Page 55 of Alien Mine

“The girls will be devastated. Georgette—” Rachel’s voice broke and she lowered her head, and Georgette, perhaps knowing her mistress was there to comfort her, dropped her head onto the hard earth and sighed out her last breath. The blood bubbling out of her side trickled to a stop, and all around them, the night creatures slowly resumed their songs.

“You found the person who did this.”

Another statement, but this one, Dyuvad had a response for. “He’s in the brig.”

“I want to talk to him.”

Dyuvad draped an arm around Rachel’s shoulders, pressedhis mouth against the top of her head. Breathed out his grief even as she relaxed into him and his heart soared at the trust and affection imbued in the simple gesture. “On the morrow, when the girls wake.”

She nodded and eased away from him. He let her go, then followed her into the shed to retrieve two shovels, and together, they dug a fitting grave for the goat who’d been part of Rachel’s family.

They trudged toward the house, sweaty and covered in muck. Halfway there, Dyuvad’s wrist com buzzed. He swore under his breath as he checked the com, then broke into a jog, spurred by worry. The girls were in there alone, unprotected, defenseless. By Fryw, what had he been thinking to leave them there like that tonight of all nights?

“What is it, Dyuvad?” Rachel called.

“Perimeter breach,” he said. “Somebody’s in the house.”

They burst through the back door, Dyuvad two strides ahead of Rachel, and skidded to a stop on the linoleum floor. An Hispanic man wearing a baggy orange and white striped shirt and matching pants was sitting on the couch, calmly flipping through a magazine.

Rachel froze with one foot across the threshold and breathed, “Juan.”

Juan turned toward her, and between one breath and the next, Dyuvad reacted. He whipped his gun out of the holster attached to his still-armored thigh. With his other hand, he yanked Rachel out of the doorway onto the porch, then held her there while he took careful aim at their second interloper of the night.

Juan raised his hands to shoulder-height and stood slowly. “Hey, man. Don’t kill the messenger.”

Rachel pushed against Dyuvad’s restraining hand, then glared when he refused to let her enter the house. Her words, when she spoke, were gritty and low and full of a bitter anger. “What in tarnation are you doing here, Juan? You’re supposed to be in jail.”

He nodded. “One of the deputies owed me a favor. He’s parked down the road a bit, keeping an eye out.”

She snorted out a tired laugh and muttered, “Musta been a big favor.”

“Life or death,” Juan said. “I ain’t all bad, Rach. Who’s the gun?”

Dyuvad held his aim steady, centered square on the man’s chest, exactly where it would do the most damage when fired. “You have thirty tick to answer Rachel’s question.”

Juan’s eyes zeroed in on the end of Dyuvad’s gun and his skin paled under his natural coloring. “Ramirez is on his way.”

“Somebody’s already been here,” Rachel said. “Shot at the house.”

“No,Ramirezis on his way,” Juan repeated. “And he’s not alone. Heard he’s got a small army with him.”

Dyuvad swore low and long under his breath. The kraden shooter had been a distraction. Why hadn’t he realized? “How long?”

Juan’s shoulders lifted and fell under the loose fitting shirt. “Don’t know.”

Rachel shuddered against Dyuvad’s hand. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

The kitchen phone rang, cutting shrilly through their conversation. Juan’s eyes drifted to it and his mouth tightened. “Asked the deputy to call if he spotted anything fishy. That might be him.”

Rachel glanced up at Dyuvad, silently pleading for release, and with a sigh, he let her go. Her ex-husband hadn’t made a move toward her, and if Juan was right, if he did indeed have an ally watching the road, it might be the only warning they got.

Rachel slipped into the kitchen and answered the phone, and her quietuh-huhsgrew more tense with each repetition. At last, she hung the phone up, but by then, Dyuvad could hear the rumble of cars approaching on the nearby road.

His wrist com vibrated, and he swung around, cursing as he glanced between Juan and the darkness shrouding the back yard.The perimeter had been breached.

At that moment, Juan leapt toward Dyuvad. A rifle’s report echoed outside, and Rachel’s scream erupted into the air between them.

Chapter Sixteen

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