Hanklen grabbed her chart from the end of the bed and began flipping through it. He stopped on a page, frowning. “Your bloodwork seems a little…” He studied her for a long moment. “What happened? Mind control? Skin toxins? Why did you help him escape? Nothing in your psychological profile indicated you weren’t a team player.”
Love. Compassion.
Elle didn’t answer.
“Larson, call Dr. Petals. I think her patient needs x-rays.” Hanklen’s gaze stayed on hers. Larson lifted his phone to obey. Elle knew she wasn’t going for any kind of scans.
Elle thought to see someone pass by the door and let loose a loud scream for help.
Larson dropped his phone down and lunged for her. He bumped her wound, causing her to cry out as his hand clasped over her mouth. She weakly fought him.
Hanklen pulled a syringe from his jacket and twisted the cap off the needle with his teeth. She reached for the IV tubing, trying to grab it before the doctor had a chance to inject her. But Larson was too strong, and no amount of willpower could counteract the morphine flooding her system.
Chapter Seventeen
“If we are welcome to come to Earth to look for brides, someone forgot to tell the Earthlings about it,” Frost said as he led Gary, the captive Galaxy Brides’ crewman he’d kidnapped for leverage. Ice doubted Gary was the alien’s real name, but then, Ice wasn’t really his.
The mountainous countryside echoed with the sound of night animals. Gary insisted the ship would come for them if he ordered it to. Frost had a handheld device in his hand, so the stout alien could do just that once they reached the pickup location.
“If you recall from the contract you signed, there are some risks involved when visiting a new planet. The information packet sent out was very clear that the general Earthling population does not know aliens are real,” Gary defended. The hands of his human costume still hung from his wrists. Ice thought about pulling the skin suit off him. As a human, Gary could only be described as creepy. “Didn’t you listen to the entire recording?”
“Which part?” Snow asked. “The part where it said to join you for jolly-making on Earth, where the humanoid females were digestible food?”
“Or the part where you said the women were compactible and ready for travel?” Frost added, sliding his hand over the alien’s head to force the skin suit to wrinkle on his face. It ripped a little in the back.
Gary reached for his face and pulled at the skin suit around his eyes, ripping it open a little so he could see. “You are not allowed to eat the humans.”
“That’s not what your recording translator said in Sintazian,” Ice answered.
“No. That’s all wrong. I was assured those were the best translators on the market.” Gary seemed very upset. “We can’t have our clients eating humans. This must be addressed at once.”
Ice knew that Sintazian translators were often wrong, even the best ones, but he didn’t bother to put Gary at ease. The man and his crew had left them behind. It was their fault he’d been captured and brought to the facility where…
Where Elle saved me.
With each step through the shaded mountain path, he felt tension rolling over him. This is what had to happen. He needed to get his brothers home. They had to leave Earth. It wasn’t safe.
Yet, he didn’t want to go. The thought of Sintaz should have brought him pleasure, but instead he just ached for what could never be.
“Elle would never survive on Sintaz. Why would you even bring us to a place whose inhabitants could not come back with us?” Ice demanded.
“Elle?” Frost asked.
“Arrangements could have been made,” Gary said. “There are special domes the humans use when living in Antarctica.”
“The place with the fat cookie monster who forces pointy-eared children to work in his factories?” Frost inquired.
“Yes,” Gary said. “We would have employed the same technique on your planet. As long as they only went outside in the advanced ESC frozen-technology snowsuits, they would have been fine.”
“Who is Elle?” Snow grabbed Ice’s arm, stopping him. “Did you find a woman?”
Ice nodded. “She is the one who freed me from my prison.” He looked at Gary. “I need you to locate her, so I know she is well. She was shot trying to help me. The people she took me from were not pleased.”
Gary put out his hand for the handheld.
“Is this the location?” Frost asked before giving it over.
Gary nodded. He took the device and said, “I need transport for four and a location transport for a bride named Elle…” Gary looked at Ice expectantly.
