Page 7 of Her Alien Matchmaker

N ot seeing any of XVU’s vehicles on the road didn’t make me feel better. In fact, I felt more afraid. Why aren’t they searching harder?

The closer we moved to the research facility, the more a tension headache dug its claws inside my brain.

Jetarin laid a hand on my arm, his touch gentle and warm. “Kristy, the speed limit is fifty-five.” He cocked his head toward the windshield, where a road sign did indeed announce the same thing.

I glanced at the speedometer, realizing I’d been traveling ten miles over the limit. That’s a sure-fire way to get stopped by a cop.

Releasing the accelerator, I set the cruise control and gave Jet a half-smile. “Sorry. Guess I feel like the sooner we get there, the sooner I can get him to safety.” He’d turned off the disguise, stating he needed to conserve as much power as possible.

“Why do you have horns on your head, Jet?” Aaron’s little voice wavered between curiosity and awe.

“Because I am special.” Jet waggled his eyebrows.

Aaron giggled. “Are you part rhinoceros? Did you know their horn isn’t made from bone, but from keratin, the same stuff makes our nails and hair?”

“Did you know early humans, when they found rhino remains, thought they were dragons?”

“Really? Do you think it would be fun to ride a dragon?”

Jet gave me a wink. “It would only be fun if they had a saddle, like your crocodile.”

Aaron giggled. “His name is Crockett.” And just like that, he accepted Jet with a six-year-old’s grace, not caring the man looked different from us or spoke with an accent.

Oh, to go back to a child’s innocent wonder and acceptance of all things different.

I stared into Jet’s chocolate eyes, wishing I had the courage to say how much I appreciated him humoring my son, then returned my attention to the road.

His hand remained on my arm, and I couldn’t lie…

it made me feel safe. Which is completely ridiculous.

I was ready to let this guy die yesterday in the name of science, and now I’m not only aiding and abetting his escape, but I’m also actively involved in saving him.

True, but saving him meant saving Aaron.

That’s all. No way was there any other reason.

I glanced at his long fingers, how they loosely encircled my forearm, how his thumb swept across the tender flesh on the inside, sending tiny spikes of pleasure through my nerves.

The way he watched Aaron, with a gentle glow in his eyes, made my mom’s heart thaw.

He has every reason to hate me, to hate humans, yet so far, he’s been nothing but kind.

I’d always wanted a good male role model for Aaron, but the few men I’d dated over the years had been unimpressive.

A glance toward Jet showed his attention on my face, as if he too were imagining impossible things.

A deep pothole on the shoulder of the road made the car bounce.

“Mommy, be careful!”

I jerked the steering wheel to get the vehicle back in its lane and released a long breath. “Jesus. Sorry, kiddo.”

Jet removed his hand, but his irises twinkled.

Biting my bottom lip until it hurt, I focused on the road ahead. Get it together. Damn. This is no time to start daydreaming about something other than mutual survival. Aaron is counting on me.

“So, Aaron, you enjoy science?” Jetarin craned his neck to focus on my son.

“No, I love science. I love it so much Mommy put me in a special school called Blackstone Academy to teach me about science things all day.”

“That is good. If your mother agrees, I would love to show you our science labs. I promise they will be unlike anything you have seen on this world.”

I rolled my head toward him and gave him a flat stare, as if saying ‘You’re pushing it, buddy.’

His sharp grin answered my unspoken words.

“Did you know bananas are radioactive, Jet?”

“Really?” I asked, easing the car off the road to follow the path leading to the narrow creek bed.

“Yep. They have the radioactive isotope for potassium-40. But it’s okay. You’d have to eat a lot of bananas before you started glowing in the dark.” He chuckled and hugged his crocodile to his chest.

Jet glanced at me. “How old is he again?”

“Six.” Pride and smugness oozed through my tone.

Jet’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. “His intellect is wasted here.”

The dry arroyo appeared as a small rise in the flat landscape. The bed only filled with water during the short rainy season of the desert. At least I didn’t have to worry about flooding any time soon.

As the vehicle entered the shady canyon, Jet held a palm toward the windshield. “Stop. Otherwise, you will collide with my ship.”

I braked, then turned off the ignition and narrowed my stare at the empty space in front of us. “There’s nothing here.”

“It is stealthed, hence the magnetite. No one can enter it while it is hidden as a security measure. Only my lifecord can deactivate the shielding, and its power supply, separate from the power needed to teleport, dwindled while you—” He threw a quick look at Aaron, then cleared his throat.

“—while you and your team worked on me.” Jet turned his attention to the bracelet and fished the speaker out of the bag.

He began tearing through wires until he found a circuit board.

“A couple more to load, then we should be ready.”

“Jet, are you really a friend or did my mom save you? She’s a doctor and she heals a lot of people, but she never wants to talk about her job very much.”

Heat flared in my cheeks, and shame flooded my heart. He thinks so highly of me. What happens when he learns the truth?

Catching the door handle, I threw it open and jumped out, eager to distract Aaron and Jet from the current conversation. “Come on,” I said, opening his door and releasing him from the booster seat.

He clambered out, then turned and grabbed his backpack and stuffed animal.

Chop-chop-chop-chop.

The staccato sound came from above. Nothing showed in the blue sky, but I knew what it meant.

Jetarin must’ve heard it, too, because his door opened and he threw himself out, still holding the lifecord and speaker with its dangling wires. “Get away from the car!”

I didn’t stop to ask questions. I scooped Aaron into my arms and ran toward the wall of the arroyo. Jet sprinted in the same direction.

Boom!

Heat assaulted my back and an invisible wave pushed against me, pinning my son and me to the wall. My ears rang from the concussive blast.

Jetarin didn’t seem to be affected by the explosion, but he wrapped his arms around Aaron and me. “Are you okay?”

I glanced down at Aaron, whose wide eyes told me he was okay but scared, and I gave a hesitant nod. “I think so. What was that?”

He guided me to turn around.

Orange and yellow flames licked the shell of what was once my car. Burning oil and wires saturated the air.

“They almost killed us, almost killed my son .” The shock coursing through my body turned into white-hot fury. “He’s a child. My god.” Fear laced the fury, and I clutched him tighter. “Jet, get us out of here. Please.”

‘Dr. Lambodino,’ said a male voice from above, through a megaphone or speaker.

‘You are cooperating with the enemy, which equates to treason. If you give him up right now, we will spare you the death penalty and we’ll ensure your son is placed in foster care.

If you agree, walk to the entrance and wave.

If not, you will die, including your son. ’

“Fuck that,” I whispered.

“Stay still. I am sure they have already scanned the area, but it does not hurt to stay hidden for as long as possible.” Jet bent his head, furiously sliding his fingers across his lifecord and disassembling the speaker parts in between.

‘Okay. We’re not playing games. See those parachutes gliding in?’

I glanced upward at the mention of parachutes. Five paratroopers rushed downward, passing the lip of the canyon and spreading out, ten seconds from landing.

‘They’re being led by the first super soldier you helped create. He’s neurally connected thanks to your research. You have ten seconds to surrender.’

Jet ground his teeth. “I have accessed the communication section and sent a distress call to my commander. I need more time to unlock the ship, though.”

We were trapped like bugs in a jar. No way out without getting picked off by the helicopter guns, and if we stayed, the soldiers would do the same.

‘Ten, nine, eight…’

“Is there any way we can at least take cover behind or under your ship?”

“Yes, but we would be exposing ourselves to the Apache up there as we run.” His eyes tracked the course of the paratroopers as they continued their downward glide. Each held a gun in our direction.

Jetarin pushed his back against us, cradling us between his mass and the rock.

I shifted so Aaron would be closest to the walls of the canyon.

“Will they hurt us, Mommy?” His tiny voice broke my heart.

“Shh. It’s going to be okay.” It was not going to be okay if we didn’t figure out something soon.

‘Four, three, two, one.’

A quick glance around Jet’s arm showed each soldier landing in a circular pattern, avoiding the middle of the arroyo. They must know his ship is there.

Twenty feet in front of us, the largest soldier touched ground, rapidly unclipping his parachute.

Taller than Jet by a couple of inches, he also outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds.

His arms bulged through his armor. Though clearly human, the long, sharp horns on his head told me his DNA had been mutated with the Volderens.

His rank designated him as a Major and his name patch showed Kastor .

His eyes, a cold shade of green, swept over us like we were dog crap on his shoe. He twisted his neck and nodded to a soldier on his right. The man returned the gesture and raised his gun.

They’re using the neural connection I helped to create. Damn it.

In a flash, Jetarin sprinted toward the soldier with the gun and tackled him, knocking the weapon to the ground. His fists pummeled the guy’s face. “Stop. I do not want to kill you, but I will if I must.”