There were enough ways for this to go wrong — enough ways for Zoey to get hurt — to make Ren’s gut churn.
He pulled the lever on the side of the chair and sat up to return the seat to its upright position, holding Zoey against him to disturb her as little as possible. His shaft had released her some time ago, but he’d been unable to bring himself to pull away. He wanted nothing but moments like this. Nothing but this easy, passionate closeness, nothing but the feeling that they were the only two beings in existence and everything would be fine.
He opened the door, wincing at the gust of cold air that flowed into the vehicle. Zoey stirred, curling against him. As carefully as he could, he slipped from beneath her and out of the SUV, leaning down to pull her leggings back up and shift her into what he hoped was a more comfortable position.
A shiver crept up his spine; it was cold despite his nyros adjusting his body temperature. He reached down, regretfully stuffed his cock back into his restrictive pants, and fastened the buttons. After clicking her seatbelt into place, he found Zoey’s coat on the floor and draped it over her. Before he closed the door, he used the lever to ease the seat back down.
The road was deserted as he walked to the driver’s side. All the better; he might have exaggerated his confidence in being able to drive the human transport, and from what he understood, there were protocols specific to their operation that were expected to be obeyed. The fewer the potential witnesses, the better.
Rendash pulled the door open and crouched to adjust the seat. The control on this side was automatic and moved the seat in a variety of directions. He shifted it as low and far back as it could go. When he entered the vehicle, his knees bumped the steering wheel at its sides.
Frowning, he tugged the door closed, hissing in pain as his knee was caught between the wheel and the door.
The vehicle shook as he fought to tear his leg out of the tight space. Once it was free, he bent his leg at a more acute angle to keep it clear of the wheel. His gaze flicked to Zoey; fortunately, she slept soundly, undisturbed by the closing door and his car-shaking reaction to his pain.
Control, Aekhora. This is no difficult task.
He closed two hands around the wheel and tested its responsiveness and range of motion — the latter of which was somewhat restricted by the position of his right knee.
It would’ve been simple enough, in theory, to wake Zoey and ask her to explain some of the functions, but he couldn’t bring himself to disturb her slumber. Besides, he was Blade of the Aligarii; he would not be bested by this primitive technology.
Eventually, he figured out how to operate the mechanism to adjust the angle of the steering wheel and shifted it into a more comfortable position.
“Much better,” he muttered as he turned the wheel from side to side again, checking the resistance from the otherwise motionless tires. It felt strange, but he supposed vehicles limited to moving only on the ground were strange to him to begin with.
Tilting his head down until his chin was against his chest, he studied the pedals on the floor in front of him. He’d not lied — he had observed her frequently while she drove, and he knew the narrow right pedal was to accelerate while the other, wider pedal was to decelerate.
Simple. Easy. No challenge for a being trained to operate interstellar ships and sophisticated machines of war.
He pressed his foot on the accelerator. The engine revved with a guttural growl, but the vehicle didn’t move. Frowning, he pressed harder. The engine roared, and the movement of hidden machinery in the vehicle’s front end was strong enough to make it vibrate.
Lifting his foot, he mumbled a few of the inappropriate words he’d learned from Zoey.
What am I missing?
He glanced at her again while, in his mind, he sorted through days’ worth of memories of her driving.
Ren almost slapped himself when he realized what he’d done wrong. The vehicle had several different modes, one of which was its currently stationary state. He pressed a foot down on the wide pedal, as he’d seen Zoey do so many times, and moved the stick on the right side of the wheel down until the display showed a crescent closed by vertical line — a human symbol for forward, or go, or something along those lines.
As he eased off the decelerator, the vehicle slowly rolled forward.
Ren moved his foot to the other pedal and pressed it down. The vehicle lurched ahead, the burst of speed forcing him back against the chair. He turned the wheel, and his stomach lurched as the transport darted onto the main road. Lights illuminated the interior from behind.
A high, droning sound, reminiscent of battle horns from the aligarii historical annals, preceded a car approaching rapidly from behind; the other vehicle sped past, a hand’s breadth from a collision.
Startled, Ren wrenched the wheel to the right to avoid the other vehicle, slamming down the decelerator. The tires screeched. His vehicle turned wildly, and he felt it trying to pitch over as its momentum dragged against its high center of gravity. He threw his weight against the spin’s force, clutching the wheel desperately as his insides seemed to mash together. The world rotated wildly around him.
Finally, the spinning ceased, and the vehicle rocked for a moment before halting completely. Ren blinked and reluctantly released his crushing hold on the steering wheel.
They were facing in the direction they’d been heading. The vehicle that had nearly collided with them was fading in the distance, little more than a pair of red lights in the darkness, like the eyes of a smug, playful predator.
Rendash looked at Zoey, ready for her to declare she was taking over and that he was never allowed to drive again.
She had turned her head toward him, features strained and brow drawn, but her eyes were still closed. “Make sure…you drive…” She yawned widely and nuzzled her face against the seat. “…the speed limit.”
Wide-eyed, he watched as she sank back into sleep. After what felt like an eternity, he released the breath he’d been holding.
Zoey slept like the dead; in most situations, that wasn’t a good thing, but he found himself grateful for it now.
His hands ached, likely due to how tightly he’d clutched the wheel, as he figured out how to adjust the mirrors so he could see behind the SUV.
Now that he had a better feel for the transport’s handling, his second attempt to get on the road was far smoother.
As he drove, something dinged at him inside the vehicle. The sound repeated a few times and ceased. After several moments, it returned, slightly faster. Keeping part of his attention on the road, he searched for the source of the sound, but it seemed to come from all directions at once.
It faded again, but when it returned for the third time, it was with an incessant insistence that almost made his skin crawl. The sound grated on his nerves; the closest thing he’d ever heard to it were impact alarms — either warning of an imminent crash, or of some sort of weapon about to strike.
Yet the road was once again empty and dark; he saw no sign of other vehicles about to hit his, no sign of weapons being discharged, and the SUV seemed to be suffering no performance issues, as far as he could tell.
“Ren,” Zoey groaned, covering her ear with one hand, “put on your seatbelt.”
Annoyed and confused, he reached over his shoulder and grabbed the latch. “I will slice you in half, vehicle, if you do not cease this noise,” he grumbled.
The seatbelt locked twice as he attempted to pull it across his torso. All the while, the sound continued, each repeated note more piercing than the last.
Heat blossomed along one of his forearms; it took him a moment to realize he was about to form a vrahsk to cut the cursed seatbelt off.
Control!
He redirected the gathering energy, allowing it to disperse throughout his body, and drew in several deep, steadying breaths. The seatbelt finally clicked into the buckle. The chiming sound ceased abruptly.
“I have never hated a machine, but you are pushing me to reconsider,
” he said through clenched teeth.
Before long, he passed one of the white signs Zoey had told him about while they traveled away from Vail — a Speed Limit sign. He adjusted his pressure on the accelerator to match the number on the vehicle’s internal display to the number on the sign. The pedal seemed a bit overly sensitive, making it a challenge to maintain the right number, but he figured it was close enough.
Though it was dark and overcast, Ren could make out enough of the surrounding landscape to tell that it was unlike anywhere he’d been on Earth so far. They’d descended from the mountains onto a vast, flat plain that had begun so abruptly its existence seemed impossible, contrasting far too heavily with the rocky peaks they’d left behind.
It didn’t take him long to feel exposed; there was nowhere to hide out here.
Without a map to guide him — and unable to read anything but the numbers, which he’d only learned by playing Cards with Zoey — he followed the road’s course without deviation. If nothing else, it was leading in roughly the right direction to bring them to his ship, though he sensed the distance was still great. Their direction changed when the road merged onto a larger pathway — the Interstate, perhaps? — but he didn’t panic. They were moving closer to the ship, and that was all that mattered.
He reached into the bag between him and Zoey with one of his lower hands, feeling around for one of the water bottles she’d purchased, when his fingers brushed over something familiar — a smooth wrapper with two solid, stick-like objects inside. He withdrew the item. Its wrapper gleamed in the glow of the vehicle’s control panel.
Twix.
Even when she’d been rundown, exhausted, and pushed beyond her limits, Zoey had still taken a moment to think of Ren and obtain something he enjoyed. A small gesture, but so full of kindness and consideration.
Ren looked at her again; she was fast asleep, her tousled hair partially obscuring her face.
After all he’d been through in his life, all the battles, all the blood he’d given toward fulfilling his duty, he wasn’t sure that he deserved her.
But he sure as hell wasn’t going to give her up for anything.
“A little longer, kun’ia. Then we can find peace together.”
Chapter Twenty
“If I were piloting my ship, I would blast you off the road!” Rendash growled.
Zoey’s eyes fluttered open. The sky was dark, and the only illumination was provided by the glow of the dash and the headlights of the other cars on the road. She looked at the clock; 4:17. She’d slept that long? With Ren driving that whole time?
“Yes, you pass me, too!” he said. “You are without honor!”
Zoey settled her gaze on Ren. He was scrunched up in the driver’s seat, knees so high that they were mere inches from bumping his hands on the wheel. His jaw muscles ticked in frustration, and his brows were low.
She giggled.
He glanced at her, and the hard light in his eyes softened. “You are awake,” he said, with a touch of guilt. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she replied, reaching down to pull the seat lever and return her seat to its upright position. She groaned, closing her eyes as she rubbed the side of her neck. She hated sleeping in cars. “I didn’t mean to sleep for so long. Honestly, I’m surprised I woke up at all. I kind of expected you to crash a long time ago.”
Ren frowned deeply. “If there have been issues, it is only because your fellow humans are too stupid to obey the very laws they have put in place.”
“What do you mean, Ren?”
“You told me to follow the speed limit. I have been doing so, but no one else on this entire road has done the same!”
As far as she recalled, she hadn’t given him any driving pointers, which — now that she was rested and alert — made her wonder if she had some subconscious death wish. “Um, right.” She beamed at him. “You’re doing great!”
Though he’d returned his primary attention to the road, she couldn’t help but notice his rightmost eye watching her. “So…you don’t recall any…disturbances during the trip?”
Nope. You shagged me into a coma.
Shagged? He’s an alien, not Austin Powers!
“Yeah, baby, yeah!” she said in a terrible accent, grinning to herself. Boy, she was going absolutely nuts.
“What, Zoey?”
She cleared her throat. “Nothing.” Her grin abruptly faded when she realized what his original question had been. “Wait. Disturbances? What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Rendash replied hurriedly, gaze reverting to the road ahead. “Nothing has happened. It’s been quiet, apart from all the humans breaking the law.”
Zoey eyed him. “Mhmm.”
He rummaged through the plastic bag in the center console. After a moment, he produced the Twix bar she’d bought for him. The package was torn open. “I saved one for you.”
“Awww.” Zoey accepted the candy bar. “I totally know what you’re doing, but that was super sweet of you.”
“I am not sure what you’re talking about. I just wanted to ensure you had something to enjoy when you woke.”
She smiled, leaned toward him, and kissed his cheek.
He returned the smile and focused on driving.
She looked out the window as she ate. The chocolate and caramel were a little much, right after waking up, but she didn’t want to reject his kind gesture. Besides, sugar overload was secondary to the true problem — she really had to pee.
Granted focus by her discomfort, she watched with the eyes of a hawk for a rest stop sign, jabbing her finger toward the first one that appeared on the roadside. “Let’s stop there. We can take a bathroom break, and I’ll take over driving again.”
“All right. It will feel nice to stretch my legs.”
Zoey looked at him again. Even with the seat all the way back, his legs were folded up so much that he’d knee himself in the face if he braked suddenly. She couldn’t help but chuckle.
Ren’s application of the brakes was somewhat uneven as they pulled into the rest area. Zoey braced herself with a hand on the dashboard, using her other hand to cover her mouth, smothering her laughter. Somehow, he managed to pull into one of the spots on the edge of the lot without smashing his chin into his knee.
There were only a few other vehicles at the rest stop, all parked closer to the building and its bright spotlights.
“Well, you’re crooked as hell, but at least you’re in the lines,” Zoey said, sitting up to check in the side mirror.
“I told you it’s not that complicated.”
“I’m sure you didn’t run into any disturbances.”
He offered her an exaggerated frown. “Don’t you have to pee, human?”
“There you go, changing the subject again.” Zoey laughed as she opened her door and climbed out.
Ren emerged from the driver’s side, pulling his hood up. He glanced toward the lights. “We’ve made it this far without incident, as far as you’re aware. What reason is there to worry over what might’ve happened?”
“You’re right. Thank you for driving, Ren.”
He dipped his head in a half-nod, half-bow as they walked toward the restrooms. “As long as it gave you a chance to rest and recover, it was worth all the disturbances that certainly did not occur.”
Zoey laughed. “I’m so glad I was asleep for everything that didn’t happen.”
They split when they reached the building. Zoey pushed open the door to the ladies’ restroom and entered. Two women stood in front of the mirror, voices echoing as they chatted while washing their hands. They both looked up at Zoey in the mirror as she passed.
“Oh, my God,” one of them said, eyes widening.
Zoey’s brows lowered in confusion. The women looked at her…with fear.
Without another word, the women hurried out the door, leaving Zoey alone. They didn’t even pause to dry their hands.
“Um, okay. That was…weird.” She stared at the closed door. A strange fe
eling filled her, but she couldn’t quite place it. Paranoia? Dread? The incident, however brief, seemed too surreal to fully acknowledge.
She stepped into a stall and relieved herself. Her lips twitched into a smirk as she realized the main reason why she had to go so badly.
When she was finished, she washed her hands and exited the restroom. The women were standing next to their cars with two men, speaking rapidly to one another. One of the men held up a hand to silence them. He had a phone to his ear.
Both women pointed at Zoey when they realized she’d come out. “That’s her! That one from the video with the alien,” one of them said.
“Yeah, we’re sure it’s her,” the man said into the phone.
The other man stared at Zoey. “Shit, I think you’re right. Get in the car. She’s wanted for—”
The man’s eye rounded, and looks of horror contorted the faces of his companions. Zoey knew without a doubt that Ren was next to her, and he wasn’t trying to hide.
“We should probably go, Ren,” she said, words scratching out of a suddenly dry throat.
“Yes! Hurry!” the man yelled into the phone as he tore open the driver door of his car. The other three were hurrying to their own doors, a man and woman to each car.
The other man paused, lifting his own phone to snap a few pictures.
Oh, shit.
Rendash shoved an armful of snacks and sodas at Zoey. She accepted them numbly, and only registered that Ren meant to charge at them when he lunged toward the vehicles.
The women screamed and scrambled into their cars.
Before he was out of her reach, Zoey thrust an arm forward and caught the back of Ren’s coat. Some of the snacks and bottles fell from her hold, but that was totally unimportant.
Ren halted and looked at her over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t I do something about them?”
“Like what, kill them?” she asked incredulously.
“No. There’s no honor in that. I could smash their phones, though. I have some experience with it.”
The engines of both cars roared to life, and the frantic drivers peeled out of the parking lot with screeching tires, leaving a lovely, burnt-rubber aroma in their wake.
Claimed by an Alien Warrior Page 25
