“Not so unusual,” Kristor said.
“Oh, you think not?” His words rang with superiority.
His gut clenched. There was something about the man. A knowing smirk. Kristor wondered how he knew he was an alien. And he did know. Kristor was almost positive.
“Get him dressed. I want him out of here pronto.”
While they helped him pull on a pair of jeans, Kristor wondered if he would ever see Ria again.
Chapter 26
Ria looked out her window. Donald. “No time,” she mouthed.
“Immigration,” he mouthed back.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Had they been all over town asking questions? Oh, no. How long would it take them to get to her house? Maybe she could hide Kristor at Carly’s. Yes, that was it. That’s what she would do.
Donald wasn’t leaving. She pushed the button on her window and the glass silently slid downward. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. Would you please move.” Or risk losing your toes or something else he might want to keep attached to his body.
“People have been asking about your friend,” he said with a snarky smirk plastered on his face.
“So I’ve been told. I really do have to leave.”
“Too late. I heard they were already on their way to your house. You might want to keep a safe distance. I’d hate for you to get into trouble with the law. Of course, we both knew this Kristor was bad news from the start.”
He looked a little too smug. “Donald, move the hell out of my way or lose a body part.” She slammed the car into reverse and stepped on the gas. Donald barely jumped out of the way before getting hit. Still, he tripped over the concrete parking slab and landed on his butt. She wished she had time to see the expression on his face. She was pretty sure he wasn’t quite so smug anymore.
It served him right. Ria had a feeling he had something to do with immigration agents being in town in the first place. It was the whoopee cushion incident all over again, except this time the stakes were a lot higher.
As she hurtled toward her house, she speed-dialed Carly. Ria breathed a sigh of relief when her friend answered on the first ring. She really needed Carly right now.
“We’ll take you to places you’ve only dreamed about at Wilson’s Travel Agency—”
“Carly,” Ria interrupted.
“Ria, what’s wrong?”
“Immigration might be on the way to my house. Can you meet me there? I know I’m asking a lot, but can Kristor stay with you? Just for a little while. Until it’s safe. I’ll explain more later.”
“Yes, of course. Oh, God, Ria. I’m so sorry. I—”
“I’ll talk to you when you get here. Hurry.”
“I’m on my way.”
She snapped the phone closed and dropped it inside her purse. Please don’t let them already be there, she prayed. If they weren’t, she would get him into her car, and they would get away as fast as she could drive.
“I don’t have time for this,” she told her guide. “And where the hell have you been?”
Busy? Doing what?
Ria didn’t ask as she slid around a corner practically on two wheels.
“You’re not going to die.”
Crap, that was it. Kristor could shift into his animal guide and fly away. If only she had a phone in her house she could call and warn him, but all she had was her cell. She didn’t think calling her nosy neighbor would work. What would she say? Could you run over and tell the alien who’s staying with me that he needs to shapeshift into a hawk and fly away before immigration arrives and carts him away? Nope, that wouldn’t cut it.
She pulled up to her house and slammed on her brakes, skidding to a stop just before she plowed into the unmarked, black government van. It had exempt license plates. What the hell else could it be?
Her heart plummeted.
There was nothing she could do. She could only sit and watch as they led him out of her house in handcuffs, wearing only a pair of jeans.
Everything moved in slow motion. She vaguely knew when she opened her car door and got out. A man in a suit hurried over to her.
“Are you Rianna Lancaster?”
Dazed, she could only look at him.
“Ma’am, I’m Agent Jack Stafford and I’ll ask you one more time. Are you Rianna Lancaster?”
“Yes,” she finally answered. “What are you doing?” She started to go to Kristor, but suit-man put out a hand to stop her.
“It’s best you keep your distance for now. We have reason to believe the man who has been staying with you is an illegal alien. He can’t produce any papers. Do you realize it’s against the law to harbor someone who is in the United States illegally?” He glared at her.
She realized just how official he looked. There were three of them. All wearing the same style dark suit, black shoes, white shirt, and black tie. And they all wore the same dead-pan expressions, except the one glaring at her right now.
“He’s not from another country,” she told him. Not exactly a lie, but she hoped it would keep Kristor out of jail. Not that she really thought it would work.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I just don’t think he would lie about something like that.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Has he done anything strange or out of the ordinary?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“We looked through our records and a woman called about a possible alien from another planet, but the person taking the report laughed it off, except there was a blip on the radar about that same time. So, I’m asking you again, is there something strange about this Kristor guy that you’re not telling us?”
She swallowed hard, then cocked an eyebrow. “Are you going to stand there and tell me you believe in aliens?”
He let out a deep breath and relaxed just a little. “No, I don’t, but there was enough evidence to at least check him out.” His expression changed to one of pity. “I’m sorry, ma’am. You need to be careful who you take in. I know you have your own business. Women like you are ripe for the picking. He’s probably a scam artist.”
“No, he’s not.”
“We’ll know soon enough.”
“But I love him.” And she did. With all her heart. Why hadn’t she just left with him in his spacecraft? She could’ve taken enough drugs to knock herself out. She wouldn’t have even known when they left the ground. Maybe.
She looked around. But could she leave everything behind? Her business, her family? She met Kristor’s gaze across the expanse of her front yard. He looked furious, but quickly masked his feelings, and smiled at her. Even now, he was trying to protect her. What had she gotten him into?
“I’ll get you out of jail,” she called to him. She turned to the agent. “How much is his bail?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t any. If he’s here legally, we’ll let him go. If not, we’ll deport him.”
“Deport him?” She’d like to see them try. “Where are you taking him?”
Before he could answer, Carly pulled up, her face as white as a sheet. Ria ran to her as she got out of the car.
“They’re taking him away,” Ria sobbed, falling into her friend’s arms.
“Let’s get you into the house.”
