Take Her to HeVan (Nephilim Book 6) (12 page)

“Thank you, Ishme. I’ll start hiking out of the forest now. I should be able to reach my transport late this afternoon. At that time, I will contact you for an update before I proceed. Do you agree, Ishme?”

“Yes, that will give Becky plenty of time to work her magic with the computers.”

The two men ended the call, and Charl immediately began jogging back to where he’d left his rental car. He didn’t tell Ishme he had nearly twenty miles to travel. He didn’t want any other person given the duty of finding the thief. It was his vow to find his brother and lay him to a warrior’s rest. No other would take the duty from him.

*****

While Charl ran through the forest and Becky tracked down the purchases on Karlo’s credit card, Karlo was checking on the alpacas. He was also checking around the property for signs of additional sabotage. Marla was in the house cooking breakfast so he wanted to make sure he was on time. Later that morning, Marla’s lawyer was coming out to the ranch to let them know what their options were.

Karlo wanted to do whatever would make Marla happy. If the law couldn’t help her, he was considering paying this Jake O’Brien a visit. The man needed to learn how unhealthy it was to hurt Marla. Karlo was enjoying the fantasy of how he would teach the man a lesson. Unfortunately, from everything he heard, the man was a coward and would be unwilling to meet him in combat.

As he walked back to the house, he wondered why he even considered fighting with the man. From what he’d seen, that was not normal behavior.
Where were these ideas coming from?

Entering the kitchen, he saw he was right on time since Marla was pulling biscuits out of the oven; there were eggs and sausage gravy on the table. He was a lucky man.

Charl Darvik arrived in Boulder ready to search for the thief using his brother’s credit card. He didn’t know where to start looking, so he stopped to pick up some food and after parking his truck, he called Ishme. As he waited for the call to be answered, he dug into his bag of take-out. This ability to “drive-thru” and get a meal was an Earth invention he really liked. There was nothing similar on HeVan; they didn’t even have restaurants.

He’d just taken a large bite of his burger when the phone picked up. “Grmpf.” He swallowed. “Sorry, I was eating.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll fill you in while you eat. You made good time so you might be able to confront this guy tonight. Unfortunately, from what Becky has dug up, he’s not in Boulder. You’re going to need to drive northeast. It’s a rural address, a place called Happy Hummers HeVan. I’m dying to find out what the name means. I’m sending GPS coordinates to your phone. Enjoy your meal, you’ve got time,” said Ishme.

“Thank you, Ishme, and please thank Lady Becky for me. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve learned something,” said Charl.

“I’ll wait for your call. Good hunting,” said Ishme before disconnecting the call.

After ending the call, Charl opened the email with the map coordinates. He locked the cell phone into the dashboard holder. It was linked via Bluetooth to the truck’s speakers so when he tapped the destination he’d receive turn-by-turn directions to this Hummer place. Like Ishme, he was curious as to what the name meant.

Finished with his food, he put his drink in the cup holder. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed north. According to the map, it would take a couple of hours to get to his destination. Then he would force the man to show him where his brother’s body was. He planned to take Karlo back to HeVan so he could be given a warrior’s burial. Armus Hend had killed him during his escape. The other warriors and one human female had already left for HeVan. Karlo would be the last of those killed by the rogue councilman.

*****

Marla and Karlo were cooking dinner together. They had been discussing off and on all day whether or not to confront Jake O’Brien. There were pros and cons to both situations and they had some time to decide. For now, Mr. Edwards was looking into having an injunction delaying the auction of the property until Marla’s marital status could be worked out. He would let her know in a couple of days. First, he had to write the brief, and then he had to take it before a judge. He hoped to put it before Judge Davis, as he was already familiar with the situation.

Marla was showing Karlo how to make a salad, when they heard a vehicle approaching the house.

“I’ll go and see who it is. Stay inside where you will be safe,” Karlo told her.

“I’m not helpless, Karlo. I’ll just grab my shotgun and cover you from the porch. Besides, maybe it’s the deputy coming to give us news,” she said.

“No, it’s not him. I don’t recognize the vehicle. Stay in the house,” he said again.

As he left, Marla went for the shotgun. She had no intention of standing back and letting Karlo take all the risks. This was the west. In these parts, women stood and fought beside their men. You had to be tough to survive in Montana. Marla liked to think she could live up to the reputations of her ancestors.

She made it to the porch in time to see Karlo grab his head and moan, falling to his knees.

“Karlo!” she and the strange man both shouted. She stepped over to where he was kneeling and pointed the shotgun at the stranger. “One move and I shoot. What did you do to him?” she demanded.

Before the stranger could speak, Karlo stood and reached out a hand to her.

“No, Marla…don’t shoot…he’s my brother. The memories…ohh,” he groaned and fell to his knees again, holding his head.

Marla didn’t let her shock stop her from acting. Putting down the shotgun, she rushed to Karlo’s side. Even so, Charl got there first. He had his arms around Karlo before Karlo could fall off the porch and hit the ground.

“Will you help me get him into the house? He’s been staying in a bedroom here on the first floor,” Marla explained to the stranger as they maneuvered him through the door into the kitchen.

“If you’ll direct me, I can carry him,” said the man as he hefted Karlo over one shoulder.

Marla led the way through the kitchen and into the bedroom Karlo had been using. Since they’d been together, the two of them had been spending some nights in Marla’s room upstairs and some downstairs. It depended on where Marla was when Karlo decided he had to have her. Since they had started sleeping together, his need for her had grown stronger and stronger. She felt like the newlywed she was supposed to be.

That is, until the last five minutes when her future was put in jeopardy. Now that Karlo was getting his memory back, they would find out if he were married. If he were married, then it would mean she’d been sleeping with a married man.

“Oh, God, should I call a doctor? He’s not married, is he?” she asked.

They had laid Karlo down on the bed and now Charl was checking him over. When Marla spoke, he looked up from the face of his brother to hers. It took him a minute to make sense of her words. The female was obviously flustered. She was also beautiful. He could understand why Karlo didn’t want to leave her. What he couldn’t understand, though, was why Karlo hadn’t contacted him. Why had Karlo let him believe he was dead? He obviously had a relationship with this woman. She was even speaking of a human marriage. They were supposed to be bonded to the same woman together. What was going on? All these thoughts had been speeding through his brain.

“No, he’s not married. Why do you think he might need a doctor? He doesn’t look injured. I don’t understand why he collapsed though, do you?” Charl asked.

“Aren’t you here because of the crash? The computer said it was sending out a distress signal. Karlo doesn’t remember anything. Or he didn’t. It looks like when he saw you, he got his memory back. I’m worried there might be some kind of brain injury.”

“Did you take him to a hospital or call an ambulance after the crash?”

“The computer said he had a concussion but he would be fine in forty-eight hours. When he woke up in the morning, Karlo didn’t want to go to see a doctor. He also didn’t remember anything. His memory is a complete blank. Or at least it was; he remembered you. I’m worried about him,” she said.

“We never received a distress signal. Why did you ask if he were married?” Charl asked.

“We were in Boulder yesterday to get married. The judge said we couldn’t until Karlo got his memory back and could prove he wasn’t already married. I’m sorry if I sound self-centered asking about his being married when he’s lying here unconscious. I’m not really so callous. It’s just that we’ve also been intimate for a while now,” she said, her face turning red. “Karlo said you were his brother. What’s your name?”

“Charl. Karlo is younger than me by a couple of years. Our parents have been gone for a number of years. So it’s just been the two of us.” Charl had finished removing Karlo’s boots so he started removing Karlo’s shirt. “He’s probably going to be out for awhile, I want him to be comfortable. How long has he been here? He’s been missing for about ten days,” Charl said.

Karlo had actually been gone for nearly three weeks. But if Karlo had lost his memory, then he couldn’t have revealed to this woman about them being Nephilim. So he used the date Armus Hend had landed on Earth. Where was the shuttle?

“I’m Marla Jones. Karlo’s been here for eight days. The computer said he was an engineer. Is that right? If you didn’t get the distress signal, how did you find us?” asked Marla.

“Yes, he is. We both work for the same…company,” he said.

He didn’t like lying to this woman. For now though, he needed to keep her calm. When he lifted Karlo, he had felt the movement of his wings just under his skin. It was one of the reasons he had removed his brother’s shirt. Normally, it took a couple of weeks, at least, for wings to erupt. Karlo had been here for eight days and if he hadn’t passed out, his wings would already be out.

Something must have happened for his wings to be erupting early. He needed to get Marla to talk because soon after Karlo woke up, his wings would emerge. That would trigger his wings as well. Even now he could feel it in his back, the skin thinning and his own wings pushing to the surface. Soon Marla would begin feeling the effects of the pheromone release as well. All three of them would feel the mating pull and he was a complete stranger to Marla.

He told her a few stories about him and Karlo when they were children. He added in a little background about their adult years as well. If Marla wondered for a moment why there were almost no women mentioned in any of his anecdotes, she brushed it off because they were two brothers and probably didn’t want to hang out with girls. And, of course, there were fewer women than men in the Air Force.

She assumed the Air Force because of the stories and the experimental craft in her barn. Looking over, she saw that Karlo was sleeping peacefully.

“We were in the middle of cooking dinner when you drove up. Will you be okay here if I go and finish up? Should we wake him up or let him sleep?” she asked.

“I think we should let him wake naturally. His mind is coping with a lot right now. If it looks like he’s sleeping longer than he should, then we’ll take steps. Do you need some help?”

“No, I’ve got it covered. Are you hungry? Instead of cooking, I’m going to put everything away and make a sandwich instead.”

“A sandwich would be great. I’m not picky, anything would be great. Thank you for the offer. Let me know if you need anything.”

Marla was glad to be leaving the bedroom. She was warm all over. Her nipples had tightened into buds and her panties were wet. Instead of going directly to the kitchen, she detoured upstairs. She needed to change her clothes. She also wanted to run a cold cloth over the back of her neck. She loved Karlo. She was ready to marry him, and not just to save her ranch. So she was appalled to think she could be getting turned on by his brother.

It had to be him, because Karlo wasn’t even awake. The pull was strong, almost primal, just the way she was pulled to Karlo. Only tonight, it was more. She didn’t usually get this turned on this fast. It took every bit of her strength not to show her reactions outwardly. It was embarrassing enough to be feeling the way she was for Karlo’s brother. It would be ten times worse if he knew about it.

When she stripped off her clothes, the scent of her own arousal struck her. Just thinking of the fact that she was naked and alone in the house with two extremely hot men got her hotter and wetter. Before she cleaned up and got dressed again, she decided it would be better to take the edge off a bit. Opening her bedside table, she pulled out her vibrator and then laid down on her bed. She’d barely touched herself when an orgasm rolled through her.

It wasn’t enough; she needed that sensation of being filled. She used one hand to insert the vibrator and move it in and out while she moved her hips and used her other hand to manipulate her clit. Within moments she tightened her legs, squeezing as another stronger orgasm went through her.

Panting, she lay back and tried to get her breathing under control. She decided to take a quick shower instead of merely cleaning her girly parts. She needed to cool off. After getting out of her quick shower, she dithered a little about what to wear. Part of her wanted to wear something loose that didn’t touch her skin as much.

But when she put on her long housecoat, the gentle fabric brushed against her and started tingles running up and down her skin. She ended up wearing leggings and a tight t-shirt. It was as if she were being held. Just before she left her room to go downstairs, she ran back to the bathroom and added a panty liner to her underwear, just in case.