with it, you didn’t criticize it and you definitely didn’t invade it. The killer was probably lucky to be dead. If Evie got her hands on him, it wouldn’t be pretty. Especially after learning her psychotic, girlie dog, Sadie, had been completely traumatized by the incident. Even staying at the ranch, surrounded by familiar people, the Chihuahua continued to tremble and growl at nothing. Well, tremble and growl more than usual.
They pulled off the tarp, revealing a gorgeous, black, triangular ship. His pulse kicked into overdrive with a spurt of adrenaline. “Say hello to the Prince, baby.”
“Say hello to the who?”
“The Prince.”
His sister gave him a pitying look.
It was his call sign. Every fighter pilot had one. It was part of the tradition. No one in the squadron called anyone by their first name. He’d hated “the Prince” at first. He’d won the name because of his privileged upbringing, his family’s celebrity. But over time, he’d made the name synonymous with shit-hot flying and unwavering professionalism. Now he wore it proudly.
“Okay, Prince. How do we get inside?”
“I have to find the hatch.” He ran his hands over the cool, smooth hull. Cavin had taught him how to get inside his ship. He assumed the same technique would work for this one. The fuselage was rippled here, dented there, but not as damaged as he’d expected. He found one of the wings and climbed onto the surface.
“Careful, Jared.”
“Don’t lose your nerve, girl. This was your idea.”
“My idea? All I wanted to see were poppies.”
Jared found the seam of the hatch just where he expected it to be, and the release. It opened smoothly. He swung his legs over the edge and dropped down.
The cockpit was snug and dark with room for only one person. But the craft had enough bells and whistles to make his little fighter-pilot heart roll over. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, more of the details became visible. Unfamiliar symbols labeled the smooth panels. An alien language.
God, you’re beautiful. “Your prince is here, baby,” he said. “Say you’re mine.” He slid into the seat. It made a whirring noise and molded to his ass.
He jumped. “What the fuck?”
“Jared!” Evie cried out from the open hatch.
“It’s okay. The seat moved. I didn’t expect it.” He was damn embarrassed to notice that his pulse had doubled. Enthralled, he took hold of the control stick as the ship continued to come alive. Lights came on, slowly. One by one, the panels of instrumentation powered up. In front of him, a large, rectangular screen with rounded edges glowed smoky-gray. In a blink of an eye, it became transparent and he was looking outside at the fields. “This is how they see where they’re going,” he explained. “It’s not a windshield the way we know windshields.”
They watched in wonder as the ship’s systems unfurled. Last month, he’d told Cavin he’d give his right testicle for a chance at taking his ship up for a spin, to leave the stratosphere at Mach twenty…to view the curve of the Earth…to experience weightlessness for longer than the top side of a reverse loop. But to take this beauty for a ride? Hell, other body parts were definitely negotiable.
He pressed his hand into a shallow, similarly shaped indentation. Suddenly, all went still. A silky female voice murmured something in a language he didn’t understand.
“What did she say?”
“I don’t know. It’s the ship’s AI—its computer, I think. Probably waiting for voice recognition.” A light blinked where he rested his hand. It was too irresistible to ignore. He tapped his finger against the light and the screen turned white.
“Jared, what’s happening?”
“I’m not sure.” The forward screen was milky bright and rippled like smoke. A part of him wanted to beat feet out of the ship, but curiosity kept him rooted in place. “The light…it’s so beautiful,” he joked. “Come to the light…”
“Not funny. Come out, Jared. Please. Call Cavin.”
“Evie, check this out.” The milky screen slowly cleared. It revealed a large room sumptuously decorated in warm, cozy colors. Soft, comfortable-looking furniture blended with what was obviously tech beyond anything they had on Earth: a small, round sphere resembling a volleyball floating along near the floor; an entire wall glowing with rippling colors.
A window into another world.
Then voices from offscreen erupted, speaking in an alien tongue. His heartbeat kicked up a notch.
“Uh-oh. Jared.”
“Yeah. I hear them.”
The closer and louder the voices got, the more Jared hoped to God the screen wasn’t two-way. If it was, they were screwed.
Chapter