Earth Husbands are Odd (Earth Fathers #2) - Lyn Gala Page 0,52

for.

“Then, I need you to give Rick Father a message.”

Kohei loosened his hold enough that he could rotate so a larger eye was centered on Max.

“If the authorities don’t listen, if they keep trying to blame Rick and take his ship away, I want you to tell him to run. Hide. Do not wait for me or give the authorities anything to save me. If I know that any of you are suffering because of me, I will be far more hurt than anything the authorities can do to me.”

“But Max Father—”

“Nope. If I can get free, I will come to the Hidden Planet, but you tell Rick Father he has to take care of himself and you kids. That is priority number one. I can take care of myself.”

“Max Father!” Kohei bugled and all his tentacles tightened until they were almost choking Max. Max held on, wishing he could hug all his kids, desperately wishing he could hold Rick. However, his feelings didn’t matter as much as protecting his family.

“You tell Rick Father that. Promise me you will give him that message exactly.”

“I no wish to give such promise.” Any tentacle not wrapped around Max was curled into a tight ball. Max could imagine primitive Hidden ones on their home world, hiding in some crevasse when a predator came too near.

“Promise me,” Max demanded. “I will hurt more if I see you hurt. You can only protect me by protecting yourself.”

After a long silence, Kohei said, “I hate promise, but I give it.”

“I hate it, too, kiddo,” Max said, and he hugged Kohei as tightly as he dared. “Me too, but we do what’s right for the family.”

Sometimes doing right sucked. Max wished the universe would stop trying to teach him that same lesson.

Chapter Nineteen

Max didn’t know what he expected from an alien version of a competency hearing, but this wasn’t it. The short wall opposite his narrow window was one huge screen, so it looked as if Max was in a cubby on the side of a large room. A few people glanced his way, so Max assumed the camera was projecting his image as well. He gave them credit for security. This setup gave Max zero opportunities to break out.

Aliens wandered in and out of circular benches that were interrupted by four aisles. Max’s camera was lined up with one of those breaks, and he saw straight across to the opposite end of the room where an actual alcove sat empty.

The whole room was fifty feet by fifty feet, and there were far too many aliens in it for Max’s comfort. He understood why some of the aliens were there. He spotted Carrington in an even more ridiculous hat than before, and Xena at her side. Bundy was on the far side of the room and he kept glancing toward Max before ignoring him. No doubt his bad mood had returned double. There were three pith-helmet Pajekh and many of the tall, nostrilly Chosen. The former were clustered in a group and the latter walked the room in a way that made Max think of guards or politicians.

A goose poop-green Smarties alien sat on the bench closest to Max’s camera. Max wondered if that was the same one that had come to Bundy’s meet-and-greet. And then there were a scattering of aliens Max didn’t know. A green jellyfish with an enormous trunk and a set of tentacles growing out of the center of its head shifted to the right, and Max spotted two Hunter aliens, their orange pyramid bodies standing out in a room that had more greens and blues and purples.

Max’s stomach heaved at the sight of them, and his hands itched with the memory of warm guts sliding over his skin. He shivered. And here he thought the day couldn’t get worse. Whatever Max had done wrong in a previous life, it must have been bad. Really bad.

The aliens fell silent and turned toward Max’s left. Instinct had Max moving closer to the wall to try to see around the corner, but of course that was an idiotic thing to do because he couldn’t see around corners on a television screen. No wonder the aliens kept calling him an idiot.

Max’s moment of levity as he silently made fun of himself vanished when Rick slid into the room. His tentacles were curled so tight that he was having trouble even walking , and Kohei walked next to him.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Oh hell