His by Right (18 page)

            She had left him. She had refused the
seela.

            There was no life left for him. There was no reason to hope she would return.

            Unable to hold it back any longer, Neeveer allowed himself to grieve.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Goodbye

            They landed somewhere on the outskirts of the city in the pre-dawn hours. Meredith fought the straps holding her down the moment she felt the ship bump beneath her feet. Hurrying to the doorway, she waited anxiously as Bajud powered down. He reached for his belts, when the hull suddenly disappeared. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she stepped back onto her world.

            It was either late spring or early summer. The air was sodden with the scent of sun-warmed earth and sage. An occasional gust ruffled her hair. Overhead, the stars hung like miniature white orbs dripping smaller silver specks across the black surface. The three-quarter moon hanging close to the horizon still bathed the landscape.

            She sensed the Alcatian coming up to stand behind her. "This is the desert, Bajud. It's part of my world, like the mountains, the rivers and lakes, and the forests. See those lights over there?" She pointed toward the distant mountain range where a glow illuminated the night. "That's Las Vegas. It's a city. Do you have cities on your world?"

            "I must leave, Merry."

            She turned to face him. A look of sadness filled his eyes. "What happens now?"

            He gestured overhead. "I return to the ship, and we continue on with our orders."

            "Will you come back?"

            For the first time, he appeared surprised. "Do you wish to come back?"

            "I...don't...know." It was the only answer she could give him. "This is my home. This is where my species thrives. But I have to be truthful, Bajud. I love your father. I love Neeveer." She shook her head as tears threatened to close her throat, making speech difficult. Now that she finally admitted it out loud, she knew it was the truth. "I love him, even though he doesn't love me."

            "Is that why you're leaving? Because you care for my father?"

            "It was the most difficult choice I've ever had to make in my life. Home or Neeveer."

            "So you chose to come home."

            "I had no other recourse, Bajud. If for one second I thought Neeveer cared about me—"

            "But he does care."

            "No. No, he doesn't. At least, not in the way I need him to care. To him, all I'm good for is keeping the bed warm, and being there for him when he needs to pleasure himself. There is very little difference between the way it is now, and the way it was on the whoreship. I'm a thing to him, an object. I'm a new acquisition that, sooner or later, he'll grow tired of. He may even come to despise me because I'm different. Because I'm not Alcatian."

            "You are wrong, Merry. My father has changed because of you. He has never needed anyone or anything other than his position and command of a ship. But that first time after he took you, his whole focus shifted. He had to go back to you, and afterward, he had to have you permanently."

            The alien stepped closer to her, enough to where he could grab her by the arms and drag her back into the ship if he wanted to. In a mad, almost wishful sort of way, Meredith hoped he would.

            "I can count on both hands how many times I have seen my father smile. Most of those times have been during these past few days."

           
"Stay with me, Merry. Do not leave."
The memory of Neeveer's pleas echoed faintly in her ears.

            "Bajud, what did he mean when he called me My One?"

            The question startled him. "He called you that?"

            "Several times."

            "It is a term we use only to those closest to us."         

            "Like to your mate? Your wife?"

            His head bobbed slightly. "Yes."

            Something inside the ship whistled. Bajud sighed. "That is my signal to leave. We are on our way to the Peer Median Vot cluster. I do not know how long we will be gone, but once we finish, we must come by this way on our way back to our own solar system. Neeveer has told me I will get to return to this landing site, to see if you have made up your mind."

            "How will I know you're here?"

            He reached out and touched the waistlet. "This will let you know."

            "What if I'm not certain? What if I haven't made up my mind yet?"

            The look of sadness on his face deepened. "You will have one chance, Merry. Only one. If you are not here when I land, I have strict orders not to wait for you. And since this quadrant of the galaxy is not within our jurisdiction, there will never be another opportunity or reason for us to come again. Neeveer has already risked everything, including his command, to return you this time."

            Leaning over, he kissed her on the forehead for the first and perhaps the last time. "Farewell, Merry. I wish you a happy life."

            Meredith reciprocated with a kiss to his cheek and a hug. Backing away to give the ship a wide berth, she watched the craft rise into the air, seeing for the first time all its sleek angles, and the beauty of its own alien design, before it vanished into the blackness with hardly a sound. For a moment, the air around her stilled. The insects and other creatures ceased their noise, pausing in their movements until they were sure everything was safe again.

            The asphalt pavement of the two-lane road lay several yards away. Up ahead, she could see the pale reflection of a highway sign, but she was too far away to read it.

            Readjusting her roll across her shoulder, she stepped onto the warm surface, aware of the tarmac beneath her bare feet. And with the glow of the city showing her the way, Meredith started walking.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Identity

            "Merry! Hut, hut, double time! Boss wants to see you in his office!"

            Meredith glanced up from her cutting board in surprise. Wiping her hands on her apron, she hustled to the rear of the kitchen and down the narrow hallway where she could hear voices coming from the manager's office. Standing in the doorway, she saw Fanelli sitting at his desk. Two police officers stood to the side.

            "Merry! Come in. These men are here to see you."

            "To see me?" She walked inside the room but didn't shut the door behind her. Already she could feel her stomach tightening up. She sensed something was up, and it didn't appear promising.

            "Miss Neeveer?" One officer by the name of Pritcher, according to his name badge, pulled a small notebook from his breast pocket and consulted it. "You are Merry Neeveer? Merry, as in Christmas, and Neeveer spelled N-e-e-v-e-e-r?"

            "Yes, that's me."

            "You reside at the Hot Sands motor hotel?"

            "Yes."

            "How long have you been working here at the casino?"

            "A little over a month."

            "Where did you work before then?"

            She shrugged, already fearful of where this line of questioning was taking her. "It's...I don't know."

            "You don't know?" The question came from the other police officer bearing the name of Sandoval.

            Pritcher pulled another object from his pocket. It was a newspaper clipping, which he unfolded and showed to her.

            It was a picture of her, back before the kidnapping. "Search Continues for Missing Woman." The date on the newspaper read February 15th.

            "Do you know this woman, Meredith Powell?"

            She shook her head. "No."

            "Aren't you Meredith Powell?" the man insisted.

            Somehow, she managed to remain calm. "No." Handing back the clipping, she added, "I've never heard of her, but I can see why you would make that mistake."

            "You know we can clear this up very easily by just escorting you down to the station and taking your fingerprints."

            Meredith glanced at her boss, who sighed regretfully. "I'm sorry, Merry. They know you're working here illegally."

           
And that means the jig is up. Time to think about moving on...but where?

           
Her hand involuntarily touched the waistlet hidden beneath her apron as she eyed the two officers.

            "Come on." Sandoval whispered as he beckoned her with a smile. "Tell us the truth, Miss Neeveer. You're not in trouble, but you do have a lot of questions to answer."

            "I told you, I'm not her."

            "Well, we think you are," Pritchard argued.

            Her mind whirled. Who ratted on her? Who tipped off the cops? Just when she was starting to get her feet back under her, and feel some sort of belonging, this had to happen!

            "Why are you harassing me like this? Am I under arrest?" Tears of fear sprang into her eyes. Tears she hoped they would misinterpret. "I told you, I don't know that woman. Can I go back to work now?"

            "You have no birth certificate, no Social Security number, no driver's license. Nothing," Sandoval continued. "You've been in town for five weeks. Are you an illegal, Miss Neeveer? Neeveer. What ethnicity is that, anyway?"

            "Middle Eastern. My father was Pakistani," she replied, giving them her prepared answer as she fought to maintain a weak appearance. If she allowed her temper to flare, there was no telling what these men would do. "I ran away from home, okay? I'm of age. All I want is to be able to live my life freely."

            The officers studied her dark hair and eyes as they mulled over her speech. She prayed they would find it plausible. It would also explain why she didn't have any viable documentation.

            Finally, after what seemed like hours, Pritchard tucked the clipping back into his pocket and turned to Fanelli. "We need to go check on a few details, but in the meantime we strongly suggest you get together your records on all your employees. If we come back and find anyone without the proper papers, we will have to temporarily shut down this place until all issues have been cleared."

            Fanelli glanced at her but answered the police. "Yes, sir."

            The officers left the office after bidding them a good day, leaving her alone with the kitchen manager.

            "Hey, Merry, I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

            She had seen it coming from the moment she'd stepped into the office. "Yeah, I know, Mr. Fanelli."

            "You're a good worker. A hard worker. You don't bitch, you don't make excuses, and best of all, you always show up and on time. But I have to let you go. You understand, right?"

            "Yes, Mr. Fanelli."

            "Shut the door."

            She did as the portly man got up from his chair and walked over to where a picture of his family hung on the wall. Behind it, he dialed open the small wall safe where he kept the sundry funds, and counted out a few bills. Closing the safe, he came over to her and held out the money.

            "Here. It's this week's pay, plus a little extra, to help you get situated someplace new. Good luck, okay?"

            She accepted the money and gave him a brief hug. "Thanks again, Mr. Fanelli. I'm sorry to put you through this."

            "Yeah, well, they're just doing their jobs. But you gotta admit, you do look like the spittin' image of that missing woman."

            "Well, you know what they say. Everyone's got an exact double somewhere out there. Thank you again, Mr. Fanelli." Taking off her apron, she folded it and laid it on the man's desk. He waved her away, and Meredith left the office.

            She walked out of the kitchen and through the casino, oblivious to the sights and sounds coming off the floor. Her first day back on Earth had been hellish as she tried to find some sort of job that didn't require her to have all the governmental paperwork. Thank God for the smaller casinos and motels located away from the main strip. Places where senior citizens and those who didn't have the funds to buy into the bigger hotels could go and stay for a fraction of the cost. Those businesses were always needing drudge help to clean the rooms or work in the kitchen. The hours were lousy, and the pay was minimum wage, but she didn't mind. At least after the first week, she was able to leave the homeless shelter, buy herself a couple of dresses and an extra pair of shoes from a thrift store, and find a pay-by-the-week motel that asked no questions as long as she had the cash.

            Ducking into a ladies room, she parked herself in a stall and counted out her money. It was slightly more than two weeks' salary. Folding the bills, she tucked them into her pocket and closed her eyes.

           
Now where?
She asked herself.
Where do you go now, when you know the cops are on to you?

           
Again, her hand strayed to the jeweled waistlet. There were nights she woke up, confused and sweating. Racked with disbelief and doubt that her time in space had been nothing more than a fevered dream until she saw the chain linked over her hips. It was during those moments when she let her fear and heartache emerge, and allowed herself to cry until she fell back to sleep.

            She was on her home world, and it was the last place she wanted to be. She'd realized that fact as she walked that long stretch of deserted highway toward Vegas. Alone and empty because her heart had remained behind, aboard that giant ship commanded by the Alcatian who commanded her as well. Who, by right, owned her.

            Wiping her eyes with a piece of toilet paper, she blew her nose and threw the paper into the commode before exiting the stall. As she walked out of the casino, she noticed the stars were blotted out. Incoming rain clouds were gathering, bringing with them the sharp smell of ozone. She would have to hurry to make it back to her motel room before the deluge, and it was a good seven block walk.