Alien in Disguise: Forbidden Bonds, #5

By Cara Bristol

Hell hath no fury like a woman abducted by aliens…twice.

 

The space cruise is supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime. Instead, Jessie Sayles gets abducted by aliens. After the rescue, she's determined to sound the alarm that humans have been targeted by a galactic slave cartel. But upon returning home, she discovers her apartment has been burglarized, her cat is freaked out, her boss doubts everything she says, and she gets kidnapped again by a horned, amber-eyed alien who claims he's with the galactic government.

She doesn't know what to believe, but she's sure of one thing—she won't allow anyone to interfere with her crusade to warn her fellow New Terrans of the threat, no matter how persuasive—or sexy—he is.

 

Maxx, an agent with the League of Planets, has three years invested in a mission to crush the slave cartel, and he's about to close in on the mastermind behind it all—until Jessie barrels into middle of his operation. He has to stop her before she unwittingly ruins everything, so he takes her into protective custody.

With Jessie in lockdown, the sparks that fly ignite a heated desire, followed by a grudging, mutual respect as they come to realize they're on the same side.

 

But just as Maxx is about to capture the cartel mastermind, unresolved trust issues threaten to destroy everything he and Jessie are fighting for. And they soon discover the stakes are greater than either of them imagined.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cara Bristol
• Release date: May 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9781947203716

Book preview

Chapter One

Jessie

New Terra

After stashing the handheld, I hurried next door to get James. My elderly neighbor, Adele Abercrombie, had been kind enough to watch my cat while I went on the ill-fated Star Cross space cruise.

Oh dear! Mrs. Abercrombie’s forehead scrunched with concern. What happened? Why are you home? Did you miss the spaceship? she asked.

I’d been gone about two months—but only a couple of days in New Terran time.

No. Remember I explained how the ship would go through a wormhole, which would shorten the time I’d be gone?

Yes... she hedged, still not understanding how the space-time continuum worked. If the ten-day cruise had been legit, I would have gotten home even sooner. But the prize vacation in outer space had been a ruse to lure unsuspecting humans off the planet so we could be abducted by the Copan-Cerulean Cartel.

Thanks to an alien king, we’d been rescued, but I hadn’t been able to get home straightaway.

So, you went on the space cruise after all? Mrs. Abercrombie asked.

Yes.

Did you get lots of pictures?

Everything I’d packed had been lost; the traffickers didn’t bother transferring our luggage when they captured us. I’d returned home with little more than the clothes on my back—given to me by the Arasetans on planet Nomoru. Unfortunately, I lost my camera. It got accidentally ejected from the ship, I lied.

My word! You have nothing to chronicle your memories of the trip?

Only a contraband alien communication device, which would soon be turned over to the authorities.

Before I headed to the Jericho Conner New Terran Alliance complex and dropped my bombshell, I wanted to hug James, take a real shower, and put on my own clothes. The afternoon would be soon enough to set the world on fire with my announcement.

I’m a bit tired after traveling, I said. Mrs. Abercrombie was as sweet as the delicious cookies she baked, but she could talk the ear off the hearing impaired. Could I have James, please?

Of course, dear! Come in; he’s right here. She widened her door, and I followed her into her living room.

James Bond, my black-and-white tuxedo cat, perched on a windowsill watching hovercraft zoom past the fifth floor of the apartment tower. He didn’t even acknowledge me. His moods could swing from demanding to aloof. I scooped up the temperamental fluff ball and hugged him tight. Did you miss me?

He pined for you, Mrs. Abercrombie lied with a sweet smile. She had to be at least seventy-five, maybe eighty, but she didn’t look a day over sixty-five. She appeared to be a nice lady, but I sometimes wondered. Retired for decades now, she’d worked in logistics for the government, but whenever I asked about her old job, her answers were cagey, as if she’d been something other than the mid-level civil servant she claimed to be.

Well, we all had our secrets.

I was about to blow the lid off a whopper.

Thank you, again. I headed for the door. I really appreciate it.

No problem, dear. I’m always happy to watch him. If I’d realized you were coming home so soon, I would have fixed you a casserole.

You’re too good to me.

Not that good. There’s no casserole, she replied.

It’s the thought that counts, I said with a laugh, although thoughts of a casserole made my mouth water. Like her cookies and muffins, Mrs. Abercrombie’s casseroles were to die for, and for months, I’d been eating alien food—some of it disgusting slop fed to us by the slavers.

Hugging my cat to my chest, I punched the twelve-digit password into the electronic keypad and let myself into my apartment. James leaped out of my arms, scratching me in the process, and hightailed it into the bedroom.

Good to see you, too! I rubbed my abdomen where his back claws had caught me, leaned against the door, and surveyed my domain. Home, safe and sound.

I snorted. I was home but far from safe. None of us were. We were all in danger.

Still, as I gazed at my apartment, my haven from a busy, stressful job, my tension released. Every piece of furniture had been selected for rest and relaxation. I loved my comfortable sofa with the matching ottoman and oversized side tables that put my favorite drink within easy reach. There were plenty of soft pillows and throws, and the gray-and-lavender color scheme was easy on the eyes.

Natural light streamed in through the surrounding windows. I was fortunate to be able to afford the expansive corner unit in one of the most secure buildings in the capital. Until now, I’d taken good security for granted.

New Terra had a homogenous population—we were all descendants of the original intrepid settlers who’d shared an esprit de corps, further strengthened by the tragedy on Earth. Over the centuries, we’d maintained our unity and patriotism. We did not divide ourselves into us and them; hence, we enjoyed a low crime rate. Violent crime was practically nonexistent.

However, that didn’t mean everybody agreed with everything the government did. Nor that a rare few might not act on those feelings. As deputy secretary of state, I ranked high in the government chain. There were only two degrees of separation between me and President Erika Stadler.

So, better safe than sorry. Apartment security was like the insurance you hoped you’d never need.

Little had I known how great the dangers were. But they didn’t come from within; they came from outside. Off planet.

Humans were being abducted by aliens by the hundreds, possibly the thousands.

I’d come home to sound the alarm.

My new friends, the Star Cross passengers I’d been locked up with on the slave ship, had chosen to remain on planet Nomoru. Holly Winter and Kat Whalen had met and married alien princes, sons of the king who’d rescued us, and Millie Rogers had married the monarch’s chief advisor. Giselle Cartier, who’d been the physician aboard the Star Cross, had hooked up with an undercover agent with the League of Planets and become an agent herself.

Thank the stars for Giselle. She saved the day.

I would miss all of them. Going through hell together had bonded us. I probably could have stayed on Nomoru, but somebody had to alert the president about the crisis. The LOP damn sure wasn’t doing it. My government position made me the best person for the job.

First thing this afternoon, I’d brief Garrison Keller, my boss, and have him set up a meeting with President Stadler.

I pushed off from the door and stepped farther into the living room. The floor-to-ceiling windows had been treated to enable me to see out while blocking others from seeing in. Hovercars zipped by. The apartments across the flight zone didn’t have privacy glass. I observed a man put a dish into a flash cooker. A woman squinted at a computer screen. A couple in their bedroom was disrobing.

I averted my gaze to my gray-velour sofa and ran my hand over the back. Hello, couch. Good to see you again. I missed you. I chuckled.

I strode into the bedroom decorated in soothing tones of gray and periwinkle. Full-length drapes framed the expansive window and matched the quilted coverlet over the queen-sized bed flanked by two nightstands. An enormous closet, the sliding door ajar, spanned the entire wall opposite the window, eliminating a need for a chest of drawers.

Off the bedroom was the bath. I shed my clothes, but rather than put them in the dirty laundry, I folded them up to take to the office for testing. Although the hip-length, pale-green tunic and dark leggings didn’t look out of place, the fabric originated from out of this world. Nothing organic or synthetic of ours compared to it. Nor had the tunic and leggings been sewn. There were no seams. The clothes appeared to have been created by some sort of advanced 3-D printer.

After turning on the water and adjusting the temperature, I stepped into the stall.

Oh, shower, I missed you, too. I groaned as hot water rained over me. One could argue ionizing units sanitized better, but they couldn’t beat the sensual pleasure of hot water. Sometimes simple trumped advanced.

I remained under the spray until I started to get pruney then reluctantly shut off the water. I toweled dry, donned my fluffy robe, and then ran a comb through my short hair, noticing I needed a trim. By my time, I’d been gone a couple of months. It had been hard to keep track. I’ll dry my hair after I eat. I need food!

I’d worked up an appetite. I’d last eaten yesterday evening. This morning, the ship had landed, and I’d eschewed breakfast, anxious to get home. Although rendered invisible by shimmer technology, the ship had set down quite a distance from the city to avoid any chance of detection. The hike from the landing site had taken longer than I’d anticipated.

My stomach rumbled. Cheeseburger? Lasagna? Pizza? Pot roast? Lunch on my mind, my mouth watered at the options. It wouldn’t take long for the flash cooker to heat up a meal from my well-stocked cold storage.

Upon reentering the bedroom, I curled my toes into the fluffy area rug. For cleanliness and ease of care, I’d opted for heated synthetic solid surface floors throughout the unit but had added a rug for comfort in the bedroom.

Grrrr. Grrrr. James growled from under the bed. This was where he always went when he was angry or scared.

What is with him? James? James Bond! Here, kitty, kitty.

I got down on my hands and knees to peer at him. Ears flat, he hissed and scooted out of reach—not that I would dare to touch him in his current mood. What’s wrong? Why are you acting this way? Are you mad because I left you? I’d gone on a vacation before, and he’d never acted this way. Be nice.

He hissed.

Fine. Be that way. He’d be more sociable when he got hungry. I got to my feet.

A muscular arm wrapped around my neck. Another clamped around my waist and lifted me off my feet. A hard body pressed against my back. Where is it? a gravelly voice growled in my ear.

My heart rate shot into the stratosphere.

Well, now I know what freaked James out, I thought wryly, disassociating myself from the fear so I could remain calm, the way I’d been taught in security training.

Where is what? I croaked. The arm banded around my throat barely allowed me to breathe. I had no money. We were an electronic, cashless society. Jewelry? I had some pretty stuff, but nothing valuable. How did you get in here? How had he breached the security? The front entry, the elevators, my apartment all required passwords.

The arm tightened. Don’t lie to me. You have a handheld. Where is it?

Handheld? How would he know about that...unless he was LOP. But why would someone from the galactic oversight organization break into my apartment and accost me? Wouldn’t they confront me directly?

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Turning my head to ease the pressure on my airway, I tried to pry his arm from around my throat. I groped for his hand, seeking the weak link of his pinky. If I snap his little finger...

I want the device. Give it to me! He shook me.

Motion created space and opportunity. I rammed my elbow hard into his gut, and he let out an oomph. Twisting, I drove the heel of my palm upward into his nose, following up with a jab at his eyes. His forearm came up and blocked the blow. A powerful shove flung me away to fall against the bed. I tore open the nightstand drawer and grabbed the antique single-action revolver, smuggled over from Earth by a colonist centuries ago. I’d found it at a flea market.

The weapon itself worked; however, the centuries-old ammo that had come with it had degraded and could be hit or miss. During target practice, I’d gotten some duds. I aimed, cocked the hammer, and squeezed the trigger.

Pop! The gun went off, and a red stain appeared on the sleeve of his tan hoodie.

Amber eyes widened with shock.

The next time I shoot, it won’t be to wound, I threatened. A single bullet remained in the five-chambered gun. One centuries-old bullet, possibly the only one left on the entire planet, since I’d shot the rest during target practice. I’d never expected to need a weapon. However, one carefully targeted bullet would do the job. Get out.

He hesitated for a second, and then, clutching his arm, skedaddled out of the bedroom. I heard the front door snick shut. I ran after him to verify he’d left. To my relief, the living room was vacant.

I checked that the door had locked automatically behind him—for all the good it would do. He’d already gotten in once. Except now he knew I had a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. He didn’t know I only had one bullet left or that it might not work.

I undid the cover plate on a fake electrical outlet. In the tiny safe was the handheld, containing vids of an LOP spaceship and its crew. Millie Rogers had shot the vid and slipped me the device before I’d boarded the vessel headed for New Terra.