The three of them discussed their plans for tomorrow. They decided Scotty would go with Jose this time so he could meet Peter when Jose stopped by his office to review the contracts and answer a few more questions. They hoped Peter would have some kind of a timetable for them so they could plan their move.
One of the most important things they must do was secure the gold and the diamond rocks. They decided that half the diamonds should go into a large safety deposit box in Manhattan; especially the largest of the stones. The balance should be delivered to them in Sarasota with some of the gold. Peter himself would secure most of the gold in storage somewhere in Manhattan where it would be centrally located for buyers.
Once they agreed on the schedule for the next day, Scotty pulled out his list of demands for the new house. Of course, it included every electronic device known to man.
Abby ruffled his hair, laughing. “Make sure you put a tutor on your list. You’re special, but not special enough to miss your studies. This reprieve for you won’t last forever.”
“I don’t need to finish school, we’re rich now. I can do what I want.”
Abby turned, giving Scotty the stink eye. “I’m very sorry to hear you talk like that, Scotty. You sound like a spoiled brat and we don’t have a dollar of the money in our hands yet. I suggest you change your tune, right now. Mom would be ashamed of you.”
“Gee, Abby, relax. Can’t a guy dream a little without you getting in a twist?”
Abby cleared the table, Jose jumping up to help her. She put an arm around his shoulder, guiding him back to his chair and absentmindedly kissed him on his head. Downing a glass of water, he let out a big burp, ducked the towel Abby threw at him and went off to bed.
Saying good night, Abby decided to get some sleep herself.
*
After washing up, Abby sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her spine and lower back. The area now ached fulltime. As she pressed down, she could feel tender swelling. She knew what it meant. She felt nervous, yet excited. Neither Scotty nor Jose had fully displayed their tails, but what she had seen of them was magnificent. But this sure would be easier for her if she could talk to her mama.
Sometimes she felt as if a breakdown awaited her. Between the stress of all the life changes they planned to make and the inability to fully mourn her mother’s death, she lacked the time to pay full attention to her changes. She knew she should. She must be prepared to understand how her new body would work. Maybe it would help if she had girlfriends. Sometimes she found her loneliness difficult to cope with. She made a very determined effort to hide her feelings from Jose and Scotty, but they wore her down.
She wondered if Echo sensed her turmoil. As exciting as their new life promised to be, it was still filled with uncertainty. She wondered if things would work out with Peter. They hardly knew him. She reasoned they needed the help and must trust someone.
She thought they really should limit their exposure in public. Glancing toward the bedroom mirror, she stared at her eyes. She could see the difference from the bed. It made her appear very exotic. It was surprising she had got away with it in Peter’s office. What the heck?
Getting up from the bed, she went to the mirror, looking closely. Was that gray hair mixed in with her auburn? Picking through the strands of her hair, she isolated the errant strand and plucked it out. Giving it a glance before she threw it in the trash, she did a double take. It wasn’t gray. It looked like a fiber of spun gold. Quickly looking through her hair she noticed more and more of the little fibers. The new growth on her head was growing in gold! Well, that was certainly not going to go unnoticed. The fibers had a faint glow to them. She would not look like an ordinary blonde, that was for sure. Now she knew the real reason behind Scotty and Jose’s punky look, it was their gold hair growing in. Donning her robe, she slipped into the hall and tapped on Jose’s door. Entering the room, she failed to see Echo or Barney. They must be sleeping with Scotty tonight.
“What’s up, Abby?” Jose sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning, his blanket falling down to expose his well-developed chest and strong shoulders draped by his golden tail.
Abby went right up to his bed and sat down, bending her head down to his face to show him her hair. Misunderstanding, Jose placed his hands on the side of her face. Whispering her name with a groan, he drew her lips to his without hesitation. In shock, Abby didn’t resist, feeling the warmth of Jose’s desire for her. His arms enfolded her in a strong embrace, pulling her down until she lay alongside him. She realized what would happen and pulled back.
“Jose, this is wrong.”
“No, Abby, this is so right. I’m crazy about you, you have to know that.” Stunned, she let Jose pull her back down so her head rested on his pillow. With another groan, he gathered her in his arms and their lips met. Unfamiliar feelings washed over her. Her heart beat uncontrollably. Her body responded on its own as Jose’s hand parted her robe. Oh no, this had better stop.
But she felt so nice, his kisses overwhelming. He felt so strong. Her fingers tripped over his hard warm chest. Her legs parted as he lifted himself up over her. Oh my gosh, is this what I want? She felt his weight press down on her. Looking up into his gleaming gold eyes she found herself lost in the familiar beautiful lines of his face.
“Abby, baby, is this what you want?” Kissing her breast, he stuttered, lost in the unexpected moment. “Gosh, Abby, please tell me you want this, I love you so much.”
Abby actually didn’t know what she wanted at all. But she loved the feeling of Jose’s arms around her, and his hard body pressed up to hers felt maddening. Her loneliness begged for release. Smiling and running her hands through his thick black and blond wavy hair, she drew him down into her and surrendered.
Chapter 14
Abby overslept. Waking up in Jose’s room alone, she stretched, savoring the new feeling Jose had awakened in her during her delirious night with him. The depth of her feelings for Jose surprised her. She had always viewed him as an ally, a chum. She trusted him fully. She thought of him as almost a brother, even though they hadn’t grown up together as infants. Good thing they weren’t related. Her feelings astonished her, exploding with just a kiss. How could she have been so oblivious? What did that say about her? Was she normal? She knew for sure she felt fantastic. Grinning to herself, she made a promise not to get all dopey about this. But it felt so good. She didn’t feel alone anymore. Could that really change overnight?
Sitting up in the rumpled bed, her body groaned with unusual aches, a reminder of the intimate evening. Stretching, her hand brushed a slip of paper sticking out from under her pillow. Smoothing the creased note, she read:
Good morning, sleepyhead. You looked so beautiful, I couldn’t bear to wake you. I want to get Scotty out of the house before he makes an accidental discovery. We can figure out how to handle that when I get back from our errands. The security company is sending a guard for the house starting tomorrow. Keep the doors locked until we are back! I love you. J
I love you? Smiling, she held the note to her breast. How did she want to handle it with Scotty? Thinking it over as she dressed in a pretty teal jumper for Jose, she got a flash. Of course, Jose wanted them to be a couple. She smiled to herself; hoping she wouldn’t act like a grinning fool all day.
Walking into the living room, she noted how empty and quiet it sounded, the cheap plastic clock sitting lonely on the wall, celebrating its chance to be heard as its proud ticking proclaimed the hour well past twelve noon. She spotted Barney and Echo curled up in the corner sleeping, Barney’s wet nose snorting as he breathed into Echo’s crinkled ear. She had certainly overslept. Blood suffused her cheeks as she remembered how they had spent their time: whispering and touching long into the early hours of the morning.
Turning into the kitchen, still filled with the dirty dishes from yesterday she had neglected, she heard the doorbell ring. What now? Jose and Scotty would not be back this quickly. Peering out the window, she saw Kimir’s father, with t
he boy in tow. She had totally forgotten about Kimir’s mother’s threat to send her husband to talk to them. Well, she did not intend to let the happy cloud she was floating on be blown away.
She quickly donned her sunglasses and opened the door. Saying hello, she thanked Kimir and his father for coming, firmly suggesting they come back later this evening when Scotty and Jose would be home. Quickly closing the door on them, she leaned up against the frame from the inside of the house, proud of how she had handled them. Thinking of last night again, she decided to make a cup of her favorite tea and do some more daydreaming. What the heck.
Selecting her favorite teacup, she slipped in a tea bag, breathing in the tea’s spicy fragrance, reminiscent of the weekends she had spent laughing with her mother as they chopped veggies for dinner.
Was that the front door rattling? She thought she heard a noise from the living room. As her heart started to pound, she realized she had forgotten to lock the door. She looked up with trepidation to find Tomas standing in the doorway, his face a study in malevolence. Behind him, she could see a base little man with a big blotchy weasel face and bow legs. Could that be Armoni? Her heart shot to her throat as she dropped her teacup, splashing tea all over her teal jumper.
“What are you doing here, Tomas? I didn’t hear you knock. Hey, you . . . just what do you think you’re doing? Get out of there.” Abby spied Armoni opening the door to the garage. Marching over to him, she slammed the door. Turning back to Tomas, she opened her mouth to order them to leave when she felt something slam into her back, knocking her to the floor. Dazed, she rolled over and watched Armoni rubbing his hand, his face cratered with acne, spittle collecting in the corners of his twisted mouth. At the front door, she saw another figure. Kelly. She held something in her hands . . . chains?
“Listen, Ms. Hot Shit Bitch, shut your friggin’ mouth. Kelso, get over here with my equipment.” Grabbing her arms, Armoni twisted them painfully up over her head. With his other hand he grabbed her jumper and ripped it down the front, exposing her breasts. She screamed. Grabbing a breast he kneaded it painfully. Abby struggled, trying to kick him with her feet. She must get them out of the house before they discovered Echo. As Armoni held her pinned to the floor, she could hear Barney barking. Not a good sign. Suddenly, Tomas grabbed Armoni and hauled him off her.
“You promised, Armoni. You got all the others. This one is mine. I get her first.” Belligerence turned Tomas’s face a mottled purple. She struggled to her feet in time to see Barney leap up at Armoni, who reached out and gave him a vicious raving kick with his steel-toed shitkickers, catapulting him across the room. Barney’s skull cracked hard on the wall where he collapsed in a lifeless heap, blood draining from his nostrils.
“Barney!” Abby screamed. Whirling around, she flew at Tomas, beating on his face with all the vengeance of the Furies. Armoni grabbed her from behind, calling to Kelly to get the needle. Needle? Abby panicked. As she felt a prick on her neck, she saw Echo run over to Barney.
“No, Echo honey, run.” She watched Echo wrap her little arms around Barney’s neck and lay her head on his. The room filled with sulfur as Echo’s tail shot up over her head, directed at Barney. Echo then twirled to Kelly who stood with a syringe in her hands, her mouth open with astonishment.
“Armoni, check this out,” Kelly called, a new strangled note in her voice. In unison, they turned toward Echo as her crystal antlers peeled open from the ends, omitting a dark-red stream of liquid gunk that splattered all over Kelly. As Abby sank to the floor fighting unconsciousness, she felt the flutter of a swirling aura in her mind.
“I am here, Sister. I will take care of the bad humans. Banish your fear.” The last thing she remembered was the malignant sight of the black-red crud covering Kelly dissolving her face to the bone; leaving her stripped and consumed skeleton to collapse face first onto the floor. She distantly heard a raving scream and then she passed out.
*
Scotty and Jose headed home from Peter Gavin’s inauspicious office, the contracts for Abby to review tucked in a file at Scotty’s side. Peter had already started his research, proving how diligent and enthused he felt toward their new partnership.
An armored truck was on the way, scheduled to pick up the bulk of the gold and the uncut diamonds tomorrow. Peter had already obtained a commitment for thirty pounds of the gold. When he had completed the transaction, he would fly to Florida to meet with a realtor to start the search for their new home. As soon as the gold and diamonds were logged in and secured with the armored truck, they would pack and await the arrival of a hired limousine that would take them to Norristown, where they would check into a suite at the best hotel Peter could find. Abby would visit the local gold dealers to convert some more of the melted gold, then they would continue south to Florida, stopping at the occasional good hotel to rest and give Echo a chance to eat of course.
Pulling into the driveway, Jose whipped off his sunglasses, unbelieving. The front door flapped in the breeze, wide open. They jumped out of the car, not bothering to shut the doors, and raced up the short cement walkway, the smell of sulfur overpowering. They detected an underlying stench of rot. Good God, no. Please, Abby, be okay. Jose’s heart thundered; his skin was clammy with dread.
Stepping through the front door, Jose and Scotty were assailed with a riotous flashing aura. Echo lay plastered to Abby, golden leathery fingers stroking her blanched face as she lay sprawled on the floor like a wooden puppet discarded by a capricious child, the front of her wrinkled jumper torn to shreds. Unbelievably, two human skeletons also lay prostrate on the floor, the bones old and dissected.
“Welcome Brothers. Sister Abby will not wake up. The vile evil humans are exterminated except for the one that ran away. He hurt Sister. I will find him and make him exterminated.”
Their stunned and unbelieving minds couldn’t process Echo’s whispers. Horribly and undeniably, Abby lay on the floor not moving. Jose ran to her side, gently pushing Echo away. He put his hands to her fragile throat, feeling the warmth, her pulse strong. Relief flooded Jose’s senses. She was alive.
“Jose, should we call for help? An ambulance?” Scotty held up his cellphone.
“No. They’ll take too long to get here anyway. We can handle this, as long as she’s alive. We can heal her can’t we, Echo?”
“No, Brothers, she does not need to be healed. She is just sleeping and won’t wake up. It has been many hours.” Jose scanned the area, grabbing a handy throw pillow from the sofa to place under Abby’s head. He felt a bulge under his foot and bent down to retrieve a disposable syringe, its needle bent from stepping on it. Foreboding jammed its way down his throat to lodge like a leech in the pit of his stomach.
“Echo, did you see what they used this for?”
“No, Brother Jose,” The aura spiked frantically. “My Barney was dying. They did evil and hurt him. I needed to save him before he died or it would have been too late.” Echo got up and ran to the back of the sofa. “My Barney hides. He will not come out to be with me. They hurt My Barney. Brother Jose, please tell My Barney it is safe now.” Jose moved the sofa from the wall where Barney huddled, trickling urine over himself in fright, shivering uncontrollably.
“Hey, boy, come on out. It’s okay. We’re home now. Yes, that’s my boy, come on,” he coaxed softly. Wrapping his arms around Barney, he placed him on the sofa, where Echo could get to him. He quickly returned to Abby. It seemed to him that she had probably been injected with something meant to subdue her while a rape took place. He couldn’t imagine they would want to kill her. Scotty grabbed a T-shirt from Abby’s room and they pulled it down over her head. As they did so, he watched her eyes twitch and then flutter. Her consciousness surfaced and his relief was so palpable he thought he might urinate all over himself too.
Scotty flopped down next to Jose holding ugly chains in his hand, his face deceptively calm.
“I found these next to one of the skeletons. I don’t know what happened here, but we need t
o go, now. I’m scared, Jose.”
“Yeah, you got that right. Stay here with Abby. Let me make a call. Make sure the gold’s still in the garage for me first, okay champ?”
Calling Peter’s office while Scotty checked on the gold, he explained he wanted the armored car at his house in two hours, even if they had to fly it there. He would give the limo the same instructions. They were to be taken to Norristown where Peter would meet them sometime after work. Hanging up, he told Scotty to pack enough clothes for three days. They could buy anything else they needed on the road.
Before Scotty started to pack, Jose asked him to box up some of the diamond rocks to take with them. They also needed to box up the equipment they used to melt the gold, along with five or six of the gold pieces. That would be at least fifty pounds, more than enough to see them through, even if they got separated from the armored car.
He went to the kitchen and prepared a wet cloth to place on Abby’s forehead. She appeared sluggish, but warm color in her complexion chased away her pinched and gray face. She struggled to focus her eyes, slowly realizing Jose knelt over her.
She started to sob, holding her arms out to him. He wrapped her up in a bear hug, softly kissing her head as he rocked them together, grateful they could be on their way to safety in a few hours.
*
As Scotty passed through to the garage, he contemplated his sister. Had he just heard Jose say, ‘I love you, babe, it’s okay’? The scene looked awfully intimate to him. He glanced back at the couple. Geesch, Abby was kissing Jose now. He continued on to the garage, not entirely pleased with the obvious signals they were sending. If Abby found happiness, he would be the first to celebrate, God knew she deserved it; but Jose? He was practically their brother. Well, kinda. But he was Scotty’s go-to guy. His best bud. His. Not Abby’s. Now they wanted each other. Echo had Barney. He had no one. He’d be eighteen soon, a tough time for any teenager on the cusp of manhood. Shaking his head in confusion, he wondered if things could get much worse.
Alien Species Intervention: Books 1-3: An Alien Apocalyptic Saga (Species Intervention #6609) Page 29
