“Look Stefani! She likes to kick!” Two teenage girls I’d become fond of were holding my girls, wading with them in the shallow end of the water, giggling as the twins splashed and kicked. Alena, especially, had taken to the water like a fish. Fearless. Which meant when she got old enough to crawl, I would have to watch her every millisecond.
I sat on the edge of a sturdy lounger, in the shade, and kept my eye on them as I sipped at a glass of iced tea. I’d brought the baby bag outside with me, just in case. That thing was never more than a few feet from my side anytime we were out of the house.
My cell phone rang. Damn it. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. And who called on a Saturday anyway? Everyone in my personal circle had their own, unique ringer. This was straight up ring…ring…ring…
I ignored it. Probably a telemarketer. Or robocall.
Ring…ring…ring…
Annoyed, I dug through the bag and pulled out my phone. The caller ID showed a blocked number. Ugh. I ignored it and put it back in my bag.
Ring…ring…ring…
“You’d better answer that dear, might be an emergency.” The voice came from a kindly neighbor who had successfully raised five children as a single mom. Alone. Like me. She was probably right.
I grabbed the phone. “Hello?”
“Oh, thank god! Stefani? Is that you?”
“Yes.” That voice sounded familiar… “Who is this?”
“It’s Warden Egara, from the Brides’ Processing center in Miami.”
Something twisted deep down in my gut.
“Do you remember me?”
Did I remember the only witness to the bleakest moment in my entire life? “Yes. I remember.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?” My gaze locked on my daughters, my anxiety rising. Had the Atlan government somehow found out about them? Were they demanding the twins go to Atlan? Or was it our government demanding they be sent away because they were hybrid alien children? Every nightmare scenario I’d envisioned—and there had been a lot of them—flashed through my head in the blink of an eye.
“He’s here.”
“Who?”
“Velik.”
Oh god. Nightmare scenario numero uno; Velik wakes up one day, finds out about the twins, decides he wants them after all, and comes to Earth to take them away from me. Not fucking happening.
“Stefani? Did you hear me?”
“I heard you.” I was already throwing things back into my bag as quickly as possible. Sunscreen. Baby hats. I stood up and yanked the towel off the chair I’d been sitting on. I had to get out of here. Take the twins home. If that asshole thought he was going to waltz up after all this time and take my girls, he could rot in hell. I had an Atlan stepfather and brother-in-law who would help me put Velik in the ground. Especially once they learned the truth.
“Stefani?”
“What?” I motioned with my arms for the teenage girls to bring the twins back to me. Shock had been transformed into fear. That fear was now becoming something else. Something vicious, protective and in a fucking hurry to get out of here.
How had he found out? I’d tried to tell him about the babies, but he wouldn’t even talk to me when I called him on his stupid spaceship. So, why now? Why fucking now?
Didn’t matter.
So what if Velik was on Earth? Miami was the only transport pad I knew of on the North American continent. He wouldn’t have flown a spaceship to get here. Earth was too far away. So, he must have transported to Miami. He still had to cross the country to get to us. A non-stop flight from Miami to LAX took just under six hours.
“Stefani.”
Jesus. Christ. “What? I’m a little busy here.” I would call Adrian on the drive home. Get her husband—mate—whatever—Kovo, ready to roll. “Thanks for the warning. I need to go.”
