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Obviously, she’d never killed anyone before. Never thought she’d ever kill anyone her entire life. But, she was surprisingly okay about this. This guy was a murderer. A rapist. And he would’ve been a mass murderer if they hadn’t stopped him here, on Earth. They’d basically just saved the planet and Heriot’s planet too. If that wasn’t a reason to kill someone, she didn’t know what was. She put out her hands, noticing she wasn’t shaking.
Well, Heriot put a blast through the guy’s forehead one second after she’d stabbed him, so…maybe she didn’t technically need to be the one to kill T’Antor. But still…
“You did well,” Heriot had said, examining her kill. “You went straight for his heart chambers.”
“I didn’t really think it through, I was going on instinct and adrenaline.”
“Your instinct is good. You are a natural at assassination.”
“Is that good or bad?”
He grinned. “It is good.”
Next, Heriot decomposed the crystal. This time he took out a specialized hand tool that shot out a beam of white light. This process took much longer though, and Hannah noticed sweat on his brow the whole time. She didn’t dare say a word to him, just sat silent while he concentrated and worked his magic. And then finally, the crystal was gone too.
Then they quietly locked up, left the storage facility, and walked hand in hand back to the Roman Pool. Heriot nonchalantly held the small silver bag in his other hand. They took the last shuttle leaving from the hilltop to the visitor’s center.
When they returned to the visitor center Heriot stood patiently as she bought and ate some snacks at the Starbucks in the lobby, just before it closed for the evening. She was worried about him because he hadn’t eaten anything either, and she managed to talk him into trying a banana because it was labeled organic and was in its own peel. He groused about how he’d have to do something he called a “chemical cleanse” later just to be sure he removed all the impurities from his body.
She laughed and shook her head.
And then they got into her car in the nearly empty parking lot—a trusty little Honda Civic she’d recently paid off. It had one hundred and fifty thousand miles on it with zero bells and whistles, but it started and went every day and had cheap gas mileage, and to Hannah this was all that mattered. And then she thought about her meager possessions in the tiny two-bedroom apartment she shared with a roommate she’d met recently through Craigslist. Not much to miss there. And she didn’t have any pets or family anymore. Grandpa and Grandma had been gone for two years now. She wasn’t invested in a real career yet; she needed to go back to college for some kind of specialization or degree but hadn’t decided what that was going to be. Working at the winery was a great position, but not necessarily her be all end all.
She’d feel terrible knowing that if she left Earth with Heriot the police would probably think the person who’d hurt her friends and murdered that unknown woman on the hilltop had murdered her, too. And then Ron and Daisy and her other friends would all be put through that torment…
But was this reason enough to stay on Earth and give up Heriot?
No.
She’d been insisting all along that she wasn’t leaving Earth. No fucking way. But on the other hand, why stay?
Hannah sighed and nervously tapped on her steering wheel as she pulled out onto the highway. She glanced at the sun setting over the ocean, wondering if it would be so bad if this was the last time she saw that?
Heriot had been open about his intentions all along. To him, this wasn’t just a hookup. She wasn’t his sexual respite while he finished his mission. He cared about her, wanted to marry her and have children together. He said he was in this for the long haul and he wanted her with him. She knew he fully expected her to leave with him on his ship and they’d start their life together.
Which was sweet. Loyal.
But still, she couldn’t help the doubt that nagged at her mind.
Staying here on Earth was a sure deal. Leaving with Heriot was the unknown.
He lived on some planet called R’Etor with a race of people with pointy ears, who were all white-skinned with silver eyes. She would be the only human. If she left with him, she might never see another human again, her whole life.
She glanced over at Heriot and grinned at the sight of his longer-than-long legs bent up to his chest as he sat uncomfortably in the too-small front seat. His eyes were glued to the tablet propped on his knees. He’d been communicating with his brother, who was apparently bringing their ship in close for Heriot to board.
“Turn here,” he ordered.
“Here? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Stop the vehicle right there.”
She did as he asked, confused because they were now off Highway 101 and close to the beach. He’d had her park next to a strip of hotels lined along a seaside cliff in San Simeon. Normally this section of the central coast was quiet since it mainly consisted of one giant nature preserve, two streets of hotels, three restaurants and a mini-mart. But today happened to be the Fourth of July, so there were more people walking to and from the beach than usual.
How was Heriot planning to board some kind of spaceshiphere? She’d assumed he’d have her turn inland, and they’d end up hiking into the hills in order to meet up with his brother.
“Heriot? How…?”
“Let’s go.” He was out of the car in seconds, slamming the door shut behind him.
