by Anna Argent
Ava nodded in gratitude, barely able to speak. Her heart was still pounding too hard for her to spare any breath for words. Her whole body shook and grew colder by the second.
Shock, no doubt.
But there wasn’t time for that. She still had work to do.
Ava weakly pointed to the vial of clear fluid. “Please make sure my mom gets that liquid.”
The Dregorg nodded once.
She took him at his word. Her family would be safe and returned home. Now all she needed was for Radek to live.
She stumbled to his side, but he was unconscious and barely breathing. She didn’t know how much longer he had, or if the poison had already done its grim job.
He needed the antidote. Fast. She couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not ever.
“I need to take him home,” she told the group of Dregorgs. “Can any of you open a window to Loriah?”
One of the Dregorgs must have had a way to help, because a few seconds later, a small window opened. The biggest of the group picked Radek up with gentle care and stepped through.
Ava followed. She didn’t know where she was going or if she’d ever get back, but if Radek was going, so was she.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Emily stared at her house, barely recognizing it.
The house hadn’t changed. It was still the same white split level with black shutters it had always been. But Emily was different.
So was Mom.
The big, smelly aliens had killed Korlayan and brought her and Mom back to Earth. And now here Emily was, standing next to Mom and staring at the one place she’d though she’d never see again.
Mom put her arm around Emily. “It looks smaller, doesn’t it?”
Emily nodded. “Do you think Ava is all right?”
“I know she is. And as soon as she can, she’ll come back and tell us that herself.”
“I hope she doesn’t take too long. I miss her.”
“So do I, honey. Things are going to be different now, but we’ll make it through this the way we’ve made it through everything else.”
The cancer. That’s what Mom was talking about.
“I know you feel fine,” said Emily, “but I want you to go see your doctor.”
“I will once the chaos dies down. There’s been a lot of looting and rioting. People are hurt. They’re going to need every doctor they can find to keep up.” Mom gave Emily a squeeze. “The cancer is gone. My pain is gone. All you have to do is have a little faith, okay?”
Emily wanted to. Desperately.
“Let’s go inside,” Mom said.
“I will in a minute. I want to check on Mrs. Jenkins.” Their elderly neighbor had babysat her and Ava when they were little. She was in good health, but age had made her frail and slow, and Emily wanted to make sure that everything was okay.
Mom nodded. “Good idea. I’ll make us some dinner—enough to share.”
Emily had just cleared the corner when Beau pulled into his driveway two houses up, speakers blaring like nothing in the world had happened.
Her first instinct was to turn and run home. Avoid conflict. Let him do what he wanted, and then skirt around behind him when he wasn’t looking.
Her shoulders tried to crawl into her ears, and a sick sense of apprehension flooded her gut with acid.
He got out of his car and saw her before she could flee.
No way was she running now and giving him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. They’d grown up together. Her first crush had been on him. At one point, she’d actually thought that he might turn into a decent human being.
But she’d been wrong. So very wrong.
He stared at her, his gaze moving up and down her body like it always did when she approached. Only this time, instead of standing there like a freak and letting him, she put her chin down and marched right over to him.
He glanced around, becoming increasingly nervous. “Where is Ava?”
“None of your damn business.”
“What the hell do you want? You sicced your sister on me once. Wasn’t that punishment enough?”
The memory of the night he’d assaulted her came rolling back, as clear and crisp as if it had just happened. “Not even close. You tried to rape me.”
“Bullshit. You’re into me. You always have been. A mousy nerd like you should be happy that I paid you any attention at all.”
The old Emily would have cowered and run home and hidden until Ava came home to fix her problems. But that girl was dead. She’d been attacked by aliens, held hostage, tortured, nearly killed, flung through space to another planet and back again. She’d experienced unimaginable pain and fear. She’d seen battle and bloodshed between alien races she’d never known existed. Whatever was left of the old Emily had been stripped away, leaving the person she was now.
Stronger. Braver. And worth a hell of a lot more than one ex-jock’s opinion.
“You’re an asshole, Beau.”
He lifted his hand like he was going to grab her, but before he could, she kneed him in the crotch.
He doubled over in pain, groaning.
“I wasn’t done talking,” she said. “You’re an asshole, and not even all that hot. It’s no wonder that the only sex you can get is from girls you force.”
She grabbed as much hair as she could fit in her fist and pulled his head back so he was looking up at her. “And if you ever so much as touch me again, I’ll use social media to make sure that everyone in the world knows just how small your dick is.” She leaned in close. “And we both know that it is, don’t we?”
He glowered at her as he gasped for air.
“And if I ever hear even a whisper of a rumor that you’ve forced yourself on another girl, you’ll regret it. I’ll wait until one of those nights you drag your ass in, blind drunk. Once you’ve passed out, I’ll let myself into your room, armed with a knife. I’ll make sure that when I’m done slicing, you won’t be capable of even a tiny erection. Have I made myself clear?”
His response was a moan of pain, but she could tell she’d gotten her point across by the way he paled.
She let go and walked away, feeling free and happy. Ava was gone now, but Emily could fight her own battles and protect those around her.
Big sis had taught her well.
*****
Radek woke up in the same stone prison cell he’d woken up in countless times before.
He’d been sick for days—in and out of consciousness—but had vague memories of Ava making demands that the warden treat his poisoning. He’d been out of his head with pain and delirium, but he still remembered how fierce she’d sounded and how much he’d fought to live so he could hear her voice again.
But she wasn’t here and never would be. Prisoners weren’t allowed visitors, and there was no way Warden Trathen was ever going to let him out again, even for a dangerous mission.
Radek had broken too many rules, the worst of which was his own.
He’d fallen in love.
As he lay there, staring at the gray ceiling, missing her, he knew he couldn’t regret what had passed between them. He’d never see her again, never hear her laugh or feel the heat of her body against his, but the memories he had of the time they’d shared were his forever. They would keep him company when the loneliness hit. They would warm him through the winter, and bring a smile to his face when the bleakness of his life stretched out in front of him.
Her love had made him stronger, and while he would miss her every day for the rest of his life, she would always be a part of him. She would always be his.
He heard footsteps echo in the hallway outside of his door. The lock hissed as it was disengaged. The door swung inward, revealing Warden Trathen flanked by two burly guards.
The man was twice Radek’s age, with a round belly and thick, gray stubble. His cold gray eyes matched the stone walls perfectly.
When he spoke, his tone was that of a man whose authority had been chafed raw. “You’re being released.”
“Released? Am I going back on assignment?”
Warden Trathen shook his head. “You’re being freed.”
“How?” Was he confused? Was the poison still making him delirious?
Another person walked into the room.
Ava. She was dwarfed by the large doorway, and grinning. The military uniform she wore seemed strange. He was so used to seeing her in human clothes that the commanding, authoritative garb she wore now jarred him.
Still, the sight of her made his heart swell so big he couldn’t speak. Everything in him ached to hold her again and never let go.
He moved toward her, but his advance was blocked by one of the burly guards. “Stay back.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
He shoved the guard’s arm out of the way and took her into his arms. She felt so good there, like every piece of his world was finally in the right place for the first time in his life.
When he pulled back to look at her, there were tears in her pretty eyes.
She wiped them away, smiling. “I made them let you go.”
“How?”
She pointed to the intricate circular stitching on her sleeve. “I told them that I’d only work for them if they made me a general.” Her grin widened. “They did. That means I have the power to pardon you.”
Disbelief warred with hope. “I never thought…”
“I just used my big ol’ strategic brain.”
He kissed her, not giving a damn whether or not they had an audience. All that mattered was that he had to feel her lips on his again.
When he pulled back, her eyes were closed, and her cheeks were flushed a dark pink.
He knew in that moment he would never let her go. He needed her in his life. Always. All her kisses, all her smiles—all of her.
She glanced at Warden Trathen and his guards. “You can leave now. We’ll be out shortly.”
To Radek’s amazement and amusement, they did as she ordered, without question or hesitation.
“If that man’s blood pressure goes up any more,” said Radek, “he’s going to have a stroke.”
“Oh, you should have seen him when I told him that I was going to pardon everyone who was here because of something their parents had done. I think I heard every dirty Soric word there was.”
She was going to change things around here. For the better. And Radek couldn’t wait to see it happen.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
“First, we get a few more of those weapons from Zoe. Then we take some frozen bits of Dimas’s body and use them make sure that every Raide who has any ideas about universal domination are dead. We take care of the few Cyturs the Dregorgs haven’t already killed, and then we find a nice, quiet cottage on the beach somewhere.”
He was so stunned by what that all meant, it took him a second to process. “You mean the war is over?”
She nodded. “Pretty much. Once the Dregorgs were no longer worried about their families, they fought like demons, killing every Cytur and Raide they could reach. Earth is safe. People are scared, but they’ll use that fear to beef up security and focus on what’s really important in life.”
“And Loriah?”
“You guys have a lot of rebuilding to do. I’ve volunteered to stay and help so long as I can go visit Mom and Emily.”
“And us?” he asked.
“I heard what you said. I heard you tell me you loved me.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Was that just something you said because you thought you were going to die?”
He lifted her chin. “I said it because it was true. I said it because I love you and want you to be mine. Forever.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Good,” he said. “Because it’s going to take me at least that long to do to you all the things I have planned.”
Her brows lifted. “Sexy things?”
“Definitely. And so much more than that. We can do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. There are so many worlds out there to explore, and there’s no one I’d rather do that with than you.”
Her eyes brightened with excitement. “I’m in. But first, there’s something I want to give you.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny box, no bigger than the tip of her thumb. “Open it.”
He did, and inside were two pills.
“The white one is the permanent antidote to your poison.”
“And the blue one?” he asked.
“It will restore your fertility. When you’re ready.”
He swept her up in his arms and spun her around. “Thank you, Ava. This is the best gift anyone has ever given me. I love you.”
She kissed him until they were breathless. “I love you too, Radek. There’s no one I’d rather see the universe with than you.”
He grinned and held out his hand. “Where would you like to start?”
About the Author
After spending years working as an engineer in corporate America, Anna traded it all in for a quiet life in the country. She lives with her husband on a small cattle ranch in the Ozark Mountains, penning stories filled with love, lust and a healthy dose of magic. She loves to hear from her readers at [email protected].
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Books by Anna Argent
The Taken Series
Taken by Storm
Taken by Surprise
Taken by Force
The Stone Men Series
Made Flesh
Heart of Stone (Available February 2017)
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