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“Men,” Rogers said. “Gather around. I have a special mission for you.”
“What do you want us to do with her, sir?” said the Changeling handling Alice.
She wailed mournfully, her hands gripping the pod’s sides, fighting to escape. It was a losing battle. She was going to end up inside it unless I did something.
“I’ll take care of her,” I said.
The Changeling soldiers peered over at their commanding officer, who nodded. They released Alice and let me grab her. She flailed and fought worse than a cornered cat.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I said. “It’s me.”
She slowed her attack but still wouldn’t open her eyes.
“You can open your eyes,” I said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Alice did—slowly. She looked up at me and wrapped her arms around me.
“I was so scared,” she said. “I thought they were going to put me back in the pod again.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Rogers was telling his underlings about their mission to act as my crew and help deliver the cargo. I moved Alice to one side so we were out of sight.
“They would have,” I said. “How did you manage to get yourself caught? I thought you were heading home?”
“I needed to make a statement at the police station, to tell them what happened to me.”
I frowned. Tell them about our adventure? I was lucky they hadn’t already shot me.
“Not the truth,” Alice said. “Something I thought they would believe.”
“They’re Changelings—”
“I didn’t know that!” she hissed. “The whole town is fake!”
“They set it up to attract human females. They arrange for them to be abducted.”
“It’s a honeytrap,” Alice said. “I heard Stryder talk about it after your Challenge.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Heat seared through my chest. “I didn’t think you would be stupid enough to go back to them!”
“I told you. I needed to make a statement. My friends’ parents would wonder what happened to their daughters. It would look a bit suspicious if just me came back and there was no explanation, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t think about it,” I admitted.
Alice turned her nose up. “Clearly.”
We looked at each other. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling.
“It’s good to see you again,” I said.
She warmed to me. “It’s good to see you too.”
We drifted closer, our lips coming within inches of each other. My heart ached to be joined with her again. To bond and become one. And this time, I swore to myself, I wouldn’t let her go.
I pulled back and shook my head. “We don’t have time.”
