“It can’t be her.” Adonis shook his head.
They all ran as the device led them to her. Outside of the residential buildings, beyond the tennis courts, and into the open desert inside Dreamland, she was there. The Air Force attack drones above chased a Keelon ship. The unmanned fighters could damage the alien vessel but they’d never bring it down. Keelon technology was far superior. Clearly, they’d done what they needed to do. The ship was gone in seconds. The aliens known as Keelons had long ago mastered interstellar travel and nothing mass-produced on Earth could match them yet. Keelons had grown bolder with attacks on military bases and abductions lately. Invading Dreamland showed just how aggressive they’d become.
Pierce and his men were less interested in their former homeland than in their love being left in the desert. Her naked form lay as though she were sleeping. All that curly auburn hair hid her breasts, but Zane quickly took off his suit jacket and covered her from the waist down.
“Bonnie won’t care.” Adonis knelt and felt for a pulse. “She’s alive.”
“I can see her breathing.” Pierce draped his coat over her upper body. “Zane get a sheet or something. Bonnie might not care, but we must respect all of the abductees.”
Zane disappeared in a flash. Pierce hated his home world, and now, they’d done something to the human woman he loved. Kneeling down, he stroked her hair. “It’s okay.”
“What’s going on?” the night incident commander demanded.
“Bold aliens.” Pierce took in the funky daisies on Bonnie’s toenails and the iridescent polish on her fingers. “She’s alive.”
“That’s something. Damn aliens. You mean they dumped her here? Get Hastings!” the night commander barked.
Zane ran up with a sheet. “We’ll take her to Hastings. Check for others. Secure the airspace.”
“Fine.” The night commander got on his phone to bark more orders.
Pierce finally looked up. They were surrounded by hordes of men with guns. Some in SWAT gear and others in desert camouflage. The sound of soft moans and deep breaths caught Pierce’s attention. Bonnie moved slowly.
“What the hell?” Bonnie tried to sit up and failed.
“You’re okay. We’ve got you.” Pierce helped her sit up. “It might take a bit to get your strength back.”
“Where am I?” Bonnie rubbed her eyes and squinted at the swarm of military men.
When Pierce opened his mouth to respond, the night commander cut him off. “That’s classified, ma’am. They’ll take you for questioning.”
Bonnie frowned at him. “No. I can’t be here. How did I get here?”
Zane held up the sheet, and Pierce helped Bonnie stand. The men should’ve moved on, but they watched. Bonnie, being Bonnie, dropped the jackets and ignored the sheet. She walked naked toward the building.
Pierce rolled his eyes and followed her. “You don’t want to do this.”
“What? Nudity isn’t illegal. I know where I am. Deal.” She glared.
“We didn’t do this. We want to make sure you’re okay.” Adonis wrapped the sheet around her shoulder. “You could start a riot. Too many men here and not enough women.”
“I’ve been pretty lonely since college so maybe that’s what I need.” Bonnie gave them all a hurt look.
Pierce led the way to the right door. They all knew they had to keep quiet until they interviewed her. It was procedure. The damn aliens had taken her? He wanted to kill them all, but he knew humans were no match. All he really wanted was to have Bonnie back and to have a nice life on Earth.
Providing medical treatment first was procedure. Liz, the resident doctor with alien experience, was in the lab already. Pierce lifted Bonnie onto the table and Bonnie shivered.
“Too cold in here? I’ll bump up the heat.” Liz smiled.
“I’m fine.” Bonnie shrugged.
Pierce nodded to her. “Liz, this is Bonnie Hastings. Found outside. We need to know everything.”
“Right. We’ll check her out. You guys go give your report.” Liz waved at them.
Pierce didn’t move. None of them did.
“They’re sort of like guard dogs,” Bonnie told Liz. “Of course, they’ll talk about me like I’m not in the room…”
“We didn’t mean that, Bonnie. There’s procedure.” Pierce put a hand on her knee.
She smacked it off and grabbed the sheet Liz offered. “Go, tell him I’m here. I can’t believe you guys are here, too.”
“Here? Hastings?” Liz began checking Bonnie for injury. “
That
Hastings?”
Pierce gave her a slow nod and got on his Smartphone. The texts flew back and forth. Hastings wanted to see her and raged in all capital letters. But her health came first. They needed to collect any evidence.
Bonnie’s hand slammed on the metal table when he didn’t answer. “Jesus, you top secret types. I’m Bonnie Hastings, daughter of that Commander Hastings. I grew up in Vegas. My dad was away at work a lot, but not very far. For some reason, I just got dropped into Area 51. Are we clear?”
“Okay, you know who you are and where you are. That’s very good.” Liz felt Bonnie’s glands. “You don’t appear injured. What’s the last thing you remember?”
“No, Liz, we need to interview her. Do the usual samples, checks and exams. Then we need to get her some clothes and talk to her. See if she remembers anything.” Zane had already had his phone videotaping every move since they’d found her.
Pierce was so relieved Zane was on his team. In an emergency, the man thought of details others didn’t and it had saved their asses plenty. Working with humans and being aliens, even crashed at a young age, meant constantly proving their trustworthiness.
“Remember? My brain feels like it was in a blender.” She tried to climb off the table. “I want to go home. I’m not talking to my father about this. It’s all his fault!”
Adonis caught and kissed her. “I missed you so much. You’re not going anywhere. We’ll never hurt you, but we’re much stronger than you. Let Liz check you out and make sure you’re safe and healthy. We’ll be with you the entire time so you won’t kill your father.”
He set her back on the table, and Pierce noticed Bonnie’s scowl. They hadn’t wanted to leave her five years ago, but now wasn’t the time to explain everything. She was a smart woman, and clearly, she was putting information together. It was only a matter of time before she figured out they were aliens. That might make her hate them forever.
“You work for him.” Bonnie shook her head.
“We work for the government. We went into the FBI after college. The training took time and moving is required. The more training the better for what we’re dealing with in the military.” Pierce stood a little straighter.
She shook her head. “So you just lied and left me. College was fun but that’s all. It’s over.”
“We had to leave.” Pierce stepped closer.
Bonnie tensed and took a step back. “You can go. Stand outside if you’re afraid I’ll run. The doctors can do whatever.”
“Bonnie,” Zane said.
“No, not now. Not here. Go.” She hugged the sheet around her.
Pierce knew the happy reunion had just turned into betrayal. The last thing in the world she wanted was to fall for men like her father. All he could hope was that she still loved them enough to listen. The damn aliens had left him an unintentional gift, and Pierce refused to lose her again.
Chapter Two
Zane kept his thoughts on the work as Pierce briefed Commander Hastings. The conference room normally would be packed with people, but because it was Hastings’ daughter, he’d put a net over it. Only those directly involved in situation could know any more for now.
“She’s okay?” Hastings asked.
Zane checked his phone. “According to Liz, not even a scratch. Why would they dump her here?”
“The Keelons are playing with me.” Hastings pounded his meaty fist on the table.
Zane looked at Pierce. That wasn’t the only explanation.
“Perhaps it has to do with her college time with us?” Zane offered.
Hastings sat back and rubbed his chin. “Her having contact with aliens, you guys, in college could be behind the abduction. She had no clue.”
Adonis opened the door, and Bonnie walked in dressed in clothes from the Dreamland shops that carried the basic necessities. The flowered shirt was a bit tight and the jeans were half a size too big. Her feet looked comfortable in sandal heels.
“Bonnie.” Hastings moved faster than Zane had ever seen and hugged his daughter.
She pushed him away and sat in a chair. “What did you do to me?”
Hastings took his seat. “Nothing. I’m so glad you’re safe. I had no idea they’d come after you or I’d have brought you here before.”
“Because it’s so safe here? I woke up in the middle of the desert naked with hundreds of men standing around. Did you get whoever did this to me?” Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest.
“No, the ship got away.” He tapped the table. “If it’s who we think it was.”
“Who?” she demanded.
Zane sat next to her. “Why don’t you tell us what you remember. Just the last thing that’s clear before waking up in the desert.”
She frowned. “I was in bed at home. There were lights. I think I went for my camera, but it’s all mixed up. Like a dream but not. I can’t get at the details.”
“It’s okay. Give it time. Did anyone talk to you? Did they question you?” Hastings asked.
“They? I don’t remember anyone?” Bonnie looked him in the eye. “You mean aliens, right?”
“Bonnie, we don’t want to taint your memory. This can be tricky.” Her father patted the table as if the motion would calm her down.
Zane shared a look with Adonis as Bonnie’s toe tapped on the cold floor.
“Seriously? You’re going to play the game? After I was taken from my bed. No struggle, no fight. That’s not humans, Dad. If someone attacked me, I’d fight back. You insisted on all those martial arts classes instead of Girl Scouts. Plus these guys in college pushed me into self defense classes.”
“So no one broke in or attacked you in bed.” Zane made notes on his computer. “Did you feel paralyzed or afraid?”
“I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to see where the light was coming from. I think I tried to get a picture.” She shrugged.
“Okay, that’s good. Did you?” Hastings asked.
“I snapped a few, but I couldn’t get out the window far enough. I felt weird. Not paralyzed. But I think I was at some point.” Bonnie rubbed her forehead.
“Relax and think. We’re in no hurry.” Adonis held her hand.
Bonnie glared at her father. “Was it aliens? You always said they weren’t real. You just worked on our military aircraft and building better stuff.”
Hastings took a deep breath. “Bonnie, baby—”
“Don’t baby me! I’m not stupid. I’ve read all about it. The only other option is that you set me up. Had me drugged and taken. I wasn’t out at a club last night. No one slipped me anything. You and your men-in-black here are the only ones who could pull this crap on me.”
Hastings shook his head. “I’d never order anyone to hurt you or take you. I let you move away and live on your own.”
“Let me?” she snarled. “It was the aliens. It had to be. There was no injection from a needle. That doctor checked every inch of me. I don’t remember smelling anything funny or drinking anything. Liz took blood and swabbed everywhere so we’ll see.”
“I didn’t want you to know. Ever. I wanted to protect you. But you need to stay here while we figure this out. You’ll be safer.” Hastings tapped his fingers on the desk.
“How? Apparently, these aliens can fly their ships in and out at will. You can’t catch them. They could do it again tomorrow.”
Pierce cleared his throat. “That’s why we need you to stay. Abductions are up, Bonnie. A lot! Most people are returned to their homes and never report it. The few who do, report it to the wrong place and the evidence is gone. We need to observe you, keep you here so we know if you’re retaken, and we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe.”
Taking a deep breath, Bonnie nodded. “I’ll stay. I want to hear what Liz says about all those tests. And we have some catching up to do.”
“We do.” Hastings nodded.
“Not you. You’ve done enough lying and hiding that it doesn’t matter.” Bonnie refused to even look at him and focused on her men. “Tell me one thing.”
“Anything,” Zane answered.
“Aliens are real, aren’t they? You’ve seen them?” she asked.
Zane nodded.
“Get her some quarters. Let her sleep it off, and see if she remembers more tomorrow. We’ll call the memory guy to properly check her out and go over the story step-by-step.” Hastings walked out.
“That’s the dad I know and resent.” Bonnie closed her eyes as Adonis hugged her tight.
Zane saved his file and searched for a secure suite to put her in. It had to have top-level security and enough room for all of them. That was a must. With Hastings authorization, he reserved it for Bonnie, and thanks to her fingerprints from Liz, the room was coded just for her.
“Let’s get you into bed,” Zane stood.