Page 18 of Border Control

Quick as blinking, Dom darts next to me, arm flashing out. His fist snaps around Gara’s throat, and he hauls the smaller alien into the air.

“Your orders, Law-rah?” Dom grates out.

Shit.

Gara’s hands grab Dom’s wrist, wide green eyes turning to me. The air grows tight, as if the ship lost all oxygen.

“Put him down,” Ellen says, leaping into action. “Laura, none of the guys here would ever hurt us. It’s just not part of their makeup, like, at all.”

“I… I know.” She’s one hundred percent sure we were fine, even though she knows nothing about what went on here. We could have had a terrible time with them, but she’s absolutely certain we didn’t. And she’s right. They haven’t harmed us.

Dom puts Gara down slowly, then looks at me, his eyes darker now. Less violet flame, more bruised stormcloud.

I know he wouldn't hurt us. None of them will.

“Let him go. We’ve got to take Arabella home,” I say.

The tripback is not as eventful as the way out, and this time Arture keeps his shit together and I don’t need support. Ilia and Ellen take Arabella up to a room, Gara following like a balloon tied with string to her wrist, leaving the triplets and the pilot in the shed outside.

As Ilia lays her on the spare bed, Arabella stirs, half waking to stare at us with blurry eyes.

“Rest now,” Ellen tells her, and she does, conking out flat on the bed.

Gara sits next to her on the chair. Ignoring me and Ellen, he takes Arabella’s wrist, fingers over her pulse.

Ellen beckons me out of the room. “Come on, she’s being well looked after.”

That she is. The level of dedication in Gara’s severe face sends relief spreading across my stomach.

As we move into the cramped corridor, I say, “Alright. Over the last few days, I’ve seen enough evidence that they aren’t going to hurt us. While they’re not afraid to hit each other, Arabella was alone with them for forty freaking days, and they didn’t harm her. The fact is, they haven’t shown an ounce of aggression toward us.”

“Right. They're exiles, but they didn't do anything wrong. I'll explain more in the morning, though, because I’m absolutely shattered, and I bet you are too.”

I'm not, because I can survive on five hours of sleep a night. My brain’s buzzing too much to even think about sleep from everything I’ve learned about our new scaly friends.

Dom’s willingness to hurt his shipmate, maybe kill him, all on my say so.

The way Gara took it.

How Dom sought out pain in the machine shed, as if he needed it. Craved it.

His protectiveness toward me. Seeing what I needed before I even knew it.

His compassion.

I catch the quick glance Ellen shoots to Ilia lurking in the corridor, and the smile that spreads across my friend’s face can only be described as triumphant.

Aha, she's not thinking about sleep at all either.

“You two are an item? So we'rereallyfriendly with the aliens, I see.”

My oldest friend flushes at my teasing. “Yeah. But seriously, good night.”

I step back to let Ilia into Ellen's room. She's a big girl, she can keep her sex life private, the way I do. “I'll leave you be, then. Tell me everything in the morning, but it's brilliant you're home.”

“Thanks, Laura. See you bright and early tomorrow.”

I make it a few steps down the corridor before I hear big creaks from the wooden floor, the door closing with a click, and Ellen's muffled giggle.