Page 48 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

He nodded, an amused smile on his face.

“And we’re just going to walk in there? Just like that? How do you know it’s unoccupied? What if the owners come back?”

Any more questions, and evenI’mgoing to be tired of them.

“None of the lights are on, inside or outside, but the system was set to activate the lights in ten days.”

Zoey looked back at the building. “So, they’ll be here in ten days. Hopefully not sooner, though the weather should probably prevent that. We should be long gone before then anyway.”

Rendash settled a comforting hand on her thigh. “We are doing what we must.” His gaze shifted to the cabin. “And I would guess the owners of this building have plenty of yourmoneyto spare, to have a place such as this.”

“Just because they have money to spare, doesn’t mean they’d part with it willingly, or that this is right.” She inhaled deeply. What other choice did they have right now? “Okay, let’s get inside.”

Despite her misgivings, she thrummed with excitement.

They climbed out of the truck together. Rendash retrieved her suitcase from inside the tool bin in back, and Zoey followed him to the front door. There were no visible key holes on the handle, only some sort of touch-screen on the right side of the door frame.

Before she could ask how they were going to get in, he touched a finger to the pad. The screen lit up and flashed wildly in different colors. There was a click, and Rendash took hold of the handle and swung the door open.

“That’s some high-tech shit,” Zoey muttered. “I thought hacking was only that easy in the movies.”

“Most of it is automated.” He stood aside to allow her entry. “I simply provide commands, and mynyrosdo the rest.”

No wonder the government was so driven to get Rendash back. They’d be desperate to replicate his capabilities. He was a tool, a weapon to be reverse-engineered, and if what she’d seen was only a taste of what he could do, they’d stop at nothing to obtain him.

Rendash closed the door and walked further into the dark foyer. Another touchpad came to life, and lights flared on overhead.

She’d never been in a smart home before, and her first thought was an odd one:what the hell do people have against light switches these days?

The foyer had a lovely area rug draped over the stone floor, and a wooden bench to one side where guests could remove their boots. Zoey hurriedly kicked off her shoes and entered the room ahead.

“Oh my God. This is gorgeous!” she cried as she entered the open living room. The wood of the walls gleamed in the golden light, and the stonework on the lower portion ringed the room to meet on the far wall in a huge fireplace.

A long, brown sectional sat in a semicircle in the center of the room, facing the fire. The polished coffee table in front of the couch looked like it was cut out of a large tree, granted additional beauty and uniqueness by its asymmetrical shape. The wood-framed chairs arranged near the floor-to-ceiling window to the right were all draped with cozy-looking throw blankets. Large snowflakes fell in a constant stream beyond the glass.

Moving closer to the fireplace, she swept her gaze over the obligatory flat screen TV hung over the mantle before following the naked wooden beams up to the ceiling. She turned to see a second-floor walkway over the foyer side of the room.

She continued farther into the house, entering the kitchen, which was just as open and spacious as the living room. Wide windows with a pair of glass doors lined one wall with open wooden shelves mounted beside them. The counters and island were topped with black, sparkling granite. A bottle of wine stood on the island.

Zoey picked up the bottle, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw the label. “This stuff has got to be at least two-hundred dollars a bottle!”

She had a sudden urge to open the wine and was soon wrestling with herself on whether to pop the cork. This wasn’t her home, these weren’t her belongings. She’d already added trespassing to her list of crimes by being in here. Did she want to push that into burglary, too?

Biting her lip, she looked at Ren, who’d entered the kitchen behind her. Her suitcase stood beside him.

He offered her an exaggerated shrug. “I do not know what that bottle contains or what two hundred dollars is. We are here. There is no reason not to enjoy it.”

“You know, you sound like criminal activity is a regular thing for you.”

“The humans hunting me aren’t going to let me go either way. I wish the owners of this building no ill will, but if they are likely able to easily replace food and drink…why should we worry about it?”

Zoey chuckled. “Okay, let’s just go with your logic.”

She opened and closed drawers one at a time, working her way around the kitchen, until she found a corkscrew. After some wiggling, the cork came free with a loudpop. Zoey raised the bottle to her nose and inhaled.

Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head. “It’s been so long since I had good wine…not that I’ve ever hadanythinglike this.”

She brought the rim to her mouth, tilted her head back, and drank straight from the fucking bottle. The thought of how hard wine connoisseurs would’ve lost their shit if they saw her now only urged her on.

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