The Price of Discovery

by Leslie Dicken

  Erin’s heart jumped a few notches. The fight she had with Drakor over Rita still tormented her. Even if Drakor could explain it all away, the feelings of betrayal didn’t fade.

  “I called about the story you’re doing on Greg and Invasion Shield.”

  “Oh that.” Pop. Snap. “That story is finished. Handed it to Rockford this afternoon.”

  Erin couldn’t stop her gasp. Not only was Erin still stuttering here without a story while Rita’s was complete, Greg’s future sat on her boss’ desk.

  “Was there something I needed to know?”

  Erin sank back down into the chair and gathered her wits. She promised Greg she’d take care of it and she couldn’t let him down now. “My brother had no knowledge of his employee’s involvement with Securicon. He isn’t at fault.”

  “Are you telling me that he didn’t know that brilliant idea they had was already patented? That he didn’t check the references on his candidates?”

  Erin swallowed. “None of his employees listed Securicon on their resumes. How would he know?”

  “I would think one of the references would have mentioned the dates of employment and from there he would have deduced a time span discrepancy.”

  Oh, shit. They hadn’t thought of that. Erin took a deep breath and prayed she could bluff her way through. “Still, Greg had no real knowledge of a disclosure statement or the patent infringement. He is not to blame.”

  Rita chuckled and snapped her gum. “Well, it might not matter come Monday when you turn in your story. Rockford could find yours much more compelling. What is it about again?”

  Erin wanted to crumble into a heap of ashes there on the chair. Now she really had to complete her story for Monday or Rita’s could very well be published instead.

  “You’ll find out Monday,” she managed to squeak.

  “Could it be about that new beau of yours? He is mighty handsome and very mysterious.”

  Erin’s palms started to sweat. Was Rita on to them? Did she suspect something? Had she seen the house that day?

  A knock on the door made Erin jump. Saved by the bell. At least for a moment.

  “Hold on,” she told Rita, “someone is at my door.”

  The snapping gum was her answer.

  Erin didn’t know who to expect. Certainly Drakor had surprised her many times in the past but would he be so bold as to come again after she told him it was over? She hated to admit it to herself, but a sliver of excitement coursed through her at the idea of him standing there. Her body reacted by shifting from miserable to aroused.

  Erin took the cordless away from her ear and went to the door. But it wasn’t Drakor standing there; it was her brother and Ankra.

  “Well, this is a surprise.”

  “We can’t stay.” Greg slid his arm across his girlfriend’s shoulder. “Ankra has a message.”

  “A message?”

  Ankra nodded. “From Drakor.”

  Erin’s heart skipped a beat. So he did still think of her. “What did he say?”

  “He wants you to meet him at Mickey’s on Saturday night.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  She nodded.

  “But why?”

  Ankra’s eyes dropped to the floor momentarily but when they came back up there was a light in them. She reached out and took Erin’s free hand, holding it gently within her own. Erin felt the veins in her arm expand and then contract. Startled, she pulled her hand away.

  Ankra’s face broadened into a wide grin, certainly the happiest Erin had seen the woman in a long time. “Drakor only told me that you and he had some things to discuss.”

  Fine. Whatever. Erin needed more answers for her story. She needed to know why he was really here and this could be the only way to find that out.

  “Tell him I’ll be there.”

  Ankra nodded, the mysterious smile still in place. Greg shrugged, then pulled them away from the door. Erin closed it after them and went back into the kitchen.

  She stared down at her notes, at the question marks littering the page. Maybe now she could get some solutions.

  “Hello? Hello?”

  Rita. Erin forgot about her. She held the phone to her ear. “I’m back. Sorry that was my brother.”

  “Oh. Well, are we done here?”

  What else could she say? Rita’s article was already complete and turned in. Erin would just have to hope her story would top the one on Invasion Shield.

  “Yeah, we’re done,” Erin said to the popping on the other end.

  “Great,” Rita answered and the line went dead.

  Erin stared at the silent phone in her hand a moment and then punched in Greg’s number. She knew he wasn’t home yet but she’d just leave a message, letting him know it was taken care of. No need to worry him when there wasn’t much she could do about it.

  Besides, once she met with Drakor tomorrow, she’d have enough information to write this damn story. And the discovery of aliens had to be more impressive than some mistaken patent infringement. Didn’t it?

  Drakor sucked in a deep breath and knocked on Brundor’s bedroom door. This was probably one of the biggest mistakes of his life, but he did promise his brother he’d take him to Mickey’s. And it was now or never.

  “Come!” Brundor called in Elliac’s language.

  Drakor stepped inside the dark room, shadows greeting him as they usually did. “Get ready,” he said with a sigh.

  Brundor sat up instantly. “Why? Are we leaving now? We aren’t packed completely.”

  “No, not yet. But I’m going to Mickey’s tonight. Need to meet Erin.”

  His brother leapt up from the bed. “You mean, you’ll take me with you?”

  Drakor wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead. Between the headaches and this summer heat, desperation prowled. He must get off this planet. “Can you be certain you can control your reactions? There are many, many females there.”

  “I can. I’ve proven that over and over. The other day I was so close that I could touch them and did nothing.”

  “You were invisible.”

  Brundor shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I could have grabbed them and they wouldn’t have known. But I kept my distance.” He reached for his shirt and pulled it on over his bare chest. “I will touch no one unless she asks me to.”

  Drakor nodded and turned from the room. His heart hammered inside his ribcage even as chills sprouted on his skin. Was it because he was seeing Erin again or was it the unspecific feeling of dread nagging within him?

  Either way they’d be leaving Earth soon, without the gene needed to process Vitamin D.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Erin still felt lousy. In fact, she almost made an appointment with the doctor this morning, despite it being Saturday. But a trip to the drug store suited her patience better.

  She smoothed out her silk shirt and adjusted her hair in the silver clip. Why did she go through the effort to look good for him? He didn’t mean anything to her. Besides, after tonight she would be writing the story of her career. Possibly the story of her life.

  Erin paid her fee at the door and entered Mickey’s. She slipped over to the side, letting her senses become adjusted to the dim interior with flashing lights, overwhelming smell of cigarette smoke, and pulsating music.

  Erin took a deep breath and started to wander the first room. Lots of tall men with dark hair, but no Drakor. She pushed her way through the crowd and headed down the steps to the black light room. She squinted at the sea of people dancing. Oh God, she’d never find him here. She should have told Ankra a specific meeting place. This was ridiculous.

  Erin sighed and cruised the perimeter of the room, momentarily stopping if she saw someone remotely looking like Drakor. Several good looking guys out there and one or two asked her to dance, but she shook her head.

  The blinking lights and loud music dampened her adrenaline and made her feel miserable again. She made it to the other side of the room before running into the bathroom. />
  The bright illumination made her wince as she headed straight to the row of sinks. So much for her carefully applied make-up. Already her face was sweating. Erin splashed some water on it and patted her cheeks dry.

  Damn, she looked tired. Tired and worn. How did this happen? Before she met Drakor she appeared young and eager. Then, when the whole ordeal with him started she felt more alive than ever before.

  Now that she had made love to him, felt a strong need to be near him, couldn’t stop thinking about him…now she felt and looked like crap.

  Erin headed to the door but it opened before she could reach the handle. A busty blonde walked in, snapped her gum, and Erin’s stomach dropped to the floor.

  “Rita…” she murmured.

  “Oh, hello Erin.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Rita lifted a nicely arched eyebrow. “It’s a free country. I can be at the same place you are.”

  Erin crossed her arms. “Do you come every Saturday night or just the nights you know I’m here?”

  The gum snapped. “Did I know you were going to be here tonight?”

  Erin’s chest tightened. This was just great. All she needed after the way she was feeling. Once Rita spotted Drakor, she’d be all over him.

  Erin brushed by her. “I have something to do.”

  The gum popped in her ear as she passed.

  Feeling worse than ever, Erin left the relative quiet of the restroom and sunk back into the depths of the club. She started toward the stairs but a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Ready to push some drunk, obnoxious guy away, Erin turned in anger.

  Drakor smiled down at her. “There you are,” he shouted over the noise.

  Without waiting for a reply, he took her hand and led her back into the room with the blinking lights. A river of calm coursed through her at the contact with his fingers. She wanted to pull away, to not give him any ideas, but she needed the feeling of wellness again.

  He led them to the far end of the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. Instantly, her body reacted to his closeness and arousal skirted up between her legs. All traces of illness were gone. No. She couldn’t let him do this. She couldn’t let him distract her like this.

  Erin struggled in his embrace, but he held her firm. He bent his head low and spoke directly into your ear. “I just want to dance. I want to hold you. Won’t you let me do that for the last time?”

  She ceased her fight. He was right. This would be the last time. Besides, she couldn’t very well have sex with him on the dance floor anyway. And she’d much rather suffer through hot surges of desire than to feel achy and tired.

  Giving in to her urge, Erin rested her head on his chest. They swayed like that through two songs, completely offbeat to the rhythmic sounds from the fast music, but it felt so good.

  She closed her eyes, hoping to block out the future she knew would arrive too soon. The future that would make them enemies.

  Suddenly, Drakor stopped. Erin looked up to find Brundor standing next to them. His long dark hair slicked back away from his shining face and his eyes were hot and dangerous.

  Erin couldn’t hear much of the conversation between Drakor and his brother but she could feel Drakor tense. Eventually, Brundor turned and left, heading straight for the bar. He stopped next to a blonde with a drink in her hand. Rita. Well, that would work fine. The two of them deserved each other.

  She glanced back at Drakor, whose face looked just as worn as hers. A sadness dulled his eyes and she ached to bring him back to the sexy and mysterious man he was.

  Erin reached her fingers up to his face and brushed his cheek. The action brought a smile from him and in the next instant his lips were on hers. For once, Erin didn’t care that she was in public, didn’t care who saw what went on, she only wanted his contact.

  Drakor pulled her in close, one of his hands around her waist, the other behind her head. She could feel desperation in his touch. Erin let herself be caught up in his intensity until the thumping of the music no longer echoed in her head.

  The taste of his tongue and the feel of his hard body cracked her motivation. If only he wasn’t an alien, if only he could stay here with her forever, if only she didn’t have save her brother’s future and re-establish her own.

  Feeling a sob rising in her throat, Erin pulled away. She couldn’t handle his kiss and his good-bye. She couldn’t mix her job responsibility with her basic desires.

  The look on Drakor’s face told her that he didn’t want to move away from their kiss to the real reason they met here. But Erin knew she had to do it.

  She took a hold of Drakor’s hand and led him toward the stairs. They pushed their way through the crowds, past the tinkle of glasses and heavy air of smoke and out the front door. The warm night air felt surprisingly cool compared to the stifling heat of the club. She continued down the sidewalk, his hand still in hers, until they reached a bench on the next block.

  With the sun gone, only the glowing streetlights lit the way, but they were enough to cast long shadows down the street and along the sides of buildings.

  Erin sat down and pulled her hand away. Enough contact. She had already seen where it could lead them.

  Drakor sat next to her and ran his fingers through his hair. He wore the same shirt she had slept in the night she was over and the memories from then flashed before her. A tingling sensation raced to her toes, pebbled her nipples. Erin gulped. The shirt looked much better on him, emphasizing his broad shoulders and hard chest.

  She had to look away and so she watched couples giggle and kiss down an alleyway, their bodies only silhouettes against the bricks. “So,” she squeaked, then cleared her throat. “Why did you ask me here tonight?”

  “You have something I want.”

  Erin bit her lip and held her breath. That could mean a hundred things. Did he want her? Her body? Or what she took from him?

  “I am missing a Transmitter and I believe you have it.”

  She let out her breath. So he knew she took it. Didn’t matter how, but he knew she had it and he wanted it back. But if she returned it to him what proof would she have of their existence? Especially if they left Earth.

  “Why do you need it?”

  Drakor sighed. “I need it for when we return home.”

  “Oh? And when are you going?”

  He shrugged and watched someone walk past them. “Soon. There is no longer a reason to stay.”

  Well, in that case, she had a story to write and she needed all the info she could get. Erin swallowed against the tightness in her throat and sat up taller. She knew he wouldn’t stay forever, but she wasn’t ready for him to go either.

  “Drakor, why do you hate humans so much?”

  His features hardened. “My friend Alaziri came earlier to seek out the resources on Earth. To prepare others that would follow with knowledge of the culture and the language.”

  “And now he’s dead. But you didn’t know that before.”

  “No, but I knew he’d experienced trouble when he first arrived. His house attracted too much attention.”

  “His house?”

  Drakor gave a weak smile. “He saw a picture once and recreated what he’d seen.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “The cottage?”

  “Yes, I suppose it was too odd in that location.”

  “Is that why you live in a Victorian house? You didn’t want to make the same mistake?”

  He nodded. “When Alaziri finally returned with books and documents, we saw pictures of houses like that and so we had an idea what to do.”

  Erin stifled her giggle. No wonder the house was like a museum, they took all of it straight from a book. Too bad their information was a hundred and fifty years old.

  A couple passed by them and headed down the shadowed alley. Erin saw Drakor tense and she leaned over to get a closer look at who it was. Brundor and Rita. They seemed like the perfect match so she didn’t understand why Drakor looked so concerned. Rita wante
d hot guys, of which Brundor fit the bill, and Brundor wanted willing women, of which Rita fit the bill. What was wrong with that?

  Erin tapped Drakor’s arm. “Leave them alone.”

  He pulled his gaze back to hers. “Tell me what else you want to know.”

  Well, since he asked. “Why are you here? Why did your family come to Earth?”

  “To find help for our lack of processing Vitamin D. I told you that already.”

  She lifted her chin. “You told me something about supplements and vitamins. You could have gotten those and gotten out long ago, before your parents died.”

  He glanced down. “I had thought that too when I first came.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When we arrived here I thought it was only to find supplements, but I was wrong.”

  Anxiety prickled under skin. The way he spoke, something in his words, told her that she might not like his next statement. She could imagine all sorts of reasons why that had come—everything from murder to kidnapping to colonization.

  She swallowed and pressed her purse against her stomach. “What was the real reason?”

  “We don’t just need supplements to help us process the Vitamin D, as you call it.” He took a deep breath and glanced away from her to the alley of entwined couples.

  “Well, what is it. What do you need? Why did you come?”

  “We need the gene.”

  She must not have heard him right. “The what? Did you say ‘the gene’?”

  He nodded. “In order to fix the disfigurement and suffering on my planet, we need the working gene back into the population.”

  “But you don’t have any issues. Your bones look healthy.”

  “Yes, my mother still had a working gene but my father didn’t. He was an experiment to the Researchers. They gave him medicines and doses of an imitation Vitamin D, but they eventually killed him.”

  Oh God, what a tragedy. “He-he died from an overdose of it, you think?”

  Drakor looked at her again, his eyes raw with emotion. “I’m positive that’s what killed him.”

  “So how were you going to get this working gene from a human? Take blood?”