Page 33 of Kissed By the Alien
Hunzu lifts his eyes at my comment, then says, “I’m sorry to say there’s not much to report. She moved as fast as a kuvak through the streets of her city and nearly lost me. Twice. Her family is wealthier than most. They have a large estate, with guards.”
“Brotherhood?” I ask, praying her family is not involved with the very criminals I hunt.
“More like private army. The guards were better disciplined and dressed than what I’ve encountered with the Brotherhood here.”
“What you’re describing could also be signs of another criminal organization.” More to worry about, not that it changes anything. I left her as I found her. Untouched. Unclaimed.
And that drekking bothers me down to my core.
I almost don’t ask my next question, but I have to know. “Did they punish her when she returned?”
“She’s a clever female, Lutan. She used a blind spot between patrols to cross the property, then slipped into the home through a back door. She timed it perfectly. I’d say this wasn’t her first time leaving the premises.”
My body tenses at the risks she takes. Both in venturing out into this dangerous city alone and in deceiving those assigned to protect her.
When I leave Earth, I’ll arrange for someone to watch over Lexi. I have to. It’s the only way I’ll be able to leave her. If she’s safe.
Hunzu’s eyes narrow. He’s watching and waiting for me to tell him what I’ve been hiding.
“She’s my sholani,” I finally confess.
Hunzu’s horns don’t move and his face remains placid.
“You’re not surprised?”
He turns away from me, peering out the window as an Earth ship lands on the runway. The vessel relies on wings and wheels. Truly archaic.
The landing itself is clunky and takes hundreds of feet before the ship slows. The humans do not build their ships to leave Earth’s atmosphere. No wonder the Grud defeated this planet so easily.
“Little surprises me,” Hunzu replies as he slides the lid back in place. “Except a warrior who hides from the truth.”
“I’m not the one who refuses to return to Zyan over a trivial matter,” I shoot back, my ego already raw from the decision I made to leave Lexi behind. I do not need Hunzu’s condemnation.
“Don’t turn this around on me. You’re the one refusing his sholani. That’s worse than refusing to return home.”
That hurts, because he’s right. I would claim my sholani if I could, but I will not endanger her as I did my brother.
As we’re about to leave, we hear multiple voices outside the hangar. Hunzu and I dart behind a stack of crates seconds before a large group of males enters. I can’t make out what they’re saying over the noise of the ship approaching on the runway.
Through a narrow gap between crates, I watch as two of the men open the hangar’s large metal doors. Hunzu taps my arm to gain my attention and points toward the larger group of males still talking by the windows. When one of the males peels away from the group, I see a flash of long blonde hair.
“Your female,” Hunzu whispers.
No, it can’t be, but then I change the angle and see baggy male clothing, jeans, and a red and black top. The way the clothing hangs from that ‘male’ is all too familiar.
Lexi.
“She’s involved with criminals,” Hunzu adds.
There has to be another explanation. I do not accept that she’s a criminal, despite her family’s business.
“Over there.” Hunzu indicates the tall guy with closely shaved hair and a neatly trimmed beard. “He’s Brotherhood. His picture was part of the intel the local GI7 marshals provided us. And she’s with them voluntarily. That makes her an accomplice.”
“She’s not,” I growl at him. I won’t accept his assumptions. Not about Lexi.
The male shifts to his right, giving me a clear line of sight to my sholani. Lexi’s hands are flying as she makes emphatic motions, ending with her hands on her hips.
She’s mad and not making any attempt to hide her anger. That type of attitude usually gets people killed... unless they’re on good terms with the person they’re arguing with.
