CHAPTER 3
“Where are we heading?” Nay asked as Gunner tightened her helmet’s clasp.
“I’m taking you back to your place. I have to pick up some of my gear. Then I’ll head back.” He climbed on his bike and waited for her to get on behind him. She shuffled her feet, glancing down the street.
“What’s up?” he asked, knowing she was building up to something.
Nay’s fingers fiddled with each other. “I don’t…” She bit her lip. “I just don’t want to be by myself right now. Can I come with you?”
Gunner paused, struggling to come up with a reply. He could in no way bring her to the complex. She was not within the circle of humans allowed to have knowledge about the Anathergians. “I don’t think that’s really possible.”
She smirked. “Why? Afraid your girlfriend’s gonna get jealous?”
He almost laughed. “First, I don’t have a girlfriend. And second, my place is…” Gunner stopped. “Actually, there’s someplace else we can go. It’s a bit of a drive, though.”
She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
He started up the engine and she climbed onto the seat behind him. Once she was secure, he took off and headed to the freeway. At the red turn signal, Nay patted his stomach and he looked back at her.
“Where are we going?”
“Mt. Charleston.”
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“I have a cabin up there.”
She nodded.
The drive didn’t take long, since it was such a late—or very early—hour. The closer they were to the mountain, the cooler it became. Summer had made its appearance over the last few weeks, and the cool air whipped around him, buzzing in his ears. The tenseness in his muscles faded as the rhythm of the bike’s engine and the warmth of the girl lulled him into a relaxed state.
I could get used to this.
His bike manipulated the twists and turns of the mountain highway. Clouds hid the moon, making the night dark. His single headlight provided the only illumination. The tall pine trees tunneled their path, giving the illusion they were the sole people on the mountainside. He angled to the right onto a road lined with cabins. Close to the end of the road, he pulled into his driveway.
He switched off the bike and waited for Nay to dismount. She slid from the seat and he shivered when her warmth left him. Gunner gave himself an internal shake as he dismounted, swinging his leg over the bike and coming to a stand. He edged closer to her to help her remove her helmet, but she stepped back. Her lips scrunched to the side, and her narrow fingers toyed with the buckle beneath her chin. It loosened, and she pulled at the straps, tugging the helmet free.
A huge smile split her face. “I did it.”
Gunner almost laughed at her.
So happy over the tiniest thing.
“Right on,” he said and gave her a high five.
She jumped up high and slapped his palm hard, giggling. Her happiness was infectious, and he smiled with her.
He trudged up to the front door and ran his finger over a metal plate. To the normal person, it appeared like the thing covered a hole in the wall. In reality, it was a security device Gunner made some time ago. It scanned the person’s fingerprint and took a quick test of the visitor’s DNA from the finger’s skin cells. The fingerprints were put into the database by him alone, and included the Anathergians within his immediate circle. But, if the person was not Anathergian, they were not granted access unless he’d added them. His door popped open and, when they entered, he switched on a light and accessed the secondary panel to inform the system he had a female human with him.
Nadine passed him, her head turning about, taking in the place. Other than his fellow Anathergians, he’d never brought anyone here before. It was his getaway place, and he liked to keep it private.
“So, this is it,” he said, stretching out his arms to encompass the front room, which consisted of a few stuffed chairs and a fireplace.
“Very cool,” she said, nodding her head. Her gaze slid up the narrow stairway to the loft.
He led her toward the back of the house and ran his hand over the breakfast bar. “The kitchen isn’t much, but it’s all I need. I’m not a big cook, anyway.” Gunner stopped next to a black leather couch. “This was meant to be a dining room, but I changed it into a living room.”
He stepped over to the coffee table and picked up a remote. “I have all the channels, so you can watch whatever you want. There’s food and drinks in the fridge.” He glanced at the back sliding glass door. To the right of it was his playroom, filled to capacity with the top tech he could find on this planet.
Nay stared at the three monochrome images of Marilyn Monroe on the wall. “This is fantastic.”
Pride swelled his chest. “Yeah, it does pretty good in a pinch.”
She scoffed. “Whatever.” Nay slid her backpack from her shoulders, placed it on one of the barstools and then slipped off her sneakers. He watched the girl make herself at home in his place, and wasn’t quite sure what to do. Her black socks slid along the wood paneled floor as she headed to the couch. Gunner followed her.
Nay glanced over her shoulder. “Do you have any water?”
“Oh,” he blinked. “Sure. Uh, yeah, let me see what I’ve got.” A maid came by each week to clean up and stock the kitchen for him. He wondered what she’d put in there and when she’d come by last. His king and queen, Auden and Leah, had been to the place a few days before, and Gunner wasn’t sure what was left.
He yanked the stainless steel door handle on the fridge open and examined the contents. “I have different kinds of sparkling water,” he called to her over the granite counter. “There’s lemon, raspberry, and strawberry. There’s also some different teas in here. And then plain water.”
Gunner stood and observed her as she dropped onto the couch, the material engulfing her. “How about raspberry?”
Nodding, he pulled out two bottles, pivoted back to her, but then stopped.
Don’t be a douche. Glasses. Don’t make her drink from a bottle.
Gunner reached up into a cabinet and brought down two tall glasses. He opened a bottle and compressed air gushed from the opening. Liquid immediately bubbled over the top and down his hand. He twisted the lid shut with only a bit of a spill. Gunner rolled his eyes at himself and then glanced around the room for something to wipe his hands on. Finding nothing, he sucked the drips off his fingers, rinsed them in the sink, and dried them on his jeans.
When he finally had the glasses full, he entered the room and handed her one. He sank into the cushion next to her and placed his glass on the coffee table. “Uh,” he said, not sure where to start. “Do you want the couch or the bed?”
Her eyes became saucers. “The couch is fine.”
He nodded. “I have some spare blankets and stuff. I’ll get them for you.” Gunner quickly lifted to his feet, and shuffled to a closet. After gathering the blankets and pillows, he carried them over and placed them where he had sat. She stood and smoothed the blankets over the sofa.
Gunner wrung his hands together. “I’ll try to track down that car.”
She glanced up at him. “Don’t you need the video footage for that?”
Crap.
“Uh, yeah. So, I’m heading out for that now. Why don’t you try to get some shuteye? I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded and Gunner slipped out the front door. He rocked back and forth on his feet, not sure what he should do. His stomach growled and he smiled, knowing the perfect place to get some chow.