by Sarah Carter
“Perfect,” Lucas says. “You’ve already trained on all the other weapons.”
Claire picks up a knife and throws it. It lands dead center of a target. “I’m great with blades.”
She hears, “When our daughters get older, they won’t have to fear me waiting up for their boyfriends.”
With a giggle, Claire turns around. “Right! The boys will never see me coming.”
Damien walks over and gives her a kiss. “How are doing, baby?”
“I have the weapons down,” Claire states. “So…I think I’m ready.”
He takes in a deep breath and sighs. “When do you plan on doing this?”
“Your father and I already talked about it,” Claire whispers. “I’m going tomorrow night.”
Growling, Damien snaps, “You weren’t even going to talk to me about it?”
“I didn’t for this very reason,” Claire retorts harshly. “I knew you were going to flip out and I don’t need the distraction!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She turns to Lucas. “Am I all done here?”
“Yes,” he replies. “There isn’t much more for me to teach you.”
“Thank you for your help.” Claire turns to Damien and says, “Come with me.” Turning they walk out of the weapons room. They silently make their way back to their room. When they get there, Claire crosses her arms. “Damien, I love you…more than you know, but I have to shut that down.”
“What do you mean?” Damien asks.
Claire sighs, “The thing is, I can’t think of you, or us, or anything tomorrow. I have to prepare for the mission.”
“What are you trying to say? I won’t see you tomorrow?”
Claire shakes her head, “No.”
He puts up his finger and stutters, “You expect me to sit back and not be in this with you? Well, tough. I’m the son of the Merjyet line and no one will tell me what to do tomorrow.”
“Your father can,” Claire replies softly. “I asked him to order you to stay away.”
Damien’s jaw drops. “You’re ripping out my heart, Claire. So, what? You expect me to sit back here and wait?”
“No.” Claire replies. “I just can’t see you tomorrow. When I look at you, I think about never seeing you again and it’s shredding me into a million pieces. I can’t have that. This mission needs to succeed, and I need to be the one who does it!”
“So…when are you leaving me?”
“I don’t know,” Claire exhales. She walks over to him and wraps her arms around his neck. “Walking away from you is going to be harder than the mission.”
Grabbing her into a tight hug, Damien kisses her head. “As much as I love to watch you walk away from me, I won’t this time.”
“I’ll be fine,” she whispers, putting her head on his chest. “Let’s just enjoy the time we have.”
“I’m not letting you go until you tell me to,” Damien mutters into her hair.
They stand there for a minute before Claire says, “I have to pee.”
“Still not letting you go.”
“Gross,” Claire laughs. She pushes away from him and says, “I’m going to pee now…without you!”
Damien laughs and kisses her. Claire heads into the bathroom.
When she comes out, she finds Damien sitting on the middle of the bed. “What are you doing?”
He pats the bed in front of him. “Come…sit with me.”
Shaking her head, she jumps up on the bed and sits down. “What’s up?” Damien grabs Claire and pulls her against him. She wraps her legs around him and says, “Are you giving me a proper goodbye?”
“No,” he whispers. “I have something else for you.”
“Ooo.” Claire giggles. “Is it going to be something I like?”
“I sure hope so. Close your eyes and open your hand.”
With a big grin, Claire closes her eyes. She feels Damien place something gently in her palm. Quickly, she opens her eyes. She can’t say anything. Finally, she exhales, “What…what’s that?”
“I thought that was very apparent.” Damien chuckles.
“Are you proposing?” Claire squeaks. “I know we’re betrothed but…”
“It’s not really an engagement ring. I had that made a long time ago.”
“For…?”
He pauses, “Okay, I got it made to be an engagement ring.”
Claire takes it and holds it up. “What kind of metal?”
“Platinum,” Damien replies.
It’s a band of vines. Along the vines are diamond flowers. “Damien…this is beautiful.”
“I designed it myself. I planned to give it to my wife.”
It dawns on Claire. “A vine…around the finger verses the wrist.”
“I planned to do both,” Damien says softly.
“But your wife is supposed to bear the family crest,” Claire notes, looking up at him.
“Look on the inside.”
She looks and smiles, “Well, that’s a very small family crest.”
“She will be of the Merjyet line. Most of our kind will know who she is.” He grins, “Anyway, I want you to get the tattoo.”
“I know.” Claire giggles. “Why are you giving this to me now?”
“I want you to have something of mine tomorrow.”
Giving him a look, Claire says, “I can’t wear an engagement ring.”
“You can wear it on your right hand. It doesn’t look anything like an engagement ring. He’s going to assume you’re human. The vine won’t make any sense.”
“I don’t know…” Claire exhales.
Damien takes it and slides it on her finger. “Claire Livingston…please, be careful tomorrow and come home to me.”
“Of course,” she replies.
“The other thing…” Damien barely whispers.
“Yeah?”
He looks up at her. “Will you marry me?”
She starts to laugh. “I thought that wasn’t what this was.”
“I’m kind of in the moment,” Damien says, playfully shrugging.
Claire laughs even more.
“No, let’s be serious for a moment.”
Claire lightly snickers. Damien gives her a look. She puts on a straight face, barely, and then says, “I’m being serious.”
“Tomorrow is going to be extremely dangerous. We have to face the possibility that you may not come back.”
“Is this some kind of twisted pep talk?”
“No. Listen to me. I’m asking because I don’t want the opportunity to pass us by. I don’t want to look back and wish that I had said something.”
“Damien,” Claire whispers, putting her hand on his face. “I’m going to come back.”
“Just…say yes. I want us to have this memory, at least.”
With a heavy exhale, Claire says, “Damien, we just met.”
“You plan on marrying me, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“Then say yes. I want this connection to you. I don’t expect you to tell anyone. You can even not talk about it with me. That ring can stay on your right hand. Just say yes. Marry me, Claire. I don’t want anyone else. I do—and will only ever—want you.”
Claire sighs. “We’re so young.”
Damien nods. “Is age really what’s bothering you? We mature faster than humans, we’re ready for marriage and sex and even children long before humans are.”
She takes in a deep breath and then agrees, “Sometimes I forget how we differ from humans. I still don’t know.”
“I don’t want to force you into anything. Will you at least wear the ring?”
“Yes,” Claire whispers. “I wish I had something that I could give to you to show you how much I love you.” She gets and idea and smiles. “You’re serious about marrying me?”
“Never been more serious in my life. Why?”
“I want to share something with you because I love you. If I don’t come back, I want you to have something to remember m
e by.”
He gives her a very confused look. Claire bends over and barely whispers something in his ear. Damien pulls back. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Claire breathes out before she kisses him. Damien meets her and it starts out slow and passionate. She pulls away and says, “What if I drain you?”
“Well, then, you won’t have to worry about me being around for your mission. I’ll be unconscious.”
“Like that wouldn’t be a distraction.”
Damien murmurs, “We can wait.”
“Should we say something to someone? Let them know what we’re doing.”
He brushes his lips against hers. “I’ll tell Dr. Galliger. He can closely monitor us. No one else needs to know.”
“What if your dad finds out?”
“I don’t think he would stop us in the middle of it. Let me go tell Dr. Galliger.”
Claire nods. “Okay.” Quickly, Damien jumps off the bed and leaves the room. A knot starts to form in Claire’s stomach from nervousness. “I can do this,” she exhales. “I want this so bad. I want to have this memory with him, at least.” She smiles.
A minute later, Damien comes walking back into the room. “Okay, I have some good news. Dr. Galliger said when we merged our energies before and created that link, you didn’t drain me. It was an equal ebb and flow, so we should be good. He isn’t going to say anything to anyone.”
“Okay.”
Damien crawls across the bed toward her. “You’re positive about this?”
“Absolutely,” Claire replies.
With a soft smile, Damien crawls over her as Claire lies down on the bed. “Do you want the lights on or off?”
“On. I need to see you.”
Smiling, Damien bends down and kisses her. She meets him, but he pulls away and whispers, “Please, come back to me tomorrow.”
“I will. I promise.” They look at each other for a second, and then are all over each other. They desperately pull at each other and take off one piece of clothing at a time. Damien moves and starts to kiss up Claire’s stomach.
“I want to do this slowly,” he whispers against her. “I don’t want to rush it. I want to savor you for every second that I can.”
“Okay,” Claire breathes out, as she arches her back.
* * * * * * * *
Claire sits on the edge of the bed, watching Damien sleep. She wants to bend over and kiss him, but she knows she can’t risk waking him up. Taking in a deep breath, Claire stands up and leaves.
She walks to the ship hanger. Everyone is standing there, waiting for her. Mr. Blakely looks behind her. She puts up her hand. “Not a word.”
He nods his head. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Claire’s grandfather comes out of the small ship. “She’ll get the job done.” He walks over and bends down to look her in the eye. “Shut it down, the emotions, everything. You were trained for this. Breathe with me and don’t lose eye contact.” Claire does as he asks. “You’re a fighter. You’re deadly. You’ll make it out alive. Claire, you will finish this. Finish this for your people.”
She nods curtly. “Let’s do it.” They all board the ship. A wave of nervousness about flying washes over her. Claire shakes her head and shoves it into the back of her mind. When they take off, it takes every ounce of willpower for her not to turn around.
Mr. Grandin moves seats to sit next to Claire. “Okay, you’re going to Fabian’s club. He should be there tonight. We’ve picked out an…outfit for you to wear. It may make you uncomfortable.”
Claire snorts. “I probably have worse in my wardrobe. How will I get there?”
“You’re going to take a sports car. We need you to make an entrance. The more people talking about you in the club, the better. We need to make him interested.”
“I can probably guarantee I’ll grab his attention. From there, what do you want me to do?”
Taking in a deep breath, Mr. Grandin says, “Mr. Blakely isn’t too happy about this, but it may be necessary. Fabian likes to take the girls in the back. We aren’t sure what happens. There are five Neturu that go back with him. There are more that stay in the club area. That doesn’t include human guards. Fabian will kill the people in the club. We need to avoid that as much as possible.”
“I’ll sacrifice my own life before anyone gets hurt,” Claire declares.
“This is why we drugged Damien,” Mr. Grandin sighs.
Claire looks at him with wide eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“He’ll be asleep for most of the day. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Move!” Claire shouts, pushing Mr. Grandin into the aisle. She goes up front and glares at Mr. Blakely. “You drugged your son!”
“It was your wish that he not bother you today,” Mr. Blakely responds. “It was necessary.”
“The mission is called off,” Claire snaps. “How dare you?”
“Claire,” her grandfather says beside her. “It was necessary. This one time it was necessary. You’re going in alone. This is your first mission. He cannot be a distraction.”
She can’t even speak. Her mouth just hangs open. Finally, she stutters, “After this, I’m out!”
Mr. Blakely gasps. “What?”
“I’m not going to work for you. He’s your son. Damien’s the love of my life and you demolished our trust. How will he ever look at you the same way again?”
Mr. Blakely smiles and says, “It was Damien’s idea.”
“What?”
“He knew you’d worry about him. Damien figured if he was sleeping, he wouldn’t be a hindrance.”
Claire exhales heavily.
“I would never do anything to break your trust, Claire. I promise you that.”
Plopping down in the chair next to him, Claire just shakes her head. “He really did that?”
“Yes.” Mr. Blakely reaches over and takes her hand. “He wanted to do what he could to make sure you came home safely.”
“That actually takes a huge weight off my shoulders.” Claire sighs. “I kept trying to push his worrying into the back of my mind.”
“We need you centered on this mission,” Mr. Blakely says, squeezing her hand. “We’re here if you need us, and Damien can be woken up instantaneously after the injection.”
“No more thoughts about Damien. We need to concentrate on what I need to know.”
Mr. Blakely takes the table from Mr. Grandin. “This is the layout of what we can tell of the club. We aren’t sure how the back rooms are set up.”
Claire looks down. “What are those?” She points to the screen.
With a groan, Mr. Blakely says, “Those are dancing platforms with poles.”
Raising her eyebrow, Claire says, “They have strippers?”
“From what we can tell, they stay clothed.”
“Awesome,” Claire says. “This guy is a real schmuck.”
“A very evil schmuck, but yes, hes a womanizer. It’s a different girl every night, from the reports we got.”
She shakes her head. “A little map isn’t going to help much. I’ll have to check it out when I get there.”
“We should be arriving at our destination momentarily,” Mr. Blakely says.
“That quickly?” Claire gasps.
He laughs at her. “We’ve traveled through the galaxy. Do you think we did it slowly?”
“Well, no.” She snorts. “Where are we going anyway?”
“Miami,” Mr. Blakely replies.
“Seriously?” She blinks a few times. “We’ve been flying for fifteen minutes.”
“I know, pretty slow for us.” Mr. Blakely laughs.
“Across the country in fifteen minutes?”
“Most of it is taking off and landing because we need to make sure we don’t hit anything. Some lag time is changing our course because another plane gets in the way.”
“So, humans can’t see or track our ships?” Claire asks.
Mr. B
lakely shakes his head. “No, we’re completely invisible.”
“So, since I’m top secret and everything, can I ask a question?”
“Sure.”
Smirking, she asks, “Do any humans know about us?”
He smiles, “Now, it wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, would it?”
“Oh, come on, can you get any more top secret than me?” Claire giggles.
“You’re definitely up there. To answer your question, there have been a few humans that have found out along the way. Some have kept our secret and others…we had to intervene.”
“I don’t think humans are ready yet.”
“I agree.”
She looks out the window. “Oh my gosh, the ocean is so pretty. I’m making Damien bring me here for vacation.”
“He loves to surf, so I don’t think you’ll have to twist his arm.”
Claire exhales, looking down. “Awesome.”
* * * * * * * *
Crossing her arms, Claire says, “That outfit won’t do.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Mr. Grandin asks.
“It’s…not revealing enough.” She scoffs. “I’ll fix that. Give me a pair of scissors.”
“Umm, sure,” Mr. Grandin says, turning around. He walks away and then comes back with scissors. “Here.”
“Alright,” Claire says. “I’ll change and be right out.” She goes into the room and hangs the dress up. It’s a strapless, black mini dress. Looking at it, she whispers, “It’s nowhere near short enough.” So, Claire starts to cut. When she’s done with the hem, she starts to cut the sides.
Finally, she slips it on. It barely comes to her thighs now. The sides are cut out in a circular shape, so that most of her body is showing. With a nod, she leaves the room. When she walks out, her grandfather places his face into his hand. No one can say anything, so Claire starts laughing.
“It’s not funny,” her grandfather snaps.
“What?” She says, really trying not to laugh. “I do fit the part, don’t I?”
“Why not go naked?”
“Kaleb, you can’t look at her like she’s your granddaughter. The same as I can’t look at her like my future daughter. She’s a deadly weapon.” Mr. Blakely sighs. “Do I want to wrap a blanket around her? Yes.”
