STEEL: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 3) (17 page)
Read STEEL: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 3) Online
Authors: Samantha Leal
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Kylie Parker woke up with a start. The batteries to her alarm clock had died some time during the night, and she had worked a double shift the night before and slept very deeply. That meant that she was late to work. She groaned in frustration and dressed as quickly as she possibly could, imagining the unfriendly face of her boss, who seemed to be looking for any excuse to chew her out. The woman was awful, and Kylie groaned as she grabbed her car keys. It would take a miracle to avoid being reprimanded and she was worried that she was all out of luck.
She finally made it to work and ran to her cubicle. She had a well-paying job, and didn't know what she would do if she were to lose it. Unfortunately, as soon as she arrived, she was summoned into her boss's office. When she sat down in front of Nancy's desk, Nancy scowled at her. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming, but she held her breath and waited to hear for sure.
“This is a crucial time for the company, we are experiencing an opportunity for growth. And as I'm sure you know, you are only as strong as your weakest link. I can't have anybody screwing that up for us right now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go. Your performance has been lackluster, and punctuality is extremely critical. I'm sure you understand. Have your desk cleared out by noon today.”
Kylie opened her mouth to protest, but the words seemed stuck behind a barrier. There was nothing more she could say to this woman, and anything else out of her mouth would just seem vile. It was better to leave with dignity than to throw a fit, so Kylie stood and walked away. Nancy would have a hard time finding anybody else to work double shifts when she needed it, and that wasn't something that Kylie needed to deal with anymore.
Losing her job had many consequences. She thought them all over as she packed her desk up. Her mortgage was coming up, and due quickly, and if she wasn't careful her payments would quickly pile up. She could lose everything. She figured with her savings she should be set for the first couple of months, but after that there was nothing that she could do except sell the summer home that she had inherited to make ends meet. If nothing else, she could live there and give up the mortgage on her house. It would give her a small safety net until she was able to find something better for herself. She closed her eyes and sighed, wishing that she worked for anybody else, and angry that Nancy would overlook all of her hard work over some obscure personal grudge against her.
On the way home from work, she decided that she would go visit her boyfriend Carl. They had been seeing each other for a few months, and she thought that maybe one of his quirky jokes and a hug would help her to feel better about the possibility of losing everything that she cared about materially in the world. She impulsively took the exit to his house instead of continuing down the highway and taking her own exit. She had a spare set of house keys for his apartment and let herself in, hoping that he would be happy to see her. She set the keys down on the counter and looked around. He was nowhere to be seen. She heard a small noise coming from the bedroom and she walked toward it.
“Carl?" She called, pushing open his bedroom door.
The sight that met her eyes made her immediately feel sick. She closed the door quickly, her face contorting in fury. Carl was in bed with another woman. She couldn't believe the nerve of that man. He shuffled to the door wrapped in a sheet.
“Who is that woman?” the blonde in his bed was calling out. “How did she get in here? I thought you said you stopped fooling around on me!”
Anger filled Kylie's heart.
“How long have you been with her?” she cried.
Carl opened his mouth to reply but she gritted her teeth in defiance.
“That actually doesn't matter – I'm not dealing with this from you.”
Kylie rushed through the apartment and grabbed the few belongings that she had left there, before hopping into her vehicle and speeding away. She had never felt more humiliated in her entire life, and she could hot tears brimmed against her eyes as she drove. She thought she was going back to her own apartment, but she sped past the exit and found herself on the way toward her summer home. She had some thinking to do, and she did not want to do that in her stuffy home, where she knew she would just end up drowning in her own sorrows. She would come collect some clothes later, as she needed them, but until then she was just going to do her best to keep her head above water.
The day had taken many unexpected twists and turns, and she was feeling worse than she could ever remember feeling before. It would do her some good to get away from the rest of the world, and not have to face any of the mundane problems that she was used to dealing with in her everyday life.
Over the next few weeks, she began to slowly move her belongings over to the summerhouse. She called her brother and asked if he would be able to help her to lease out her home to somebody else so that she wouldn't lose it entirely. Instead of helping her, he gave her a lecture on being self-sustainable and independent, and hung up leaving her feeling worse than ever. When she called her best friend to ask if she knew of anybody who would want to rent her house or had heard of any new job opportunities, all she could do was say that she would call back and let her know if anything came up. Kylie didn't hear anything else from her after that. She had never felt more alone in her entire life.
The summerhouse was on a lake, and it made her feel at peace to be there. She had gone many times as a child, and after her father had passed away he had left the home to her. She had been very popular there throughout her youth and every vacation she seemed to have a new boyfriend. There was something about her that had men throwing themselves at her, and yet she had settled with a guy like Carl. What was wrong with her?
Kylie studied herself in the mirror, searching for answers to her many questions. There was nothing there but her reflection. She had jet black hair that cascaded down to the middle of her back, and almond shaped and piercing blue eyes. Her figure was voluptuous and toned, and she realized suddenly that maybe Nancy's problem with her was some kind of jealousy over her appearance. Nancy was a rumpled middle-aged woman who didn't seem to have a lot of close connections in the world. Maybe she had her eye on one of the men in the office, but he had his eye on Kylie.
It wasn't particularly fair, but at least it helped Kylie to cope with the fact that she had been unfairly fired. Nancy was a miserable old woman, and if she needed to abuse her power and authority to feel better about her lack of love, Kylie supposed she could deal with that. She tore herself away from the mirror and sat outside at the patio table, suddenly smelling the distinct aroma of impending rain. There was an obnoxious amount of splashing coming from the middle of the lake, where a teenage couple were boisterously playing. Kylie could tell that they had had one too many between the two of them, and soon the wind started blowing ominously and the clouds began to darken.
She was torn between staying put and allowing the rain to begin falling on her bare skin, and being a responsible adult and getting those kids out of the water before they were killed in a storm. She made her way toward them, reluctant but resigned in her duty toward humanity. If those were her kids, she would hope that someone responsible would be looking out for them. She wasn't old enough to have teenagers yet, but still.
“Hey you two, you should get out of there. It's about to storm!" Kylie cried, waving up to the darkened sky. They didn't seem to hear her, and continued laughing loudly and splashing in the water.
“Hey!" Kylie called again, but her words were muted out by the sound of a loud whirring engine. She looked around in confusion. There weren't any roads in the area, just pathways and long, winding driveways. There was one road far out to the east of her summerhouse. She didn't see any cars or vehicles approaching, especially none that would be able to mute out her words quite so thoroughly. A bright light flashed in front of her eyes, and she looked up into the sky expecting to see lightning. Instead, there was a large craft hovering above her, and a blinding beam of light shone down and illuminated the lake.
Another bright light flashed in front of her, and Kylie felt herself being lifted. The weightlessness of her body was alarming, but she didn't have enough time to process it. Suddenly the entire world went dark and the whirring noise stopped. She blinked rapidly, but she still could not see anything. All she could hear were alarmed and panicked murmurs around her. Somebody stuck a device into her ear and soon all of the sounds around her began to make sense.
“We got the wrong person, we need to try again!" Somebody was shouting.
“We can't try again, you know that would be too risky."
“What are we supposed to do with her?! She isn't even part of a couple. How are we supposed to -”
“We should just put her back then.”
“We can't just put her back, what if she tells somebody what happened!?”
Suddenly, a loud, clear voice spoke and silenced the panic around her. Her eyes began to adjust, and she squinted toward the voice, just making out a figure of a man, or at least a humanoid being resembling a man, making his way toward her. He was handsome and authoritative. His voice was rich and masculine, and somehow made her feel safe.
“We will keep her, forget about the other two. What worth would their genes be to us anyway? They were both intoxicated and putting their own lives at risk for the sake of brief entertainment. They would be useless to us in the long run, we might as well choose someone with a little more sense.”
Kylie looked around at the people who had been chattering in a panic. They all looked vaguely similar to the handsome humanoid man, but their eyes were wide with concern. Their heads are slightly bigger in proportion than she was used to seeing, and the effect startled her deeply. Otherwise, they looked somewhat similar to normal people. Her first thought was that she had been kidnapped by a group of deformed people, but soon the leader of the group walked toward her with firm steps echoed off the metal in the room that she was in.
“Why don't you come with me," he said gently, offering his broad arm to her. “I'm sure that you have some questions."
When she didn't budge, he took her by the arm and led her away from the large group. Kylie thought to herself how impossible the situation that she was in really was, and tried to make herself believe that it was all a dream. When they stopped in front of a large metallic door and the humanoid figure opened it with a button, her heart sank. It wasn't a dream. She was in a lot of trouble.
Kylie looked around the room, her heart racing in fear.
“Where am I?" She demanded.
“Don't worry, you are safe. You should take a seat, most people find it very difficult to withstand the abduction rays. I'm sure your legs are feeling quite unpleasant. ”
The man gestured toward a bench in the room, and she reluctantly sat, unable to stand any longer. Her legs were feeling rubbery and weak. She finally regained her eye sight completely, and noticed that the room they were in was like a large apartment.
“You are aboard the Legacy. My ship."
Kylie stared at the man in disbelief.
"Your ship? Where is your ship going?"
“That really depends," he said with a raw laugh.
“Depends on what?” She demanded.
“It depends on what we discover about you. I should probably explain myself. There is far more going on in the galaxy than you could ever conceive of. You can be part of something amazing.”
“What are you talking about?" Kylie asked. She was suddenly very tired.
“I can explain everything to you," he said, heading toward the door. “But for now, I'm just going to let you rest. We will talk when you're feeling better, and you be able to understand everything much more clearly then. Have you eaten in the past five hours?”
“That's a strange question. But no, I haven't.”
“All right, I'll send something by and get you on a regular diet. We can talk more then.”
He didn't give her the chance to reply before he marched out the door. It closed automatically behind him, and Kylie sat back and took a deep breath. She suddenly had a feeling of acute loneliness, unlike anything that she had ever felt before. She missed the deep and masculine voice of the man who had just left her company. She was confused and frustrated, but her body wasn't able to handle all of it at once. She felt promptly into a deep sleep.
She didn't wake up until the door in the apartment slid open again. She recognized one of the people who had been panicked about abducting her. He was lingering in the doorway for a moment, nervous, before entering. He was looking at her the same way many of the men on earth had looked at her – hungrily. It made her nervous, especially when he approached, but he simply sat a tray full of food on the table. It smelled surprisingly delicious, and her stomach rumbled heartily. The person, for lack of a better word, left before Kylie could speak, and she began to eat enthusiastically.
With the food in her stomach, she was able to think much more clearly about the situation that she was in. It all still seemed very impossible, but at least now she knew for sure that she wasn't dreaming. It was possible that she was going insane, but it was probably because she was having a nervous breakdown. That was completely acceptable in modern society, most people had a breakdown at some point in their lives. It was nothing that she should be too ashamed about.
She had mustered more energy after eating and began to poke around at her surroundings. It was full of strange objects as well as some familiar ones. She was pressing buttons on a strange device that looked like a calculator when the attractive man who had led her to the apartment entered.
"Do you think that I will ever have any privacy in this place? And how long do you plan on keeping me here for?"
"I'm sorry, next time I will knock,” he said with a wry smile. “And frankly, the duration of your stay will depend solely on the task at hand. Maybe at the end of our quest you will find that you feel more fulfilled on earth, although that seems unlikely. If we get what we need and we are able to accomplish our mission, you will be returned safe and sound. We wish no harm to come to you.”
“What mission are you talking about? Why is it necessary for me to be here? Don't you care that I might have a family and friends back home that I care about?" Kylie scowled, but not at the thought of being stuck in space at this handsome, albeit strange man. She was more concerned as she remembered how her family and friends had turned on her in her time of need. There really wasn't much left for her on earth, but still, it did seem pretty rude to be taken away without any second thoughts.
“I should probably break down what's going on for you,” he said thoughtfully. “My name is Kane. I'm the leader of the Driad people. We are one of many races in the universe. We have been traveling throughout the galaxies in search of a way to stop the Codans, because they are enslaving other races. They are the only ones who hold an elixir for a virus that is plaguing the universe. Many races are being wiped out by it, and it is lethal and mysterious. My team is working against the Codans to find a cure and liberate the people who are being used for the Codans evil schemes. They abuse the power of the elixir, and purposely keep people sick so they have to continue relying on the Codans for their livelihood. The worst part is it only eases symptoms, it doesn't even cure them.”
“What does that have to do with me?" Kylie asked.
“It has both nothing and everything to do with you. Humans haven't been touched by the virus yet, though we have reason to suspect Earth as an origin of it. We've been looking for people who can help us to unlock the genetic sequence in the disease. If we were able to find a cure, that would mean that we can get out from under the oppressive thumb of the Codans and find peace and harmony in the universe once again. The Codans have very big ideas about what to do with the races they've enslaved, and they want to colonize the whole thing.”
“Colonize...?” Kylie asked, imagining
It's highly likely that your planet will be overtaken by the Codans, or obliterated by the virus. Either one is an unfortunate fate. We've been collecting some specimens to avoid extinction in case the worst happens. But you do see how this affects you, don't you? You might just save your world and ours. My planet has already been lost to the disease," Kane said, turning around as he grimaced painfully.
He tried to hide the emotion in his face, but he couldn't. Kylie found herself wondering how strange it was that she should be able to empathize with it being from another planet. All of this seemed too strange and unworldly to be true, but what other choice did she have but to believe him? There she was, in a spaceship as it began to orbit far above any of the earthly boundaries that she was used to. Somehow the conditions in the ship were perfect for her to thrive, and she wondered if it was just in the apartment or if she was ever going to be able to have free roam of the craft. Finally, Kane turned back around and gave her a reassuring smile.
“All we have to do is test your genes, and will find out if they're match for the antivirus. I understand that you probably don't have any interest in helping us, considering that we basically just kidnapped you from everything that you know and love, so we will try and make this quick. However, if it turns out that you are a match, we may need to keep you on board for further tests. I hope that you will come to forgive us for this invasion in time.”
And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving her to stare behind him in disbelief as the door closed with a hiss and left her alone.