Chapter Fifteen

Brandi stretched before she opened her eyes. The chase at the mall flashed before her, and she grabbed the cover wanting to hide under it. By the time Jabari got her to the car, she was so tired it was hard to stay awake. Every bit of reserve she had was drained. Was it the running through the mall or the fear that did it to her? Whatever it was she passed out when she hit the seat.

How long had she been asleep?

“Hi, Fie.” She turned a little and rubbed him. He looked up at her with his big blue eyes. “You saved me. Thank you.”

She held him close giving him rubs as she breathed deeply, thankful for another day to live.

“Let’s go find Jabari.” She shook her head again. It sounded like he was telling her to look in the den. Impossible.

She got up to find she was wearing her shirt but not her pants. There was a pair of slippers by the bed. She slid her feet into them and went to the Den. Jabari was sitting at the computer.

“Hi, sorry I fell asleep on you.”

He looked up and gave her a smile. Her heart beats tripled. His blue eyes were warm and welcoming. His smile tilted a crooked edge that was so sexy she wanted to melt on the spot.

“What are you doing?”

“Research.” He pushed the chair back and gestured for her to get closer. Then he pulled her down on his lap before getting closer to his laptop.

“Do you know this is?”

“That’s Gerald Cox. I only know who he is because he used to represent my client. The actress I’m making the dress for.” He was running his hand down the side of her arm making her warm.

“Does he have a reason to want to harm you?”

“No, maybe, kind of.”

“What happened?”

“Piper took a trip to LA; she asked me to come along. It was business for her, but after that, we were going to make it a mini-vacation. One day while she was at a conference, I went to lunch and ran into a woman in the bathroom. She was giving herself a pep talk through her tears.” She twisted uncomfortably.

“I don’t just get into peoples business, but she reminded me of myself. So, I asked her what was wrong. I was in the right place. She was an aspiring actress with an agent who was treating her poorly. Demanding things he had no right to. He told her she would never make it, and all the other thing's men say when they don’t get what they want. I may have suggested she drop him. Do it on her own until she could find a better agent.

“That’s what she did. It probably wouldn’t have been a blip on his radar, except she got the leading role in a film. Now she’s Hollywood’s darling, and he has nothing. He deserves nothing.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sad. Why are you asking?”

“He hired the Xandarian to kill you.”

“Why? I mean how does he even know me?”

“You’ve been mentioned several times as the reason…?”

“Kelly.”

“As the reason Kelly made it. She followed the advice of a struggling designer.”

“It’s strange, but every time I see her on the screen; I'm so proud of her. I don’t understand why he wants me dead.”

“Revenge. He may think that if you hadn’t of influenced her decision, he would still be controlling her destiny.”

“She wouldn’t have stayed with him. I didn’t make her leave; she was already looking for a way out. All I did was encourage her to make the right move. Do you think he’s the reason I’m dying?”

“No, the two incidents aren’t related.”

“How do you know?”

“I asked.”

“With your fist?” She reached out to touch him. The skin was a little discolored. There were a few bruises but none that she could see on the rest of his body.

“Yes.”

“You’re not going to hide it?” He shook his head.

“What do we do now? Go to the police?”

“There’s nothing they can do. We have to handle this on our own.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re saying a human hired an alien to kill me. How does that even make sense? How would he even get in contact with an alien?”

She wiggled on his lap until he let her up. That was good, he wasn’t about forcing his will on hers. She paced the room until she decided he was wrong this one time. There was no way Kelly’s ex-manager wanted her dead.

“You never told me about Fie.” She went back to him and sat on his lap. She was upset not stupid.

“Fie looks like a cat on your world, but he’s not. He’s from a different world, and they rarely leave. He’s incredibly young to be away from his family unit. All he can tell me is that one day he was approached and told he had a job to do. Then he woke up outside of your building. The minute he saw you; he loved you.”

“An alien, more than one, wants me dead. And my cat is not a cat. What else should I know?”

“Fie has bonded to you. As long as you live he will never be able to leave you. With that comes certain protections.” He stopped to let the words sink in.

“Invisibility.”

“Um, what?”

“He can make himself invisible, and now he can bring you along for the ride.”

“How?”

“It’s all in the blood.”

“He drew blood and licked it. I didn’t freak because I had seen him do it to you.”

“He saved your life.”

“But why now? He did it at the mall.”

“It’s a big decision. He can take my blood and live anywhere he wants to in the universe. If he takes your blood, he’s bound to you. Merling’s only do that when they’re sure. He’s very young. They wait centuries sometimes before they bond.”

“Is this bonding only with humans?”

“No, there are many species that Merling’s can bond with. They can’t bond with mine for reasons that aren’t apparent.”

She nodded and stood again. This was more than she was anticipating. Fie, her cat, who was a Merling, loved her so much that he bonded with her. She would die soon, but it didn’t matter. Her cat was another person who would be left behind to grieve her.

“Can he talk in my head?”

“Yes.”

A smile lit her face. So, she wasn’t crazy after all.

“Fie, where are you?” She turned around to find him sitting in the doorway. “Come here, baby.” He leaped into her arms, and she held him for a long time.

“I love you,” she whispered into his fur. It hit her like a bullet that she did love him. Her eyes strayed until she was watching Jabari. Her head shook; she couldn’t walk down that path it would cause more heartache in the end.

“What now?”

“Dinner.”

“Where’s the… The blue alien?”

“In the holding cells.”

She nodded and left the room. Was he going to kill him? She didn’t ask because she didn’t want to think he would carelessly take a life. Yeah, the alien wanted to kill her, but she needed to believe that Jabari was better than that.

A quick shower and she was ready to go downstairs.

“I’m starving, but I ate way too much at the mall with my new friends.”

“The Dare’s?”

“Who?”

“The females. They are all married to Dare’s.”

“You all seem to have strange last names. Yes, with Rena, Dee, and Lorali. I loved them. I wish Piper could meet…” Her smile died, and she pulled out her phone. Piper hadn’t called her. It rang, but no one answered.

“She’s not answering.” Brandi looked up at him scared something happened to her best friend.

A text came in, “Can’t talk, call you later.”

“Is that Piper?”

“Yeah, but this isn’t like her.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I see monsters and threats everywhere. We’ll laugh about it when she calls me back.”

He gave her a smile and took her hand leading her to the stairs.

“Can we take the elevator?”

He turned the corner and pushed the down button. He should have shown her where it was in the beginning. She looked so strong, but he knew what it felt like to be weak. He didn’t want her to feel like she was a burden stopping him or someone else from living their lives. The elevator dinged when it opened. It was hidden behind a wall in the kitchen.

“There’s an elevator?” Quinn turned to look at Mekhi.

Mekhi glared at Jabari.

“Aww, sibling love at its best,” Brandi said before laughing. “What’s cooking?”

Quinn gave Mekhi a little shove. He pretended fall, and they both laughed.

“Ribs, potato salad, and green beans.”

“Where are the potato salad and green beans?”

She held up a large can of beans and pointed to the frig for the other. “I picked them up after work.”

She couldn’t expect homemade because Quinn was working six or seven days a week.

“You look disappointed.”

“No,” she gave a weak laugh. “Store bought is good.”

“Brandi Derry, are you a food critic?”

“Heavens no! There are just certain things you make to eat.”

“Okay, I can’t deny that.”

“So, you make your potato salad and green beans?”

“I prefer greens, but I make them.”

“What are greens?” Jabari asked her.

“You’ve never had greens?” All the brothers shook their heads. “Oh… I feel sorry for you. It’s the food of the gods. Green yumminess that rolls over your tongue and makes your stomach do a dance of joy.”

“Have you had this goodness?” Mekhi asked Quinn.

“I tasted them once but since they were store bought…”

“They must be like the french fries. To be good, they must be made at home.” Mekhi said.

All eyes turned to look at her.

“I could go for some greens, a roast, and cornbread. I’ll let the other side be your choice.”

“Potato salad.”

She groaned. That was a lot to cook. “Sounds good. But one day to prep the food the second to make it. Agreed?” All heads nodded.

She could do it in a day, but already she could feel that she wasn’t as strong as she was yesterday. They sat and ate laughing over the day. She told Quinn about the women she met. Which made them laugh more as she recounted the tale of them being locked in the bathroom.

“I have to meet them.”

“You will,” Mekhi promised.

When dinner was done they started cleaning up. She was given the job of collecting the dishes on the table into a group but forbidden from picking them up and bringing them to the sink. On a different day she would protest, but today she was tired. The running, the fear, and the adrenaline had taken more from her than she had to give.

“Brandi do you want to watch a movie?” Quinn asked her.

“Can I get a rain check?”

“You bet. We’ll do it later in the week.”

She nodded and took Jabari’s hand. He led her to the elevator. She didn’t want to sleep her life away, but she was so tired.