"What do I do?" I ask Rektar again, worried.
"We will help you, of course. The port authorities will not allow you to be harassed." His answer sounds stiff and rehearsed. "I will look for this Mezzak Sta'Iq and bring him in for questioning."
I stare at him. It's like we're speaking different languages. "And then what? Questioning him isn't going to scare him off."
Rektar seems momentarily puzzled, as if it hasn't quite occurred to him that sometimes the bad guys won't listen to reason. "I shall…tell him…to leave you alone…" Then he lets out a heavy sigh. "You have a point. I could arrest him for trespassing, but it won't stick. Someone will claim that his DNA landed in your barn by mistake—a stray hair blown in the wind, perhaps—and he'll be free and back on the streets."
I hug my arms over my chest. I've dealt with a lot since being kidnapped by aliens, but this is probably the most utterly alone I've ever felt. "Then you can't help me. No one helps us." I think of my neighbor—the woman who lived there before Tessa. I met her twice before news of her murder went around Port. She'd been killed by land squatters, who think that us human women are a mere deterrent, nothing more. Or heck, not even a deterrent. All someone has to do is throw his weight around and convince some frightened, unprotected woman to marry him and then the bad guy gets the farm AND a fuck toy. The human either gets to put up with her new husband or she gets murdered. It's an ugly situation, and I've been so, so lucky to avoid it thus far. "I'm a sitting duck out here."
"I will not let you be a Doug," Rektar says fervently. He jumps to his feet. "Not on my watch."
Gone is the awkward, oversized giant who wants nothing to do with me. In his place is the Rektar I've been longing over for the last few months. His eyes glitter with determination, and his mouth is set in a firm, unyielding line. He looks over at me and there's an expression of such ferocious protectiveness that something inside me clenches. "I'm going to protect you, Lucy. You will not be a Doug if I have anything to say about it."
"Duck," I correct automatically. God, he's cute when he's upset. I wish he was my husband. Or…maybe this is part of his plan? I feel a surge of excitement. Maybe he's going to demand to marry me? "What will you do?" I ask him, excited.
"I am going to remain here on your farm until we capture your stalker." He gives me a determined look. "I will remain in the barn and establish a temporary perimeter with equipment we have back at the station. If he comes to bother you, I'll be here to take care of him.
I slump, defeated. No mention of marriage. Figures. At least I'm getting a protector. "You don't have to stay in the barn—"
"I do," Rektar vows. "It will be best."
I'm not so sure about that. But I'll take what I can get.
6
LUCY
We drive his sled back into town, because Rektar doesn't want my stalker aware of his presence. If he sees a port official's vehicle, he won't come by. It makes sense, and so I return to the office with him.
Khex listens to his plans with an amused smile on his face. He glances over at me, but I'm too tired and defeated to smile back or be my normal playful self. My mind is racing with all kinds of worried thoughts. Like…what if this Mezzak guy saw Rektar at my place and just doesn't show up? Rektar can't stay forever, especially not out in my barn. Even if I establish a perimeter alarm system, what then? I already know some chump's staking me out. My problem is that I don't have anyone to defend me except…me.
I need a backup plan. If Rektar can't catch my guy, I'm either going to have to get myself a gun of some kind or I'm going to have to get a husband.
My sled's waiting where I left it, but it feels like the world's falling apart at this point. To think that earlier today I was excited to come into town and see Rektar. To get a chance to flirt with him, push my cleavage under his nose and win his heart with my muffins. Yeah, well, the universe is laughing at me, because I did all those things and all I got out of it was Rektar in my barn so he can scare off my legit stalker.
What am I going to do? I ponder that over and over again as I pilot my sled back to my house. I'm close to town but it's still a good fifteen-minute flight in the sled, just because everyone's so spread out on Risda. At my side, Rektar is utterly silent, and that suits me just fine. It gives me time to worry over my problem and to come up with solutions. I can pay for a bodyguard, maybe, and clean out my savings. Kiss my dreams of having a baby goodbye and pay up for a mercenary to come and protect my place until the threat is gone.
But then I have to hope that the mercenary won't turn around and rob me, either. So that's out.
Rektar suggested a perimeter fence, but those are costly and in my case, kind of pointless. Yeah, a perimeter alarm is great, but then what? I still have to defend against a trespasser. I need a better solution than that.
The more I think about it, the more I realize I need a husband. It's the obvious solution. Now I just need to find an alien man that's decent, hard-working, and that I'm slightly attracted to. That combination is going to be hard to find. It's not that there aren't alien men out here on Risda. It's that…the whole “decent” thing is the tricky part. Most of the guys here are scum hiding out from a prison sentence or pirates looking to make a quick buck on illegal goods. I'm pretty sure most decent guys aren't hanging around on Risda for the farming life…which is why it's so disappointing that Rektar is clearly, clearly not interested in what I bring to the table.
I let out a sigh of disappointment. Maybe Khex will want to marry me if Rektar doesn't. I'm not attracted to him like I am to Rektar, but he's pleasant and I don't think I'd absolutely loathe being in bed with him. I guess I could ask Rektar about that at least. Or if the two of them have a friend that might be into a human wife. Worst comes to worst, I can put out an ad or buy a bounty. I've heard it worked for other women.
I'll broach the subject tonight, I decide. No sense in waiting on anything. Even though my heart is heavy with disappointment at Rektar's clear disinterest, my self-preservation is kicking in. I'll get through this, like everything else.
I pull up to my house, and it looks so sweet and pastoral that I want to cry. I love this little place. I never thought I'd be a farmer, but I love the fresh air and the green fields and I don't even mind raising the Risda-type cattle, called simply meat-stock. With the bots to handle most of the backbreaking chores, I'm left with running things like a manager and spending my heaps of spare time cooking and baking. While I wish I had a little more to occupy my time—or some company—I'm happy here.
And now everything has to change again. That sucks so hard.
Rektar glances over at me. "I will do another perimeter scan, just in case I've missed signs."
"Signs? Signs of what?"
"Other males trespassing on your territory." He blinks at me, as if the answer's obvious.
Oh lord. So now I might have several stalkers instead of just one? The thought makes me want to scream. I take a deep, steadying breath, close my eyes, count to ten, and then open them again, calmed. "How long will that be?"