Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Tanner

She waited in the dark. Her life had become an epic science fiction nightmare. Starting from the moment three red, hairy, and smelly aliens broke into her house and kidnapped both Tanner and her baby sister, Candace.

Tanner was tall, close to six feet. And she was strong. She kept her hair in a tight French braid, so it skimmed her scalp. The color of her hair was a mix of sunlight and shadow with thin strips of light, from platinum to honey. The shadow came from several shades of brown to black. When her hair was down, people would stop her on the street and ask where she got it colored. When she told them it was natural, no one believed her, and they'd get nasty. So, she kept it in a braid, tight to her head.

On this planet, the color of her hair didn't matter. She didn't even know if they had hairdressers… or dyed their hair. But the braiding habit stuck with her. It was almost… soothing to bind her hair up every day. She didn't bother to take it out at night… there was no satin pillowcase to lay her head on. So, she kept it up. Protecting the few small rubber bands she had left.

Tanner had a younger sister named Candace, Candy. They were taken from Earth together. By the creepy, furry red aliens. Then brought to an alien she heard someone call the Andaran. That alien had their clothes stripped off and shredded. Then an alien doctor inspected their bodies. Once that was done, the sisters were given ugly robes and thrown into a cold room. A few hours later, Tanner was shaken awake in the middle of the night. Kicking and screaming, they separated her from her sleeping sister. The fact that Candy didn't wake when her sister screamed bloody murder meant they drugged her.

Within hours, they sold Tanner to someone who owned a pleasure house. She guessed what that meant, but didn't stick around to find out. Escaping almost immediately, she knew the longer they held her captive, the harder it would be to get away. Worse, the harder it would be to find her sister.

Tanner could handle anything. She'd been in the military for six years. When she got out, she became a cop. Most of the last four years she worked vice and undercover. Because even though she was tall… she looked young, innocent, and her hair brought her immediate attention. Tanner had never been innocent. She'd seen the worst mankind had to offer and delighted in chasing it down and throwing it in jail. Or killing it. Most of the time, the choice was taken out of her hands when the evil she hunted chose death over imprisonment.

But Tanner's sister was the exact opposite. Candy had been so afraid, the fear vibrated through her frail body, making her sick. She was more than a decade younger than Tanner's thirty plus. Her baby sister was young, sheltered, soft. She'd screamed and cried when they were kidnapped and hadn't stopped until they were thrown in front of the black-skinned Andaran.

The last thing Tanner had seen the alien do was slap her sister. He'd demanded she shut up and stop crying or he'd strip the flesh from her skinny frame. The sound of the Andaran's hand hitting her sister's flesh reverberated in her memory. If he'd left them together, she might have let him live. Now that wasn't an option. The Andaran had done something to her sister, hidden her away. She wouldn't stop searching for Candy, and would ensure the ebony-skinned alien paid for every second of Candy's torment.

Tanner wasn't any of the things that made her sister special. She wasn't young, or sheltered and soft. She was a master of disguise, trained in several types of hand-to-hand combat, including Krav Maga. Tanner was also a sharpshooter. Trusting her skills, after she escaped, she'd foraged for food, clothing, and weapons. She had watched those around her and figured out how to blend in. She changed her walk, dressed carefully, and took time to discover what foods were safe to eat.

Sighing, Tanner dropped her head and closed her eyes. Both in the military and when she worked as a cop, everyone called her Tanner. There wasn't a lot of soft in her life. A lot of laughter. Just like now. She was all business. Only her sister and a few very close friends knew there was another side to her. A softer side. One that could laugh and enjoy life. Candy called her Tanny. The nickname reminded her that she didn't have to be in charge all the time. Didn't have to worry and push. Once in a while, she used that nickname in her mind. In order to remind herself why she'd been sneaking around this alien planet for months—she was looking for her sister.

Within a few days after her escape, Tanny discovered the Andaran lived at the end of town. She found his walled fortress, then she established a base-camp in the forest nearby and began to follow him. The army had trained Tanner how to hide. How to observe a target and discover their routines, their strengths, and especially their weaknesses. For several months she spent every hour of every day following the black, scary alien. She created a crude map and marked where he went, who he talked to, everything he did.

Then at night, she'd retrace his steps and search for her sister. Sometimes it was easy—gaining entrance to the dozens of buildings the Andaran entered on any given day. Sometimes she'd have to give up. Trying again and again during successive nights until she could find a way to enter a well-guarded building. Much of what she found was horrible. Women locked away and abused. Children cared for, but obviously slaves. Along with several alien species of both sexes, who were being tortured.

Tanny made notes. Making sure to include the information on how she got in, what she found, and rating the urgency of rescue. If she lived through saving her sister, she'd go after the others.

The man had a ritual. In the morning, the Andaran visited what she termed his normal business locations. There were dozens of those, and he'd hit two or three of them each day. Within a month, he started repeating locations. The night after each first visit—she broke in, looked around, and never went back.

In the afternoon, he'd visit someone he wanted to threaten, take money from, or to collect the slaves they gathered for him. Some of those slaves were obviously children of sobbing parents, or the wife of a business rival. The red, four-armed aliens who turned over Tanner and her sister—frequently brought the Andaran women from Earth.

It was difficult to restrain herself from pulling the trigger whenever he made these visits. Tanner dreamed about plunging a knife into his chest, but she didn't think he had a heart. Besides, if she killed him now, she might never find her sister. The afternoon meetings took place in one of two locations. He used an old, abandoned farmhouse at the edge of town for threats and money collection. But if slaves were involved, they went to a medical clinic so the disturbingly cheerful doctor could carefully examine each one.

Tanner watched the Andaran have one man beaten almost to death, when he discovered one of the children he'd been "gifted" had a broken arm. Not because the child had been hurt, but because he was spoiled goods.

The Andaran rarely went out at night. Instead, he entertained at his compound. Leaving Tanner free to search for Candy.

She learned how to survive on this alien planet. Learned how to avoid detection from the Andaran and his guards—and she was convinced he had some type of psychic ability. Tanny quickly figured out how close she could get to the dark alien before he grew suspicious… and kept her distance.

Her skills grew, and she plotted and schemed for months as she waited for the moment she found Candy.

Several days ago, Tanner followed the Andaran to a house. She came back that night and discovered her sister and two other women, who were also being held captive. There were four guards who stayed in the back of the house and didn't pay attention to their captives unless the Andaran visited. She soon discovered why.

Tanner couldn't wake her sister, or any of the women. Someone had drugged them into oblivion and she was afraid to remove their IVs. What if the drugs running through their veins was the only thing keeping them alive? She didn't miss that all three women were pregnant.

The Andaran had stayed away for two nights, but she believed he was coming back tonight. It fit his schedule.

Tanny arrived early. When she checked the house, she soon discovered everyone inside had disappeared. If the Andaran didn't know about this, he was going to be pissed. She planned to kill him tonight. Once that was done, Tanner would go through every damn building in this city and find her sister on her own. After following the Andaran around for months, she hadn't discovered anything worth keeping him alive. The alien was evil. Everyone would benefit from his death.

Except… she worried if shooting him was the best idea. Tanny couldn't test the alien guns she had acquired when she escaped. Taking what she believed to be two laser pistols from her captors, she was afraid to practice with the weapons because she didn't know how to charge them. What would happen if she shot the gun in practice and it lost all charge? Then she wouldn't have them when she got the chance to kill the Andaran. Like tonight. The guns were her best option.

Tanner found her hiding space long before the sun went down. It was situated at the house next door, behind a stack of boxes. She watched the people who lived there leaving in a hover the night before, going into the country to visit a relative. Tanny brought the boxes over this morning and arranged them, leaving a convenient space that would allow her a perfect view of the house next door.

The small moon didn't illuminate the area, but she could see shapes moving toward the front door and she could hear them talking. Tanner reveled in the Andaran's scream of fury when he found the house empty. In his anger, he ran out the door and into the street.

Unable to bear seeing the Andaran leave, Tanner rushed her shot. She knew better, but couldn't stomach having him walk away. The burst of energy from the gun blinded her for a moment, but she soon realized the blast hadn't killed him. Her lack of practice with this weapon led to her missing the Andaran. Well, not completely missed. She hit the damn alien, but it wasn't a kill shot. And she still didn't know where her sister had been taken. The lack of success rocked Tanny to her core. Tears ran down her face and a cry of disbelief escaped her lips before she could control the enormous flood of sorrow.

Dashing the tears away, she straightened her spine and slipped into the night, chasing after the Andaran.

It didn't take long to realize someone followed her through the streets of this alien city while she tracked the alien male everyone called the Andaran. The injured asshole didn't know it yet, but he was a dead man.

Once she lost her shadow, Tanny would make sure not to miss the second time.