Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Invader

CARTER

It was a colder morning than he expected when Carter hopped out of an invisible spaceship a few feet from his parked car, but the loving embrace of Allison’s mind kept him warm and cozy. Even from all the way inside the ship, she could reach him.

“Get some rest, my love.” She hugged him inside his mind. “You have earned it.”

God, he was going to miss her. Them. They’d agreed to give the Tharons a full week to decide he wasn’t actually involved with Allison, and those five days already felt like they were going to be the longest of his life. Allison would still attend her duties at Two Times Around—that job was too valuable to give up—but Larika would be dropping her off and picking her up.

In a spaceship.

Naturally, Larika wasn’t going to pick her up right outside the mall. Allison would walk out of sight of any witnesses. That worried him a little, but she’d promised to have her mental defenses as full strength. Nothing could sneak up on her.

He’d just miss having her snuggled up against him in a warm bed every night.

He couldn’t quite make words yet across their joined minds, but he could feel things. He felt his love for Allison as strongly as he could manage. Her quiet and contented sigh in his head was heavenly, and then, with a gentle mental kiss, she slipped away.

Carter heard nothing and saw nothing, but he knew that Venus, their cloaked ship, had already climbed high enough that mental contact would no longer be possible. The ship would spend the next week hovering above his apartment like a balloon, cloaked and running on minimal power. From there, Allison and Larika could keep an eye on his apartment and the area for miles in all directions. If the Tharons came, they’d know.

Now, he needed to head back to his apartment like he’d just come home from a friend’s house. They’d discussed having Allison re-sort his memories again to fool any Tharon scans, but there were now too many memories and the risk was too great. So Carter would just make sure no Tharon actually touched him. They could only read him if they touched him.

And he couldn’t imagine ever forgetting about the woman he loved.

He drove and found himself grinning like an idiot as he drove back to his apartment. After how often they’d all fucked last night before he and Allison decided they need to stop, he shouldn’t even be able to move today. The important thing was that both Allison and Larika would be good for at least five days.

Last night probably wasn’t even possible for a human, but he wasn’t just a human any longer. He was a human dating an alien sex goddess, and after, she and Larika had fixed him up enough that he’d have no problem getting through the rest of his day. He did feel tired, but only due to lack of sleep. Understandably, he’d gotten none at all last night.

He had the day shift in a few hours, and showing up for work was exactly what a Carter who didn’t have an Allison would do. So he’d take a shower, grab some breakfast, and muddle through the day. He could do an eight hours shift and then come home and crash.

The best thing about the day shift was he didn’t have to open or close, just show up and work. Also, his new co-worker, Dan, was in his thirties, and turned out to be a super nice guy. They’d even talked about getting drinks at some point, though Dan was married with a kid and had a trickier schedule. Still, they’d both decided they’d work it out.

Carter specifically felt it would be good for Allison to meet more people, like Dan’s wife and kid. Both of them sounded awesome. And, of course, Rick and Izzy were raring to go on another double date. That might actually be fun.

Fortunately, they’d only parked about five minutes from his place before boarding Allison’s ship. He’d then flown to the state park and dropped her off. Had the Tharons spotted his car in the state park, they might have gotten even more suspicious.

He hopped in and drove home. As he pulled up to his apartment—their apartment—a quick look around didn’t reveal any brown sedans or Men in Black, so maybe they weren’t here yet. Maybe they were still back at their warehouse giving the one guy they’d left behind an earful. Carter sort of even felt bad for the Tharon, whoever he’d been.

He parked and then, out of habit, lightly touched the back of his jeans beneath his untucked shirt. His sheathe and his knife was still there. He hadn’t worn it the night he went to rescue Larika, but he’d left it in his glove box. It felt good to have it back.

He walked up the stairs to his apartment, and took one more casual look around as he fumbled with the deadbolt. No one in sight. They might actually be able to get away with all this, and that possibility thrilled him.

As he pushed open the door and walked into his darkened apartment, his mind raced with all the places he might take Allie on their next date. A movie seemed too basic after all they’d gone through, so maybe they could take a trip. What about camping? They could take Larika along too, and maybe all sleep in the same tent. What if—

A cold metal tip pressed against his temple. A low voice spoke in the dark. “Don’t you move a fucking muscle, hick, or I’m painting this apartment with your brains.”

Carter froze in midstep. Agent Holloway was already in here? But Holloway didn’t—

Tommy... fuck, it was Tommy, that asshole from the bar!... kicked the door shut without letting up the pressure from his gun. He pushed the cold metal tip into the side of Carter’s head. “Move? Scream? You’re dead. My finger’s on the trigger and you’re fucked.”

How had this asshole even gotten into his apartment? What the fuck was he even doing here? How had he found this place? Carter itched to grab his knife, but he doubted he could do more than touch it before Tommy blew his brains out.

“Move.” Tommy gave his heel a kick. “Couch. Sit. Or I shoot you right now.”

Allison and Larika were hovering above his apartment right now, in Venus, but they hadn’t seen Tommy come in here. Tommy had been in here before he arrived. Allison had cautioned him that they would need to hover outside of mental communication range to avoid being detected by any Tharons, which meant...

“Walk!” Tommy demanded.

A fucking psycho with a gun was not a man Carter was ready to screw with right now. After six months of wondering if he’d ever get to go back home, his life was finally perfect again. He had Allison. He had his freedom. Now he just needed to stay alive until he could think of some way to get outside and wave to Allison for help.

He walked to the couch, and Tommy didn’t follow him. Moreover, the asshole also didn’t search him. Fucking idiot.

Even so, Carter felt the gun pointed at the back of his head and ground his teeth in frustration. He knew what a gun could to a deer. He could imagine what it would do to a person. He was going to get away somehow, and then this asshole was going to prison.

Carter settled cautiously on his couch, sidelong when he twisted his torso it hid his back—and his knife—from Tommy’s view. He watched his captor. “So? What’s up?”

Tommy looked different. His hair had been dark and spiky at Red’s the night Carter kicked his ass, but it was now a buzz cut, and platinum blond. He also had a beard, or the start of one. He must have changed his appearance out of fear the cops would be looking for an asshole who’d stabbed someone as they walked to their car.

Yet Carter hadn’t reported Tommy knifing him to the police, because he couldn’t talk to the police. Now, he almost wished he had, anonymously.

“What’s up?” Tommy scoffed. “That’s all you’ve got to say to me?”

Carter managed a shrug. “I’m not dead, which means you want something. So are going to point that gun at me until your arm gets tired, or are we going to talk?”

Tommy stared down his gun for another moment. Then, he smirked and lowered the weapon. Neither of them doubted he could plug Carter three times if he tried to get off this couch. The asshole was standing all the way at his door.

“You’ve got balls, hick. I’ll give you that much. Since you didn’t report me for stabbing your dumb ass, I imagine you’re in the game. Or at least not an upstanding citizen.”

“Just tell me what you’re after. Money?”

“Already found it.” Tommy snickered. “Wasn’t much, and I’m actually going to let you keep it if you cooperate. That’s couch cushion money. I want my drugs.”

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“I don’t have your drugs.”

“No, but Rick does, which is why you’re going to call him and get him over here. Tell him you want to cuddle or some shit, I don’t care. Just make sure he brings my cocaine.”

So Tommy was running coke? And Rick had stolen it from him? God! Rick was even dumber than Carter had imagined. “He’d never believe I want to snort that crap.”

“He’s a fucking moron, hick! He’ll believe whatever you tell him.” Tommy’s smile turned dark. “But hey, if you’re going to be a little bitch about this, we’ll hang out until your girl gets home. I bet she’d do just about anything to keep me from blowing your brains out.”

Carter tamped down any rage. Getting pissed wasn’t going to get him out of this, and he knew Tommy just wanted to get a rise out of him. Allison showing up would be the worst thing for Tommy, though he couldn’t reveal that.

He narrowed his eyes. “No offense, but that’s kind of a dumb plan.”

“Oh?” Tommy laughed and shook his head, but he didn’t raise his gun again, yet. “Then tell me, hick. What’s a good one? How do I get my drugs back?”

Carter didn’t want to help Tommy do anything. He did, however, want to live, and more importantly, he wanted Rick and Izzy to live. If he fucked this up and got himself shot, Tommy would probably go after the two of them next. He couldn’t let that happen.

All he had to do was get them out of this apartment and beneath open sky. Allison would recognize Tommy from the ship. She would spot the gun. She and Larika would swoop down and mind blast the bastard, but only if he got them both outside without getting shot.

Which would require actually coming up with a halfway plausible plan.

“Rick’s still sleeping off the night shift at his place, but Izzy’s awake and on alert. So we’ll head over there so I can get them both up and out of his apartment.”

“We?” Tommy scoffed. “Why would we do anything, hick?”

“You know Izzy’s awake in Rick’s apartment and waiting for you.” Carter kept his face calm as he prayed he wasn’t putting her in danger. “That’s why you haven’t just busted in there already. Rick might be passed out in his bed, but Izzy’s always on edge and keeps the door locked. She’ll call the cops the moment she hears anything.”

Tommy’s visible annoyance assured Carter he was right. There was no other reason for Tommy to go to all this trouble to make him lure Rick out here. Tommy really was an idiot.

“Izzy knows me, though. So while Rick isn’t going to believe I suddenly want to do coke with him, he will believe I want to get some food before my shift. I’ll knock on the door and invite them both out for breakfast. I’ll even say Allison is coming to join us.”

“Allison.” Tommy still looked annoyed, but he was starting to relax. “That your girl? The chick with the long hair and killer tits?” He laughed. “She’s how I found your apartment.”

He actually needed to know what that meant. “What are you talking about?”

“What was she picking up from Skeeter, anyway?” Tommy waved the matter away. “You know what? It doesn’t matter now. You were telling me your brilliant plan?”

So Tommy had followed Allison from the Briar Oak Apartments. It made sense he’d be there. It made sense he’d recognize Allison. Fuck! They really had to be more careful.

Carter shrugged. “This plan gets Rick and Izzy out of their apartment. Now it’s empty, and now you can break in and steal whatever shit you want without anyone stopping you. I’ll keep them out with me as long as you need.”

Tommy scoffed. “You’ll call the cops as soon as you leave!”

“I can’t call the cops,” Carter said evenly. “You pointed that out yourself.”

“Yeah?” Tommy asked. “And why not?”

“Because I broke a man’s spine in a fist fight, and then I slammed a tailgate on his head until his brains leaked out into the dirt.” Carter didn’t have to fake his anger now, or his truth. “Also, I don’t give one shit about your drugs or your beef with Rick.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. He actually looked intrigued.

“I just want to get you the fuck out of my apartment. And I want Izzy safe, and Rick safe, even though he’s a fucking idiot. So this plan gets us all what we want. You get your coke back and I get to live. Good plan, right?”

Tommy watched him from the door. The man actually looked almost impressed, which didn’t please Carter in the slightest. He just wanted to get this over with.

“You know...” Tommy nodded. “You might be onto something.”

He’d bought it. Finally. “So can I stand up now?”

“But it could use a little grease.” Tommy scowled. “You’re taking separate cars. Get them to agree to meet you somewhere, and after they leave, you and I go inside together.”

“And then you shoot me once you have the drugs?”

Tommy chuckled. “I just want my coke, hick. I don’t need to murder anyone, though make no mistake, I will.” He raised his gun again. “I will shoot you dead if you fuck with me, but I’m still a businessman. I don’t need detectives sniffing around your body, and you do have a good reason to keep your mouth shut. So maybe we can both walk away from this.”

“So you’re asking me to trust to your good nature.”

“Hick, I’m not even giving you a choice.” He motioned with his gun. “Get up.”

Carter had convinced him. Letting Tommy add his own wrinkle to their little plan had sold him on it. Now, all he had to do was keep his cool as they left the apartment.

He rose slowly, keeping his hands in view. “Fine. Ready to go?”

Before Tommy could answer, a firm fist pounded on Carter’s door.

“Carter Reed!” a deep, loud voice demanded from outside. “This is Agent Holloway, FBI! We met several weeks ago! I need to speak to you!”

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