Chapter Seventeen
Kane held up his hands in surrender. “Mind if I get up on level ground?” The army man wouldn’t shoot him, at least not in broad daylight. Kane’s only apparent offense had been to take a leak over the rim of a canyon.
The soldier motioned with his gun for Kane to proceed carefully. So as not to show he was a threat, Kane pulled himself halfway up, then let go, purposefully landing on his butt. A thin layer of dust rained down on him, and he moaned for effect. The sun slipped out from behind a cloud and speared him in the eye, and he squinted for effect.
The man stiffened, and Kane gave him a good-ole-boy laugh. “Not to worry.” Kane rose slowly, dusted himself off, and tried again. This time he made it to the top, forcing air in and out of his lungs.
The soldier towered over him. “What the hell were you doing down there?”
Kane sat up with planned deliberation and placed a hand on his chest. He deserved a medal for his acting skills. “I wanted to get a little closer to the Colorado River, but I found out I couldn’t get down there from here. Does this go to the Grand Canyon?” He waved a hand. Clearly, the guard wasn’t buying his story. “Okay, I had to take a leak and was too lazy to go inside the factory.”
A small smile crossed the soldier’s face. “Done that before.” The soldier’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “You’re crazy, you know. If you’d fallen, you’d be dead.”
Or perhaps, if he’d gone down a little farther, he’d have found an entrance to the underground military base. “Yeah, I know that now.” Kane eased to his feet and sneezed. “The dust around here will kill me faster than any fall.” He cleared his throat. “Can I take a picture of you? My wife won’t believe I was held at gunpoint by a real military man.” He added a little southern twang to throw the guy off.
He could have sworn the man’s chest stuck out another inch. “It’s against regulations.”
Clearly, the man was taking his orders from the military and not from some perfume factory owner.
“No problem. I best be going anyway. My wife’s probably finished the tour by now.” He attempted to sound like a tourist, though he wasn’t sure if he’d pulled it off.
The man shouldered his rifle. “Next time, ask permission if you want to wander behind the factory.”
“You can be sure of that.” Kane tossed him a loose salute and grinned like a fool. This little trip showed him the level of security was piss poor and only above ground.
On his next mission, he wouldn’t be here during the day and would use night vision goggles for a better feel for what went on after the perfume factory closed. The presence of the soldier implied there was something worth guarding nearby, but he wasn’t ready to buy into Sky’s spacecraft theory.
He headed to the road via the parking lot and scanned the area, double-checking the lot. Now Sky’s car was gone, yet he hadn’t heard that noisy engine fire up. Most likely, she left when he was down below taking a leak. If so, he could relax somewhat, knowing she was safe.
Kane looked back over his shoulder, noting the security guard was nowhere in sight. Kane walked casually toward the road, but as soon as he was out of sight, he jogged the mile to his car, and then drove to Sky’s house so he could give her a good talking to. She was crazy, approaching Mr. LeFloch by herself. The woman would get herself killed if she wasn’t careful—cop or no cop.
Once on the road, he broke the speed limit by half again, thinking he could catch up with her. Only he didn’t. All he could think of was that she wasn’t headed home, but he still wanted to check.
When he arrived at her place, her car was there yet she didn’t answer her door. Most likely, she was too angry to speak with him. He couldn’t really blame her after the way he’d turned cold the last time they were together, but she shouldn’t have expected him to let go of his emotional control when in the middle of a job. He took pride in his work.
Be honest.
He’d sworn off women for good after his wife passed, but then Sky had walked into his life and everything changed.
He banged on her door again. “Sky. Come on. I know you’re in there.”
Not one to give up easily, Kane walked around the house and looked inside each window. All of the lights were off, and Sky was nowhere to be seen. The bed was still unmade, and the skin on his arms prickled, the same way it usually did when a mission was about to go bad.
“I’m coming in, Sky. We need to talk.” He figured he might be having a conversation with the walls, but he needed to warn her. Using a credit card, he breached the opening in less than ten seconds. As soon as spoke with her, he’d insist she get a set of good locks.
“Sky? Where are you?” The air smelled stale, as if there’d been no human activity in a while.
He checked everywhere, but she wasn’t home, though she couldn’t have gone far in a few minutes. Perhaps she went next door to visit the friend who’d witnessed the break in. After a quick check, he found the lady wasn’t home either. Out of options, he visited the other houses in the neighborhood. The one person he did speak to didn’t have a clue where Sky might be. Kane didn’t know what kind of game she was playing, but she wouldn’t win. He’d hurt her feelings, he knew that, but if someone threatened the Senator’s family, they might come after Sky too, and he wouldn’t let that happen. Not on his shift.
Four hours later, he was still sitting in his car in front of her house waiting for her to return, worry settling in his gut. He’d already called her father, Chief Lapahe, Harriet, Earl, and EBE’s café, making each promise he’d be the first one called if they spotted Sky. Harriet swore Sky had never even checked in, and no one else had a clue about her whereabouts. Chief Lapahe said he’d sent Harvey out to all the local establishments but had no luck either.
Everyone, except Earl, appeared shaken by her disappearance. Her friend claimed the aliens had probably taken her, but that they wouldn’t harm her. Kane wished he could be so sure about the military aliens.
His stomach complained about the lack of food, and his throat was dry, but he refused to leave Sky’s house until she came home. The next-door neighbor drove in around 6:30 p.m., but she failed to provide anything useful either. As the sky darkened, his thoughts turned raw as ugly scenarios raced through his mind, but he wasn’t going to leave without talking to her—not with things this unsettled.
After a full day of playing phone tag trying to find her, he was tired and frustrated. His cell rang, but he didn’t recognize the number. “Yes?”
“Kane? This is Cathy at the café.” She sounded out of breath.
His fingers gripped the wheel. “What is it?”
“You gotta come. Sky’s here, but she’s not okay.”
Adrenaline flooded every muscle. The words, she’s not okay rang in his ears, and he twisted the key and gunned the engine. “Tell me.”
“She’s in the bathroom, just sitting on the floor, staring ahead. She blinks but doesn’t talk. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Is she bleeding? Does she need a doctor?” His mind latched onto the medical protocol he’d learned in the service. He tore out of there with the phone cradled under his chin.
“No. It’s like she’s hypnotized or something.” Cathy sobbed.
Thankfully, she wasn’t injured. “How did she get there?”
“I don’t know. She must have walked in through the side door, because I’m positive she didn’t enter through the front. I was working the tables for the last hour. I would have noticed.”
“Who else knows?” His tires almost lifted off the road as he took the turn onto 98.
“No one, but I’m scared. I’ve never seen anyone look that way.”
“Call Harriet. She’ll know what to do. Tell her I’m on my way.” He pressed the accelerator to the floor. “Stay with Sky.” The command came out too abrupt, but dammit, he was scared.
He arrived at EBE’s in good time, but every spot on the road was taken, so he double-parked. Anyone who drove down the road would have to go around him. Normally, he wasn’t that inconsiderate, but Sky was in trouble, and he would do whatever he had to do to protect her.
Instead of entering through the front, he sprinted to the employee-only side entrance and let himself in. He wiped his hands on his pants, knocked softly on the Women’s room door, and entered. “Cathy?”
The handicapped bathroom door opened. “She’s in here.”
In three steps, he was kneeling beside Sky. Harriet was holding her hand, and she shook her head. “Harriet, can you guard the door?” he asked. He handed her his phone. “Call her dad and the Chief to let them know we found her.”
“Should I tell them anything else?”
“Say, she’ll call when she can.”
Harriet nodded. Cathy stood and her antennae banged together. “Can I do anything?”
“How about getting her some water?” He needed to be alone with Sky to check her for injuries.
As soon as Cathy and Harriet left, Kane lifted Sky off the cold floor and onto his lap. She fit snuggly against his chest, causing a wave of protection to blanket him. He tightened his hold and leaned over her. She smelled sweet, almost as if someone had sprayed her with perfume to disguise some other scent. Shit. The bastards at the factory must have done something to her. He whispered in her ear. “Sky, it’s Kane. Can you hear me?”
When she didn’t respond, he ran a hand down her soft cheek, waiting for her pupils to respond, or her respiration to change, but nothing happened. It was as if she was in a trance.
Anger bubbled inside him at the injustice, and the need to hurt someone surfaced, but he swallowed his rage. What kind of government would do this to someone so innocent? He could guess, but unless he had proof, he couldn’t barge in and demand answers. Once he knew for sure who was responsible, he’d expose the fucking government’s tactics to the world. Maybe the whistleblower Sky had discovered on the web had seen the human testing, which was what prompted him to run and hide.
Kane held her tighter, rocking her in his arms, praying she’d snap out of the drug induced state. The bathroom door squeaked open and Cathy brought in a cup of water.
“How is she?” Cathy gripped the plastic so tight, he thought she might crack it.
“The same.” Her condition was beyond his scope of training. “Call the doctor, but when you do, emphasize the need for secrecy.”
Cathy handed him the glass and rushed out, promising to keep out anyone except the good doctor.
If he hadn’t rejected Sky, they could have approached LeFloch together, and she wouldn’t be on the floor right now. If the military had been responsible for Sky’s altered state, he couldn’t see what their purpose would be for returning her. All he could think of, was that this was some kind of warning.
He dropped his chin, and when he kissed the top of her head, she wiggled in his arms, causing his pulse to spike. Leaning back, he looked into her eyes, trying to see how much she was aware of his presence. “Sky, honey, can you hear me?” She moaned. Yes! Then her body relaxed as if she gave up the fight. “Come on, Sky, stay with me.” Too many bad thoughts raced through his mind, but he refused to go there.
He rubbed her arms and dragged a knuckle down her face to stimulate her senses. He lifted the cup of water to her lips, but she didn’t take a sip, which wasn’t a good sign.
Fifteen long minutes later, an elderly gentleman wearing jeans and a top that wasn’t buttoned correctly pushed open the handicapped door. Since he was carrying a black case, Kane figured he must be the doctor.
His jaw dropped the moment he saw her. “I came as quickly as I could.”
Kane relinquished his hold on Sky and moved out of the way. After closing the stall door to give them some privacy, he paced the small space in front of the sinks. The doctor’s bag snapped open and closed. Paper ripped, and the man’s knees scraped on the tile. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor swung open the door.
Kane rushed up to him. “How is she?”
“From the welt on her neck, I’m guessing someone injected her with a sedative. I took blood, but it will be a while before I get the results back. We have to wait for the effects to wear off before I can tell how she’s affected.”
It appeared to be the same thing that happened to the Senator. He prayed whoever was doing this hadn’t surgically implanted a device in her body. “I’m staying at Rosalie’s B&B, so I’ll take Sky there to make sure she remains safe. I’ll contact you if she doesn’t recover soon.”
“And you are?”’
“Guess that would be helpful. Sorry. Kane Cornell. I’m a friend. We’ve been working on a case together.” Kane pulled out his card showing his bodyguard status. “I can protect her.”
“You might want to call her dad and the Chief.”
“They’ve already been contacted.” Once the doctor left, Kane knelt down beside her. “Sky, can you stand?” If she walked in here, she might be able to leave under her own power.
She turned her head and opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and a wave of fear stabbed his gut. If they’d harmed her, he’d break into the fucking DUMB and make them wish they’d never seen Sky Nash.
Kane moved his car to the side entrance for more stealth, returned, and then picked Sky up. Luckily, he was able to take her out of the building without notice.
* * *
Sky opened her eyes then immediately closed them, the sunlight streaming in the window acting like shards of glass poking her. Her mouth tasted like chalk, and her head pounded. She wasn’t at home, that was for sure, but she no longer was in the back of a van either—a van that smelled of urine and vomit.
The brightness dimmed, and she eased open her lids. A large body blocked the window’s glare, forcing her to blink. She must be hallucinating again. She fisted the blanket and scooted back to get away from the light, away from whoever was near, until her head hit a wall. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry.
“Hello, Sunshine.”
It was Kane. Her vision wouldn’t stay focused, but she’d never mistake that voice. “Hey.” She prayed he wasn’t some illusion.
He moved toward her and eased down on the edge of the bed, causing the mattress to sink lower on one side. “You okay?” His voice held a lot of concern.
Kane took her hand in his, his fingers warm and strong. The last time they were together, he’d dropped her off at work, and acted as if he never wanted to see her again. How did they get here, wherever here was?
“What’s going on?” She blew out a breath. Her stomach was queasy, and she didn’t have the energy to muster up enough anger toward him, even though the hurt from his rejection still coursed through her body. When she’d kissed him, he’d turned her away.
“It’s a long story. You’ve had an incident. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
An incident? That didn’t sound good. “Not doing so well.” Once her vision cleared somewhat, she pulled her hands from his and sat up straighter. God, that took so much effort. “What’s wrong with me?” She remembered the pain in her neck, the hard floor vibrating over a bumpy road, and then her mind weaving in and out consciousness.
“Someone drugged you.”
That explained a lot. Her muscles tensed. “Why?”
“I wish I knew.”
She rubbed her neck again, bringing some comfort. “It feels as if they injected poison in my veins.” She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the palms to her temples, trying to recreate the last few hours. All that came to mind was this recurring dream where she and Kane were making love under the stars, his magic hands creating new and wonderful sensations all through her body. He’d trail kisses from her lips to her belly, gently plucking her nipples with his teeth before diving into her with maddening energy.
Kane gently ran a hand down her arm. “Tell me what you remember.”
Heat raced up her face. The last thing she’d tell him was her wonderful dream with him in the starring role. “Everything’s a blur.” She told him about the van and the bumpy ride. “Only bits and pieces float through my mind, but I remember watery blue walls that sounded like a rippling river.”
“What was the first thing you remember?”
“I was driving home when I saw a car in a ditch.” A hammer was cracking cement inside her head, making clear thoughts difficult.
“What kind of car?”
Though frustrating and painful, focusing on the facts helped calm her. “The vehicle was dark and big. Maybe an SUV.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’m usually good with make and models, but I can’t remember.”
“It’s okay,” he soothed. “What else?”
She wet her lips. “I pulled up behind him, got out to help, and the next thing I remember I was bound in the back of a van.”
“Christ. Did you get a look at the driver?”
“No.”
“Did they harm you in any other way? Physically or sexually.” He squeezed her hand.
Nothing burned between her legs, so she prayed the answer was no. She moved her toe, legs, hips, and shoulders. Nothing appeared broken. “I don’t think so. Can I have some water?” His jaw relaxed as he handed her a cup. He must have anticipated she’d need a drink when she awoke. The cool liquid tasted wonderful. She studied him. “My God. When was the last time you slept or shaved?”
At least she had an excuse for looking bad.
“I’m fine. I’ve been worried about you, that’s all.”
Had he been searching for her? Her spine tingled. “Oh, no. I bet Harriet is frantic. And Dad will be upset.” She didn’t dare think about the Chief. He was probably celebrating.
“They’re all worried. Harriet sat with you in the bathroom stall where we found you, and both your dad and the Chief have been notified. They want you to call them as soon as you’re able.”
All of this information was coming at her so fast. “Wait a minute. I sat on the floor of a bathroom stall? That’s disgusting.”
“I don’t think you were worried about sanitation. I think instinctively you knew you’d be safe at EBE’s.” He leaned closer. “What else do you remember?”
Things weren’t making sense. “What are you still doing in town? Last time I saw you, I thought you were on your way to Phoenix.” No doubt Mr. Protector was probably doing his job like the good bodyguard he was trained to be.
“We’ll talk about it later. I need to find out what happened to you.”
She could deal with the delay. “I don’t really remember much other than I woke up here.” In between the van and here, apparently a lot had happened. She and Kane had gone camping, then snuggled together in two sleeping bags zipped together. He spent hours exploring her body under the bright stars and the roaring fire before they made love. It was amazing, sensual, and oh so romantic. But dreams were personal—ones she wouldn’t share.
His eyes widened. “Do you even remember walking into EBE’s, the doctor checking you out, or me sitting with you on the very cold tile floor?”
She sucked in her bottom lip. “No.” That part was true. She took in a breath—horrified someone had ripped minutes, hours, or maybe days from her life. “How long have I been out?” She thought she’d only been asleep for a few hours after they took her—whoever they were.
“You mean how long has it been since anyone saw you?” She nodded. “A little more than a day.”
Her jaw dropped. “Those bastards. They took me like they did the Senator—without my consent.”
“If they’d asked nicely, would you have said, yes?”
“Smart ass. Ow. My head hurts.” She rubbed her hands down her thigh. “Nothing is tender so maybe they didn’t implant me with a sensor.” She wondered if Dan Joe had an implant when he’d been abducted. “I know I’ve asked you before, but who do you think did this?”
He shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine, but you know me, I’m leaning toward the military.”
“Me, too. Aliens wouldn’t have been so rough.” She was kidding, but it was amazing that he could keep such a straight face. She bet he could withstand torture quite well with his ability to shield his thoughts. “How’s the Senator? Does he know about what happened to me?”
“He headed back home. And no, he doesn’t know about you.”
“Crap. I was hoping if I remembered something, we could have compared notes.” She dropped back onto the pillow and blew out a long breath. “One thing is certain. I’m going to nail those bastards. You in?”