Page 81 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

It’s okay. Cops like gas station snacks too, right? It’s got nothing to do with me.

As she hurried back to the truck, she glanced back at the parked police cruiser. A uniformed police officer emerged from the store a second later.

How had she not noticed him walking in?

Zoey yanked the truck door open, climbed in, and started the engine. She dropped the bag of snacks onto the seat between herself and Ren.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Probably nothing.” She pulled away from the pump and stopped at the road, waiting for an opening to turn out of the lot. When she checked the rearview mirror, her breath hitched. The cop car was right behind them.

The onramp for Interstate 70 was just down the road. Just two more turns, a left and a right, and they’d be free and clear. Local police didn’t have any jurisdiction on the interstate…did they?

She turned left onto South Frontage at the first opportunity. Her heart pounded, and her eyes darted repeatedly to the mirrors. The cop pulled out behind her, moving in the same direction, and steadily closed the gap between their vehicles.

“Zoey?” Ren’s voice was firmer.

“Trying not to panic,” she replied, hands tightening on the wheel.

Her gaze swung forward. The onramp was only a couple hundred feet away.

The cop threw on his lights. Scalding heat and icy cold flowed through her veins simultaneously.

“Oh God. No, no, no no no. This can’t be happening right now,” she said quickly, breaths short.

The cop remained behind her, rolling along steadily to match her pace. Her knuckles went white, and the anxious blend of fire and ice spread out from her veins to encompass her entire body, making her skin itch beneath the heavy clothing even as she shivered.

“Control, Zoey,” Ren said. “Can we outrun him?”

“What?” She gave him a brief, incredulous glance. “No! That’ll make things worse.” Refocusing on the road, she shifted her eyes continuously to the mirror and back again. “I don’t know what to do! I-I have to pull over.”

“Then do what is expected of you in this situation,” he said, words calm and measured. She didn’t know if he simply didn’t understand why freaking out was the reasonable response right now or if he just couldn’t feel fear, but he betrayed not an ounce of worry.

“Okay. Okay, I can do that. I can do this.”

She took a deep breath and checked the speedometer to make sure she wasn’t speeding in her panic. The upcoming turn lane had eliminated the shoulder on her side of the road, so she proceeded straight into the roundabout, following it around until it opened into a hotel parking lot.

Forcing herself to continue breathing steadily, she parked in the first open spot — which faced a steep hill — lowered her window, and turned off the engine. The cop pulled up behind her, trapping them between a mound of snow in front and his vehicle behind.

“Is there anything I need to do?” Ren asked.

“Just…just keep your head down and your hands up on the dash.” Zoey watched the cop in the rearview mirror; it looked like he was doing something on the computer mounted in his cab. “Oh, this issonot good.”

“Zoey?” The question in Rendash’s voice drew her attention to him. He held up one of his hands; its green scales and lacking finger were difficult to miss in broad daylight.

“So, you just… I don’t know, Ren! Just go invisible.”

“I’m fairly certain that he’s already seen me, Zoey.”

She glanced in the mirror again. The cop had opened his door and was climbing out. “He’s not looking right now, though. Just do it!”

Ren obeyed, but not before giving her an exaggerated frown.

The cop walked around his car, dropping one hand to his belt — close to his gun. Zoey moved her hands to the top of the steering wheel to keep them visible.

“Afternoon, ma’am,” the cop said as he walked up to her car. “I—” Brow furrowed, he lowered his sunglasses and looked past her into the cab. “Where is your passenger?”

“Passenger?” Zoey laughed nervously. “It’s just me.”

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