Page 45 of Loved By the Alien King
“You said they tried to cover up the truth,” I began softly, “but what happens now that Nera knows all of this?”
Rain turned her attention to Nera. “They’re already tracking her.”
“Already?” I demanded.
“Ear implants. A gift from my ex-husband,” Nera said bitterly.
“I was interfering with the trackers until Nera told me to stop.”
I spun to face Nera. “The static?”
She nodded.
“They could be on their way here right now.” Rain’s shoulders sagged, as though the very idea pressed against her.
I no longer cared about what they might do to me if they captured me once again. This wasn’t about me at all. This was about Earth Space Fleet turning against one of their own in the name of secrecy and cover-ups. This was about what they might do to the woman I loved.
They’d already proven they had no qualms about the murder of innocents. The thought of what they might do to my beautiful star turned me inside out.
“We have to get you out of here right now. We can go to Pete, tell him it’s not safe here for you. Tell him to get you aboard the cruise ship right now instead of in the morning.”
Nera looked up at me blankly, her eyes glassy. “And then what? Stop the filming of the show? Blur my face out even though everyone already knows it’s me?” She turned to Rain, every muscle in her body going rigid. “My engineer traced the IP address of the email that sent in the contract forAlien Love Island—which I didn’t sign, by the way—to here. Klio-3. Areyouthe one who put me on this show while painting a target on my back by telling me all of this?”
“I had no idea Earth Space Fleet would come here. I was just trying to help you find happiness and—”
“I DON’T NEED YOUR GODDAMN HELP,” Nera exploded. “Notyou.Especiallyyou. Doing something behind my back isneverhelping.”
Tears streamed down her face, each one a spear to my hearts. This was too much. We never should’ve come here. I could’ve requested that Rain send digital proof and explanations with distance and a screen separating Nera from a face-to-face reminder of her heartbreaking past.
I knelt next to my Nera, wanting to wrap her up in my arms forever but instead offering her my hand. “We should go.”
She grasped my hand like a lifeline, and I hauled her up and out in a hurry.
Behind us, Rain wept. “I’m sorry, Nera. I love you. I’m sorry. I love you…”
We were already racing away, the past at our heels and our unknown future possibly lurking in the shadows around the next bend in our path.
Tracking us.
Hunting us.
One thing was certain though—Earth Space Fleet would have to get through me, and every single Xenoxx warrior, to get to my Nera.
Chapter seventeen
Rain
Accessingmemory030501Code:015268 \ * * * * * * * * System flux: 8 sksk sldk
Memory accessed:
“But whatarerights? DoIhave rights?” Lucy (((((((((((hurt)))))))))) spun herself in a circle while holding my hand to the top of her head.
She was such a loving, curious child, always wanting to be close and touching while talking and learning.
I booped her gently on her little button nose in between spins. “You…do. Even…animals have…rights.”
“What?” she shrieked in her sweet helium voice. “Like my future cat that I’m going to name Major because he will be so, so majorly soft and loved?”
