20
Safara wanted to run to her father’s side, to somehow ease his way into this new reality of theirs, but Eli had already taken charge of the situation. Right now her nerves were pretty frayed, so she’d let cooler heads take the lead. She slipped back inside the cabin before her dad even had a chance to get out of his car.
Doc was still in the shower, but Mike had been watching the new arrivals from the front window. Now he followed her into the kitchen. “I see the party has started.”
“Yeah, it should be interesting, since my father arrived right behind the Paladins. I figured I would stay out of the way so they could get all the chest thumping out of their systems.”
He laughed as she started pulling the food out of the fridge and arranging it on the counter so everyone could help themselves. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You can get the silverware out for me.” As she pulled the lids off the various containers, she decided to ask some questions of her own. “How are you and Doc doing with what you’ve learned about all of this? You know, like the fact that I’m an alien.”
He dropped a handful of Eli’s mismatched forks and knives onto the counter next to the stack of paper plates she’d set out. “It’s a lot to get my mind around, but I can’t say I’m surprised that we aren’t alone in the universe. I’d like to know how two similar worlds ended up sharing a common border, but I doubt I’m smart enough to understand the physics of it all.”
“Not many people are.”
Mike leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “True enough, but I suspect what you really want to know is if we’re okay about you being with Eli. The answer’s yes. All of these changes have been understandably hard for him. We in the military are used to being part of a team, to belonging. That helicopter crash cut him off from all of that. Connecting with you provided the anchor he needs. Jamison and I knowing the truth also helps. However, we can’t always be here for him without risking leading his enemies right to his door.”
Doc walked into the kitchen, his hair still damp from his shower. “Did I hear my name being mentioned?”
Mike answered before she could. “I was telling her that we approve of her and Eli.”
The other man gave a sorrowful sigh. “I would only point out that I’m a much better catch, but there’s no accounting for taste. Besides, Sarge would kick my ass for trying to get between him and his woman.”
She laughed, but only because Doc expected it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to share the truth with them. “Eli plans to disappear completely, hoping to keep all of us safe from the men hunting him. He knows I can’t abandon my people, not when so much is changing.”
Turning her back to them, she added, “Not that he asked me to go with him.”
Both men immediately bracketed her, offering their version of rough comfort. Doc patted her on the shoulder. “Eli is a lot of things, Safara, but stupid isn’t one of them. He knows you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him. You know it, too.”
She sniffled a bit. “I do?”
“Yeah, you do.”
That flat statement came from Mike. “And if he doesn’t figure it out for himself, let us know, and the two of us will teach him the error of his ways.”
He flexed the fingers on his left hand. “This arm might be out of commission, but Doc can hold him while I deliver a stern lecture with my right.”
She gave each of them a quick hug. “I might just take you up on that offer. Now, we’d better see what’s going on outside.”
No sooner did she say the words than a parade of oversized men came strolling in. Her father brought up the rear right behind the two Kalith warriors. She looked past him to see where Eli was, but he didn’t come inside. She realized the Paladin named Lonzo was missing as well.
What was going on?
When she started toward the door, her father blocked her way. “Eli and Lonzo are busy dragging some guy trussed up in zip ties and duct tape out of the van. Seems Eli has a few questions for him.”
She wanted to be in on that discussion. “Everybody, help yourselves to the food and drinks.”
If the guy outside was the one who had run Mike off the road, she didn’t care what happened to him. But in case he wasn’t, he could probably use a drink about now. She grabbed beers for him, Eli, and Lonzo.
Mike came with her, leaving poor Doc to deal with everyone else. She stepped out on the porch just in time to see Eli drop their unexpected guest into one of the chairs and then callously rip the duct tape off the man’s face. Not that she blamed him. None of them had any reason to have much sympathy for the guy, especially if it turned out he was part of the crew who’d come close to killing Mike.
She shoved the beer into the man’s shackled hands without saying a word. He downed half of its contents before muttering, “Thanks.”
He didn’t seem at all concerned about being held prisoner by Eli and the Paladins, which made him either incredibly brave or crazy. He studied each of them in turn, his expression turning hard when he spotted Mike. “Are you okay?”
The major glared at him. “Why do you give a rat’s ass how I am? You and your friends did this to me.”
The man sat up straighter, his anger palpable. “No, sir, it wasn’t me. They’re not my friends. Not anymore. I didn’t sign on to kill one of our own.”
