Alien Capture (Latrothain Warrior Series Book 1)

by Christy,Dena

  He paused outside his office. Miranda’s task light was still on, and she usually turned it off before she left every night. He glanced at her computer and saw the tiny green light flashing. She hadn’t shut her computer down either. He stepped toward the desk and glanced around. He was alone, so no one stopped him from pulling out the bottom drawer of her desk. Her purse lay in the bottom. She was still here then.

  Had he left the gym too soon? He looked at his watch, and he was on schedule but she was not. Why hadn’t she gone home? She’d been acting weird all day, jumpy and nervous whenever he approached her with a minor task. He feared the cause of it was his behavior yesterday, but what if that wasn’t it?

  He frowned as he walked into his office and looked around. Nothing was out of place, and what possible reason could she have for being in here without him. A scent carried to him from his desk, and if he didn’t know better, he would have sworn it was her perfume. There was no sign she’d been in here. He had to be imagining things. He opened the middle drawer of his desk. Should he do it?

  He pulled the tracking device out and looked at it nestled in his hand. He’d had it for a while, but hadn’t been able to plant it on her. The urge to know where she was and who she was with had compelled him to order it, and it had sat in his desk for weeks now. Tonight would be the perfect opportunity since she was alone with him here at the office.

  Could he do it though? Could he take that step? He slipped the tracker into his pocket and walked away from his desk. It would remain in his pocket unless he got a clear opportunity to plant it on her.

  Where was she? He walked out of his office and down the corridor that led to the washrooms. Miranda came barreling out of the ladies room and almost collided with him as a gasp escaped her.

  “Citizen Reynaud? Why are you still here?” He watched her carefully. Something was going on, and he didn’t believe that she was here to make up time. Her pay had been docked so yesterday’s lateness was immaterial. It didn’t explain why she was at work late on a Friday night.

  “I was just leaving Dr. Avery.” She stepped around him and walked toward her desk like her ass was on fire. His eyes refused to look away from it as she wiggled away in her high heel shoes. He followed behind at a respectable distance, and when he joined her, she was shutting her computer down. She pulled her purse out of the drawer and set it on her desk.

  With a swift movement she grabbed her coat, and he stepped behind her to help her put it on. She let out a startled yelp and swung her arm out as she moved away from him. Her arm connected with her purse and the contents spilled on the floor.

  “Are you okay Citizen Reynaud? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “It’s okay, Dr. Avery.” She wouldn’t look at him as she hunkered down to scoop up the contents of her purse. He stooped to help her, and she turned her attention to the compact that had rolled under the desk. While her focus was away from him, it was the opportunity he was looking for. The tracker slipped easily into a side pocket of her unattended purse. He stood as he quickly zipped up the pocket. Her purse was a jumbled mess and it would take awhile for her to notice it was there.

  She came out from under the desk and turned back to where her purse had been.

  “I have it here.”

  She looked up at him and slowly stood. Her eyes roamed over his face, but he kept it as neutral as possible. He held the purse out, and she reached for it like it was a snake poised to bite her.

  “Thank you.” She tucked the compact inside and closed the zipper.

  “Have a good weekend, Citizen Reynaud.” He smiled at her as he turned on his heel and walked into his office. A small push closed the door, and he walked over to his desk.

  The scotch in his drawer called to him, and he pulled it out. He’d done it. He’d slipped her the tracking device.

  It was only temporary until she was legally his. Once she was his, he wouldn’t need to keep tabs on her. He poured himself a drink and as the scotch settled his shaking hands a smile spread across his face.

  She would satisfy all his needs, it would be her legal duty. The sooner she became his wife the better. He needed to get his mind back on his career, and she’d taken up more than enough of his thoughts already. His career was the most important thing to him, and she would provide the stepping stone to the next level. That he would have the legal right to fuck her would be a bonus.

  * * *

  After what felt like a millennium, Dr. Avery’s car exited the parking lot. It’s now or never. Once she got out of the car and walked into the building, there would be no turning back. She would be committed to this.

  She bluw out a slow breath and put her hand on the door handle. With a swift movement she pulled on it and opened the door. Better do it now before she talked herself out of it. The sooner it was finished the sooner she could get out of here.

  Neil’s pass rested in her pocket, and it would get her into the observation lab. She still had to get past Carl, the night security guard and if he was a stickler like Edgar, she was screwed before she started. She undid the first two buttons on her blouse, reached inside her bra and shifted her breasts so they pressed together. Every asset she possessed needed to be exploited. No matter how dirty it makes me feel.

  The steady click of her heels on the pavement sounded more assured than her quaking stomach felt, and she threw her shoulders back. She couldn’t let her nerves trip her up. She had every right to come back here. It was her workplace. She’d forgotten something, and Carl would be cooperative.

  With a confidence that was only skin deep, she opened the door and strode to the security desk. Carl had his feet on the desk, and he was holding a tablet in his hands with headphones in his ears. His hand rested in his lap, and what ever he was doing, it absorbed all his attention. She shifted so her shadow fell across him.

  His head shot up and he dropped the tablet on the top of the desk. Miranda’s eyes darted to it. Apparently he enjoyed watching cartoon pornography to pass a slow Friday night at work. He ripped the earbuds out of his ear and fumbled with the tablet.

  “Citizen Reynaud, what…what are you doing here?” He shoved the tablet under some papers and moved his body so he sat closer to the desk. His body from the waist down was hidden from view by the edge of the desk.

  This will be easier than I thought.

  “I need to get back inside. Before I left, my purse fell off my desk and I lost something out of it that I need. Can you let me in?”

  It was almost the entire truth, so she didn’t need to worry about a poker face. She had knocked over her purse, and some things had spilled out.

  “I guess that would be okay.” His eyes darted around, but there was no one there to see him. “Can I have your citizen card please?”

  That was the last thing she wanted to give him. There was no way she was going to officially login, since she didn’t know if it would trigger some kind of security alert. She wanted no one to find out what she’d done until the alien was far away.

  “Carl.” She leaned forward and her breasts pressed against the opening of her blouse. Carl’s eyes darted down to her cleavage, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as his eye remained glued to the plump flesh on display. Finally a man’s distraction with her size would be to her advantage. “The thing is that it is my citizen card I lost. I really need to get it back.”

  “I’m supposed to log you in.” His eyes never wavered, and there was little conviction in his voice. Almost got him. He needs a little push.

  “Do you think you can make an exception, just this one time? If I don’t have my citizen card I’ll get into a lot of trouble, and you wouldn’t want that would you? I don’t know what they would do to punish me, do you? Do you want me to be punished?”

  She sounded like an actress in one of those dirty movies he was fond of, but it was the right way to go. He ran his finger around his collar as he looked up at her.

  “P…Punish Citizen Reynaud?” A flush crept up his neck and onto his f
ace. She could almost feel the heat rolling off him. Time to go in for the kill.

  “Yes, I'll be punished for not having it. Can you let me in? Please.” She shifted her eyes toward where he’d hidden the tablet. “It would be our secret. And you should know that it might take me a while to find it if you had something pressing you needed to do.”

  She looked back at him, and his eyes shifted over to the tablet. Once she’d planted the seed in his mind, it didn’t take long for it to grow in the direction she wanted. He reached out to press the button to open the inside door for her as his other hand reached for his tablet.

  Miranda turned and went through the doors. There would be little chance that Carl would see what she was doing on the security cameras since she was positive he would be otherwise occupied. She made a show of going to her desk and acting like she was doing something until she was positive that she wouldn’t be observed.

  She straightened and put her hand in the pocket of her skirt and pulled Neil’s access pass out. She hurried down the hall to the doors to the observation lab and paused for a moment. After a heart beat of time she put the card against the control panel and walked in the door.

  Chapter Eight

  Synn blinked in the dark from his spot in the corner of the room. There was a dry gritty feeling under his eyelids, and the dry air in the lab was not helping. Whatever his captors had planned, making him comfortable wasn’t on the list. At least he had a small latrine, so he wouldn’t have to sit in his own filth. They shoved water and food through the slot in the door, but the last person to come in here had been the woman. His plan to escape wouldn’t get far if he didn’t have the opportunity for contact.

  The lights outside his room blinked on and he turned his gaze toward the window. What’s going on?

  Once the lights went out, they didn’t come back on for hours. He assumed that the staff went home in the evening and didn’t return until the morning. The lights hadn’t been off long enough for it to be morning already.

  He cautiously got to his feet and went to the window. His heart picked up speed when he saw the woman hurrying toward the door. Had the moment he’d been waiting for arrived? Was his escape finally at hand?

  A soft beep ushered her into the room, and her steps were quicker than when she’d come in here the last time. Her blouse had come partially undone, and he jerked his eyes away from her cleavage. Staring at her breasts, no matter how pleasing they looked framed by the green fabric of her blouse, would not get him out of this room.

  “I know you don’t understand me but I need you to come with me.” Her voice was breathless as she came to stand in front of him. She had to crane her neck to look up at him despite the high heeled shoes on her feet. She rung her hands, and Synn could almost feel the distress coming off her. “How am I supposed to communicate with you when you don’t understand me?”

  “I understand your language.” The words came slow but he got them out. It was always like this the first time he absorbed a language. It was like his mouth didn’t trust that his brain had the right words. “I did not want the men here to know I understood them, which is why I was silent when you were in here before."

  “Oh thank God.” Her shoulders sagged for a moment and he heard the relief in her voice. “This will be so much easier if you understand me. You need to get out of here. They are planning on killing you tomorrow, so they can dissect you for study. It’s supposed to happen in the morning. This is your only chance to escape.”

  Synn’s eyebrows shot up. This wasn’t what he expected. Caution crept up inside him, and he took a step away from her. Could this be a trick? A way to torture him further? He stared hard at her face, but could detect no deception in her green eyes.

  “Why are you helping me? You work here, don’t you?” Were his captors using her to give him the illusion of freedom only to rip it away from him?

  “I don’t want to be a part of what they’ve planned to do to you. We don’t have a lot of time to get into this right now. I’ll help you get out, and then you can go wherever you need to and we won’t have to see each other again.” She looked so earnest and sincere that he found it difficult to believe that she was here for any other reason then the one she stated. “Please, I’m trying to help you.”

  He’d have to take his chance while the opportunity presented itself. If they were planning to kill him in the morning, then tonight would be the only time he could escape. If she was an amazing actress, and this was all a lie to torture him, he would have to fight his way past them all if it came to that. So far, only she’d appeared in the other room, and he couldn’t see the remote control connected to the electric pad anywhere on her person. If he could get her to help him get it off, then he’d know for sure that she wasn’t there to trick him. There was no way she’d get it off him if she was there to do anything other than what she claimed.

  “I’ll come with you, but first you have to do something for me.” He pulled his shirt off and turned so she could see his back. “I have to get this pad off me. Can you remove it?”

  Her fingers pressed against his skin, and he tensed as he waited to feel the pad fall away. When nothing happened, he turned his head to glance back at her. Had he misjudged her after all?

  “I can’t loosen the bolts attaching it to your skin. I might be able to loosen the wires off the screws and get the pad off at least. I’m not sure how much time we have, I could try to get it off you later if you like.”

  “I will not leave this room with a means to control me strapped to my body. Remove it the best you can and rip the screws out if you have to.” He didn’t care how much it hurt getting it off, the electricity shooting through his body was far worse. He would never get out of here if there was a confrontation unless the device was removed from his body.

  Her hands were back on his body, and he could feel her loosening the wires through the screws. It didn’t hurt, but it was irritating, and taking longer then he thought it would. He should tell her to forget about loosening the wires and just rip the damn thing off. After another moment the pad fell away, and he blew out a relieved breath. Finally.

  “It’s off now. You’ll have to do something about the screws since they are still embedded in your back, but at least the pad is not on you anymore. What does it do?”

  “Your colleagues use it to send electricity shooting through my spine.” He turned around and took the pad from her. If he had a match he’d burn the damn thing, but there was no more time for that.

  “I’m sorry they hurt you.” She looked up at him, and he was caught in the green depths of her eyes. Why was she helping him? They didn’t know each other and had only one meeting. Once he was gone from this place, they would never see each other again. He couldn’t risk it since he had to find Ryce and Cynric. He was grateful for her help, but it couldn’t be anything more than that.

  He kept his eyes away from her body since his limited exposure to females made him hyper aware of every curve of her lush form and made him want to learn its secrets.

  He pulled his shirt back on and offered his hand to her. She took it. She fit so well with him and regret stabbed him for a second. It was unfortunate that he would not see her again.

  They hurried toward the door, but before she could open it he pulled her to a halt. He needed to know if his shuttle was here too. The tracking device was inside it, and without it it would be next to impossible to find his companions. If it was here, then he would need to get it before he left the building.

  “Is there any chance the pod I crashed in is here? I need to get something out of it, something that will help me find the warriors I was traveling with.”

  She bit her lip. “I don’t know. They don’t tell me anything that goes on here. It was a fluke that I learned you were here at all.”

  “Is there any place here that they might keep something like a shuttle if they wanted to study it?” He didn’t think they would bring him here for study and leave his pod behind.

 
“There is an engineering lab. It might be there. I don’t think we can get to it though. I don’t even know how I’m going to get you out of here, since the only way out is through the front door. I don’t think Carl will be so engrossed in his porn that he won’t notice you.”

  He didn’t know or care who Carl was. When it came time to leave, he had a special set of skills that would get him out the door without raising much suspicion. He needed to get to his pod first before he did anything else.

  “Don’t worry about getting me out of the building. You’ve done more than enough for me already by letting me out of this room. You have no obligation to me, and if you could show me where I can find my pod, then you can go on with your life as if I was never in it. Will you show me where this engineering lab is, please?”

  “But the cameras.” Her voice trailed off, and he squeezed her hand.

  “Let me worry about the cameras. Will you help me, just a little more?”

  She stared up at him, and he was so focused on her eyes that the building could have burned down around them, and he would not have noticed. He would have given anything to have met her under different circumstances, but it was a pointless wish. He’d met her while he was a prisoner on a foreign planet, and nothing would change that.

  “We have to hurry.” She turned toward the door and let his hand drop. He felt the loss of it for a moment as he pressed the badge in her hand against the panel beside the door. The door beeped, and she pulled open the door. Synn reached out to hold it for her so she could leave ahead of him.

  She stepped through the door and let out a scream as she was yanked through. Synn rushed out of the room. What the hell was happening?

  Dr. Avery stood there, with her arm in a grip so tight that Synn could see his knuckles were white. His lips were pulled back in a snarl as he looked at her.