Authors: Carla Parker
Romance: Military Romance: Protected by the SEAL (Contemporary Hero Bad Boy Navy SEAL Romance) (New Adult BBW Alpha Male Virgin Protector Short Stories) (67 page)
We decided to put his house on the market, because we had no need for two of them, especially if we were going to be living together. He soon found out about the child and he was a little perplexed. I convinced him that it was his, because his body was used each and every time. He seemed to buy that, but I wasn’t so sure and the only person that could tell us the truth was light years away.
“Travis, your love gave me this child and Ronnick gave us something that is even more priceless. He allowed us to see what we were blind to and that is something that I will be forever grateful for.” He put his arms around my waist and we closed the door, leaving us to start a new chapter in our lives together.
THE END
As the spacious elevator traveled all the way to the top floor of the US Space Police Tower, I excitedly checked my reflection in the interior's mirrored walls. Clad in a formal silver long gown that hugged my slender body with stylish drapes, with my light brown locks pulled back in a prim yet chic ponytail, I was quite surprised at the amazing transformation in front of me. It was definitely a far cry from my usual dark gray police uniform, which I interchanged with my basic slacks-and-long sleeves office attire.
I inspected the makeup I had done earlier on myself. With my shimmery, smoky eye makeup that matched my dress and brought out the green in my eyes, and the dainty pink tint that made my lips seem fuller and luscious, I could say with confidence that I looked more like a beautiful, elegant socialite than the multi-awarded space fighter I had become over the years. After only 8 years of service, here I was about to accept another Office of the Year plaque and medal to add to my collection of achievements in this field.
Andrew would have been so proud
. The thought came to me suddenly as I automatically fingered the silver heart-shaped locket hanging from the necklace around my neck. Inside the locket was the wedding ring that he had placed on my finger long ago right before uttering his vows. Out of habit, I always wore the locket with the ring when there was a special mission I had to fulfill, or whenever I was given recognition for doing a great job.
My smile disappeared and my excitement melted away at the memory of my late husband. I had just started in the police service when we'd gotten married. He'd been my number one cheerleader and best friend. For 3 straight years, I had thought nothing would get in the way of our love and happiness. But his terminal illness had left me without a choice but to accept the miserable truth.
The elevator came to a halt. I brushed away the sad thoughts and placed a bright smile back on my face as the doors opened. Greeted by the sight of The Penthouse Ballroom's vast modern interiors and overlooking glass-lined walls glammed up for the occasion, I felt my enthusiasm slowly returning.
This is going to be an incredible evening,
I thought as I registered myself at the reception table and began to mingle with the other space police officers I had become friends with over the past years.
I was drinking a cocktail and laughing with my close friend Ginny, one of the younger lady officers in my team, when I heard a deep, booming voice from behind me.
"Tasha Taylor," said the voice. I turned.
"Here comes the heartthrob who only has eyes for you…" Ginny whispered teasingly. I laughed.
It was my boyfriend Kent Walker, a veteran space police officer who had been assigned as my partner a year ago. We'd been good friends for quite some time, dating on and off, before we'd officially gotten together last week.
He was undoubtedly gorgeous. Tall and well-built with twinkling blue eyes, he looked even more handsome in a black tuxedo. He never failed to take my breath away; the same effect he had on the rest of the female species.
"I think I like you better in gowns and makeup," he said jokingly as he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "You are the prettiest in this room and I'm glad you're mine."
I smiled at his compliment. He never failed to make me feel good. "You don't look bad yourself," I retorted back in a teasing tone.
He laughed and punched me lightly on the shoulder before wrapping me in his arms.
"I guess this is my cue to walk away from you lovebirds," Ginny quipped as she began to slip away.
"Oh, hey there, Ginny!" Kent called to her back. "I didn't notice you. Bye!"
Ginny turned around and laughed good-naturedly. "See you later, guys. And congratulations again, Tasha."
"Thanks," I said sincerely.
Soon our annual foundation party was well underway. Kent and I took our seats in one of the tables near the stage, along with those in our team.
After dinner was served, the program proper began with a video about how the US Space Police originated and why it had been established back in the year 2023. The current head of the nationwide squad, USSP Chief Timothy Collins, graced the stage afterward and launched into his congratulatory speech. "Thank you to all of you for your hard work and dedication, the amazing strength, courage, and character you have exhibited throughout our missions and ordeals. Thank you for your heroic deeds, for putting your life on the line not just for the sake of our own country and people, but for the entirety of humanity."
The ballroom, filled with about a thousand squad members from different parts of the United States, broke into applause. Chief Collins smiled proudly and then went on to recall the best achievements of the US Space Police. Toward the end, he said, "Let us work together to better our world this year 2045 and build a future free of danger from criminals, both human and alien. Let us help make Earth the peaceful home we all deserve to live in. Thank you once again to all of you and congratulations to all our awardees tonight. We salute each and every one of you."
The next part of the program was the awarding. When my name was called, I went up the stage and proudly accepted the plaque and medal given to me. As I stood there being cheered on, I imagined the crowd being transformed into the audience present during my graduation from the academy. I could recall my parents sitting in the third row together with my younger sister Stacey and my then-boyfriend Andrew. They had all been so supportive of my chosen career despite the perils of being a space police officer.
I remembered Andrew rushing to embrace me and twirl me around. "You will be the best and most beautiful police officer in the squad!" he had told me before leaning down to kiss me.
I had giggled and asked, "And what are you going to do while I go off fighting aliens?"
"I'm going to make us lots of money with my IT business so that we can have lots of babies who'll keep us company until we grow old and wrinkly," he'd answered. "Always remember that anything is possible."
My heart had jumped into my throat, happy and eager at the prospect of spending the rest of my life with the only man I had ever loved. "Right!" I had agreed. "Anything is possible."
"That's my girl!" I heard someone say from the side of the stage, cutting through my reverie. It was Kent, clapping his hands and beaming at me.
I smiled at him as I made my way down the stage. Inside, I felt a little guilty because I'd been hanging on to memories of my late husband instead of looking forward to my future with this new man in my life who seemed to adore and love me greatly.
*****
"Take care, Tasha," Mom said as she gave me a hug. "We will miss you, dear. Promise me you'll stay safe."
"Mom! I'll just be gone for a week or so," I replied flippantly. "And besides, aren't you used to this by now?"
"We will never get used to it, Tash," my sister Stacey said. "How can we ever get used to your life-threatening missions outside of our planet?"
I laughed at the way she put it. Indeed we were a close-knit family. This was why after my husband had passed away, I'd chosen to move into a condo unit located near my parents' house. This had allowed me to drop by several times within a week despite my busy work schedule. And every time I was given a space assignment, our temporary farewells at the space port were always like this.
"Our Tasha will surely complete this mission with flying colors," Dad interjected, placing an arm around my shoulders. "We've got nothing to worry about."
I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dad."
"Yes, of course," Stacey immediately agreed. "And we have another thing to be thankful about." Her eyes shifted to Kent who was standing beside me.
Kent nodded in response. Then he faced my parents with a serious expression. "I will guard your daughter with my life," he promised.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Stacey gushed, making us all laugh.
"Thank you, Kent," Dad said sincerely.
We said our final goodbyes, before Kent and I went to board our small spaceship. In a few minutes, we were gliding in the atmosphere.
In the confined control room, I hit the button for autopilot flying then stood up and stretched my hands. Kent, who was sitting beside me, stood up as well and grinned.
"What?" I asked.
"You're cute," he said, his tall frame towering over me. I could smell his musky perfume, which somehow contributed to my heart's sudden crazy beating. "Too cute to resist…"
He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and kissed him back as I felt his strong arms wrapping around my waist. My body was aflame with passion in a few seconds. As his hand fumbled quickly with the buttons of my uniform, there was a loud beep that made us both jump back in surprise.
The screen behind Kent lit up. My eyes widened while my fingers did my shirt's buttons hastily. Side by side, we faced the screen and stood straight. As soon Chief Collins's face appeared, we saluted. He returned it and went on to tell us how important this mission is. "I am depending on the two of you to make sure that the main computers of the Zil military camp are completely destroyed. The base is barely secured now, with only a few of the alien soldiers left. The initial squad we sent did a fantastic job. The aliens who survived have dispersed and are now being tracked down by Officer Smith and his team."
"Yes, sir," I said. "We will destroy all of their servers and free their human captives in the process."
"I know you can do it, Officer Taylor," Chief Collins replied. "However, you should know that these human captives that we had heard about are not as human as they used to be."
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Kent.
"They have been genetically engineered to think and act like the Zil aliens. They are powerful and fast and will kill any human without a second thought. So when you encounter them, do not hesitate to shoot and exterminate. Your lives are top priority."
"Yes, sir," Kent said obediently.
As for me, this new bit of information bothered me a lot. "Are we not supposed to save these human captives?"
"As many as we can, yes," Chief Collins said. "But so long as you have not yet destroyed the computers that control them, you should never hesitate to immediately exterminate each and every one that you encounter. A simple wrong move on your part may cost your life."
"Yes, sir," I said in response, trying to imagine what these genetically engineered humans looked like. They had probably been modified to be as enormous and monster-like as the Zil aliens.
The screen flickered and then went black again, leaving us alone once more. But this time, we were not in any mood to get romantic or passionate. We had a mission to accomplish.
We hurriedly put on our space suits and helmets as our spaceship seamlessly rolled into outer space. On the monitor, I could see our ship fast approaching Planet Zil where many of our squad members were already scattered. Since there were very few of the aliens left behind and the humans they had captured were not as many as us, this was bound to be an effortless mission. I had absolutely no clue about the actual surprise that lay ahead.
*****
Planet Zil had similar atmospheric conditions to the earth, which is why it used to be teeming with life too. But a renegade group of evil Zil aliens had attacked about a decade ago with fatal bombs, and took over. They had turned the planet into their headquarters, experimenting over the years to come up with highly advanced weapons that would help them rule over the universe. For a while they had kept silent. But afterward, news of their attacks on various planets came to us. I was already working with the US Space Police by then.
We had been anticipating their assault on the earth for several years now. But they had come and gone very quietly, disguised and undetected. They knew that we had been catching up on their intelligence and developing our own unique and high-tech weaponry.
Only recently, Chief Collins got word that many of the humans who had gone missing over the past years had actually been kidnapped by these evil aliens. It was time to put a stop to it, so we came up with a plan of attack. So far, our plan was being successfully implemented.
"Ready?" Kent whispered to me as we quietly went through the entrance of the main base. It was a compound of modern buildings and laboratories which the Zil aliens had established.
I nodded to him through the visor of my helmet and placed my cutting-edge laser firearm in front of my body. Kent and I were now dressed in our space battle gear made of advanced material that smoothly adapted to our physical movements and protected us from all known bullets and laser beams that could harm us.
"Map," I stated and my voice command instantly made a hologram of the base's map appear in front of me. A blue light outlined our path from where we stood up to our target – the computer lab.
"Let's go," Kent hissed. The map vanished and together we jogged cautiously toward a building on the far left.
There was nobody in sight, but we still moved guardedly. When we reached the metal doors that led to the computer lab, a red light on the ceiling blinded us with a quick flash and a deafening alarm sounded.
Quickly I aimed for the doors with my laser gun, shooting repeatedly. Nothing happened so I grabbed an extraordinary liquefier from my vest and threw it at the metal. Without any sound, it rapidly melted away the solid steel and created a hole large enough for me to climb in.