Page 20 of Secret Twins for the Alien Dad

“Will you let me know if she turns up?” This time I hand over cash. Cold, hard koltecs should make an impression on Zorch’s twisted mind, no matter how much humans look alike.

My comm in my pocket has been buzzing for the last hour. Rather than answer, I hit the elevators up to Skalt’s suite.

“Took you long enough!” The boys are deep-set in our pre-work ritual of drinks and video games. Skalt bumps my fist as I walk in.

“Am I late?” He hands me a brew.Look normal, Zair, I remind myself. No point getting carried away yet.

“So?” Danton’s scales won't let him hide his feelings. “How’d it go, lover boy?” But right now he’s not the only one.

“Oh, shit!” Fin flies out of his seat. “She didn’t?”

This time my face betrays me.

“She stood me up.” The boys take in a round of laughter at my expense. Fin takes Danton into his arms. “My darling, my fated mate!”

“Go on,” I yell. “Get it out!” I'm moody in the corner for the next hour, the next job the furthest thing from my mind. The boys make their plans, but I can’t get my mind off of Myra.

Sheismy fated mate. I feel her. And something tells me she needs me, now.

“So it's Twin Stars tonight,” Skalt begins. “Private event, the usual. They want door security, VIP, et cet-” I put my hand up to stop him.

“I’m out on this one, guys.” They won’t take it seriously, not at first. The Zair they knew wasn’t mature enough to care about anything. I’m not that guy anymore.

“Oh, is yourfated matecalling from the bell tower?” Fin loves a laugh, but his face gets serious when he sees I'm not budging. “Come on, bro, you said she stood you up.”

“I don't know what happened to her. She may have taken off.”

“Is that what youfeel?” Skalt meets me at eye level.

“Brother, I feel she may be in danger. I’m not asking you guys to do anything. Go to the job, take my cut. But I’m sitting this one out. Until I know what happened to Myra, I just can’t.”

“Brother,” he says, this time taking my arm in that warrior’s trusted embrace. ‘Brother’ is a code we both understand. It's a call to arms if need be, or in this case, trust.

“If you hear anything about her, tell me right away.”

“Right away.” Danton and Fin are on their feet, too. The jalshagar is no laughing matter, they know. Despite their earlier teasing, they can hear in my voice just how serious I now am. I know, too, I can count on them if it comes to it.

I wish them the best and head back to my room. Night sets in over Glimner and something tells me she’s safe, at least for now. I close my eyes but can’t see her. I can barely feel her. Focus, Zair.

Eyes closed, I take a deep, deep breath. Then from somewhere, I smell her. My eyes burst open, looking for it. It’s here, somewhere in the room. On my knees now the trail leads me to the dark edge under the bed where a discarded pair of panties lays guiltily on the floor.

I’m rushed with a wave of anticipation and disappointment in equal measure. Flat on my back, I grip the undies tightly, taking the scent in. My senses flush hot with a wave of smoke and steam as her musk pulls me deeper into our bond.

Now focus, Zair, focus.

Finally, an image pops into my mind. She is sitting, pulling a sandwich from a duffel bag. It doesn’t tell me much. She could be anywhere.

And yet, this simple image stirs so many emotions in me. There she is, my fated mate, right in front of me yet so far away. It’s further confirmation that our bond is real. But at the same time, further proof that she’s unreachable. It feels like a knife is being shoved into my chest. I need to find her and soon.

I head back downstairs to the casino to find a drink and try to put together some idea of where to go next. She had to have talked to someone or told somebody where she went. This can't be it. I can’t live in a world where I finally meet my other perfect half, and then she just vanishes. No, I won’t let that be our story. Something happened between me asking her for the date and her last shift at work. Something, I just know it.

“Hey, Zair!” I see my koltecs got through to Zorch after all. “Yo, check this out.”

I walk over to the security desk and see her there, staring back at me from the monitor.

“It's her!” I knew she didn’t just disappear, she wouldn’t. “Hey, where is this?” But as Zorch plays the footage, I start to worry. Myra runs into an elevator like she’s fleeing a scene. In the foreground, people are scattered like a bomb went off, and there’s Myra, ditching hard into a service elevator with a look in her eyes of pure terror.

“She’s running from something,” Zorch observes, his eyes pitching into a kind of distrust I've never seen on him before. He’s looking at me.

---