Page 34 of Oh No, I Shot A Spaceship And Kissed An Alien Cyberchef

I take a deep breath in, forcing myself to focus. This isn’t about me. If Nelan can stand to be in this room alongside this male, then so can I. If I want to hit something, I’ll take it out on the damn NutriSynth. I refuse to ever hit a person, not after what I’ve experienced. Though I might make an exception for the NutriSynth. Is it really violence if it’s against a kitchen appliance?

“Nelan was simply a scapegoat. He was used to cover up a crime. He was simply in the wrong time and the wrong place. Twice.” I laugh, the sound bitter to even my own ears. “Seriously, Nelan, you have some impressively bad luck.”

“I am the luckiest male alive to have met you,” Nelan chokes out. “Notonly do you believe me, but you fight for me.”

He stares at me in wonder, as if I am truly a blessing. Not that long ago I had been wanting someone to look at me like that... I’d been secretly longing for it, but too afraid to grasp for it. Now, I refuse to let it go. Nelan’s mine now. I’m never giving him up. Not even if the universe itself tries to pry him from my cold, dead hands.

“I’ll always fight for my mate,” I tell him quietly. In this moment, there’s just us in the room. All life in the entire universe might cease to exist, and I wouldn’t even notice. All that matters is that we are together.

I’m not a fighter, not in the traditional sense, but I will take on the universe to stay by Nelan’s side. Even if it means learning to use the NutriSynth or serving those nasty ration bars for the rest of my days.

The shock on Nelan’s face, the way he seems to suddenly tremble...

I wrap my arms around him, pressing my face into his chest. I really wish he could hug me back. Stupid handcuffs, ruining our moment. I make a mental note to ask Elana to teach me how to pick locks. You never know when it might come in handy in space.

“Laura, I…” He chokes on the words, his breath fanning my hair. I feel him breathe my scent in, feel the flex of his chest muscles beneath my fingertips. I reach up, running my hand along his jaw.

He’s so much taller than me, but he doesn’t intimidate me. No, he makes me feel safe. Even when he’s in handcuffs, I feel safer and calmer in his presence than I’ve felt in a long time.

“I love you,” I whisper. Then I pull him down as I raise myself on my toes and kiss him. Long, lingering, and sweet. A memory made to last.

Someone clears their throat behind us.

Oh, right. Murder investigation and all. I need to stay focused! It’s hard to remember there’s a room full of people when you’re busy smooching the love of your life.

“I came here to arrest someone,” the detective simply reminds us. “Even if this male is innocent, it still does not solve the mystery of who poisoned the General.”

“But of course it does. They are right here!” I reply.

All three males look at me blankly.

“Let me explain…”

Chapter

Twelve

LAURA

“So you might not have heard, but the entire hotel suffered a power failure. It may or may not have something to do with me attempting to blast the General’s ship from the sky,” I tell the detective, trying to sound casual about my accidental act of interstellar warfare.

“Laura…” Nelan warns, his body going stiff beneath my fingers. I know exactly what he’s thinking; that I’m about to give myself up to save him.

As if! I’m not that stupid.

“It’s fine!” I wave him off. “The General forgave me. Training practice for his troops! Besides, I cooked him lots of tasty meals as an apology. Nothing says ‘sorry I nearly vaporized you’ like a good casserole.”

The detective’s head is bouncing between us, looking all the more bewildered. Given how crazy aliens are, this can’t be the most absurd story he’s ever heard, surely. Then again, maybe I’m setting a new benchmark for extraterrestrial shenanigans.

I hold out a small device to the detective. It’s like a USB stick... only you don’t need to plug it into anything. A wireless hard drive, I guess. All I know is that Zoe promised me that it would work. That the detective would know how to use it.

“This... thing... contains the security video recordings of the hotel,” I explain, trying to sound more tech-savvy than I feel. “What you’ll find is that moments before the General was poisoned, Major Zoreth here entered the kitchen.”

“That means nothing. I do not hide that I was in the room,” Zoreth snarls. “Nor does it prove that I poisoned my own commander!”

The detective has raised his arm. I watch in absolute fascination as a hologram projects in the air before him, depicting the scene that I am recounting. You know… it is kind of cool. Why haven’t I seen someone do this before? Imagine just stepping away for a quick smoke break (only I don’t smoke), to catch up on your favorite TV show. Assuming aliens have TV shows, that is.

In the holographic projection, Zoreth can be seen walking into the kitchen, talking to us… and leaning over the pot while Nelan and I are absorbed in conversation.

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