Mary stared at the gold box with its delicious contents. She’d found the chocolates in with the Zio’s to-go boxes. She hadn’t debated long about eating the Tek-provided dinner. Salad, lasagna, breadsticks, and even a bottle of merlot—how could she resist? Plus, she’d been starving.

However, the chocolates proved to be more difficult to consume. The beautiful gold box reminded her of nekkid Tek—and that reminded her of his crazy idea that he was an alien—and that made her feel guilty for wanting to eat the chocolates.

She left the box on the kitchen counter and went to get ready for bed. “Not even ten o’clock on a Friday night. Woo hoo,” she muttered. “You’re such a party monster.”

In her master bathroom, she put on a pair of sweats and a worn pink T-shirt, took off her make-up, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair until it shone.

Just as she pulled back the sheets, her cell phone rang. The caller ID said “Celia Brown.” She didn’t recognize the name, but she answered it anyway. The female voice trembled with fear. “Mary?”

She thought she recognized the caller, but had to be certain. “Carlotta?”

“I-I left him,” the woman said.

Mary sat up straight, immediately entering into social worker mode. “Are you safe right now?”

“Yes, I think so.” Carlotta sniffled. “I’m really scared. He said he’d kill me.”

“I know you’re scared, but you’re also brave. Do you hear me, Carlotta? You are brave. You left him. It doesn’t get any ballsier than that. Now you need to take the next step. I can get you into the shelter tonight. Do you have a way to get there?”

“N-no.” Mary could hear the desperation in the battered woman’s voice.

Mary put the phone between her ear and shoulder, shedding her pajamas then began to dress. “Where are you?” She yanked up her jeans as Carlotta gave her the address—a convenience store located in a shady part of town.

“Can you wait inside the store until I get there?” Carlotta’s husband was a persistent bastard. Mary imagined he was driving up and down every street trying to find her.

“Yes,” Carlotta said, her voice steadying. “The lady here let me use her cell phone and she says I can stay. Please hurry.”

Mary hung up and finished putting on her clothes. She shoved her feet into a pair of sandals and called the shelter. Marta, who worked the overnight shift, answered on the first ring.

“I’m bringing in Carlotta Littleton. Can you get a bed ready?”

“Yep. How long until you get here?”

“Within the hour.”

“See you then.”

Mary hurried out the door. She was twisting the key in the lock when she realized she didn’t have her car.

“Shit.” Calling a Lyft ride would take precious time. Urgency beat a tempo in her heart. She didn’t have a choice. She dug around in her purse and retrieved her phone, opening the app to request a ride.

“Mary?”

The baritone voice startled her, and she dropped the phone at her feet. Trent, who stood outside his opened door, his expression one of tender concern, beat her to it. He handed the device back to Mary, his fingers grazing hers, sending electric tingles up her arm.

Of course, he was dressed in a form-fitting T-shirt and tight jeans. The man looked even better in casual wear than he did in the tailored suits. “You are distressed,” he said

She debated roughly two seconds before asking, “Do you have a car?”

“I do not drive the human death machines. But I have a form of transportation I can offer you.”

“It’s okay.” She didn’t have time for his crazy. “I’ll just call a Lyft.”

“How long will this Lyft take?”

“Depends.” She cursed under her breath. “Ten minutes for a Lyft driver to get here—another thirty to get across town. Damn it. I need to get to Carlotta now, not in forty minutes.”

“I can get you there in less than one.”

Mary stared at him. “Let me guess. You have a way to beam me there, Scottie?”

“As I told you, my real name is Tek,” he said. “I can open a portal for you.”

“Bless your heart.” If Mary hadn’t been so worried about Carlotta, she might have felt sorry for the man. He believed so thoroughly in his delusion, it was pitiful. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have time to waste.”

“Very well.” Tek pulled down the collar of his T-shirt and touched the green gem. “Shema.”

Green light shimmered into a large oval shape. Mary stared at the huge glowing oval and then at the man who’d produced it. “What is that?”

“Your transportation. Do you know where you wish to go?”

“Yes. I’ve been there before, if that’s what you’re asking.” Mary shook her head. “What are you, a magician?”

“I am no mage.”

“Maybe I’m the one cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.” Her phone rang. When Celia Brown’s name popped up, she answered, heart pounding. “Hello? Carlotta?”

“No, this is Celia. Some pissed-off dude grabbed your friend. I called the police, but they’re not here yet.”

Mary felt the color drain from her face. Carlotta’s abusive husband had found her. Abusers were the most dangerous after their partners left the relationship. Carlotta had been secretly attending classes at the shelter, working toward her GED, but she was still reluctant to leave Donnie. Now that Carlotta had actually left, Donnie would make sure he punished her bad enough to scare her into staying. Or even worse, kill her.

“Shit.” The situation was now at DEFCON 1. “Thanks for letting me know,” she said to Celia. Mary shoved the phone in her purse. She didn’t know where Carlotta lived, but she couldn’t be far. She’d probably walked to the store. She glanced at Tek, who looked genuinely worried. “Fine,” she said. Insanity was about to win the day. She waved at the…er, portal. “How does this work?”

“Think of the location in as much detail as you can.”

She did so as Trent took her hand and drew her toward the crazy green light. The next thing she knew she was stepping onto the parking lot of the convenience store with Tek right behind her.

“We’re going to have a long talk about Through the Looking Glass later,” she said.

“Whatever you desire, my Mary.”

“Uh, okay. Stay here, please.” She hurried across the pavement and entered the store.

“Celia? I’m Carlotta’s friend.”

The clerk, a slightly built woman with dull blonde hair and a tired expression, stood behind the counter. She frowned. “How did you get here before the police?”

“I’m a lead foot. Did Carlotta say anything to you? Maybe tell you where she lived?”

Celia shook her head. “She didn’t say much at all. Just asked to use the phone, so I gave her my cell. Then this guy came in, mad as hell, and dragged her out of the store. He had a gun, and he was screaming that he would shoot me. I’m sorry. Best I could do was call nine-one-one.”

“You did good,” reassured Mary. “Did you happen to see a car?”

The clerk shook her head.

“Thank you.” Celia left the store and joined Tek outside. “She didn’t see a car, much less the direction they went.”

“They are not far,” said Tek.

“Yeah? Can you read minds?”

Tek snorted. “Only the Bwaya can do that, and that’s why they live as hermits in the Aleraan desert. I use this—“ He tapped his nose. “—to track down my prey. I can smell the woman’s fear and her captor’s rage.”

“Using your sniffer is your alien superpower?” she asked incredulously.

“Among others,” he said. Pride entered his expression. “I am a warrior of the First Benta.” He puffed out his chest. “Not many wear that title.”

“I don’t know what any of that means, but hey, if you can find her, I’ll…” She trailed off. What the hell did she plan on offering?

“You’ll what?” His eyes gleamed. “Ghrata?” He shook his head. “Never the mind. I will not trade on the life of your friend. This way.”

Since she had no other way to find Carlotta—and she did just transport across the city in less than a minute thanks to the should-not-exist portal—she followed Tek as he maneuvered through the back streets. They entered a darkened neighborhood. Most of the streetlights had been smashed out, and the only visible light came from the flickering televisions still on in some of the clapboard houses. In the distance, she heard dogs barking, raucous laughter, and bass-thumping music.

Tek stopped in front of a dark one-story house with peeling paint and a sunken porch. “She is in there.”

“I’ll call Celia and have her direct the cops here,” said Mary, digging around in her purse.

A woman’s scream pierced the night. Before Mary could react, Tek leaped onto the front porch. In a single blow, he punched the door off its hinges and entered the house.

“Tek!” She ran after him, navigating the damaged porch and stepping across the threshold. The only light in the room emanated from the ceiling, the bulb so dim, it barely kept the darkness at bay. The door, splintered into several pieces lay all over the living room. .

She crept down the hallway, following the sounds of Carlotta’s sobs and a strange wet gurgling sound. She reached an opened door and paused, taking in the destruction. A single bedside lamp with a tilted shade revealed the havoc. The mattress was halfway off the bed, and shredded clothes littered the floor along with makeup items and busted jewelry.

Tek’s hand was clamped around the throat of a white dude with a shaved head. Donnie. The gasping sounds came from him. Tek held the man a couple feet in the air and pressed him against the wall so hard, the drywall had cracked.

“He’s turning blue,” Mary said. “You’re gonna kill him.”

“I do not see the problem.” Fury crowded Tek’s features. “He dares lay a hand on a woman? Only a cowardly weakling would do such a thing.” He pushed his face close to Donnie’s. The man’s eyes bulged and drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. “If you were on my planet your mate would have the right to sever your balls with a hot sword. A man without honor does not deserve progeny.”

Mary put her hand on Tek’s back. “Seriously, put him down.”

Tek stepped back and let go of Donnie, who landed in a heap on the floor, choking and coughing as he tried to draw air back into his lungs.

Mary looked around the room. “Carlotta?”

“Here,” came a weak voice.

The battered woman huddled in the corner, her lips bloody and one eye swollen shut. As outrage surged through Mary, she was this close to letting Tek have at Donnie again. It would serve the bastard right if Tek choked him to death. She knelt by Carlotta. “Can you stand up, honey?”

The moment the woman tried to move, she cried out. “I think he broke a rib,” she said, sobbing. “And maybe my shoulder.”

Mary could see a deformity in Carlotta’s clavicle. “Don’t move. I’ll get you help.”

“I will carry her,” said Tek. Mary moved out of the way and Tek carefully picked up the injured girl and cradled her in his massive arms. Carlotta reacted to his gentleness by relaxing and pressing her face against his chest.

Mary called 9-1-1 and reported the crime and the need for an ambulance. The paramedics arrived first and took over Carlotta’s care. As she was being tucked into the back of the vehicle, two police cars roared up and four uniformed officers converged on the yard where Mary and Tek stood.

As soon as Mary told the officers what had occurred, one policeman headed to the ambulance and three went inside to get Donnie. A minute later, one of the uniforms re-appeared and called out to the emergency crew. “This guy needs medical attention.”

“He needs to bleed to death,” muttered Tek.

“Hey, Hulk. Did you get into an altercation with the perpetrator?” asked the officer from the porch.

“No,” answered Mary before Tek could. “He was like that when we got here.”

The officer quirked an eyebrow but didn’t pursue further queries.

Once Mary and Tek gave their statements they were allowed to leave the scene. Tek walked her down a darkened alley and opened another portal. Within two steps, they were once again in the hallway of their apartment building.

Mary looked at her phone. “It’s after midnight. Good thing it’s the weekend. I can sleep in tomorrow. Well, today.”

Tek smiled at her and she felt a zing go right through her.

No longer in crisis mode, Mary was now confronted with the reality that Tek was, as he said, an alien. How else could she explain the portal? Or the way he tracked Carlotta? Her knees went weak and she wobbled. Holy crap. Tek was from another world?

Tek grabbed her by the elbows and held her upright. “Let us talk.”

Mary nodded, and she allowed Tek to usher her inside his apartment.