DangerouslyForever

by A. M. Griffin

  “Now,” he said. “Are you going to share?”

  She shrugged. “I could.” She lightly shook the canteen in front of her, taunting him and mixing the drug.

  “Trying to tease me?” He tsked and walked toward her. “Don’t be stingy. I made you orgasm and you won’t share? Mean.”

  She tilted her head to the side in thought. “Only because you made me come.” She held the canteen out to him.

  Triumphantly he grabbed it, taking a long swallow.

  She stepped back, hooking her thumbs in her waistband, watching as his eyes lingered on her. “Drink up. You’ll need all your energy for what I plan to do to you.”

  He tipped the canteen to his mouth and swallowed in gulps. Finished, he tossed the empty canteen to the side. She watched it roll to a stop. Not even a drop left. He sauntered closer, staring at her as if she were on the menu.

  How long will it take to work?

  He stopped momentarily to shake his head. He took another step forward and then stopped again, placing his hand on his temple. His eyes met hers, knowing.

  “You…you…”

  He reached out for her. She took a big step back, out of his grasp, afraid of what he would do if he ever got ahold of her again.

  His eyes glazed over and rolled up. He dropped to the ground on the next breath.

  “Oh shit! I think I killed him for real this time.”

  She scrambled to his side and felt for the pulse in his neck. It was there, but slow.

  He’ll live.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Judging by the amount she’d given him, he should be out for a couple of days, but since she didn’t know how fast his metabolism might clear the drug from his system, she didn’t want to waste any time.

  He would kill her if he found her.

  Well, I won’t let him find me.

  If she’d been thinking properly, she would’ve waited until he was in the house before drugging him. How was she going to get him inside? She looked toward the entrance. It seemed to loom in the distance.

  Her only option was to drag him. She crouched and hooked her arms under his shoulders. She got as far as lifting his head, neck and shoulders off the ground. Holy fuck, was he heavy. She planted her feet and leaned back. Grunting, she tried to pull him along. He didn’t move an inch. She’d never move three hundred pounds of dead weight by herself. Giving up, she blew out a breath and lowered his head to the ground.

  Maybe I can leave him out here?

  No.

  She couldn’t do that to him. Even if he deserved it. There could be all kinds of predators lurking around. Vulnerable, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

  She’d have to drag him. What she needed was something to put him on.

  She took off running to the house. Inside, she ran straight to his room and pulled the blanket off his bed. She stopped only to peer into the room where Yoshi and Max still lay sleeping. She closed the door quietly. Hopefully they would sleep for a little while longer. If they woke, she didn’t know how she would explain why she was trying to drag an out-cold Kiehle to his room. They liked him. There would be too many questions about why he was out like a light.

  She’d eventually have to answer their questions about why they were leaving, but they didn’t have to know the circumstances. Like how he’d been planning to sell them and how all this…this niceness was fake…a lie.

  She ran down the hall, through the door and back to Kiehle.

  Getting him on the blanket was easy enough. She placed it next to him and rolled him on. It was like rolling a heavy tree, but she managed after a lot of grunting, swearing and sweating. Now all she had to do was pull him to the house without passing out or straining a muscle.

  “Halfway there,” she said, trying to give herself motivation to keep going.

  Only when she reached the doorstep did she stop to take deep breaths. She leaned against the frame and wiped the sweat from her eyes and face. How long had it taken her to move him? It probably wasn’t long at all but it felt like an eternity.

  Taking another deep breath, she adjusted her hold on the blanket and pulled him inside. She dragged him through the living room and down the hall, easier now on the slick surface of the floors. When she got to his room, she stopped beside his bed. This was where he would have to stay until he woke up. It was better than outside.

  She looked down at him, knowing she’d never see him again.

  Something tugged on her heart. He’d played nice to a tee. If she were naïve, she would’ve fallen for it and loved the attention her gave to her and the kids. But her naïve days were long gone and there was no time to spend being stupid for a dude. No matter how handsome he was. Looking at him was only a stark reminder that looks could be deceiving. Everyone was out to do her harm—young, old, smart, dumb, ugly and handsome.

  She used the tip of her boot to nudge his head. It lolled to the side. “It’s been real, but I can’t let you sell us back into slavery.”

  Her next move was to find some bags and gather as much food as she and the kids could carry. She searched Kiehle’s room. The bags were easy to find, but while looking for them, she also found some other items she thought would come in handy.

  Stealing hadn’t crossed her mind. She’d never had anything to steal at the brothel. Everyone had the same thing she had—nothing. She didn’t have credits. He’d never gotten around to creating an account for her—if he ever planned to. But gold could be traded to get what they needed to survive. She stuffed one of the bags full of gold wristbands, a jeweled necklace, a crystal, a gold vase, some rings and other trinkets. He was a prince. He could replace everything she took.

  A bell sounded in his room. She stopped and looked around.

  Alarm?

  It rang again.

  Doorbell?

  Didn’t he say that he didn’t get many visitors?

  Damn.

  With her blaster in one hand, she tiptoed to the door. Hiding the weapon behind her back, she opened the door a crack to peer out. On the other side stood a male. His bald head glistened under the sun, the green jumpsuit he wore reminding her of those worn by mechanics on Earth. The name Zolster Delivery was printed across his chest.

  He frowned. “Is Kiehle Xochis available?” he asked.

  “Who are you?” she demanded. Her finger twitched on the trigger. She didn’t just drug Kiehle for nothing. If this male stood in her way, she would kill him without a second thought.

  The timid alien on the other side of the door shifted his gaze from side to side. His reptilian eyelids blinked once. Then the second set blinked. “I’m Yaradiel. Kiehle called me to restock his food supplies.”

  She nodded to the boxes that he’d piled high on a hover craft behind him. “All that’s food?”

  Yaradiel turned around, eyeing the craft. “Mostly. Some are clothes and toys.”

  “Toys?”

  He turned back to her. “Kiehle asked me to bring toys for children.” He shrugged. “Who am I to judge?”

  He bought toys for the kids.

  She stepped to the side, allowing him to come in. “You can put them on the kitchen table,” she said, pointing toward the kitchen door across the room. From where they stood, the table was visible.

  She watched as he unloaded the boxes one by one, five in all, onto the table.

  When he finished, he held a small pad out to her. “I’ll need him to sign for the packages.”

  “He’s sleeping,” she said quickly.

  “No problem. Kiehle is a regular. We trust him to pay us on time.” He turned to leave. She spotted his vessel not too far from where Kiehle had landed his.

  A vessel. An escape.

  “Wait,” she called out. “Can you help me unpack? I’m sure he’ll give you a generous tip.”

  Yoshi and Max entered the room. “Who’s that, Ally?” Max asked first.

  “This is Yaradiel. He brought you some toys to play with.”

  “Real toys?” Yoshi asked excitedly.


  Yaradiel straightened his shoulders. “Kiehle told me to get the best toys on the market. I got the same toys that my children play with.”

  Yoshi squealed, unable to contain her excitement. She jumped up and down, her hands clapping. “Where? Where are they?”

  “In there.” Ally pointed to the kitchen, where the boxes could easily be seen on the table. Like kids on Christmas morning, they took off for them.

  “I could really use some help,” she said. “Kiehle had a long night and I would feel bad if I had to wake him.”

  He smiled. “How can I say no to helping a female and children?”

  She smiled and placed a hand over her heart. “Thank you.”

  While Yaradiel made his way to the kitchen, she went back to Kiehle’s room to get the bag of stolen goods and a second empty one. He was in the exact same spot she had left him. She turned off his light and shut the door on her way out.

  In the kitchen, the kids had gathered around Yaradiel, helping him open one of the boxes. While they were distracted, she opened another box and pulled out clothes, stuffing some in the empty bag. As the kids explored the toys, with Yaradiel telling them all about each one, she rummaged through the food box and picked out nonperishables and packed those as well.

  Finally, she was ready.

  “Yaradiel?” He looked up at her. “Can I see you in the other room?”

  She walked out, leading the way.

  “What is it?” he asked when they’d cleared the kitchen.

  “We need to get as far away from here as possible and I need you to take us.”

  His brows pulled together. “I can’t do that. I’m working.”

  She grabbed the blaster from her waistband and pointed it at him. “I thought you might say something like that.” She didn’t feel good about threatening him. He’d been genuinely nice to her and the kids, but if she wanted to survive, she’d have to push her guilt aside.

  He stared at her wide-eyed. “I don’t know what’s going on here but I don’t want any part of it.”

  “You can help me or you can die. Your choice, but make it fast.” She hated to give him that ultimatum. But escaping always included casualties.

  He dropped his head and put up his hands. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go. I have a family.”

  “I’m sorry it has to be this way, but we can’t stay here.”

  “Kiehle is good. He’s always been nice to me.”

  She shook her head. Everybody had a little good in them. Good for something or good for nothing. But she wasn’t going to argue with this alien. “You don’t know our situation.”

  “Maybe you and Kiehle could talk it out?” He gazed at her, his reptilian eyes blinking rapidly. “Work out your differences?”

  “Like I said, you don’t know our situation. Yoshi! Max!” she yelled. “We’re leaving, now.”

  She lowered the blaster, letting her sleeve cover it. They both came into view, holding dolls in their hands. “Why?” Yoshi asked.

  “What about Kiehle?” Max asked.

  “I’ll explain later, but right now we really have to go.” She flicked her gaze to Yaradiel, who watched the hand that held the blaster. He didn’t look as if he would try anything. “Hurry up and get some clothes on.”

  “But what about our toys? Do we have to leave them here?” Max asked.

  Yoshi hid her doll behind her back.

  “There are two bags in the kitchen, you can each pack three small toys.”

  “Where are we going?” Yoshi asked.

  “Mr. Yaradiel is going to take us somewhere far away. Now hurry up and change.”

  “I hope I don’t get fired for this,” Yaradiel groaned.

  * * * * *

  “She did what?” Eva’s voice shrilled through the communicator.

  Kiehle held his breath when she leaned toward the screen, making her facial features look large and distorted.

  He’d woken up to discover Ally and the children gone and that he’d been sleep for two rotations. He didn’t know why she’d drugged him again but he would find out. She’d put him in danger, leaving him defenseless. Being bested by a female—twice—was something that a warrior just didn’t let happen. It would never happen again.

  “Tell me you’re joking? Tell me anything but this,” she yelled, using her hands animatedly.

  He exhaled and looked at her. He’d expected her to be mad. She had every reason to be. He’d lost her best friend. “I’ll find her. I know who she left with.”

  One of the first things he noticed when he woke was that his room had been ransacked and some of his belongings were missing—he didn’t care about any of that. The clue to how she had left was found on his kitchen table. Yaradiel.

  Before he could track down Yaradiel, Eva’s call had come through. He would’ve preferred to talk to Yaradiel first and find out Ally’s whereabouts before speaking to Eva. At least then he would have more to tell her than “your friend ran away”.

  “Why would she run away from you?” Eva glared at him.

  “I don’t know. I told her that I was sent to look after her for you. I don’t understand.”

  He heard Taio say something out of view.

  “I even told her that you were looking forward to seeing her again,” Kiehle added.

  “Kiehle, it must’ve been something you said. Something spooked her. Can you remember anything?”

  He closed his eyes, trying to remember any reason he’d given her to run away. “Nothing. I did my best to make her and the children comfortable. I tried to make her feel at home.”

  “Then why…” Eva groaned and put her head in her hands. “If I was in her shoes, I wouldn’t have believed you either.”

  “What’s not to believe? I rescued her from a brothel and I’m returning her to you.”

  “As much as I love you, you’re an alien. To her, you’re just another being who can’t be trusted.” She turned her head to speak to Taio. “See? I told you I should’ve been the one to go to her. She needed to see a familiar face.”

  Kiehle leaned back. “I thought she was beginning to trust me.”

  Eva cut her gaze back to him. “Obviously not.”

  “Not every female is as enthralled with you as you believe,” he heard Taio say.

  “She seemed enthralled by the way she screamed out my name,” Kiehle replied to his brother.

  Eva turned toward the sound of Taio’s voice once again. “How much do you love your brother? Because I’m this close,” she pinched her fingers together, “to fucking him up.”

  “Calm down, little one. He will find her.” Then Taio came into view. “Right?”

  “Right,” Kiehle replied.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Safely hidden behind a boulder, Ally kept her eyes on the transport depot, watching as various species went in and came out. Yoshi and Max smacked loudly on the meat she’d stolen from Kiehle.

  “How long do we have to stay here?” Max asked between bites.

  “One more day,” she said without turning. “The transport doesn’t leave until tomorrow.”

  “We have to spend another night outside?” Yoshi asked, her voice cracking.

  Ally pulled her gaze away from the transport depot and turned, sitting on her butt. The first night she’d been scared that someone from the depot would find their hiding spot and come bother them, but so far no one seemed to notice three escaped human slaves hiding out in a cluster of boulders three hundred feet from the building.

  “Don’t worry. It’s only for one more night. I’ll watch over us.”

  Who needs sleep? She’d been running on fumes, sporadically catching up on sleep since leaving Kiehle’s house, but if she needed to stay up all night, no problem. She’d gotten a good nap in earlier and she’d stayed up longer before. There was nothing like the threat of gang rape to make one realize sleep was way overrated.

  She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a long slab of dried meat. She broke an i
nch from the tip and returned the larger piece. They had plenty of food to last a couple more days. And when they ran out, she would steal again. Thievery seemed to be her new career.

  Max motioned with his head in the direction of the depot. “Are you sure those aliens aren’t going to come over this way?”

  She chewed her meat, savoring the taste. Her mouth watered with each small bite. It was real meat, not the processed kind. “Nobody’s given this area a second glance, so I’m guessing tonight won’t be any different.”

  “And we can’t go back inside until tomorrow?” Yoshi asked.

  Ally shook her head. “Uh-uh, not until it’s time to board our transport.”

  She’d asked Yaradiel to take her and the kids to the transport depot farthest away from Kiehle’s house. When he’d dropped them off, the first thing she’d done was find out when a transport to Lepsesthe was leaving. On the way to the depot, Yaradiel had told her what she needed to know about the transport system that most everyone used to get from planet to planet and galaxy to galaxy. Leaving this galaxy and getting as far away from Alharad and Kiehle was her first choice, but because she didn’t have the credits for that kind of journey, she settled on going to another sector.

  In the public area of the depot, where tickets were bought and sold, was a large holographic map of different destinations. She didn’t know much about Lepsesthe, but what she did know was good enough for her. They didn’t practice slavery, there were no brothels, the planet was open to visitors and on the map, it looked to be clear across the galaxy.

  Fortunately for her, the attendant had been willing to exchange two of the gold wristbands she’d stolen from Kiehle for three one-way tickets. But the next transport wasn’t due to depart for three days.

  They’d stayed in the waiting area for only a couple of hours before Ally had felt as if all eyes were on them, watching and stalking their every move. She wasn’t stupid. Just because Saurene didn’t practice slavery didn’t mean there weren’t any entrepreneurial aliens lurking about. She was a female traveling alone with two children—and she was human. She’d been stuck in brothels long enough to know that humans were prime slave stock.