Page 12 of Alien Mine

“A place where different terminology is used. Why would this gang be interested in you?”

“That’s a really long story.”

“I have time.”

“Of course, you do.” She put her back to him and reached for a canister sitting on the counter. “My ex-husband Juan got into trouble a few years back, before I divorced him. I don’t know the whys or hows, only that during one of the times we were separated, he fell in with a gang down in Gainesville. About broke his mama’s heart when she found out. I really need to get dressed, if we’re gonna talk.”

“No more delays. Finish your story.”

“Has anybody ever told you you’re a bossy son of a biscuit eater?”

He grinned at her stiff back. “Never. Continue, please.”

“Well, at least I got a please,” she muttered. “Anyhow, Juantried to untangle himself once. He came here, wanting to reconcile, and I let him stay. Kelly was a little girl then, and girls need their fathers, too. Everything was good for a while. He helped out around here, did his best to spend time with Kelly. Then folks started showing up at all hours, demanding this and that. Mean looking folks with tattoos and guns and bad attitudes.”

“The men from the lake?”

“Not them, no, but men like them, or worse. Juan started disappearing during the day, sometimes at night, too. I found out I was pregnant with Tiny and kicked him out. Not long after, he was locked up for murdering a guy in Gainesville during an armed robbery.”

Rachel’s words halted abruptly. She poured water into a freestanding machine and switched it on. It gurgled to life and spit a stream of fragrant, brown liquid into a glass carafe, filling it, and she stood there with her head bowed and her hands clenched into fists against the countertop.

Finally, she breathed out a bitter laugh. “You must think I’m a pure blind fool for letting him come back.”

“It is not my place to judge, Rachel.” And he wouldn’t have regardless. Undoubtedly, she’d been trying to save her family. Who could fault her for that? “What happened to him?”

“He pled guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence. Me and Yasmin went to the hearing. Fate kept the girls. I couldn’t drag them through that, I just couldn’t.” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “That’s when Miguel and his cronies approached us. Said Juan owed him some money, but if we played real nice, came into the family, so to speak, he’d let it slide.”

“He did not mean to make you family,” Dyuvad said slowly.

“Not even close. I reckon he wanted us to hook or something.”

“Hook?”

“Sorry. I keep forgetting about your English. Hook, as in become hookers, as in pass us around among his men or sell us out to johns.”

She said the words flatly, as if they held no meaning to her,but the horror underscoring her tone was plainly audible. A slow, burning anger tightened Dyuvad’s gut and his own hands clenched into fists against the door. “You said no.”

She swiveled around so quickly, her hair flew into her face. She shoved it back and glared at him. “Of course, I said no. I ain’t no backwoods hick to be tricked into prostitution.”

“I was stating the obvious, Rachel, not impugning your honor. Miguel did not accept your answer.”

“No, he didn’t. No…” She slumped against the counter, her anger gone as abruptly as it had risen. “Miguel’s not exactly the kinda guy you say no to. He came by one night, tried to break in and take us. Luckily, Fate was staying over and sleeping on the couch. He called the police, then scared Miguel and his posse off with his shotgun.”

“They came back?”

“They tried. The sheriff had deputies do drive-bys for a week or two, and Fate slept on the couch for more than a month. Miguel eventually quit trying, but I don’t for the life of me believe he ever forgot. The divorce came through while all that was going on and I started sending Juan’s letters back to him unopened. It’s been a long time since anybody bothered us, Dyuvad, a really long time. I don’t want that to start up again.”

“Then it will not.”

“You can’t stop these people if they really want to get to you.”

He pushed himself away from the door and stared down at her, strong-willed Rachel with her stiff spine and tart attitude. She’d been rearing her children alone for so long, she’d forgotten how to accept a helping hand, even when she needed it. And she needed help now, neededhimnow. So did her daughters.

Somehow, the Net ‘path had known about Rachel’s predicament. For some reason he still couldn’t fathom, it had chosen him out of the billions of humans in the galaxy to help her and, by doing so, keep Tiny safe for whatever purpose the ‘paths needed her. But at least Dyuvad knew what he was protecting the child from. At least now he had a target.

And with a target, he could act.

“You will tell me everything you know about Miguel and this gang,” he said.

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