Page 33 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

Zoey smiled. “I know you won’t.”

They continued driving in silence, through snowy hills blanketed in shadow now that the sky had darkened to night. Under other circumstances or with different company she would’ve turned on the radio. Even while she and Joshua were good, their conversations usually died out within fifteen or twenty minutes. With Rendash, she felt no need to fill the silence. It was oddly comforting.

The more she thought about her relationship with Josh, the more she realized how blind she’d been. Sure, he’d often made her laugh, and he had shown her kindness while they were together, but it was nothing more than she had with Melissa — a friendship. Zoey could count on one hand the number of times they’d had real sex during their relationship. All those rare occasions had been in the dark with little foreplay — at least on his end — and usually wound up with porn on at some point.

She’d told herself repeatedly it wasn’t about the sex. What did sex matter when you had someone you could talk to, someone you could depend on?

But Joshua wasn’t dependable. Zoey had worked every day, taking every extra shift available, and he’d taken her hard-earned money and spent it on himself — and on other women, too.

Had she been so desperate for love and companionship that she’d allowed herself to be used for a year?

Pathetic as it felt, the answer wasyes. She’d been lonely and craved some stability in her life, a family…something.

Her decision to stay in California, to make it her new beginning, hadn’t gone as she’d imagined. She’d worked small jobs, earning barely enough to pay for her first apartment — a cramped studio — and rarely had time to socialize. After she’d been hired on at Bud’s, she happened to wait on Joshua’s table. His easy smile and laidback manner had drawn her in, and he must’ve seen something in her because they became friends and things quickly progressed from there…

The warning lights on the dash suddenly lit up and the car slowed. Zoey frowned and pressed her foot on the gas pedal, but nothing happened.

Ren grasped the front seats and pulled himself forward. “What is wrong?”

“I-I don’t know.” She attempted to turn the steering wheel, but it barely moved, as though the power steering had failed. “Oh no, oh please, don’t do this to me.”

She battled the wheel to guide the coasting vehicle onto the shoulder, where it finally came to a stop. Shifting it into park, she shut it off and turned the key to start it again. A high-pitched, electric spinning noise — almost like an amplified remote-control car — was the only sound the engine produced; it refused to turn over.

“No, no, no, no! Damnit!” Zoey smacked the steering wheel. Frustration filled her eyes with tears as she dropped her forehead to the wheel in defeat.

“Zoey?” Rendash asked gently from behind her.

“The car’s broken,” she said. “Now we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere.”

“We can walk to the next settlement,” he suggested. His practicality almost made her want to scream.

Zoey lifted her head and looked around the car; they were in a snow-dusted desert with barely enough light to see by.

“We’remaybehalfway to the next town. That’d leave us with fifty miles to walk. Even if I was in the best shape of my life, that’d take me…I don’t know, twelve or thirteenhours. And this is mycar! Even if I had my phone to call for a tow, I can’t afford to repair it. I have nothing!” She let her head fall back against the seat. “Nothing.”

Was this rock bottom, so quick to introduce itself after she’d been having a decent day? It sure felt like it. Funny how rock bottom seemed to get a little lower every time she thought she’d finally hit it.

Can’t even win at losing.

“We cannot simply give up and sit here,” Rendash said. “This is a complication. A setback. But it is not the end, Zoey.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. Just give me a few minutes to wallow in self-pity.”

The car rocked gently as Rendash moved. He settled his fingers on her left cheek, and she opened her eyes as he guided her to face him. His features were largely cast in shadow, but his eyes gleamed with faint, reflected light.

“You will notwallow in self-pity,” he said firmly. “We will take action, no matter how small. While we still breathe, we will carry on. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Zoey sighed. “Okay, okay. No more self-pity.”

One day at a time, Zoey. One day at a time.

Though reluctant to break contact with him, Zoey sat up. She pulled the keys out of the ignition, popped the trunk, picked up her purse, and climbed out of the car. The cold sucker-punched her.

“So not dressed for this,” she muttered, rubbing her arms through her long sleeves.

The back door opened and closed as she went to the trunk. Ren stood beside her while she rummaged through her suitcases, stuffing as much of her clothing into the larger of the two as she could. She made sure her photo album was in there, too, before she zipped it up.

Setting the bulging suitcase on the ground, she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and closed the trunk. As much as it hurt to ditch her belongings, Ren’s statement after he’d smashed her phone had been true —stuffcould be replaced. Their lives, not so much.

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