Lost Among the Stars (Sky Riders) (13 page)

Chapter 15

Maggie relaxed in the garden as the sun warmed her skin. The weather had been so nice the last couple of days that she and the other women had taken to sitting in the garden for hours at a time. She sat in the wooden lawn chair and rubbed her upset stomach as she waited for her friends. Her stomach was upset a lot lately and she didn’t know why.
She blamed the different foods she had been eating and didn’t bother to let Etor know. He had enough on his mind without worrying about her upset stomach.

“Hey, Mags!” Kelly called out as she, Hunter, and Lexie came into the garden.

She waved at the group as they walked to where she sat out in the sun near the fountain. “Hey, guys!”

Each woman pulled up an empty chair and joined her in relaxing. A cool breeze blew through the trees and bushes making them sway while cooling her warmed skin.

“Girl, you are getting a bit red.” Kelly leaned over and pressed on her exposed skin.

“Not all of us can have you
r olive complexion,” she replied.

“Better not mess up that pretty skin of yours. Etor will have a fit!” Kelly chimed back.

“Wish I had someone to worry about me like the way he does with you, Maggie. For crying out loud, the man is paranoid with you. He thinks we Earth females are delicate flowers and need to be handled with care,” Hunter put her own two cents in.

“He does not!” she snapped.

The other three women looked at each other then burst out laughing. “Oh yeah, right! I see the way he looks at you sometimes. Like he’s going to gobble you up!” Lexie said.

“Maybe I like being gobbled up!” Maggie covered her mouth after the words slipped out.

“Oh no way. Too much info, please,” Kelly pretended she was disgusted with her friends words.

“Yeah, okay Kelly. Tell us, Kelly, how is Kharis?” She knew perfectly well she hit a nerve when she mentioned Etor’s middle brother.

“Let’s leave him out of this,” Kelly replied.

“What’s the matter, Kel? Can’t take the heat?” It was her turn to laugh as her best friend’s face turned red.

“What’s going on with you and Kharis?” Hunter asked.

“Nothing! That’s just it. The man won’t leave me alone. He pops up in the oddest places wanting to talk to me. I’ve even caught him staring at me from far away.”

“Sounds like someone has a case of the love bug!” Lexie laughed.

“Not funny. I didn’t leave Earth to find a man and I don’t need one.”

“Speak for yourself, girlfriend. I left Earth because all of the men I was dating were dirt bags. They either wanted money or sex. It got so tiring after a while. I mean, I’m not advertising for a nice guy, but just hoping it happens one day. How about you, Maggie, why did you leave Earth?” Lexie asked.

Maggie and Kelly looked at each other unsure what to say. The other women knew they had been friends before leaving Earth. Kelly shrugged her shoulders at her.

“It can’t hurt to tell. He can’t hurt you here,” Kelly said softly.

“Who’s trying to hurt you? Spill it!” Hunter scooted forward in her chair to hear her better.

Maggie took a deep then let it out slowly. “Before I left Earth I was living with a man named Mark. I tried breaking things off with him once and he attacked me and told me he would never let me go. I was scared and had nowhere to go that he wouldn’t be able to find me at, so I stayed. I worked at a painting gallery restoring old paintings. I left work early one day because I had dropped my phone in some water and needed to replace it before he found out. I didn’t want to take any chances on finding out how he would react, so I go a new one from one of those new drop and go booths.” She looked around the tight circle of friends and found they were all listening intently. “Anyhow, I decided on my way home I would stop by Mark’s bar and surprise him. That was a mistake.” She had to stop for a moment. Her voice was starting to shake as she thought back to the horrible day. “I had to go in through the back because it was before hours and I knew the back door would be unlocked. Sooo…I went in and was walking to his office when I heard voices shouting. I didn’t want to bust in and interrupt, so I waited outside his office. I got curious to who he was shouting at and decided to peak through the door that was cracked open.” Kelly squeezed her hand in support.

“It’s
okay, girl, he can’t hurt you anymore,” Kelly said.

“I know,” she said as she sniffled. “Just as I peeked in I saw Mark, his back was to me and the man he was yelling at was back
ing away. Mark….Mark pulled the trigger and shot the man.”

“Oh my God!” Hunter and Lexie said at the same time.

“What did you do?” Lexie asked.

“I got out of there before he saw me. I raced home and pretended like I didn’t see anything. God, I was so scared. It was really hard to act normal because he knew how I was and had cameras all over the house. He said it was for security purposes but I knew better than that.
But the best way I knew of to keep myself safe was to play the part. I called him when I got home like I normally did and asked for permission to go shopping with Kelly the next day. After he left for what he was going to do, Kelly and I made a run for it. I couldn’t take much in the way of my possessions because he would know something was wrong if he came home early and found me gone. We hid in this nasty motel near the convention center and waited. We got on the transport just as he was trying to break through the line. That’s the last I’ve seen of him.”

The four of them sat there in silence. Hunter and Lexie were obviously stunned by her revelation and didn’t know what to say. She had to lighten the mood back up! She didn’t come out here to make everyone unhappy.

“So, Kelly, you think Mister drop-dead gorgeous will drop by today?” She winked at her friend.

Kelly, in return, playfully slapped her knee. “God, I hope not! I don’t know how much longer I can hold him off!” She laughed causing everyone else to join in.

“I give it another couple of days then you’ll be begging for his attention!” Hunter said.

“I don’t think so!”

The rest of their time in the garden was spent telling stories of things they did on Earth as kids or about the families they once all had. Each of them had a different story and different lives, but here they were sitting around telling stories on another planet they weren’t meant to be on. She was happy that things turned out the way they had, except for the forty-six women that were lost. Nothing would ever bring them back, but the four of them could move forward and live happy lives there on Qetera.

******

Etor felt his blood run cold as he listened to his mate reveal her story to her friends. At first he didn’t have any intentions of eavesdropping on the group of females, but when he overheard one of them asking why Maggie chose to leave Earth, he figured this was the only way, for the time being, to find out what his little female was hiding.

He knew from the nightmares she suffered from that it had to be something serious. Never in all his life would he have dreamed it would be like she said. Another man wanted to put an end to her life all because she witnessed his crime. If he had known this when Vulmar left for Earth he would have gotten his brother to pick up the worthless man too. 

There was no way he could question her about the experience because then she would know he had overheard her private conversation. No, he would let her tell him in her own good time and until that happened he would keep his mouth shut.

As he looked around the pillar he was standing behind he saw that Rhaegos that landed near the group but in his smaller form.
It was safe for him to show himself now that they were on a different topic.

“Etor!” Maggie exclaimed when she saw him walking over to her.

As soon as he got to her he picked her up and wrapped her in tight hug. “I missed you.” He inhaled her scent and could smell her arousal immediately.

“Where have you been all day?” she asked.

“I had some matters I needed to take of which is the reason why I came to see you,” he said and he placed her back on the ground. “Hello, ladies.” He didn’t want to seem rude not to address their onlookers.

“Hi Commander,” Kelly said while Hunter and Lexie waved their hello. “Your brother isn’t anywhere around is he?”

“Not at the present moment. Why? Do you need me to send for him?” He smiled innocently at the female he knew had captured his brother’s heart.

“Etor, real
ly?” Maggie playfully slapped his chest.

“What? I thought maybe she missed him or something!”

Kelly folded her arms in annoyance as she glared at Etor. “Yeah, something alright!” Everyone in the group laughed but Kelly. “Not funny.”

“Awe come on, Kelly. You know the guy has the hots for you, just admit it!” Lexie said as she tried to stop laughing.

“Whatever,” Kelly replied as she gave them the single finger salute.

Now it was Etor’s turn to not laugh. “
What does that gesture mean?” He looked down at Maggie.

Maggie and her friends all burst out laughing at Etor’s confusion. “Oh baby, let’s just say it’s something not very nice!”

Etor growled at Kelly. “Well, I came to tell you I need to leave the planet in a few hours.”

“Whatever for?” Maggie asked.

“There have been some reports coming in that the Lephusans are gathering their strength together. I want to make sure all our ship and fighters are prepared for anything. I don’t trust Ruehar one little bit and wouldn’t be surprised if he tried something sometime soon.”

“Ok, when do you expect to be back?”

“I would expect in a day or two. I’ve got to make sure Qetera is safe. I’ve got to make sure that you are safe.” He kissed her forehead. “I thought maybe we could spend a few quality hours together before I left.”

She blushed at his words and knew exactly what he meant. “Sound
s like a wonderful idea. I’ll see you guys later!” She waved good-bye to her friends as she took Etor by the hand and pulled him in the direction of their rooms.

Etor departed several hours later, leaving his mate sleeping soundly in their bed. He hated to leave her but he was still the ruling leader of Qetera and he had a job to see too. The shuttle he was to take up to the Arabis was waiting for him to arrive. He stepped into the awaiting shuttle and found Kharis piloting it.

“Do you think you took long enough?” Kharis said as he lifted the shuttle off the landing pad.

Etor sat in the co-pilot chair and strapped himself in. “I didn’t expect you to be going up with me.”

“Yeah, well, it was sudden decision.”

He looked at his brother suspiciously. “And why is that?”

“Let’s say a certain Earth female is going to be the death of me yet!” As soon as the shuttle cleared the city, Kharis took off. At the rate of speed they were travelling it wouldn’t take long for the shuttle to dock with the Arabis.

The shuttle flew through the
brewing storm clouds over the city then shot up to leave Qetera’s atmosphere. The darkness of space filled the front window until the lights of the Arabis came into view. It was right where he had left her several weeks ago. Every time he saw her from the outside, he took huge pride in knowing that she was all his. His brothers also had warships of their own but his was the biggest in the fleet. Over one thousand crew could live and work on her for months at a time before ever needing to be restocked.

Kharis docked the shuttle with ease within the extensive docking bay. As they stepped out they saw that the area was a bustle of activity. Mechanics were checking and rechecking the fighters as the pilots looked on to make sure nothing went unchecked.

The brothers made their way to the bridge to find it equally as busy. The large viewing screen was currently split into several different views of the surrounding space. All eyes were glued to the screen looking for any unusual movement farther out from Qetera.

“I’d like to take the ship out a bit farther and scout around,”
Etor said as he stepped up to look at the screen.

“I agree, Commander,” Troop Commander Thallan said as he walked up beside him.

“Good to see you, Thallan.” He slapped the man on the back in greeting.

“You too, Sir. Where are we headed?”

“I’d like to take a run around the closest planets. Just to make sure there isn’t anyone hiding behind them.”

“Good idea,” Kharis said.

“Alright! Let’s move her out!” Etor was now back in full commander role. This is what he had lived for. Now he lived for Maggie and Qetera, but would damn well die protecting either of them.

******

“Is everything ready?” Ruehar asked his captain.

“Yes, Sir. They are waiting for your order to take off.”

“Give the order, captain.” Ruehar watched out the massive window of his warship. This was the moment he had been waiting for and he wanted to watch every moment of it.

“Fighter
s ready! At my order you will take off and form the three fleets you have been instructed to form. As soon as we enter into the Yahiri galaxy the three fleets are to break off as directed. If you come across any patrolling ships, take them out!”