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.She held her breath as she disappeared into the shadows, waiting for three unshaven and poorly dressed men to pass.She slipped around a corner and froze, taking in her surroundings.“Fuck.I can’t even read the signs.Where the hell am I?” she muttered aloud, not recognizing the words on the store fronts or the street signs.They appeared to be written in a Slavic language.“Damn it,” she swore, suddenly understanding her predicament.“They warned me! They fucking warned me! My God, why didn’t I listen for once? ‘You can’t let your mind slip for a second,’ they said.Tralec even lectured me about ending up inside of a boulder, at the bottom of the ocean, or in the middle of Siberia.I’m such an idiot! I was thinking of the Iberia credit card and how it rhymed with Siberia… and where do I end up? Somewhere in the middle of fucking Siberia! Shit, shit, shit,” Skylar growled, rubbing the back of her neck.“What am I going to do? No money, no ID… Fuck!”The only positive thing was that the particular city she ended up in appeared to be fairly clean and quiet, and the street lighting was good enough to allow Skylar to seek shelter from the icy cold.She walked into a coffee shop, catching the eye of the proprietor.“I’m sorry to bother you, but where am I?”He looked frightened as he backed up behind the counter.He was afraid of her? Why? Was it her bruised face? Did he think she would bring trouble into his quiet store?“I’m alone.I am lost and don’t know where I am.I need help,” Skylar said, frightened tears welling in her eyes.“Please help me.”The man muttered something and lifted a telephone to his ear, hurriedly spouting something.He pointed to a chair and nodded, handing her a steaming cup of black coffee.Skylar slowly sat down with a smile, reaching to rub her aching leg as she lifted the bitter liquid to her lips.After only a few sips, she turned her head as two uniformed men entered the cafe.Police officers!“I’m lost.Does anyone speak English here?”“No English,” one of the men said gruffly, gesturing her to stand.Skylar shivered, sensing she was in trouble.For what, though? Loitering?“American,” she pointed to herself.She pointed to her swollen ankle to show she was injured on more areas that her bruised face.“Ow.”One of the men looked genuinely concerned.He made fists and pointed outside.Skylar shook her head.“No, no one hurt me here.It was somewhere else.I need to go home.Help me.”“Home?”“America.America is home.”Both men shook their heads and pointed to the door.That was her signal to leave.With a sigh, Skylar stood on trembling legs and walked outside.She leaned against the store front and crumbled to the cold ground as tears flooded from her eyes.One of the men tapped on her shoulder, his eyes relaying sorrow.He beckoned to her after stating a firm retort to his partner.Skylar looked up at him with hope.He wanted to try to help her!“Thank you,” she sniffled, accepting a Kleenex from him.He supported her weight as she limped painfully to the squad car, and then he assisted her into the back seat.The two men argued as they joined her in the vehicle, their words lost on her.She stared blankly out the scratched window as she was driven to an old building several miles away.The officer gestured for her to get out of the car and pointed to the ancient door.“Home?” he said gently.Skylar watched him wave apologetically as he returned to the vehicle and drove off.Home.It looked like a halfway house in a bad section of town.He must have thought she had been staying there.With the hope that the building was a youth hostel, she labored up the steep steps and knocked.A ragged old woman answered, immediately wrinkling her nose as she surveyed Skylar.She nervously looked over Skylar’s shoulder, shook her head, and began to close the door.She was stopped by Skylar’s hand.“Help.American.Please,” the young woman pleaded.“No one is after me.You have nothing to be afraid of.”The old woman sneered and angrily shouted something in her face before slamming the door closed.Skylar stared at it, realizing that she was truly and absolutely alone.The contrast of human behavior floored her, and her appreciation for what the boys had done magnified.Where was basic human kindness, care, and concern? The extent of selfishness that ran through her species shamed her, especially in comparison to her alien guardians.Shivering from the cold, she curled into a ball at the base of the stairs and wrapped her arms tightly around her body as she tucked her frozen feet underneath her.She found herself wishing that the connection the boys claimed to have with her was strong enough for them to actually locate her, but Tralec had explained that situation only applied to a pod-mate.She turned the shifter in her hand, trying to study it in the moonlight.A tiny glow touched the screen as the sensor picked up the power source, and she felt hope stream through her.If she could charge it enough to get home…She looked up as a group of rough men and woman staggered past her, their raucous laughter suggesting that they were returning from a night of drinking.One of them pointed to her and laughed, making several crude gestures with his hand.They surrounded her, tugging at her hair and grabbing their crotches, eliciting encouraging shouts from the girls.“Let go of me!” Skylar yelled, pulling away as one of the men grabbed her elbow.He laughed in her face and reached to squeeze her breast.Spitting angrily, Skylar raked her nails across the side of his face and pulled away.The man lifted his hand to his cheek, wiped across it, and held it up to view the blood Skylar had left.He looked at his friends, then turned and landed his fist to Skylar’s jaw.“I have nothing left to lose, you motherfucker.Kill me,” she hissed.“You have everything to lose, Skylar.Starting with us,” a deep familiar voice sounded, followed by the sound of bodies falling to the ground.More shouts and the sound of gunfire surrounded her as she fought to remain conscious.“Let’s get you home,” Tralec’s voice whispered in her ear as she was lifted into his protective embrace.“You are in so much trouble, my little love.”“I don’t care.You came for me.You both came for me,” she whispered, sinking into an unconscious heap.* * *Skylar squinted against the bright light being flashed in her eyes as Tralec evaluated her after bringing her back to the cruiser.Her hip ached where he had obviously jabbed her with his damn needle, making her thankful she had been unconscious.“I’m okay, Daddy.Just a little tender where that jerk hit me.Thank you for coming for me,” she whispered, reaching for his cheek.He pulled away, his face stoic.“How is she?” Troy asked, sitting next to them.“She will survive
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