other holding a spatula high.

He paused halfway through the entrance. “Good morning, Lady Rachel.”

She sagged against the counter and lowered the spatula. “Dyuvad. Sorry. I forgot you were here.”

“You forgot you rented your room to a stranger and gave him a key to your dwelling?”

“I would’ve remembered, soon as I woke up,” she muttered. She turned around and tucked the spatula into a drawer. “I was about to put coffee on.”

He shut the door gently behind himself. “Good. We can talk while you do that.”

“No, I need to wake the girls and—”

“After,” he said firmly. “Why did you wish to leave the recreational area yesterday? What have those young men done to deserve your mistrust?”

Her hands paused on the plastic canister she was opening. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Answer me, Rachel.”

“Nowyou call me Rachel? What is that, unfair argumenttactics one oh one?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, determined not to allow her wit to sway him from his mission. “Mistruths, delays. Who is being unfair?”

She scowled at him over one stiffly set shoulder. “What’s between me and those men is none of your business, Dyuvad.”

“Then I need not worry that they will arrive here with the intent to harass you and your family, and me as your renter.”

Her scowl faded and her mouth snapped shut. She set the canister down and faced him, her arms crossed over her breasts, her firm ass against the counter. “It’s not those men I’m worried about, necessarily.”

“Then who?”

“Their boss, the gang’s leader. Miguel Ramirez. Or he’s one of the higher ups, anyway.”

“Gang?”

“You know, a gang. Bad guys doing bad things to people over drugs and prostitutes and illegally obtained cash? Or bad gals. Same thing.” She raked a shaky hand through her hair and sighed. “Where are you from that you’ve never heard of a gang?”

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