Zlerak’s office wasn’t big enough for everyone so they went to one of the conference rooms. The head of security had pulled up a map on his laptop that showed two blinking red dots rapidly heading up the coast toward northern California. He plugged the device into a cord that seemed to be attached to the table, and the image transferred to the wall.
“Where the hell are they going?” Brexton asked. “I thought Moretti was trying to sell them to someone in Mexico.”
“He is, as far as we know,” Zlerak said.
“Then why is heading in the wrong direction?” Pryntar asked.
“Can I access the footage from your security system remotely?” Zlerak asked Brexton. “Do you have cameras in places other than your front door and the gate?”
“There are several around the outside of the house, and some along the perimeter of the property,” Brexton said. “After a fan climbed my fence and tried to break into my house, naked, my manager suggested I up my security. I usually set an alarm inside when I go to bed, but I either forgot or they bypassed it somehow.”
“Speaking of that, legal said they’ll have a new manager for you next week,” Zlerak said. “Until then, the legal team at the station will handle any press releases or damage control for you. Including this mess with the kids. They’re debating on releasing the children’s pictures and asking people to watch for them, or keeping quiet so we don’t alert whoever has them that we’re aware they’re missing.”
“You think they were hoping no one would notice until morning?” Malin asked.
“Probably,” Zlerak said. “It was late and they likely assumed everyone was in bed for the night. Since you said they turned off the monitors, it’s possible they thought they’d bought themselves at least a few hours.”
“The children were only alone for an hour, maybe an hour and a half,” Brexton said. “They don’t have too much of a head start.”
As much as he’d loved having that hour with Blossom, now he felt guilty that he’d been pleasuring his mate when their children were taken. He could only imagine how Blossom must feel. Neither of them had heard a thing, and since they hadn’t been watching the monitors, it was hard to say how long the units in the kids’ rooms had been shut off. He’d have to see if they made a unit that gave some sort of warning when the main part was turned off. If an alarm had sounded, or the damn things had even beeped, then they could have checked on the children immediately.
“I’ve alerted the Terran station in San Francisco, and they’re going to keep an eye out since it seems the kids are headed in that direction. In addition, they were sending three guards to scout along the highway, but I need to see if we can figure out what vehicle the children are traveling in. That’s why I want access to your security footage. I’m hoping we can at least get a description of the car if not a plate number,” Zlerak said. “If we can get a video of the man or woman actually leaving with the children, that would be even better.”
Brexton pulled up the site he used to view his security footage and logged in, then let Zlerak take over. As much as he wanted to rush after the kids, he knew they needed a plan. And the more information they had beforehand, the better their chances of bringing RaeLynn and Drew home. Everyone watched the video footage projected on the wall, and when he saw a tendril of red hair hanging down the back of a female dressed all in black, he knew it was the fan who had tried to kill him and his mate. But she wasn’t alone. A male, also dressed all in black, had accompanied her.
What worried him was how still the kids were. Both hung limply, and there was no way they had slept that soundly. He didn’t remember seeing anything out of the ordinary in their bedroom, but had he missed something? An empty syringe or maybe a cloth with some sort of chemical agent that would knock them out? Neither of the children stirred as they were carried out of the house. The kidnappers stepped out of range, but popped up again further down the fence line and he saw where they’d managed to get onto his property.
A car was waiting for them. Something dark with four doors, but he couldn’t see the make or model. The headlights were rounded though, and the body of the vehicle didn’t look like the sleeker style of a newer car. Moonlight reflected off a silver grill on the front of the car, and he could see something sticking up from the hood.
“An old Mercedes,” Blossom said as she came into the room, seeming calmer than before.
Brexton went to her, pulling her in close. “Are you feeling all right? What did Yvis say?”
“He said she needed to remain calm and trust that you would get the children back,” Mrs. Connors said. “And he gave her something to mellow her a little. Said it wouldn’t harm the baby.”
“You recognize the car?” Ryx asked.
“Someone used to come see Mike every now and then, and they had an old Mercedes. It was dark like that, and had the little emblem that stood up at the front of the hood. He took them, didn’t he?” she asked.
“We can’t be certain,” Brexton said. “There were two of them. A male and a female. The female has red hair and I think may be the fan who tried to kill us.”
Blossom leaned heavily on him and he cast a worried look over her head at Mrs. Connors. The older woman gave him a wan smile and just shook her head. He didn’t quite know what that meant. Should they not discuss the matter in front of Blossom? Was there something Yvis had said that Mrs. Connors hadn’t told him? If he lost Blossom, he didn’t think he’d want to keep living. He’d feel like part of him had died with her.
“There!” Malin said. “What’s that?”
Zlerak blew up the image and they could make out the license plate on the car. He pulled up a different site and entered the plate number. A name, address, as well as the make and model of the car came up.
“Black 1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD,” Zlerak said. “They used a diesel as the getaway car? I drove one of those once. Not my ideal choice if I need to get somewhere fast.”
“John Buckner,” Ryx said, reading off the owner’s name. “Someone should see if he’s at the address listed. Maybe he knows something.”
“I’ll get this information to every available Zelthranite between here and the Canadian border,” Zlerak said. “I could call in the state authorities, but… if the children aren’t listed as legally being Brexton’s kids, then the human police would have jurisdiction.”
“Check with Records,” Malin said. “If paperwork was put through, they would know about it.”
Zlerak pulled a phone from his pocket and made a call. Brexton only half paid attention as he focused on Blossom. Her eyes were a little glassy and she seemed dazed. He lifted her into his arms and sat in one of the chairs, settling her in his lap. She leaned against him but didn’t seem to have much control over her body. What the hell had Yvis given her?
As if his thoughts had conjured the man, Yvis stormed into the room, his jaw tight as he surveyed the lot of them.
“I told her she needed to lie down. Not go running off after you,” he said.
“I’ll carry her back to the clinic,” Brexton said. “When I have the kids, I’ll come back for her.”
“I can take her. I’ll remain with her, and there are two guards there too. Assuming I don’t remove their heads for being too incompetent. How the hell she got past them I don’t know.”
“I’ll stay with her too,” Mrs. Connors said. “She needed to see you, otherwise, I’d have found a way to keep her at the clinic. Yvis said her blood pressure was too high from the stress. I worried that trying to confine her would make things worse or I wouldn’t have condoned her seeking you out.”
“You said she was fine,” Brexton said.
Mrs. Connors shrugged. “No sense worrying you. She’ll be fine with the good doctor watching over her. Go find those babies.”
Brexton kissed his mate’s forehead, then Yvis took her.
Zlerak gave him a chilling grin when Blossom, Mrs. Connors, and Yvis had left the room. “Congratulations, Daddy. You’re officially the fath
er of RaeLynn and Drew. Which means I can call in the human authorities and when that car is stopped, the people inside will face our justice system and not the human courts.”
“Do it. Then let’s head out. If they’re heading north, then so will we,” Brexton said.
Zlerak made the call while Ryx arranged for enough large SUVs to carry the six of them plus two children. Brexton vowed that whoever had taken his kids would pay, possibly with their lives. He didn’t care if one of them was a female. She’d tried to harm him, his mate, and now his children. It was apparent she wasn’t a good human, and her death wouldn’t bother him.
The large black Hummers that were parked at the curb had emblems on the back and sides that marked the vehicle as belonging to the Terran government, and above human laws. It meant they could drive as fast as they needed to without worrying about being stopped. As they sped down the highway, Brexton kept an eye on the blinking dots on Zlerak’s computer. It took them nearly an hour before they started closing in, and then suddenly, the dots stopped moving.
“Where are they?” Ryx asked from the backseat.
“They’re stopped on the side of the road,” Brexton said. “There’s not a town right there, just open highway.”
Zlerak’s phone went off and the head of security answered. When he finished the call, he smiled at Brexton.
“We have them.”
“How?” Brexton asked.
“Highway patrol pulled them over about fifteen miles up the road. They’re going to detain them until we arrive. The children seem to be unharmed, but neither is awake.”
“I’ll make sure Yvis is ready for them,” Marwick said. “They’ll need medical attention to at least find out what they were given and when it will wear off.”
Each mile seemed to pass slowly. When Brexton saw the flashing lights of the patrol car, his chest tightened. The man and woman who had taken his kids were kneeling with their hands behind their heads. As much as Brexton wanted to tear them to pieces, he ran past them and looked in the backseat of the black car. Drew was stretched across the seat and RaeLynn was curled against him. They hadn’t even put the children in car seats!
Brexton’s hands shook as he gathered his children close to his chest and carried them to the Hummer. He paused and looked into the backseat and realized he didn’t have a way to take them home safely. As if reading his mind, Marwick smiled and reached over the backseat and pulled two car seats out.
“Rxy and Zlerak are going to remain behind to bring the kidnappers back to face justice. I’ll drive so you can sit in back with your children. If you’ll fit. Asvyr will have to come with us, even though I know you don’t care for him,” Marwick said.
“As long as he stops drooling over my mate, then I don’t have an issue with him,” Brexton said.
Marwick set up the car seats like a pro, then stood back and let Brexton buckle his children in. When he drew back, he stared at Marwick.
“What?” Marwick asked.
“How did you know what to do with the seats? Or even remember we needed them?” Brexton asked. “They’re my kids and I didn’t even think about it.”
“I spent time with a single mom for a while. I used to help with the kids.”
“But you didn’t claim her?” Brexton asked.
“She wasn’t meant for me. My mate is out there. Somewhere.” Marwick shrugged. “I’ll find her when the time is right.”
Brexton managed to wedge himself into the backseat between the kids, and he placed a hand on each of them, almost afraid to believe they were really here. Marwick got them back to the Terran station quickly and Yvis was standing at the front of the clinic when Brexton carried the children in. He wanted to check on Blossom but knew that RaeLynn and Drew needed him more right now.
Yvis assured him that both children were fine but had been given a sedative that would likely keep them asleep for another hour or two. Until it wore off, they were to remain in the clinic under observation. While they seemed to be perfectly fine, the doctor didn’t want to take any chances, and neither did Brexton.
He woke Blossom, and she cried when she saw the children.
“They’re safe,” Brexton said. “And I will do everything in my power to make sure no one ever hurts them again.”
It was a vow he would keep until his dying breath, no matter the cost.
Epilogue
Christmas Day
Blossom woke to sunlight streaming through the windows. RaeLynn was wedged between her and Brexton, and Drew was curled against his daddy’s other side. She smiled, softly touching her daughter’s hair, thankful they were safe. Luckily, the children didn’t even know they’d been taken from the house. Neither had woken when the sedative had been administered and had become confused when they realized they weren’t in their beds.
Brexton gave her a sleepy smile as he opened his eyes. “Morning, mate. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Drew popped up like a jack-in-the-box, his eyes wide and excitement blazing in their depths. “Christmas? It’s Christmas?”
“Yes,” Blossom said, trying not to laugh. “It’s Christmas.”
Drew stopped smiling and glanced toward the bedroom door. “Do you think Santa came this year?”
It was the most her son had ever said, and she fought not to cry over how much he was opening up. Brexton sat up and gave Drew a hug.
“I’m positive Santa came this year, and he will come every year from now on. I think he was just confused before and didn’t know how to find you. But I spoke to him personally to make sure he’d be here,” Brexton said.
Blossom’s already full heart nearly overflowed with love for Brexton. He always seemed to know exactly what to say to the kids, and to her, for that matter. They were so blessed to have him, and she sometimes had to pinch herself, fearing that she was asleep and had dreamt it all.
They hadn’t spoken of the kidnapping except once, when Brexton assured her that the people who had taken her children had paid the ultimate price. She didn’t ask what that was and honestly didn’t care, as long as they wouldn’t come after them again. Brexton said that there wasn’t even the slightest possibility they would ever see Michael Moretti or the insane fan ever again. The two had somehow come together and managed to remove the kids from the house. Brexton had learned the woman had been stalking him for months. His claiming of Blossom made the fan lose what little sanity she had left. Her computer had been confiscated, and it was discovered she’d accessed sites for creating bombs. Blossom still didn’t know how the woman had met Moretti, and she didn’t care, as long as neither of them was going to come for her or the children ever again.
The news had run the story after the children were safe, and now everyone was calling Brexton a hero. The way he’d gone after the children, intent on seeing them safely home, had every female across the globe swooning and wishing they had a Brexton of their own.
Blossom gently woke RaeLynn, and then they went downstairs to see what Santa had brought for the kids. All four of them were wearing Christmas pajamas, a tradition Brexton insisted they start, even though his consisted only of flannel pants covered in reindeer. Not that she minded the view.
Instead of leaving the toys unwrapped, Brexton had made sure every single present was wrapped, even those from Santa. She’d asked him what he was doing, and he said the kids had missed so many holidays and birthdays that he wanted to make sure they had plenty to open. The way the living room overflowed with presents, he had more than made up for all the past Christmases.
Drew tore into his presents and RaeLynn copied him. While they were occupied, Brexton brought a box over to her. It was heavy and she couldn’t figure out what he could have possibly bought for her.
“I told you I didn’t need anything,” she said as she started to unwrap it.
“And I disagreed.” He gave her a wink. “Just open it.”
She finished tearing off th
e paper and gasped when she saw it was a box for a new laptop. “Brexton. I… Why did you get this for me?”
“I checked and if you’d like to get your GED and maybe take some college classes, there’s a test coming up in six months. That should give you time to study, and I thought you might need the laptop. There’s something else,” he said going back to the tree again.
A smaller box was placed in her lap and she ripped the paper off. “A phone?” she asked.
“I want to make sure I can reach you, or that you can reach me. Plus, I’ve noticed you keep stealing mine to take pictures of the kids. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest to have your hand down my pants though. I just thought you might want one of your own.”
She laughed and then threw her arms around him. “Thank you, but I don’t have anything to give you.”
He kissed her softly. “You’ve already given me everything I’ve ever wanted. You and the children, including the one who hasn’t been born, are the best gift I could have ever received. I don’t need anything but the four of you.”
“I love you,” she said softly.
“I will love you until I breathe my last.” He leaned in and kissed her again until her toes curled and she forgot about the kids opening gifts, forgot about the boxes in her lap that tumbled to the carpeted floor, forgot everything but the sexy alien who made her melt with a single look.
Whatever the future brought, she knew they could handle it as long as they were together. With Brexton by her side, she could face anything. He was the most incredible man she’d ever met, and she would thank every star in the heavens for the rest of her life that she was lucky enough to be claimed by him. Opening that apartment door the day he’d appeared on her doorstep was the best decision she’d ever made.
Jessica Coulter Smith
Award-winning author Jessica Coulter Smith has been in love with the written word since she was a child writing her first stories in crayon. Today she’s a multi-published author of over seventy-five novellas and novels. Romance is an integral part of her world and she firmly believes that love will find you at the right time, even if Mr. Right is literally out of this world.
Blossom and the Alien Actor Page 14
