Gryke: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 6) Read online

  “I’m going to give you something for the pain. You’ll become drowsy—”

  “No,” Gryke insisted, effectively cutting off Melvin’s words. “I do not wish to sleep.”

  Melvin laid the syringe aside. “The choice is yours. But I’ll need you to hold completely still, or I could do more damage than good.”

  “I will not move.”

  * * * *

  The sound of covers rustling caught Gryke’s attention. He lifted his head in time to see two pair of golden-colored eyes staring up at him in fear. “Where’s my mommy?”

  Gryke shifted in his seat, gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain in his shoulder. Melvin had dug the bullet out only hours before, and the wound had already begun healing.

  “Your mother will return soon.”

  Andrew’s bottom lip began to tremble. “Is that mean man going to hurt my mommy?”

  “No,” Gryke rumbled, taking a deep breath. He cleared his throat. “Did the man harm you?”

  Andrew shook his head. “But he hurt my Uncle Brant.”

  “Where is your father?”

  The little boy slowly sat up in bed. “My daddy went to heaven.”

  Gryke understood the meaning of the word heaven. “Who takes care of you?”

  “Uncle Brant’s been taking care of me while Mommy works.”

  Letting that sink in, Gryke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Where is your Uncle Brant?”

  Tears sparkled in the child’s eyes. “He’s tied up to the side of a boat.”

  Gryke’s barbs tingled as the tears spilled down Andrew’s cheeks. His protective instincts toward the boy confused him. “I will find him, Andrew, and bring your mother back to you. Do you understand?”

  Andrew nodded, but the tears continued to fall.

  Gryke found it hard to watch him cry. He slowly stood, careful not to scare the child with his great size. “Are you hungry?”

  Andrew sniffled, wiping his nose with back of his tiny hand. “Y-yes.”

  “Come over here and show me what you would like.”

  Throwing the covers back, Andrew padded around the bed in his socks, stopping in front of the refrigerator. His little head barely came to the top of Gryke’s knee. “Milk and a sandwich, please.”

  Gryke fished out the milk and one of the sandwiches. “Would you like to sit at the table?”

  At Andrew’s nod, Gryke situated him at the table with his meal in front of him before trailing across the room to gaze out the window.

  The sun was just beginning its ascent over the horizon. The orange glow of its rays danced across the constant moving waters of the gulf.

  Aukrabah, Gryke thought, watching the waves crash against the shore. The only place he’d ever called home was in danger of being invaded by land walkers.

  Anger and resentment rose up in his chest, tempting his barbs to harden with their ever-present venom. Gryke would never allow the humans to seize Aukrabah. He’d die before letting that happen.

  “Mister?”

  Gryke forced his anger aside and slowly turned at the sound of Andrew’s voice. “My name is Gryke.”

  The little boy slid the other half of his sandwich toward the edge of the table. “I saved you some.”

  Something moved inside Gryke’s chest. “I thank you, but I am not hungry,” he easily lied.

  Andrew retrieved his sandwich and took another bite. “How did you get to be so big?”

  Gryke shrugged. “I am Bracadyte. You are human. Humans are much smaller than us.”

  “What’s a Braca… Braca—”

  “Bracadyte,” Gryke finished for him. “We are a race that live beneath the gulf. Humans live on land.”

  Andrew’s eyes became big, round golden orbs. “You can breathe underwater?”

  “Yes. But we do not live in the water. We dwell beneath it in a place called Aukrabah.”

  “Can I go there?”

  Gryke nodded and moved toward the door. “I will take you there very soon.”

  Excitement lit Andrew’s face. “Can Mommy come too?”

  “Your mother has already been to Aukrabah. But she will be returning as soon as I locate her.”

  Gryke’s mind drifted back to the last time he’d seen Fiona walking the halls of his home. He should have guessed something was amiss by the strange emotions radiating from her each time she’d avoided his gaze. He wouldn’t make that mistake again, he silently vowed, opening the door.

  “I wish to speak with Melvin,” Gryke informed the guard standing at attention in the hall. “I am ready to leave this place.”

  Chapter Six

  Fiona jerked awake at the sound of someone climbing through the window.

  “What the hell?” Roosevelt breathed, pausing with one leg on the floor, his horrified gaze locked on String’s bloodied form.

  Jefferies sat against the wall, his weapon hanging between his bent knees. He glanced up as Roosevelt gained his footing. “I had no choice. He’d contracted that virus.”

  Roosevelt stilled, staying close to the window as if preparing to slip back out. “Incola?”

  “Sort of,” Jefferies muttered, getting to his feet. “It came from one of those aliens, and I couldn’t risk him being contagious.”

  “So, you just shot him?”

  Wiping his arm across his forehead, Jefferies nodded toward the broken window. “I told you, I had no choice. Now, climb back out and find us another room. Preferably one not close to this one.”

  Obviously not needing to be told twice, Roosevelt scrambled out the way he’d come. He knocked on the door a short time later.

  “Let’s go,” Doug demanded, strolling over and pulling Fiona up by the arm.

  She yanked free of his hold and trailed after Roosevelt. He’d left the door to the new room propped open with a chair to prevent being locked out.

  Fiona entered behind Roosevelt with Doug bringing up the rear.

  Jefferies nodded toward the bed. “Get some sleep, Fiona. You’ll be leaving at sundown.”

  “Tonight?” Fiona asked, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “But they’ll be crawling the streets looking for us.”

  Doug raised an eyebrow. “You should have thought about that before you decided pull a Harrison Ford. I suggest you not get caught if you want to keep your brother alive.”

  “How do I know you haven’t already killed him?”

  A knock sounded on the door. Jefferies placed a finger to his lips for quiet and eased over to look through the peephole.

  “That’ll be Hills and Darcy,” Roosevelt announced. “I called them a minute ago to inform them of the room change.”

  Jefferies opened the door, stepping back to allow the men entry.

  Fiona scrambled across the room the second she saw the limp body the two men dragged in between them. “Brant!”

  She dropped to her knees in front of her brother, accepting his weight as Hills and Darcy tossed him toward her. “Oh God, what have they done to you?”

  Both of Brant’s eyes were swollen shut. His lips were split in places, and a deep gash marred his forehead just above his left eyebrow.

  He moaned, his mouth opening a small amount as if attempting to speak.

  “Don’t try to talk,” Fiona soothed, cupping his face in her hands. “Can you stand?”

  Brant’s jaw tightened with resolve, and he slowly staggered to his feet.

  Fiona was instantly at his side, offering to shoulder him to the bed.

  “You son of a bitch,” she snarled at Jefferies. “I’ll kill you for this.”

  Doug all but rolled his eyes. “You’re in no position to make threats, Miss Henagar. Now sit down and shut up.”

  “Can I at least see to his needs? Those cuts need to be cleaned or they’ll become infected. If they’re not already,” she finished with a glare.

  Jefferies blew her off with a careless wave of his hand. “I don’t care what you do as long as you stay quiet so I can think.”
/>   Rushing to the bathroom, Fiona wet a washcloth, grabbed a towel, and hurried back to Brant’s side. She gingerly cleaned his face as best she could before lowering her gaze to his hands.

  Dried blood and scrapes covered his swollen knuckles, telling Fiona that he hadn’t gone down without a fight.

  Jefferies blew out a breath and turned back toward the door. “Change in plans. Darcy? Stay here with Roosevelt and keep an eye on Miss Henagar. Hill? Bring the brother and come with me.”

  “Where are you taking him?” Fiona demanded, grabbing onto Brant’s arm.

  “You just worry about getting those scrolls for me, if you want to see him again.”

  Fiona watched helplessly as the one called Hill half carried, half dragged Brant from the room. The door clicked shut behind them with a finality that sickened her.

  “Go have a seat in that chair,” Darcy demanded, waving his gun toward the small breakfast table. “We leave at sundown.”

  Anxiety twisted in Fiona’s gut. How was she supposed to get to the scrolls without being seen? Andrew would be safe with the Bracadytes, but Brant would die if she didn’t produce the scrolls.

  Fiona shifted her gaze to Roosevelt. “Why are you helping Jefferies? So far, you haven’t killed anyone that I’m aware of. You can still get out of this mess.”

  Darcy answered for him. “Because of what he stands for. Our country is no longer safe, and our president is in bed with those aliens. He’s going to allow those things to have rights, free to breed and populate the earth with their seed until humanity is no more.”

  “Humanity?” Fiona spat. “You know nothing of humanity. Do you really think abducting small children and holding an innocent man hostage is humane?”

  “You’re responsible for that,” Darcy pointed out. “If you had brought the scrolls to us like you were told to do, none of this would have been necessary.”

  Fiona narrowed her eyes. “Had I done that, Jefferies would have killed my son, and you know it.”

  Darcy shrugged. “It’s the price you pay for consorting with the enemy.”

  “The Bracadytes are not the enemy,” Fiona growled. “You are. And what is so damn important about those scrolls? Do you think they contain military secrets? A cure for AIDS? Cancer? If you do, you’re deluding yourself.”

  Roosevelt waved a hand through the air. “According to Doctor Henry Sutherland’s journal, they hold the secrets to the Bracadytes. Where they came from. Their weaknesses as well as their strengths. I wouldn’t doubt the cure to the Incola virus is in those scrolls.”

  “You idiot,” Fiona snapped, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The Incola virus is a product of the CDC’s screw up. Not the Bracadytes’.”

  “No, but it originated from those aliens,” Roosevelt retorted. “Besides, there may be more of them out there. I highly doubt the group living in our gulf are the only ones in existence. And I’m sure those scrolls hold the answers we seek.”

  Fiona laughed without humor. “We? Do you honestly think that Jefferies will show you the contents? He doesn’t give a damn about you. Either of you. As soon as he gets what he wants, you two will be left behind to face the consequences.”

  Uncertainty flickered in Roosevelt’s eyes.

  “Don’t listen to her,” Darcy muttered, moving to gaze out the window. “She’s CIA. Don’t let her get inside your head. That’s what she’s trained to do.”

  Chapter Seven

  Gryke accepted the delicious-smelling bag Melvin handed him. He quickly ripped it open and snagged a handful of French fries.

  Popping the fries into his mouth, Gryke glanced at Andrew, his lips twitching as the boy tore into his food as well.

  Melvin grinned, nodding at the bag Gryke held. “I see you like the fries.”

  Gryke nodded, pulling his burger from the bag and taking a healthy bite. “I had them daily during my stay at Oz’s hotel in Cuba.”

  “May I have a word with you?” Melvin glanced at Andrew before meeting Gryke’s gaze once more. “In private?”

  Gryke stood and rested his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “Finish your meal. I will only be in the next room.”

  Andrew’s eyes flooded with uncertainty. “You’re not leaving me, are you?”

  “I will not leave you. I vow it.”

  The little boy’s shoulders relaxed. He went back to his meal, trusting Gryke to keep his word.

  Gryke followed Melvin into the connecting room. “What is this about?”

  “We have Fiona’s location.”

  Gryke lowered his burger to the table he stopped next to. “Then let us go.”

  “Not yet,” Melvin informed him, glancing toward the connecting door. “We have men surrounding her location, waiting on them to make a move.”

  Anger flooded Gryke. “You are risking her life.”

  Melvin shook his head. “Jefferies needs her alive for two reasons. He wants those scrolls, and she is his only hope for escape. Without a hostage, he’s a sitting duck inside that motel.”

  Gryke didn’t understand the term sitting duck, but he didn’t have time to question Melvin on it. “Are you certain she is still alive?”

  “No,” Melvin admitted with a shrug. “But the probability is good that she is.”

  “How did you find her?”

  “The watch she is wearing was a gift from the CIA. It has GPS capabilities.”

  “I do not understand GPS, but it matters not. As long as it leads us to her.”

  Melvin quickly explained the mechanics of GPS, ending with, “We are able to track her every movement. That’s how Jefferies knew where to find you on that yacht.”

  “Jefferies is aware of this GPS?”

  “I don’t believe so. Not even the president knew of it,” Melvin admitted. “Besides, if Jefferies was aware of the tracking device, he would have destroyed it by now.”

  Gryke let that sink in. “Does Fiona know that you are tracking her?”

  “No. We couldn’t risk it. Not with the Bracadytes’ ability to communicate telepathically. The watch was meant as a precaution. In our defense, we had no idea what would happen to Fiona while in Aukrabah.”

  “Dishonor belongs to the land walkers. Not the Bracadytes.”

  “I realize that,” Melvin conceded. “I’m on your side here.” He jerked his chin toward the connecting door. “What do you want to do about the kid?”

  Gryke lowered himself into a chair. “I will take him to Aukrabah.”

  “Okay, but if Fiona is on the move before you return, I’ll have no choice but to go without you.”

  “I will notify Anthony Vaughn. He can bring the human ATV to the mouth of Aukrabah and take Andrew back to Naura.”

  Melvin looked surprised. “You have ATVs down there?”

  Gryke filled him in on how the ATVs came to be in the hands of the Bracadytes. “Hauke arrived on one and his mate, the other.”

  “They just left them there? How did they get back to the surface?”

  “Anthony Vaughn and the human soldier Anderson returned them to land on the ATVs.”

  The corner of Melvin’s mouth lifted. “Smart.” He turned toward the connecting door. “Finish your food. As soon as you are ready, we’ll take the child to the entrance of Aukrabah and then rendezvous with the president on his arrival. He is landing sooner than we’d anticipated.”

  Gryke waited for Melvin to leave the room before opening his mind to Naura.

  “Hello, Gryke,” Naura greeted him anxiously. “Have you found Fiona?”

  “She has been located.” Gryke spent the next ten minutes explaining everything that had happened since Tony had taken him to the surface. “I need you to take Andrew with you. Keep him safe until I can return with Fiona.”

  “I did not know that the female soldier had a child,” Naura softly responded. “But fret not, my friend. I will take good care of him.”

  “Thank you, Naura. Inform your mate that I will meet him at the entrance in two hours’ time.”

&nb
sp; A brief pause ensued. “It is better if I go with him, in case the boy is afraid.”

  “But you are with child,” Gryke argued. “The human ATV might not be safe for you in your condition.”

  “Nonsense. I will see you in two hours.” She severed the connection before he could argue further.

  Human females were not the only stubborn beings on the planet, Gryke decided, picking up his burger and scarfing it down in three bites.

  Striding through the connecting doors, Gryke took a seat next to Fiona’s son. “I need you to listen very carefully, Andrew.”

  The little boy laid his burger on his lap, giving Gryke his full attention. “Is it about my mommy?”

  Gryke nodded. “In order for me to help your mother, I need to send you somewhere safe. Do you understand so far?”

  Andrew’s eyes widened in fear. “You’re leaving me?”

  “Not leaving you. I am sending you to Aukrabah with a very special Bracadyte female. Her name is Naura.”

  Excitement soon replaced the child’s fear. “Can she breathe underwater too?”

  Gryke found himself smiling for the first time in as long as he could remember. “She can. Would you like to see what we breathe with?”

  Andrew crammed his burger back inside the bag it came in and jumped to his feet. “Yes, please!”

  Unlacing his vest, Gryke leaned forward slightly and tugged the material open.

  Andrew slowly lifted his hand and then bashfully lowered it back to his side.

  “You may touch it,” Gryke assured him, understanding the child’s hesitation. “It will not harm you.”

  The feel of the child’s tiny fingers gently probing at his gills chipped away at Gryke’s otherwise hardened heart. He sat completely still while Andrew fed his curiosity.

  Obviously content with his exploration, Andrew removed his hands and returned to his seat to finish his food.

  “We will leave as soon as you are done,” Gryke told him, gaining his feet. “Do not forget to relieve yourself before we go.”

  At Andrew’s questioning look, Gryke searched his mind for a word the child would understand. “The bathroom. Do not forget to use the bathroom.”

  Chapter Eight