The Dream Walker (14 page)

Chapter
30

Blake was on his way back to the house from the grocery store. He had played rock-paper-scissors with Jovan and Nico to see who would go, and his scissors had gotten crushed by Jovan and Nico’s rocks.

Bastards.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out and saw it was Noah calling. “Hey, Noah,” he said.

“How’s everything going there? Jovan and Liberty still around?”

“Yeah, Liberty’s playing mother hen all over Alaina,” Blake said. “I’m driving back to the house from the store.”

“Liberty’s not in any danger, is she?”

“I don’t think so. We questioned Alaina, and she’s never killed anyone, although she does own up to some dark thoughts.”

“How bad?”

Blake shrugged. “Nothing worse than what I’ve had.”

“And she’s never acted on them?”

“Nope.”

“That’s good.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Have you heard from Abby?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, I just talked to her.”

“And how did that go?”

“I don’t know, Blake. I told her I really wanted her to come home because I missed her, not because I was worried about her. The reality of it is I worry about her when I can’t see her. She could be in the next room in the silo and I still worry.”

“From the fight that I witnessed, it sounds like worrying is what got you into trouble in the first place,” Blake said.

“I know. I just love her like a male should.”

Blake shifted in his chair. He didn’t want to hear any love stuff. In fact, he was thinking of hitting up the strip club tonight and seeing if he could hook up with one of the girls. He wanted no-strings-attached sex. Pure fucking.

“Well, I hope she comes back soon,” Blake said, wanting the conversation to end.

“Me, too. So what’s the next step with Alaina?”

“That
’s up to you. Jovan doesn’t think she’s going to be any more help to us either. She wanted to leave, but Liberty convinced her to stay. Jovan thinks it would be a good idea to use her as bait and—”

“No,” Noah said. “The last time we tried something like was with Abby, and we almost lost her. I won’t be responsible for another person dying. I’ve got too much blood on my hands as it is.”

Blake sighed. What was it going to take to make Noah see that Talin’s death wasn’t his fault? “You know it’s a pretty good possibility that the Colonist, Daniel, and that other dude, George, are going to be gunning for her, right?”

“I know. They let her into their secret little club, and I
’m sure they don’t like the idea of her running around with the knowledge. We’ll relocate her or something. But she stays as far away from the situation as possible. Is George just a psychopath, or is he a Colonist offspring?”

“I don’t know for sure,
” Blake said. “Good question. The guy in charge told Alaina that everyone in the room was just like her, so my guess is he’s part Colonist as well.”

“
Oh, hell.”

“
We don’t know for sure, Noah. I mean, it’s a Colonist. The only thing you can believe out of their mouths is that they are going to kill you. Alaina said George never mentioned anything about being able to see ash, but she did say he killed someone and really liked it.

“Asshole.”

“Pretty much. As far as Alaina goes, we’ll probably have a better plan after she gets her head wrapped around everything and figures out what she wants to do.”

“Okay. I don
’t see any reason to keep her any longer. Hey, Neptune! Get off the ceiling fan! Jesus, how did you get up there anyway? You’re too damn fat to be up there, buddy. C’mon down, kitty.”

Blake chuckled. Neptune was Abby’s cat and the size of two felines. “I’ll talk to you later,” Blake said as he pulled up to the house.

A second later it hit him. He knew where he’d seen Alaina. She was a stripper at the high-end strip club in Phoenix who went by the name of Kitty.

Chapter
31

Alaina sunk into the bathtub, the gardenia-smelling bubbles overflowing and slipping down to the dark marble floor. She didn’t care; she had too much on her mind.

The way she saw it was that in a nutshell, her life as she knew it was over. She wasn’t comfortable even thinking about staying in the city with George and Daniel on the loose—she would have to move, even though she didn’t want to.

That was both good and bad. It was good because she had wanted to start over again and put the stripping behind her. It was bad because she had no idea what she would do now. She supposed she could look into getting certified for yoga instruction. Other than that, she didn
’t know. Waitressing? No. The thought made her cringe, and her predicament had her terrified.

She sunk deeper into the water, thinking about the bond she’d felt with these people simply because of what they were, and what she was. She was part of their world, whether she liked it or not. For some reason, she didn’t want them to know of her past.

It wasn’t like she was ashamed of stripping, but she wasn’t exactly proud of it either. She wanted these people to like her, to respect her, and from her experience, there was very little respect that went along with stripping.

She had wanted a new start, and life had certainly dished one up.

Liberty had told her that once a Colonist had his sites on a victim, they rarely focused elsewhere. That translated into Alaina having to leave town as soon as possible.

The first thing she needed to do was go to her apartment and pack some of her stuff. She thought about abandoning everything, but she did have a few things of sentimental value, and she didn
’t have a lot of money saved, so finances would be very tight. She couldn’t afford to buy everything again.

Where would she go? She had never been outside Arizona, and besides, she liked the weather. The summer heat was awful, but she only needed to endure it for a few months. She had heard Texas had the same weather as Arizona, except there was more humidity. Texas was a big place and seemed like it would be easy to get lost in. Maybe she should head for the Northwest or the east coast? The thought of snow and rain was terribly unappealing. Forget it.

She knew she was in grave danger, and it wasn’t like she could go to the police for help. Surely, they would lock her up in the psych ward without a second thought. Besides, if she told anyone, it had been made pretty clear the Saviors might take steps to get rid of her.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She was used to being alone, but now that she knew what she was and these . . . beings that lived on Earth and their secret war, she felt more isolated than ever.

There had been three defining moments in her life. The first happened the day she was told her parents hadn’t wanted her and abandoned her. At age five, the blow to her psyche had been devastating, and combining that with the dark thoughts of killing others, it was at that moment she seriously wondered what was wrong with her. Who abandoned their child?

Maybe her mother had realized that she very well may be carrying evil in her womb and didn’t want to have anything to do with it. If that were the case, it would make sense that she had dumped the baby at a church. Maybe her mother had thought that a little holy water and some prayers would rinse the evil away.

The second significant moment in her life had been when Peggy found her on the street. She had been kind and brought Alaina into the life she led. Alaina often wondered where she’d be if Peggy hadn’t found her that day and taken her in. Dead? A drug addict? A prostitute?

She brought the warm washcloth to her face and gingerly touched her cheek. The third defining moment had been when she went to that stupid meeting. She came away from that with a black eye and knowledge that the world was not as it seemed, and that information could get her killed.

Yes, her life as she knew it was over.

She heard a knock on the bedroom door, but decided to ignore it. Whoever it was would hopefully go away.

“Alaina?”

She recognized Nico’s voice. There was something so simple and kind about the guy; she viewed him more as someone who should be sheltered, not someone who was fighting evil. However, he had tossed George as if he were nothing more than a throw pillow. He was big and obviously knew how to use his muscles.

He knocked again.

Standing, she got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. Apparently he wasn’t going to go away.

She padded over to the door and opened it. “Hi, Nico,” she said.

His eyes got wide, and he took a step back, looking her up and down. They stared at each other silently for a moment, and she once again thought about how good-looking he was in a rough-around-the-edges-innocent-boyish way, with his tousled hair and scruffy chin. The only thing that contradicted that label
was his eyes. They were dark and held a distinct glint of intelligence in them. He wore loose jeans and a red tank top, and he exuded confidence and sex, but didn’t seem to realize it.

“Nico?” Despite herself, her body warmed as his gaze raked over her. She was used to men staring at her, and it rarely fazed her. But somehow Nico’s penetrating look affected her on a base, sexual level.

“I . . . I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he said.

“I’m fine, thanks. Just a little shaken up.”

He nodded. “I get that.”

There was another stretch of silence.

“Is that it?” she asked.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging. “Dinner will be ready in a few, if you’re hungry. Jovan’s grilling some steaks.
”

“It sounds great,” she said, surprised she was hungry after the huge breakfast she had eaten that morning. And aliens ate steak—how weird was that? “I’ll get dressed.”

“Okay. I also wanted to let you know that we talked to Noah, and he says you’re welcome to leave tomorrow.”

Alaina nodded, emotions swirling within her: happy she wasn
’t considered the enemy any longer, fear for her future and her safety, and a little sadness for the predicament she found herself in. She was about to shut the door, but then noticed that Nico’s smart, dark eyes seemed to be getting lighter, the middle of them turning a silver color. “What’s wrong with your eyes?” she whispered, scared and fascinated by what she was seeing.

“Oh, it’s nothing it’s just—”

“They’re turning . . . silver!”

“Yeah, I guess we should have mentioned that.
”

Alaina felt lightheaded. His eyes glowed silver, and it was the most beautiful, yet disturbing thing she had ever seen. Her knees were going to give out, and she realized that for the first time in her life she was about to faint.

“Alaina?” Nico said. “Alaina, are you okay?”

And her world went black.

Chapter 32

Nico watched her go down. It was like a slow-motion movie. First her head lulled to the side, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, the hand holding up the towel fell, the white towel floated to the floor, and on top of it lay a very naked and extremely beautiful Alaina, flat on her back.

“Oh, shit,” he said, stepping over to her. His first instinct was to pick her up and lay her out on the bed, but he stopped short. He would be touching her naked flesh, and when she came to, he doubted she would appreciate that.

He reached into his jean pocket and pulled out his phone to call Liberty. Yes, she was right upstairs, but the damn house was so big it would be wasting time for him to run up there to get her.

But Liberty’s eyes were pink, and if Alaina woke up to his silver eyes and Liberty’s pink gaze, it might send her over the edge yet again.

“Dammit,” he said under his breath. He bent down and lifted Alaina, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her neck. All the while he tried to not admire her gorgeous, firm breasts, her small waist, or the flare of her hips. He tried not to pay attention to her silky olive skin, or how the little tendrils of hair that escaped the bun on top of her head tickled his arm, or the raging erection he was sporting.

He failed miserably.

With his foot, he threw back the covers and laid her out on blue sheets. He pulled the sheet and blanket up to her chin, then went into the bathroom to get a cold washcloth. He had no idea if that would help the situation, but he didn’t know what else to do.

Placing the cloth over her forehead, he pulled over the chair and waited for her to wake up. He wasn’t too worried about a head injury since the carpet in the room was really thick. She would wake up in time, and hopefully before dinner because he was starving.

Maybe he should put in his contacts to mute the glow of his eyes. But then again, he wanted to be here when she woke, and honestly, what would be the point? She’d seen his silver eyes and he liked the idea of her seeing his true being. And there was the fact that there were two glowy-eyed fuckers upstairs. But Liberty wasn’t really a fucker. Actually, she was really nice. So yeah, he was thinking of Jovan.

She let out a sigh. Nico smiled. It was a pretty sound, reminding him of a light wind through the trees in the springtime. Slowly her eyes opened and met his gaze. She gasped.

“I’m sorry, Alaina,” he said, holding his hands up. “I’m sorry I scared you. I suppose we should have said something to you about this.”

“You think? What the hell is going on now?”

God, she was so pretty, and he loved her inner fire. Her features looked hard, but he could see the light beneath them, what he had seen in her dream.

“When the sun goes down, our eyes change colors. It’s our SR44 forms.”

Alaina stared at him a beat. “I don’t understand.”

“Like Liberty told you, our true forms are smoky. On SR4
4,
my color was the silver you see shining out of my eyes. We should have said something, but it’s just so natural, I guess it didn’t occur to us.”

“What about the others?” Alaina asked, taking the washcloth off her head and setting it on the bed. “Are they silver too?”

Nico shook his head. “No. Liberty’s are pink and Jovan’s are green.”

“What about Blake?”

“He’s a half-breed. His eyes stay the same color, just as yours do.”

Alaina stared at him a moment. “Can you come closer?” she asked.

Of course he could. He’d get her the moon and relocate a mountain if she asked. He moved over to the bed and sat down. Alaina leaned into him, studying his face. She brought her hand up to his temple, sending an electric current through his body. His heart skipped a beat and his cock got harder. Sweet Jesus. She was inches away, and her breath tickled his cheek. He fought the urge to pounce on her.

“That’s amazing,” she said, leaning back into the pillows. The sheet fell to the tops of her breasts, and Nico couldn’t look away.

“Oh my God,” Alaina said, “I’m naked!”

Nico brought his gaze up to her. “Your towel fell off when you fainted.”

Was that a blush on her cheeks?

“Well, I guess you’ve seen everything there’s to see then,” Alaina said, looking down at the sheet, a soft smile on her lips.

“Nah. I didn’t look,” Nico said with a grin.

Alaina threw her head back and laughed. It was a light laugh, but one that came straight from her soul.

“Oh, really?”

“Really,” he said, chuckling. He hoped that Alaina would start to laugh more because he really enjoyed the sound.

There was a beat of silence between them, and the air had changed, some sort of tension sizzling within it. When the front of his jeans became unbearably snug, he could put a name to it: sexual.

Or so he thought.

He studied the floor, feeling discombobulated and out of his element. His instinct told him to put his lips to hers, but he didn’t know if he was reading the situation right.

Alaina cleared her throat, which was Nico’s cue to leave. “Do you want me to wait outside and go upstairs with you?” he asked.

She smiled. “Yes, please. I’ll just be a minute getting dressed.”

Nico nodded and stepped outside, gently shutting the door. While he waited for Alaina, he tried to understand what he was feeling. Obviously, Alaina was really pretty in an exotic way, like she belonged on some island somewhere doing something mysterious and glamorous. But there was something else that he admired, but he struggled to put a label on it.

It was then he realized that he knew nothing about her, even though he felt very comfortable around her. He didn’t know where she lived or what she did for work. She said she danced, but that was it. Was she in a ballet company?

The one thing he did know was there was a deep goodness within her, and every now and then, like when she laughed, he saw the light shine in her eyes.

The door opened, and Alaina stepped out wearing a yellow tank top and jean shorts Nico recognized as Abby’s. He couldn’t help but smile.

“I feel like we’re going out on a date and you just picked me up,” Alaina said, grinning.

Nico laughed. “We can call this our first date if you wan
t.
”

“I’ve never dated anyone with silver eyes.”

“Me neither.”

They climbed the stairs in silence. At the top, just before they reached the kitchen, Alaina stopped and put her hand on his forearm. “I’m nervous about seeing everyone,” she murmured.

“They’re all exactly the same, except their eyes look different.”

“So no one grows fangs or wings or anything after the sun goes down?”

Nico laughed. He had just seen the movie
Dracula
a few weeks ago. “No, none of the above.”

Alaina took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

Nico let her go through the doorway first, and while admiring her backside, he decided tonight would be about getting all the mundane details that made up a person’s life and find out what Alaina was all about.