Page 19 of Alien Prince Defender (Space Knights MC #4)

CHAPTER 19

TARAX

" A lright… he's officially gone," Grace said after we had come out of the coroner's office, after having dropped David off there. "They are so backed up in there. I feel so sorry for the people that have to be working around the clock trying to do something with all these bodies."

"It's a terrible situation," I agreed. "How are you holding up with everything?" I roped my arm around Grace's waist to try and comfort her, holding her tight if she needed the extra affection.

Grace shrugged and sighed deeply. She brushed her hair off her face and looked nostalgic for a moment.

"I mean… it sucks that he had to lose his life. I never wanted David to die but?—"

"His careless, hot-headed actions made it inevitable," I finished her sentence for her.

Grace gazed up at me with a sad smile. "Yes… well put. His temper got him in trouble a lot. I guess he had to pay the ultimate price for that."

"Well, may he rest in peace," I said, trying to sound empathetic. The guy was a jerk, but it sucked that he had to die before we could work things out.

Grace laughed softly. "I sure hope that wherever David is — the man finally got some peace."

Norin approached us and nodded to me. "We are going to bring the survivors to the naval base. Are you going to accompany us?"

Grace and I exchanged a glance and we both nodded at the same time. "Yes, that's the plan," Grace confirmed.

She looked stoic and worn down. It ached my heart to see her this way. I wished I could revive her spirit somewhat. I supposed that time would heal all wounds.

I knew she was also traumatized by the android battles we'd had to endure so many times, but we'd still conquered every last one of them.

The terror was over, but the residue of the nightmare still brought a lot of suffering and heartache.

It was all over now. The dust had settled, and now that the calm had finally arrived after the storm, it was my responsibility to prove to Grace that I could provide her with a better life out there in space, starting with our current base on Mars.

However, I still feared that she might be reluctant to leave Earth now that David was out of the picture, and she didn't have to worry about him bothering her and stalking her anymore.

On the way to the naval base, we took tanks to drive back there — driven by the military soldiers.

This ride gave me time to formally introduce Grace to Merrix and Norin. She seemed eager to know all about our lifestyle and our current base on Mars. She was extremely curious about the role the Space Knights played, and what we did to keep the space lanes and Earth safe.

"We failed at keeping Earth safe on this particular tragedy," Merrix said with a somber expression. "We extend our deepest sympathies to all the humans here who lost someone important to them during these awful attacks."

"We appreciate that," Grace said, returning his kind smile. She looked between me, Merrix and Norin. "What is your next move going to be after we finish cleaning up the mess that the androids left behind?"

"Well," I said, jumping at the chance to readdress my proposal for her to join us on the force. "We… or should I say I was wondering if you had given any more thought to joining our Knights team."

I could hardly breathe as I waited for her to respond. My muscles were stiff with stress. I couldn't bear to live without Grace, but at the same time, if she said no , I was going to have to figure out a way to move on with my life. I couldn't even bear to think about it.

Grace gave me an endearing smile. She placed her hand on my leg and squeezed it affectionately.

"I'm thinking about it."

I allowed myself to breathe again. "That's better than a flat out no."

Grace laughed. "Yes… I suppose you're right."

"Tarax tells us you're a medic?" Merrix asked.

Grace nodded humbly. "That's right."

"She is amazing at her job," I added. "She is a real natural… incredible at what she does."

"Oh, stop it," Grace said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Give yourself more credit. You are amazing," I told her.

Grace beamed. I could tell she liked the compliments and attention, but she was too modest to acknowledge her worth. She was the sweetest woman I had ever met. If she agreed to return to Mars with us, I would be over the moon with excitement.

"It's just a big decision…" Grace trailed off apologetically.

"Take all the time you need," I said. "I'm not going to rush you. I am just opening the conversation for possibilities."

Grace smiled up at me as we sat next to each other in the tank. "Yeah. I get that. I also appreciate you giving me some time to mull it over. I mean… don't get me wrong." She paused and faced me. She took my hands and cradled them with hers. "I do care about you so much. I can't imagine you leaving to go back to Mars and me still being here on Earth."

"That's promising." My heart drummed optimistically.

"It's just… I have so many responsibilities left here on Earth. I can't just leave my firefighter unit high and dry to clean up this mess by themselves. They need me."

"No one asked you to do that," I said gently, offering her a kind smile. "Don't forget, we as Knights will be here to help with the clean up too."

"That's reassuring to hear," Grace said with a fatigued sigh.

"We aren't just going to wrap things up and fly off into the galaxy." Merrix chuckled. "We aren't assholes."

Grace softly smiled and gazed at her lap. We were still holding hands. "No, you all are the furthest thing from assholes. You are brave and victorious. We couldn't have won this android battle without you."

Then, I thought about something that might persuade Grace to join us. It was something that Mike and I and I had discussed earlier in the bank.

"Mike and I… had a discussion before the final attack," I mentioned once Norin and Merrix were locked in conversation and weren't paying attention to us anymore.

"About what?" Grace frowned curiously and stared at me expectantly.

"About you actually." I chuckled nervously.

"Me? What about me?"

"I told him that we had been discussing the prospect of you returning with me to Mars — and space in general."

"Wow." Grace looked a little surprised. "What did he say?"

"He said it was ultimately your decision — which of course you already know I agree with."

"I can't believe it." Grace looked astonished.

"He said you were a fantastic medic, but if you really wanted to return to space with me, it wouldn't be the end of the world. He wouldn't put pressure on you to stay, and he said he would be able to find another medic to replace you," I explained.

Grace pondered a moment, staring at her lap. She clamped her hands together in a ball. "Well…that certainly alleviates some of my pressure to… to feel needed by my team."

"Don't get me wrong," I said. "Your team does need you. It's not like Mike was immediately going to write you off or something. He'd of course be sorry to see you go."

"Well, that makes me feel better." Grace grinned.

"And I'm not trying to manipulate you either," I said. "I'm not telling you this to try to sway you in one direction or another." Even though part of me was doing exactly that.

"No… it's okay," Grace said quietly. "I mean… I understand. It certainly helps that you did tell me. It makes the decision somewhat easier to make."

I kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled nice. "I'm glad to hear it. Perhaps I can propose a compromise to you."

Grace took my hand and lightly squeezed it. It felt good to hold her close to me. She was warm and comforting to me too.

"What kind of compromise?"

"After you tie up all your loose ends on Earth, you could make your final decision about whether you want to go with me or not. I want to be with you, I've fallen in love with you — but I'll understand if you don't feel the same way?—"

"I do want to be with you," Grace chimed in with enough eagerness to give me hope. " Really I do. I've fallen in love with you too, Tarax, and I think that sounds like a great plan."

I stared at her without blinking. My entire soul was pumped with adrenaline now, just hearing her say that. "You… do?"

Grace nodded vigorously. She was grinning with an enormous smile. Her eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Yes. I love you too."

"So… that's it? You don't need to think any more on it?" I asked.

Grace contemplated. The suspense was killing me.

"I don't think so. I want to be with you." She grinned as if she loved teasing me and making me wait for her answer. "I was already ninety-percent on board anyway."

I hugged her close and kissed her. There was enough spark and passion in that kiss to set the whole world on fire.

"Hey guess what?" Merrix said excitedly, cutting through my make-out session with Grace.

"What?" I Grace and I asked simultaneously and focused our attention on Merrix.

Merrix was pointing to his communicator headpiece in his ear. "I just got word from the Knights in lower Earth's orbit. "They successfully destroyed the warship. The siege has come to an official end."

Everyone in the back of the tank with us erupted into cheers and claps of joy. Grace and I hugged and kissed each other deeply again.

"See?" I told her, staring into her eyes with desire. "I told you everything would work out in the end."

"You were right," Grace said, nestling her head against my chest. "What a relief to have that confirmation that the terror is truly over."