Chapter Seventeen

There was a warning going off through the house. She couldn’t see or hear it. It danced over her nerve endings triggering her fight-or-flight response. She slipped on a pair of jeans, a tee, and sneakers. Fie jumped on her shoulder holding onto her shirt.

Jabari searched the room. She realized he couldn’t see her. She placed her hand on his shoulder. He nodded his head and led her out the room and down the stairs. He wouldn’t take the chance they would become stuck in the elevator.

He stopped right before they hit the kitchen and pushed on a wall that opened to show another staircase.

“This leads to the garage. Get a car and go to Piper’s I’ll come after its safe.”

She shook her head no, but he couldn’t see her. Her hand found his and held on tight. There was no way she was leaving him.

“Brandi, I need you to be safe.”

She wanted to talk to him to explain, but she knew there was a chance that whoever was attacking had her voice, and would be able to track them. She took his hand off the wall watching the door close and then pushed him to go into the kitchen.

“You do everything I say.”

This time she didn’t nod. If he thought, she was going to stand still while someone invaded her new home and put everyone’s life in jeopardy, he still didn’t know her.

She heard the word defender whispered through her mind, but she rejected it. She wasn’t like those women of valor, but she couldn’t just walk away from a fight.

He put her in a corner. If she could talk, she’d repeat the words to an old movie. Instead, she grabbed the bat that must have been put there for her use. Since no one could see her, thank you Fie. She brushed his mind. She followed them out of the door.

There were two small craft hovering about three feet above the ground. Where the hell was the government, army, navy, marines, heck air force? Alright, maybe she just wanted to see more tight bodies in uniform, sue her. However, she wasn’t feeling very safe with the military not being here. If she lived maybe she could help them with their detection of alien beings. If she lived… How could she still have hope that she would see next year? She gave a shake of her head and focused on what was being said.

Standing on a platform that had come from the ship was a man. He looked as human as she did.

“I just want the woman. She’s already dying. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

She waited for Jabari to declare his undying love or at least his deep like. He did neither. He jumped onto the platform and punched the alien in the face knocking him to the ground. He followed him down hitting him again.

The male rolled away, the blood coming from his face was too bright in the darkness to be human. “Kill them and find the woman. Humans are more trouble than they’re worth.”

Ten males, she thought they were males, came out of the two ships. They were different sizes and races. Since one was a red blob, she was pretty sure he wasn’t related to the human looking one. Another human looking male came off the ship after the fighting started. He ignored them all as he jumped down from the platform. This was the one who was in command, she could tell by the way he was holding himself and looking over the others.

She backed up because she knew he was looking for her. He kept checking a device in his hand. It probably detected human females. If she were an alien, she’d have a device like that.

He turned away from her and moved toward the house. Her stomach dropped as she followed him. The only person in the house had to be Quinn. Everyone was too busy fighting to see him, or he was wearing personal stealth technology. Since he walked right past Jabari, it must be the second. She didn’t know why she saw him, but he was in for a surprise.

“I know you’re in here I can see you on my scanner.” His voice was harsh. It felt like jagged glass over her skin. Maybe he changed his appearance to look human. She couldn’t imagine a voice like that coming from someone with human vocal cords.

Where was she? Brandi was searching the room with her eyes when she saw a slight movement. The male didn’t spot it. And he thought humans were useless. She made her way across the room being careful not to touch anything.

Quinn was staring at the male. Tee was sitting at her feet looking like a harmless cat. Brandi would have laughed if she could have.

“Gotcha.” He raised his weapon the same time that Tee jumped on him. Brandi swung the bat cracking him in the head. Quinn jumped out with brass knuckles. Really? She started beating the crap out of him while Tee held his neck between her teeth.

This was so unfair, but she hit him with the bat again.

“Slade, don’t stop them. Do you know how hot this is?” Phoenix’s voice was filled with laughter and a sexy growl.

Mekhi and Jabari grabbed them.

“How did you find me?” She was invisible after all.

“When you started swinging the bat, it wasn’t invisible. You can let her be seen now.”

“Now I can see her.” Thrice said holding back his laughter.

“Why do you have brass knuckles?”

“Mekhi doesn’t trust the men I work with. He wants me to be able to kick their asses if one of them tries to touch me.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“I know, right?” Quinn gave her a big smile.

The brothers shook their heads. There were two of them now, and still, they didn’t understand them.

“Let him up Tee.” Jabari walked over to the male kneeling over him. “Who hired you?”

He spoke in a gravelly language that Brandi couldn’t understand.

“That wasn’t nice, we have females in the room.” He banged his head on the floor. “Who hired you?”

“Gerald Cox. He forgot to mention that this house was filled with created.”

“He doesn’t know yet. Someone drag him to the holding cell. Brandi, you and Fie are coming with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To meet Gerald Cox. Don’t forget the bodies out front. I’m taking one of the hovers.”

She was quiet as he knocked out several of the males trying to wake up. He put her on board and made sure she was strapped in before he took a seat and pulled in the platform.

“Do you know how to fly this thing? What if the government shoots us out of the air?”

“I can fly it. Your people call it stealth mode. You don’t have the technology to see the hover.” He stopped thinking about the earth of the future. “One day you will have the technology and more.”

“Is the future nice?”

“Sometimes the present is better.”

She couldn’t argue that. This minute was precious to her. He started the engines, and soon they were flying above the earth.

“I don’t know if I should tell you how marvelous this is. I knew the earth was beautiful, but to be able to see it this way without seeing it through a camera is magnificent. Or should I be screaming my bloody head off?

“You could do both.”

She looked at him. His face was serious, but she knew it was his sneaky sense of humor coming out.

“Thanks. Where are we going?”

“California.”

“Do you know how long that will take?”

“Fifteen minutes, twenty if we have to avoid airplanes.”

“Oh right, hover.”

Her view of the world was changing. This was the perfect moment in time to be alive.

“Wait, what are we going to do when we get there? I mean you don’t plan to kill him, right?” Her voice was a little weak at the end.

Jabari wasn’t a monster. He would never think of killing a man in cold blood.

“Do you want me to kill him?”

“No!” Even if the man was gunning after her. She couldn’t kill him that was wrong. Everything said he needed a trial, then to go to jail. What if they found him innocent? Who would believe he hired aliens to kill her?

Morality wasn’t a question she felt ready to grapple with.

“What do you want?”

“I want him to go to prison and never be able to hire another killer in his lifetime.”

“Done.”

What did that mean? Instead of asking she enjoyed the ride. This wasn’t on her bucket list, but it would have been if she knew about it. How long would it take to go to Paris? That was on her, ‘please let me live longer list.’

He set the hover down between a house and a massive backyard pool.

“How do you know this is his house?”

“The address was already in the navigational system.”

Right, think GPS but for alien craft. She got it.

The door to the back of the house slid open. A male came out in his fifties. He was tall and lean with thinning salt and pepper hair. He wasn’t hot, but he wasn’t bad.

“Did you kill that bitch?”

Jabari brought the hover closer to the ground, but he never replied. When the man was close enough, he opened the door in a clear invitation.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed on board in case I spilled sacred alien secrets.” He said dismissing it like he thought it was funny.

“Who are you?” He asked when he finally passed through the doorway.

Jabari closed it and turned to look at him.

“Have a seat.”

“I have the money; I just need some proof that the deed is done.” He backed up toward the door.

“Sit.”

“Thanks, but I should go get the money.” He stood taller puffing his chest out.

Jabari stood and took a step towards him.

“I am rather tired.” He went for a chair.

“Not that one.” He pointed to a chair in the back.

Gerald nodded and took a seat. Straps came down holding him in.

“Why do you want Brandi dead?”

“Your friend said it didn’t matter as long as I had enough money.

“My friend,” he sneered the word. “Doesn’t always make wise business decisions.”

“She stole something from me.”

What the hell was he talking about? She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from calling him a liar.

“What did she steal?”

“An actress.”

Jabari gave him a confused look.

“I was paid money to keep this person from succeeding. I was successful at it until she came along and started whispering in her ear. Telling her, she could be anything she wanted to be. Nosy bitch. She deserves to pay for what she did to me.”

“Who paid you?”

“The girl’s father.”

She put her hand over her mouth. Kelly told her stories of her dad and her desire to never see him again. It had been hard for her to understand because of how much she wanted a family. Now she understood.

“Why now?”

“Kelly let it slip that she would be walking the red carpet in a dress made by an unknown designer. Once the world saw her clothes, they would all want one. She was going to become rich and famous.”

“And you’re not.”

“Yeah. Is she dead?”

“No, I’m alive you soul-sucking moron.”

He screamed and tried to get out of the chair. The straps tightened around his body. “Where did you come from?”

“I was always here. Now you’re going to jail where you belong.”

He sat back and laugh. “No jury will believe you.”

That’s what she was worried about.

“You confessed.”

“And? Do you have a recording?”

Jabari played back his voice confessing to the crime.

“It’s not admissible in court. I’ll tell them that you forced me to confess.”

She looked at Jabari, but he never looked at Gerald. He set a course and then turned and gave her a smile. The fire was back in his eyes.

She choked on the words she wanted to utter and closed her eyes instead. Could life get any more exciting?