Page 87 of Her Alien Neighbor

“Right.”

“So now, you are going to take your keys and open that cell.”

“Right.” Officer Burton pulls his keys from his pocket and unlocks the cell door.

“From this point on, Axil Monroe is innocent in your mind. He did nothing wrong. He is an upstanding citizen of Sudbury, and you are honored to have him and his brothers living in your town. And you are going to close this case, because you know it was an accident despite how badly you would like to believe otherwise.”

“Right.”

Luka steps to the side, but pauses, holding up a finger. “Another thing. You’re going to leave Vanessa Bradford the fuck alone. Right?”

“Right.”

I approach the open door, and Officer Burton quickly steps out of my way, ducking his head in shame. If only he could keep this wretched man under his trance forever.

Luka lifts his hand to awaken the officers, but I stop him. “Ask if there is a back door. We cannot just walk out front with them still in a daze.”

“Ah,” Luka nods, turning back to face Officer Burton. “You will let us out the back door. Upon hearing a car horn honk three consecutive times, you will awaken, and feel immediately compelled to close this case.”

“Right.”

“What the fuck?” Vanessa whispers conspiratorially as we follow the officers through another hallway and toward the back entrance.

We step outside and spot Sam back in the car with Mylo and Kyan in the other car. Luka tells the cops to go inside and turn away from the door, presumably so they cannot watch our getaway. The moment we see their backs, we race to the car.

I hop in the car with Sam and Vanessa, and Vanessa climbs on top of me in the backseat as Sam pulls out of the parking lot. My mate presses her lips to mine, and I feel her smile against my mouth. Then she whispers, “You’re free.”

I am free.

VANESSA

Oh my god, it worked. Axil is free. I can’t believe it. “What was Luka doing in there?” I ask, still blown away by his ability to turn Officer Burton into a mindless zombie. It was beautiful.

“He has the ability to influence people’s decisions,” Axil explains. “And Zev has the ability to feel inanimate objects as well as alter them.”

My mouth falls open. “You mean to tell me Luka could’ve come up here and done this days ago and didn’t?”

“He is quite stubborn,” Axil says, defending his brother. “It is an ability we took advantage of when we first arrived. He vowed to never use it again after the last time.”

“What happened last time?” Sam asks from the front seat.

Axil scratches his beard as he looks out the window. “It is a long story. But it was used to protect his mate. I think that is why he made an exception for me, because he knew I was trying to do the same thing.”

I press my forehead against his. “I’m your mate. It’s official now, you blood-eyed beast.” His eyes are no longer red, which I assume is a good thing.

“No turning back now, little human,” he says, nipping at my bottom lip. He pulls back to look at me with wide eyes. “And what wereyoudoing in there? What was that from?”

“Oh,” I say, waving a dismissive hand, “it was just a monologue to distract them from seeing your red eyes.”

Sam laughs. “You did a monologue? Which one?”

Suddenly I feel shy, having to explain it after the fact. “It was, um, it was the one from10 Things I Hate About You. You know the poem Julia Stiles reads?”

“Yeah…” Sam replies.

“Well, I did it in a Kermit voice.”

Sam gasps. “You what!”

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