by R T Green
‘I think you were more scared out there than I was,’ I whispered.
‘Petrified, because…’
‘Because?’
‘Because if you had been in danger, I could not have come to help. I felt useless.’
I pulled her into me, so grateful for her words, so humbled by her love. And suddenly I knew that nothing would ever change that love, no matter what. Something had happened earlier that evening, something that had given her the strength to release her demons. I wasn’t sure what, but I had to find out, try and understand.
I poured us both a much-needed brandy, sat facing her on the sofa and took her hand. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Of course.’
‘Was it throwing a plate of pasta at me that changed everything?’
She giggled, raised a hand to her mouth to try and stifle it. ‘I’m sorry. It’s far from funny I know. And I’m sorry I was a bitch.’
‘Actually I think I was more of a bitch than you earlier. Remnants of the old me, still clinging on for dear life. Making me say things deliberately to fire you up.’
‘I know. I’m glad you did.’
‘You are?’
‘I walked away from you Madeline, because your words were hurtful, and because they forced me to think. I had to be alone to discover I was turning into my sister, jealous because someone else had what I wanted.’
‘Lisa could never have had what we have, Zana.’
‘I know. But then it was Azola… Lisa, who changed everything in my thoughts.’
‘How?’
‘Because when I thought about the things that had happened, she reminded me of me.’
‘I don’t understand.’
She took my hand, kissed my fingers delicately. ‘When you two first met, her intentions were evil… on Tiri’s orders, just like me. Then she grew to care deeply for you, and risked everything to save you, knowing there was no real future for her. Just like I did. So how can I blame her, or be jealous of her, for being just like me?’
‘Wow… now I understand.’
‘So we have to thank her again, for not only helping save you, but for saving us too.’
I lifted my brandy glass, chinked it against Zana’s, and we said a silent thank you to the girl who filled my heart with sadness. In her tragic life as Tiri’s slave there was little joy, and virtually no chance of ever experiencing the beauty of true love.
Zana took my hand. ‘Please will you take me to bed now, Madeline?’
I smiled at her words. You don’t have to ask, Zana. ‘Let me grab a quick shower. My two hours as a fake hooker have left me feeling a bit grubby.’
‘Don’t be long. I need you close to me. And there is a little unfinished business to attend to!’
The warm water cascaded over me, felt so beautiful. Every bit of me seemed alive, sparking with vibrant energy like a million circuits shorting out at once. The last few hours had gone from bitter desolation to a joyful attack of sheer passion, then to the fear of a fake but very real vulnerability, and finally to the knowledge the love between Zana and me was truly unbreakable.
Just how much more can a girl take?
I knew the answer to that. One bit of me was zinging far more than the rest, maybe something to do with being told there was unfinished business.
Get your ass into gear and dry off.
I couldn’t see Zana as I padded back into the living space. ‘You hiding again?’
Her voice came from the other side of the screen. ‘I do like this Japanese bed.’
‘That’s my bed.’
‘Do you want my tongue around your clit or not?’
I didn’t bother to reply, the answer was obvious enough. As the bed came into my view she was stretched out in it, the duvet right up to her chin, looking like an innocent little girl waiting for her bedtime story.
I climbed in beside her, and she disappeared without a word. I watched the animated lump in the duvet work its way to the bottom of the bed, parted my legs to allow it room to maneuver.
Her lips met mine, their delicate warm kisses tantalizing me, sending shivers of pure joy through my already electrically-charged senses. Again and again she kissed me, so softly, so infuriating, taking me higher with just the faintest of touches, her hands easing my legs slowly further and further apart.
I couldn’t touch her, buried under the duvet. I didn’t want to, my arms stretched out from my sides, hands clenching and unclenching against the softness of the sheet.
So high, so soon, the bond of our intimate love all I needed to take me to the brink. No words were spoken, the silence adding to the intensity, and bringing no distraction from the sheer delight of complete ecstasy.
And then her tongue sank into my wetness, and I could be silent no more. As it curled around my button and her lips cocooned the all of me, there was no escape. I cried out, the sudden and total thunder of the climax crashing through me like a relentless storm, lightning searing my very soul into blissful submission, and then a rain of cooling spring water, which melted into my skin to leave me mellowed and tranquil.
And all was perfect silence once more. The lump in my duvet began to move upwards, and seconds later her beautiful eyes beamed pure love into mine, and those soft full lips kissed my neck as her body stretched softly over mine.
‘I love you,’ she whispered.
‘I love you too,’ I just about managed to say.
Chapter 161
Jane Daniel’s phone began to bounce around on the bedside table again. This time she was awake, the alarm clicking to six five minutes ago, and telling her it was time to start a new day. She groaned as she grabbed it, knowing a call at that time was likely not good news, looked at the number on the screen.
‘Don’t you ever sleep?’
She heard Assia’s sigh. ‘Just about to finish the night-shift. One of the teams discovered a body last night, hidden in bushes on Hampstead Heath. Just finished examining her, and I really am off to grab some sleep shortly. But could do with a chat first, so can you call in on your way to the station?’
‘Sure. Give me thirty.’
Assia’s face sent her heart sinking through the floor as she walked into the lab. She didn’t say a word, slid open the cold-storage locker and showed her the body of the girl laying there.
Her head was twisted round, her neck broken. Other than that, it didn’t seem like she’d been mutilated.
‘This is Lily, the girl who went missing four days ago. But this time the MO is different.’
‘How so?’
‘I noticed a slight swelling in her abdomen, so did a test. She’s pregnant.’
‘So why is she dead? I thought that was…’
‘She’s two to three months pregnant.’
Daniel’s ran a desolate hand across her face. ‘Shit. I guess that proves what they thought this was all about has just become a hard fact.’
She drove from the lab, heading once more to DIAL’s HQ, the dread she was getting all too familiar with churning her stomach to mush. Even leaving aside the tragic fact Lily was three months pregnant and still on the game, the sickening reality of why she met her end was chilling her to the bone.
Already pregnant when she’d been taken, she was no use to her alien abductors.
Kayla turned onto her back in the bed, moved her head away from the patch of the pillow dampened once more by her tears.
A faint morning light was beginning to penetrate the dirt of the small window, a new day dawning. It wasn’t the only new thing to dawn. The hopelessness of her reality was becoming too much. No one was coming to rescue her… this was it, forever.
But five minutes ago, as she’d woken with her stomach like lead and her spirit gone, she’d decided it wasn’t going to be forever. They could control her, force her to do whatever they wanted, but there was one thing left they couldn’t control.
She could take away forever.
Forever.
But it wasn’t going to be easy. T
hey’d left her nothing to make taking away forever simple. Maybe the chains that shackled her ankles to the footboard of the bed? They were long enough so she could reach the foul-smelling bucket a few yards away. Long enough to wrap around her neck, somehow strangle herself?
She closed her eyes, fighting to ward off the tears those desperate thoughts were bringing. She had a while to think, plan things to make sure that when forever disappeared, it really was the end.
But it had to be before tonight… before he came again to violate her.
An hour passed, and then she could hear voices in the passageway. But this time it was different. A woman’s voice, talking with the man who would soon bring her food. They were speaking in the strange tongue she’d heard before, so she couldn’t understand what was said. But the woman didn’t sound happy. Her words seemed sharp, like orders barked out by a disobeyed boss.
The voices faded away, and silence was her friend once more. But it only lasted ten minutes before the key turned in the lock, and he was there. He handed her a McDonald’s breakfast wrap.
He knew it was her favourite.
He ran the device in his hand across her stomach, as he did every morning. The orange beam felt warm against her skin, soothing somehow. But then he shook his head. ‘You are displeasing me, Kayla,’ he said quietly.
‘Why?’ she cried, fear and uncertainty clouding her pretty face. ‘I let you fuck me, don’t shout or scream. What have I done wrong?’
His head moved from side to side. ‘It does not matter.’
He might have said more, but two other men came into the room, picked up the bed with her still on it, and moved it a few feet closer to the window. They both wore the idiotic spider-man masks, and their hands were gloved.
‘What’s happening?’ she cried, as they disappeared into the passageway. She could hear noises just outside, like something heavy being dragged.
Her abuser spoke, his voice softer. ‘Do not be alarmed. Very soon you will be having a companion… someone to talk to. The clinic is getting full, you see. Now please enjoy your food.’
He left the room, just as the two other men returned. They brought another bed, placed it against the wall, and then stood a small table and lamp next to it. A fresh bucket was placed in the corner, the old key turned in the lock, and Kayla was alone once more.
She ate her breakfast with a heavy heart. They needn’t have bothered with another bed.
As soon as she could work out the details of how to make it happen, and find the inner strength to go through with it, they could have hers.
Chapter 162
We walked into Scott’s office, maybe a bit later than usual, and found it a little crowded. Jane the detective was there, and so were two people I knew and loved, wearing visitor passes and worried smiles on their faces.
‘Dad! Tami!’
The four of us fell into a group hug. A rather emotional one. ‘We just got here, kid,’ my dad said, then looked me right in the eyes. ‘Coop’s told us what you’re doing, and it’s scaring the hell out of us.’
‘There’s no choice, dad. I have to, for the girls… for everyone. Time is running out.’
Scott put a hand on my shoulder. ‘That may be truer than you think, Madeline. I’ll let Jane brief you.’
She told us of the discovery of the body, and when she said who it was, and why she was dead, I had to fight back the tears. Thoughts of Shirl filled my mind… would they tell her Lily had been found? The Met had thrown a blanket over any news of disappearing girls, so maybe they wouldn’t.
And I couldn’t tell her either, not without revealing how I knew.
But then Jane talked about her theory of what might happen next, and ripped away my ability to think about anything else.
‘We’ve been barnstorming scenarios, trying to think like they would.’ She smiled to Zana. ‘So you might be able to tell us if humans thinking like desperate aliens will be anywhere near accurate. Tiri’s spectacular gate-crashing got me thinking, on two fronts. She wanted to let the entire city know aliens had landed – living ones – and she certainly did that. But was that the best thing to do, given the fact eight others were hiding out, with one particular objective? Surely she would realize going public, as it were, would make life harder for her compatriots?’
My heart stopped for a second, as my brain leapt ahead and realized where Jane was going with this. I glanced to Zana, saw her head lower. She knew it too. ‘My sister is far from stupid, Jane,’ she said quietly.
‘Exactly. So here’s the question, guys. You’ve just made it blatantly obvious the boys are back in town, everyone in the city is looking for you, and the net is closing in. What would you do?’
‘Clear off,’ said Miles, silencing everyone for a minute. Until Zana spoke, her words tinged with bitterness.
‘I see it now. My sister knew exactly what she was doing. When she realized the eight men had survived, she flew back here with her plans already made. The men were abducting girls where there was a plentiful supply, and lots of places to hide.’
Jane nodded. ‘They’ve been gathering their prey for weeks, but had to stay in London to do that… and because it would be impossible to transport what could by now be a coach-load of girls out of the city.’
‘Without an invisible spaceship.’
Coop said it. The heartbreaking thought we’d all had, but didn’t want to think.
As usual, Tiri was one step ahead of everyone else. She’d made her plans before she’d even left Tobago. Join her men in London, and make sure they’d got all the initial breeding stock they needed. Scour the countryside for a remote and secure location, and then fly everyone out to it in a ship no one could see or track.
And for all we know, she could be airlifting them all out as we speak.
We spent the rest of the morning in the conference room, fleshing out Jane’s theory. It didn’t take a lot of fleshing out… if nothing else, Zana’s face confirmed Jane had got it spot on.
Time was even shorter than we’d thought. Once my ex-mistress got the girls out of London, they could literally go anywhere.
Coop pointed out we still had the one card in play. Me. But it was starting to feel like I was the joker in the pack… Tiri still wanted me as the winning hand in endgame, but the rest of the pack could well be on a table far away before the queen of hearts came back to collect her prize.
After lunch Scott told us to go home and get some rest before the night shift. And I got the awful feeling my second evening as a hooker could well be my last. And then Miles capped off my lovely day by putting something in my hand.
‘Horse pill number two,’ he grinned. ‘The first one will have, um… gone by now.’
‘Were you a vet before you joined MI6?’ I smiled back, trying to lighten the mood with a bit of humour.
‘Maybe this pill won’t be so bitter to swallow, and end up making us all feel better!’ he said, and gave me a consoling hug.
Chapter 163
The van door slammed behind me, and I was alone again. But at least this time I knew what to expect… the unshakable feeling of utter loneliness, vulnerability, and nervous fear.
Playing the fake hooker on a dark sub-zero night, I knew for sure what it was like to be chilled to the bone.
I began to walk towards the corner, my steps quicker this time, subconsciously telling me to get away from the darkness of the deserted street and back under my streetlamp as soon as I could.
At least I was better prepared this time. I’d ditched the slutty Supergirl waist-down look, replaced it with a pair of stretch-pants I’d discovered in the back of a drawer. They were so tight and clingy they showed off every single contour I possessed, and did their best to cut off the circulation to my legs… but they were a damn sight warmer than a virtually non-existent superhero skirt.
Shirl was there. My beaming smile of relief to see her was met with a scowl.
‘Hello, Red,’ she said huffily.
‘Well at least I�
�m pleased to see you,’ I said, still trying to smile.
‘Oh honey…’ She gave me a hug, shook her head. ‘I’m just not pleased to see you here. Kinda hoped your initiation last night might have put you off this shit.’
‘Something I’ve just got to do, Shirl,’ I said, truthfully.
She frowned, but just said, ‘Got any fags, hun? I’m all out.’
We lit up together. Tiny flakes of snow began to fall, so small they looked like falling frost. In less than a minute it was a fog, a billion tiny crystals of ice filling our ears with muffled white noise as they covered the pavement around us.
‘Mother facking Nature sure got it in for us gals tonight,’ Shirl grinned ruefully.
Yes, MN. You’re not exactly helping the cause here.
Shirl dropped her butt onto the whiteness, stubbed it out with her foot. ‘One hour, and I’m done here. Best you follow that advice too, Red.’
I was about to reply, but then our world grew lighter as yellow-tinted headlights pierced the fog of snow, and an old BMW drew up to the kerb in front of us.
It was black. All of it. Black body, black windows, black alloy wheels with neon-red lights glittering through the spokes. The only thing blacker was the grinning face that slowly appeared as the black driver’s window slid downwards.
‘Oh geez,’ said Shirl, shaking her head.
I couldn’t help laughing at the look on her face. ‘You know this guy?’
‘Oh yeah. If he starts to piss you off just kick him in the balls.’
The grinning face was eyeing me up and down. Then it finally spoke. ‘Hey, sweet-cheeks. What you doin’ out here on a night like this?’
Sweet-cheeks? With these implants?
