Ice Read online

  Chapter Eight

  Ice watched Elle insert a device into the side of the car. She held it there, waiting, not unlike the fuel dock worker refueling a spaceship. The distinct smell of a ship’s engine room combined with the stench of the vehicle. This was not the kind of place he wanted his woman to be in.

  Girlfriend. That was the pairing word to boyfriend. Elle was his girlfriend.

  The thought gave him pleasure. He had thought her behavior strange at the facility when she came to watch him, pressing herself to the glass and taunting him, had been designed to torture him. How wrong he had been. It must be an Earth woman dating custom. She had been trying to pair with him.

  Earth women decided fast, and without any of the formal, traditional Sintazian fighting and hunting rituals. Though, there was that brief fight when he’d first landed. That must have been when she’d made up her mind. This was probably why Galaxy Brides had been so confident in their abilities to find wives on this world.

  Concern over Frost and Snow kept him from suggesting that she stop driving so they could further the Earth dating custom that Galaxy Brides had explained to him of eating in a restaurant which led to kissing, which led to mating. But such things would have to wait. As soon as he found his brothers, they’d find a way to go home. He couldn’t wait to show Elle her new home.

  The gas station was not busy. A car was parked by the wide glass doors. Another vehicle had been leaving as they’d pulled up. Elle disappeared from view and he got out of the car for a better angle. He still couldn’t see her.

  Without much thought, he shut the door and walked toward the windows. A car pulled into the lot. The woman driver stared at him, her face pursed as if he had personally offended her. In the back seat, two small humans laughed. One waved his hand in the air. Instead of stopping, the woman looped around the lot and kept going.

  Ice continued toward the building. The doors jingled when he pushed them open. The noise caused the man behind the counter to glance up from a small box. It took Ice a moment to think of the word—television.

  Two women—one with dark hair, one blonde—paused, their hands resting on a container filled with brightly colored sticks. The distinct smell of the fueling ports didn’t continue into the building. Instead, there was the hint of cooking meat.

  When the man and two women continued to stare, he said, “Costume party in the desert.”

  The man nodded a few times and then turned his eyes back to the television. The women laughed and glanced at each other.

  “Trick or Treat,” the blonde whispered.

  “I wouldn’t mind a trick if the treat looked like that,” the other answered.

  They again laughed. Ice didn’t bother addressing them further.

  “Elle,” he stated. “Elle.”

  “Ice?” She appeared from an aisle. “I told you to wait in the car. What are you doing in here?”

  “I could not see you through the glass.” He glanced around, relieved that he could perceive no threat.

  “Dude,” the guy behind the counter said. He was staring at the television, shaking his head.

  “I managed to get cash from the ATM,” Elle said. “Pick out something to eat and we’ll get on the road. I don’t want to stay here too long.”

  He looked around. “I do not know what is food.”

  She gestured to the aisles. “All of this—chips, candy, nuts.”

  “Meat?”

  “You want a hot dog? All right.” She led the way down the aisle and stopped at a strange contraption that rolled meat tubes up and down a flat platform.

  “Some fucking crackheads robbed Junior’s Pharmacy near Denver,” the man at the counter said, though it wasn’t apparent who he talked to as he stared at the box. Snickering as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever witnessed, he continued, “They manage to get away and the pharmacist dude is all ‘they were very polite for criminals robbing me,’ but they fucking took nothing but a few crates of baby aspirin, boxes of candy bars, but left the money in the register.”

  “Anything else?” Elle asked Ice.

  “Baby aspirin,” Ice stated.

  “You do know that you can’t get high off it…” She eyed his face. “I don’t think.”

  “What is high?”

  “Never mind. Is it the scratches? Are you in pain?”

  “They will heal once I am colder.”

  “There are stronger medicines, though I don’t know if they’ll mess with your biology. They might be toxic. Are you sick?” Elle touched his forehead, and he jerked away in surprise.

  “This does not seem like the place.” Ice tried to stop his body’s vibrations. It was difficult around her.

  “The place to find baby aspirin?” She glanced around. “Hold on.”

  As Elle disappeared, he went toward the counter man. “Where is this Denver where the fucking crackheads are?”

  The guy looked at him and smirked. “Are you serious, man? Denver? The capital of Colorado? Everyone knows Denver.”

  Colorado. That is where Elle said the men had been hunting his brothers.

  “Is it far?”

  “Not very,” the man said.

  The idea brought Ice more hope than he had dared to feel for a while. His brothers were close.

  “Got the baby aspirin.” Elle slid a bottle on the counter before unburdening her arms of the other items she carried.

  The counter man laughed and began scanning the items so that his machine beeped. “Good one. Better be careful. Someone might try to jack you in the parking lot.”

  “What is jack?” Ice asked, confused.

  “Where did you find this one?” The counter man shook his head. He stuck the items in a bag and then lifted it.

  “Spaceship,” Elle quipped. She took the bag and smiled.

  The man laughed. Elle’s smile deepened. Ice frowned.

  “Why would you tell him that?” Ice grabbed her arm, ready to run.

  The man laughed harder. “I don’t know what he’s on, but I want some. Have fun at your desert rave.”

  Elle said something, but Ice was too busy looking around to see if anyone was coming for them. She pushed at his back, moving him toward the door. He walked in front of her like a shield, keeping her from outside harm.

  When they were on the sidewalk, she said, “I told him you were from space because he’d never think I was serious, and I needed to say something to lighten the mood. You looked as if you wanted to bite the man’s head off.”

  “Ew.” He recoiled at the thought. “Why does everyone keep trying to get us to eat people? I do not dine on humans. Though Galaxy Brides did say that was an option. I will not eat you.”

  She pressed her lips together as if suppressing laughter. “That’s too bad. Guess I’ll be making other plans for the night.”

  “You wish for me to eat you?”

  “Come on, lover boy, let’s go.” She strode away from him toward the car. “We need to get on the road.”

  “I am a man, or a boyfriend, but not a boy,” he stated.

  “Just get in the car, Ice,” she said.

  He glanced around the parking lot to make sure there was no danger before obeying the command.

  Chapter Nine

  “Eat this.” Elle handed Ice the hot dog before placing the bag on the floor near his feet. She started the car and drove them out of the parking lot. She’d bought a bag of crappy convenient store food, but she actually enjoyed it. “My dad calls this road trip food. It was the only time my mom let us eat junk when I was a kid. But since I’m an adult, I can eat junk whenever I want.”

  “Is junk not garbage?”

  “Can be.”

  He held the hot dog out for her to take. She ignored his hand as she turned the wheel toward the highway. “I will not eat from the garbage.”

  “It’s a figure of speech. You need to eat.” She gave him a side-eye look. “I assume you need to eat.”

  He lifted the hot dog to his nose and sniffed. The
n, slowly opening his mouth, he brought the foil toward his lips.

  “Whoa, stop.” She placed her hand between his face and the food. His mouth hit the back of her hand, his teeth grazing her skin as he bit her. He recoiled from her hand.

  “I told you I did not wish to eat you,” he stated. “Do not try to put yourself in my mouth again.”

  “You have to take it out of the wrapper first.” Elle snatched the hot dog from him and began steering with her knees as she tore the foil-lined paper. She gave it back to him before putting her hand on the top of the wheel, so she could see the damage his bite had caused. There was a distinct dotting of blood patterned across the back of her hand.

  “I have soda, water, juice…” She reached down to feel for the bag while still keeping her eyes on the road. “I’d probably start with the water. Humans need to hydrate. I’m not sure what Sintazians need, but water seems the safest bet.”

  “This meat tastes…” He examined the bite he’d taken from the hot dog.

  “I know, I’m sorry. They didn’t have a lot of meat options.” She felt the top of a bottle and pulled it into her lap. Hopefully the caffeine would help keep her awake for the long drive ahead.

  “It is good.” He nodded in approval. “I like your hot dogs.”

  “Okay, then great.” She screwed the lid off the soda. “The baby aspirin is in the bag if you still have a headache.”

  He took another bite and glanced toward his feet. He dug into the bag and pulled out the bottle. He shook it a few times. “The aspirin is inside the wrapper?”

  She nodded. “It is.”

  He tore the box open and then looked around before throwing it in the backseat with the rest of the trash. He fumbled with the child safety lid, trying to pry it with his fingers. She took it from him, turned it so that the notches lined up, and then popped it open.

  He took it from her, sniffed it, and then proceeded to dump pills into his mouth.

  “Oh, wait, you’re only supposed to take one,” she said, trying to grab it.

  He leaned away from her and began to crunch his mouthful. She managed to get the bottle from him with only slightly swerving the car over the edge of the road. “Spit them out. It’s too much!”

  “It feels like the right dose to me,” he said.

  She hesitated. “Have you taken it before?”

  “Many times. The crew that brought us here supplied the compound to us on the ship and told us how we could find the same substance on Earth should we have need of more. It is what changes our color to that of humans.” He took another bite of the hot dog and then set it on his lap as he pulled out of the jacket. “I will need more of it to remain blended in. These clothes are too warm to wear.”

  “The robbery,” Elle said. “It was baby aspirin.”

  “In Denver. It is in Colorado. You said you thought my brothers were in Colorado. We now know where to find them.”

  “Did you tell the scientists about the baby aspirin?” Elle hadn’t been there when the scientists did their thing. She wasn’t sure what happened. Part of her didn’t want to know.

  “I did not speak to them. They flashed lights at me and took my fluids.”

  “Good, that means they—”

  A loud siren cut off her words seconds before blue and red lights began to flash. She swore as she looked in the rearview mirror. “We’re being pulled over.” She looked around the car in a panic. “Put on your seatbelt. Hurry. And don’t say anything.”

  She grabbed her seatbelt and made a show of latching it, so he could see what to do. It took him a moment, but he did it.

  “Let me do the talking,” she said as she rolled down the window. It stuck a little and she had to pull down on the glass.

  “License, registration, proof of insurance.” The cop leaned over and peered into the car. He shone a flashlight at Elle then Ice.

  “Ah, sure thing,” she glanced at the man’s nametag, “Officer Beckstead.”

  Elle reached into her back jeans pocket where she’d stuck her cards. When they were leaving the facility, she hadn’t been able to take her purse with her. She handed him her license and smiled. “Is there a problem?”

  “Is this your vehicle, ma’am?” The cop was unaffected by her smile.

  “No. I borrowed it from a friend,” she said.

  “Wait here. I’m going to need that registration.” He walked toward his cruiser.

  “Just stay calm,” Elle told Ice.

  She reached for the glove box, hoping whoever owned the car had the right paperwork. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure how she was getting out of this one.

  When she opened the glove box, a gun slipped out and fell on the floor at Ice’s feet.

  She gasped, glancing back to see if Officer Beckstead had noticed. He hadn’t as he was walking back from his car while talking into the walkie-talkie on his shoulder. She couldn’t hear what he said.

  A packet of white powder remained in the glove box. She didn’t need to know what it was to know there was no explaining her way out of driving with a gun and narcotics. Panic filled her. She slammed the glove box shut. “Looks like she doesn’t have any registration in the car.”

  “Please step out, ma’am,” the officer said.

  She motioned at Ice to stay where he was.

  “Is there a problem?” she asked again as she complied. Had he seen the drugs?

  “Janet Darcy?”

  “No, I’m Elle—”

  “This car is registered to Janet Darcy, wanted for drug possession by the state of Utah. I’m going to need you to come with me until we can clear up the matter of why you’re in this car.” Officer Beckstead placed his hand on his gun and turned his hip away from her as he motioned she should walk to the front of the car.

  Her eyes met Ice’s through the window. He unfastened his belt. She shook her head in denial.

  “Sir, I’ll need you to stay put,” the officer ordered.

  “I think there has been a mistake. My name is—”

  “Unfortunately, the computers don’t sync up too well out here. We’ll need to take you in to verify who you are. Place your hand on the hood of the car, ma’am.” Officer Beckstead didn’t wait for her to do so before he gave her back a small push. She fell forward. He began tapping her waist with one hand. “Do you have anything on you I need to know about?”

  An alien from outer space?

  “No, I—”

  Her words were cut off as Ice threw open the car door. “Unhand my woman.”

  “Sir, get back into the car,” Officer Beckstead ordered, stretching out his hand and taking a step back. He unlatched his gun holster in warning. She turned to watch him but kept her hands on the car.

  Ice lifted the gun that had fallen out of the glove box. “You do not touch my woman in ways she does not like.”

  “Don’t,” Elle ordered. “Let me handle this.”

  But really, it was too late. Ice had a gun on a law enforcement officer. There was no coming back from that. He’d be arrested, put into the system, exposed for what he was.

  “You don’t want to do this,” Officer Beckstead warned.

  “Shit,” Elle swore under her breath. She pushed off the car, spinning on her heels. She used the momentum to add strength to her punch as she knocked the officer square in the jaw.

  Her knuckles cracked. He stumbled in surprise.

  “I’m sorry.” She hit him a second time. As he fell, she reached forward to catch him. She stumbled under his weight. “Ice, help me get him to his car.”

  Ice lifted the man and hefted him over his shoulder. He strode toward the police cruiser. Elle ran ahead of him and opened the driver-side door. She found her ID on a small clipboard and grabbed it before turning to the computer. Her name and the car info had been typed in, but it didn’t look as if he’d saved the information. She hit the delete key.

  “No dashboard cam,” she said. She tore the paper copy of her information off his clipboard. “Let’s hope he didn’t tel
l the station my name or license number.”

  Elle wasn’t sure how long her luck would hold out. She flexed her sore hand. There were so many ways this could go wrong—had gone wrong.

  “We need to ditch this car,” Elle said, leading the way back to the Ford. “Another officer could be on the way. They’ll issue an alert when they figure out what we did, making us Utah’s most wanted for assaulting an officer. The Milano Foundation is undoubtedly tracking us, and this little stunt will help them zero in on our location.” She opened the door and slid into the seat. She slammed the door shut and turned the screwdriver in the ignition. “Oh, and we probably have drug dealers after us.”

  “What are drug dealers?” he asked, slamming the door shut as she had.

  “Criminals who will be looking for that gun and that bag of coke, or crank, or heroin, or whatever it is. They were probably using this car as some kind of drop point. I doubt they expected someone would want to steal this piece of crap.”

  She put the car into gear and stepped on the gas, speeding down the dark highway. The policeman’s lights blinked in the rearview.

  You really fucked things up this time, Elle.

  Chapter Ten

  Ice held the bag Elle told him to carry as they quickly crossed the parking lot of what she called a truck stop. They’d left the car in a darkened corner of the lot. She’d made him wait outside of the complex as she went in. He did not like being the lookout. The baby aspirin took a while to work, and she said after the police car incident they’d be looking for a blue man accompanying a female.

  Giant vehicles towered over them as they passed through the narrow aisles between. Bearded men lifted white sticks to their mouths and blew smoke into the air.

  “Hey, sweetheart, you lost?” a man called.

  “Not interested,” Elle yelled, not bothering to look at who spoke to her.

  Ice came out from behind a semi-truck’s cab. A man stopped mid-stride on his way to following Elle. He quickly averted his eyes and turned when he saw Ice.