“It is too late damnit! As close as they are, the transfer will be noticed and possibly tracked. We need to go on foot and hope home base will find us soon. Shit, come on,” he said to both Gillian and Kirkpatrick.
“How did they find us Marcus?” Gillian asked as they ran through the hut to the back door that led into the jungle.
“I don’t know. We have everything set to passive. They shouldn’t have been able to discover anything until at least tomorrow morning. This is very frustrating,” he commented, sounding highly annoyed. Gillian was bordering on fear, remembering the destruction of his house and the place in India. The grabbed a pack off of the back door and ran out into the jungle. They had barely cleared the area when she heard a whine of what she guessed were engines from the other direction. They all hunkered down in the brush as they heard the whining change pitch with a whooshing sound. Kirkpatrick looked confused.
“They are landing,” Marcus told them. “They may be trying to find us instead of destroying us outright,” he whispered.
“That or since they can’t get us by bombing from overhead, they want to find us and make sure when they shoot us,” Kirkpatrick pointed out.
Gillian felt a coldness enter her with his words; she threw up a wall of sarcasm.
“Thanks, man. I am glad you are here to keep the mood light, jeez,” she said. He looked embarrassed and Marcus laughed softly, throwing her a look. Gillian felt a little bad but ran with the other two to keep ahead of the Earth First people.
“We should have some time. They will want to search the base completely before moving on,” Kirkpatrick said hopefully. Gillian reached out and squeezed his shoulder in appreciation of the change in tone.
“That is the hope. Unless they have enough people to split formations,” Marcus said and Gillian sighed. Great, if it is not one of them scaring her it is the other. Marcus obviously felt her fear.
“Sorry, I really do think we have some time so I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said.
“I would!” She heard an unfamiliar voice as they ran into a clearing. There were five aliens standing with large weapons pointed at them. Gillian felt a sudden wish that Surveyors were equipped with weapons. Marcus had explained that no surveyors had any weapons, beyond their own strength, since they were on peaceful missions. Gillian groaned and Marcus stepped up between her, Kirkpatrick and the Earth First squad.
“So you are going to kill two sentient earthlings? How can you justify your existence as a group promoting the best for all?” He asked with a rumbling fury in his voice. Only then could she feel the pure rage he must have been suppressing. She trembled to hear it, even though she knew it was in his friend’s defense.
“Hard decisions are sometimes necessary Surveyor. If the regrettable deaths of two earth people guarantee that Earth is closed down for future exploration then it will be worth it,” The leader said.
He was a tall alien, about Marcuse’s size without his bulk. They all wore red jumpsuits and boots but he stood in the center and had a strange badge on his chest. It looked like one of the letters she had seen as part of their alphabet. She assumed he was the leader anyway.
“So you are more concerned with your own agenda and not the lives you say you do. Interesting, you can call it a hard decision but I find most of those are nothing more than people trying to justify their actions. I imagine not your entire group is behind this raid you are leading,” Marcuse said. Gillian did not like how the Earth First guys were tightening their grip on their weapons.
She felt her chest tighten and tears come to her eyes. She felt she was about to die and realized death was a thing to be feared. Her usual defenses against fear were not applicable in this case. She could do nothing except stand there and wait. She trembled and Kirkpatrick moved closer to her side. She felt a comfort knowing he was there and Marcus was doing his best to defend her. She saw Marcus tense, as if he was about to do something drastic. She could actually feel his determination when there was roaring sound and her hair was whipped around by a sudden wind. She crouched with Kirkpatrick and Marcus turned and put his arms around them both as a voice on a loudspeaker boomed.
“Everyone hold positions! This is Fleet command! All earth First operatives throw down your weapons or we will act with extreme prejudice!” The booming voice said. The wind continued to howl and Marcus muttered curses, holding her tight in his protective arms. Some of his determination seeped into her and she lost her tears and her anger and strength came back to her as the wind finally calmed down. They looked up and saw the Earth First people on the ground with their hands over their heads. Light began building around the five people, forming a dome over their position.
“Well it’s about time,” Marcus said looking up. Gillian could not see anyone but he was answered.
“We wanted to wait until they stated their intentions. It will make it easier for a conviction. Earth First will lose all credibility over this incident and cease to be a problem. I don’t know what you were worried about Marcus. We had it under control,” This time it was Gillian who cursed softly under her breath.
They could have told them that! She pushed her hair out of her face. It had completely escaped the tie and she tried to twist it at the nape of her neck. Marcus glanced at her with a wink, her anxiety begin to ease and she grinned. Looking over at Kirkpatrick she saw that he wasn’t even ruffled. How did he do it, she wondered?
Then she heard a laugh. It was a maniacal thing that made her turn back to the Earth First prisoners. One of them was standing under the glimmering dome that covered them. He had a small piece of machinery in his hands and it was beginning to glow.
“Under control do you? You are no match for true determination and conviction,” the leader shouted and began laughing as the device he held began making a strange rumbling sound. Marcus turned to them with panic in his eyes and shoved both Gillian and his butler back the way they had originally come.
“Run! Run!” Shouted and they did. Gillian did not know what that device was but she ran as fast as she could. They had maybe made it halfway back towards the hut when there was an explosion behind her that felt like she was hit in the back with a hot club. She felt herself lift off the ground and fly through the air. She heard herself scream as her shoulder slammed into a tree and blackness took her.
As Gillian came to, she could hear a conversation. She felt pain through her right side, especially her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw she was lying in the bushes. She had leaves tangled in her hair and felt like she had been beaten up. She got to her feet. Her right shoulder was howling pain but she somehow managed to push that aside. Pain just means I am still alive, she told herself grimly. She moved as quietly to the sound of the voices. One of them was a weary-sounding Marcus.
“So kill me then. You have already killed what I love, why let me live? Get it over with, murderer,” he said. Peering through the bushes, she could see Marcus looking about how she felt. Barely keeping his feet and seeming like he had given up on hope. She could not see Kirkpatrick anywhere.
The big Earth First guy was not far from where she was and she felt herself crouch. She had a picture in her mind at how she would finish this. Gillian had no idea if it would work, but she had nothing else and she refused to just give up. She was ashamed at how she had just stood and waited to be shot earlier. Not this time, she told herself viciously.
As she thought it she saw Marcus seem to frown and then his lips twitched. She did not know if he had sensed her or not but she couldn’t wait for the bad guy to know she was there. Without thinking, she burst through the bushes bending low with her good shoulder leading the way, just like she had seen Marcus taking opposing team members down. She connected below the guy’s rear, hitting him with her full weight. It drove him to his knees and he went face first into the dirt.
Her shoulder screamed at her and she rolled to the side gasping and crying out in her pain. She forced herself to remain conscious and saw Marcus pick up the weapon the
Earth First leader had held and pointed it down at him.
“If you move I will kill you and not think twice about it. You killed your own people and almost killed a representative of earth. You deserve to die,” he snarled, panting. He glanced over at Gillian and she gave him a weak smile through her pain. He nodded but she could see his concern as he looked back at the now prisoner. When re-enforcements arrived, Gillian let herself go, and everything faded to black again.
Gillian stood on the sand as the sun came up. She was still exhausted, despite the sleep she had got. Her right shoulder was in a mechanical brace that healed the longer she wore it. The rest of her felt bruised but not as bad as she might have been. Marcus was talking to several of his people down by the water where a submersible craft was parked. Kirkpatrick limped up next to her. His leg was in a brace like hers.
“Do you know what you are going to do Gillian?” He asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I know what I want to do but… it is a big decision,” she answered. “Do you?” She returned.
“Oh yes. I have known for years. Marcus made the offer when I decided to stay with him. I have no one here to miss me,” he said.
Gillian nodded thinking the same thing. They had learned that the world thought she had died at the ranch along with the star running back and his butler. It was a strange freedom and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Marcus laughed at something the small man he was talking to said. She smiled, feeling his joy even from there. Her lover turned and walked back up the beach towards her and his butler. He was all smiles as if he had no care in the worlds. She could understand the feeling.
“They are ready for you Kirkpatrick. You can go on board now if you like. They will be staying here a few more days. The decision was that all movement on the planet should stop for a time, just in case anything was detected. No one believes it was, but better safe than sorry,” he said. Kirkpatrick had a big smile on his face.
“Thank you, my friend, I have been waiting for this for years. See you soon,” he told Marcus. He hugged Gillian and walked down to the craft floating on the water. Marcus didn’t watch him go, he had eyes for Gillian. Gillian watched her friend and butler go up the ramp and into the ship. Then she turned to her lover.
“I think I know what I want to do, but there is one thing I want more. Are you sure they can wait a day?” She asked concerned he had arranged it just for her.
“I am sure Gillian. I will support whatever you want to do. I meant what I said before. No matter what happens you have given me a great gift to hold to my breast for the rest of my days,” he told her and her eyes misted up. She felt the same and hugged him. After a wonderful moment holding each other, she broke the embrace.
“Then there is one thing I want more than to be with you for the rest of my life,” she said. He looked hesitant but smiled gamely.
“That is,” asked.
“One interrupted night with you on the beach before things start hopping again. Just one, then I will go anywhere with you!” His smile broadened and she giggled. He scooped her up in his arms and she squealed as he ran up the beach with her. She had a brief moment of reflection that it had been the strangest interview she had ever had.
THE END
Another bonus story is on the next page.
Bonus Story 29 of 44
Bound by the Bronco
Description
Carter isn’t your typical cowboy. Not by a long shot. He’s rich, handsome, and has a particular appreciation for the kinky side of life. And he’s not shy about bringing that kink into the office. It’s an arrangement that has worked for everyone for quite some time. But that’s about to change. The heat is about to get turned up. Carter isn’t just looking for a willing submissive. He’s also looking for the right woman to carry his baby.
The competition in the office will be fierce. Any woman would kill for a chance to carry his seed. And one of them might do just that.
*****
Olivia smoothed down her skirt and hurried into the building. She had only been working in this law office for the past three weeks and the last thing she wanted was to arrive late. She knew that her boss ran a very tight ship and wouldn’t tolerate any hints of unprofessionalism.
With a few minutes to spare, she plopped down in her chair and tried to catch her breath. She usually arrived at the office twenty to thirty minutes earlier, but last night she’d had a lot of trouble getting to sleep. At 3am, she’d woken up startled. She’d had a nightmare, or maybe it was a dream. She still wasn’t sure.
When she shot up in the bed, she was surprised to find that she wasn’t bound to it. In the nightmare, she’d woken up in a strange house with all of her limbs tied to the bedposts. She could hear someone walking around the house. And she could hear footsteps approaching the room that she was in.
She began thrashing around the bed and screaming for help as the footsteps got closer and closer. The door slowly creaked open. In the dream, Olivia stopped screaming at this point. She was completely paralyzed by fear. But before she could get a good look at the face of the person, she’d woken up panting and covered in sweat. She was terrified. It was the first time she’d ever had that dream. But she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the last.
*****
“Olivia, I’ve been waiting for you!” the sound of her boss’ voice snapped her back to the present. She sat up straight in her chair and looked around.
“In my office now,” the voice boomed out.
Olivia stood up and looked around the office. There were about eight other employees in the room at the time. None of them seemed to be paying attention to her. It wasn’t unusual for her boss, Mr. Carter, to call people into his office. Actually, it was one of his favorite things to do. He loved to flex his muscles to remind everyone who was in charge.
He was determined to make sure this firm stayed on top. Before he’d taken over from his father, the firm had gone through a period of serious decline. A few high profile cases that had gone seriously wrong had severely damaged the law firm’s reputation. That was unacceptable because in this business reputation was everything.
Carter would often talk about how his father had grown too trusting and lenient with his employees. He vowed to never let that happen again even if it meant pushing people past their breaking points. He was willing to do everything to maintain the reputation of the firm.
That passion for excellence and dedication to provide the highest quality service is what attracted Olivia to this firm. She’d had several offers to work as a paralegal but no one that she interviewed with had made quite the same impression on her as Sam Carter.
As she prepared to head into her boss' office, she was terribly afraid that she’d done something wrong. The word around the office was that as long as you did what you were told and you always put one hundred percent into each case, you would be safe from his wrath.
Why was she getting called in now? Was he just trying to scare her, or had she actually done something wrong?
She could feel her legs shaking beneath her as she walked into her boss’ office. He was typing on his desktop keyboard and didn’t acknowledge her. She kept her eyes on him as she sat down. But he refused to look at her. A few moments of tense silence passed before Mr. Carter finally looked towards Olivia.
He leaned back in his chair and cast his eyes around the room. His calmness made Olivia even more nervous. She couldn’t figure out why he was doing this to her. She was more than willing to do anything he asked. There was no reason for him to treat her like this.
“So Olivia tell how these first few weeks have been for you.”
She swallowed hard and lowered her eyes. Carter’s intense stares always made her blush. His green eyes seemed capable of cutting into her soul. It was like he knew exactly what she was thinking as if he could read all of her emotions.
“Everything is going really great,” Mr. Carter’s, she said. “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I really appreciate it.�
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When she’d finished speaking Olivia was nearly out of breath. She waited anxiously for him to respond. But another few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed before he said anything.
This made her tremble in her seat. He seemed so relaxed, too relaxed. Had she said something wrong? Had she come off as silly and naive? Did he not take her seriously?
“That’s good,” he said. “Very good. It’s not easy working full-time in a law firm for the first time. But I’m glad you don’t feel overwhelmed.”
“No, no, not at all, Mr. Carter. Everything is going great. I can’t wait to keep working and learning.”
Carter sat back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. “I’m currently looking for a very particular type of woman to perform a very particular type of task for me. I don’t want to get into any specifics right now. But I must admit that I have concerns about whether you will be able to fulfill this very special role.”
What concerns could he possibly have? Olivia wondered. She wanted to wait patiently for Mr. Carter to explain what he meant but she couldn’t control her anxiety.
“But I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me. What did I do wrong? I don’t understand. But whatever it is, I promise to never do it again.”
Carter seemed complete relaxed. It was as if he had her exactly where he wanted her. Olivia was far too flustered and wrapped up with her own emotions to notice that her boss was greatly enjoying the anxiety that he was causing. If she had noticed, it would probably just have confused her even more.
After a few moments, Carter got up out of his chair. He towered over Olivia. He was six foot three with an athletic, but not too muscular build. He had piercing green eyes and devilish smile. When he looked at Olivia, she could feel her whole body trembling. No man had ever looked at her like that before.
THE HEALING HEART: Military and Pregnancy Romance Page 92
