Heidi and the Alien Cop Read online

  Heidi and the Alien Cop (Intergalactic Brides 12)

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright ©2017 Jessica Coulter Smith

  BIN: 08110-02618

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  Publisher:

  Changeling Press LLC

  315 N. Centre St.

  Martinsburg, WV 25404

  www.ChangelingPress.com

  Editor: Crystal Esau

  Cover Artist: Karen Fox

  Adult Sexual Content

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  Table of Contents

  Heidi and the Alien Cop (Intergalactic Brides 12)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  Heidi and the Alien Cop (Intergalactic Brides 12)

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  Heidi’s life hasn’t been easy since she dropped out of school at sixteen to have a baby. The worst mistake she ever made was moving in with her boyfriend Brent, who turned out to be an abusive bastard, but with no education and no job, there’s nowhere for her to go. Her life for the last five years has disillusioned her that happily-ever-after could possibly exist… then he comes into her life.

  When Raylic rushes to Heidi’s aid, the last thing he expects is to end up with house guests, but she and her small son, Shane, are just what he needs. They bring life to his monstrous home and make him want things better left alone. But the more time he spends with the little family, the more he wants to keep them with him forever. Even knowing Heidi is pregnant with another man’s child doesn’t stop him from wanting to claim her.

  Heidi knows that Raylic is one of the good guys, but can she dare trust her heart to someone again? He’s everything she’s ever wanted, but wanting and having aren’t the same thing.

  Chapter One

  Heidi finished washing the macaroni pot and put it on the drying rack. Her son, Shane, was stretched out on the living room floor making vroom vroom noises with his cars. The door opened and her boyfriend, Brent, staggered inside, drunk off his ass as usual. He spent more time at the bar across the street than he did at home, which was fine with Heidi. Brent stumbled over Shane, and his face turned red.

  “You little brat! Get the fuck up and get me a beer.”

  Heidi tensed, ready to jump to her son’s defense. Shane looked up at his dad and tried to stand, but Brent shoved him back on the floor.

  “Never mind, you useless waste of space. I should have made your mom abort you when I had the chance.”

  Her stomach churned as Brent made his way to the kitchen. “That’s enough, Brent. He’s just a little boy.”

  “He’s a pain in the ass is what he is. I should have left your ass back when you claimed you were having my kid. All I’ve done for the last five years is drag around dead weight.”

  “I could work,” she said. “Maybe find something part-time…”

  Brent backhanded her across the face. “Your job is to keep this fucking apartment clean and keep that snot-nosed brat out of my way.”

  “Don’t hit Mama,” Shane said as he lunged at his father.

  Brent sneered at him and lifted a hand to strike out at the boy, making Shane cower and fall to his knees. Heidi thought she would be sick and yelled for Shane to run. Her son shot up from the floor and raced toward the door. Brent advanced on her, caging her in the kitchen where she had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Faced with all his fury, she knew she’d be lucky to make it through the night without any broken bones.

  Heidi hoped like hell that Shane had gotten out of the house. She hadn’t heard the door open or shut but prayed her little boy had run to safety and not stayed to help her. Despite his young age, he acted like her protector when his dad got mad, which was far too often.

  She placed a protective hand over her stomach as she cowered in the corner of the room. Brent towered over her, his face flush from too much alcohol and the rage that was burning in his veins. It wasn’t the first time he’d struck her, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last, unless she finally managed to escape. But where would she go? Without a job, or friends, or family, only the streets waited for her and their small son.

  “Everyone was talking tonight about how you’ve been whoring around behind my back,” Brent said, spit flying from his lips.

  “Brent, please. You know how rumors are around here.” She swallowed the knot of fear in her throat. She’d learned the hard way that fighting back only made it worse. When she fought back, it pushed him to the point of nearly killing her, and she had to keep living to take care of their son. She couldn’t leave him in Brent’s hands. Either her boyfriend would kill him, or he’d turn her sweet boy into a monster.

  “Stupid, lying bitch. Did you think I wouldn’t hear about it? I bet that brat in your belly isn’t even mine. Who’s to say the other little snot is mine either? You just saw a meal ticket and latched on.”

  “Of course, it’s yours, Brent. They both are. You know I haven’t been with anyone else.”

  He backhanded her across the face again, an explosion of pain ricocheting through her cheek and rattling her brain. Another blow landing in almost the same spot nearly knocked her off her feet. She had just braced herself on the wall when another fist pummeled her stomach. Heidi cried out, her hands clutching her belly, hoping he hadn’t harmed their child. She’d tried damn hard not to get pregnant a second time by him, but the condom had broken two months ago.

  She saw his hand wind back for another blow and cowered down, but it never came.

  “I know humans play by different rules, but where I come from, we don’t beat females,” a deep voice said with a hint of a growl.

  Heidi’s eyes went wide as she looked around Brent at the purple alien with the badge clipped to his belt. Was he a real cop or one of those Terran guards? He knocked Brent’s legs out from under him, then pressed him face first onto the floor, wrenching Brent’s hands behind his back. Her drunken boyfriend was no match for the rather brawny guy manhandling him. The alien slapped cuffs on Brent, then pulled out a cell phone.

  “Dispatch, this is Officer Raylic. Can you send a car around to pick up some trash I found beating a female?”

  She didn’t hear what else was said as the room spun around her. Heidi sank to her knees and tried to process what was happening. Had someone real
ly come to her rescue? How had he known where to find her? A small hand slipped into hers, and she looked into the terrified eyes of her son.

  “Shane?”

  “I found a police officer, Mama. He’ll take care of us, won’t he?” Shane asked, looking more troubled than a five-year-old had any right to.

  “Are you all right?” the officer asked her.

  “I don’t know. He hit me in the stomach and the face.”

  Shane’s face scrunched up. “What about the baby?”

  “You have a baby?” the officer asked.

  “In her tummy,” Shane told him.

  The officer cursed. Brent took his moment of distraction to rear up and lunge at Heidi, a murderous glint in his eyes. She jumped to her feet and lashed out at him, kicking him in the shin and hitting him in the eye. The officer made a grab for him and shoved him back down. Brent fell face first onto the floor, getting a mouthful of nasty carpet. Heidi had to admit that it had felt damn good to fight back for once.

  Heidi approached her boyfriend. With a well-placed kick between his splayed legs, she had him howling and cursing her all at the same time. She felt a bit of satisfaction, knowing she’d caused him pain, but it wasn’t enough. She looked at the officer who regarded her with a bit of mirth for attacking her abuser.

  “Want to have another go at him?” the officer asked.

  “What I’d like to do is beat him over the head, with a cast-iron skillet, until he can’t ever hurt anyone again.”

  He nodded. “I probably would get into a bit of trouble if I let you do that. But feel free to kick him again. It’s just his word against mine.”

  She looked at her bare feet. “It might contaminate my foot if I kick him there again. I’ve always heard if someone accuses you of cheating, they’re probably the one with the guilty conscience. No telling where he’s put that thing.”

  The officer chuckled a bit. “As soon as backup arrives to take care of him, I’m going to take you somewhere safe. We’ll stop by the Terran Station first though. I want our healer to look at you. As small as you are, he could have easily broken bones or caused internal damage.”

  “Thank you for helping us,” she said. “No one’s ever helped us before.”

  He frowned. “Have you called the police before now?”

  She nodded. “The officer who answered the call said I was overly emotional and it was just a domestic dispute. He said if he got another call, he would haul both of us to jail. It was the first and last time I asked for help.”

  “Asshole,” the officer muttered. “Do you remember who it was? I’ll make sure he’s written up.”

  “Officer Clarke.”

  He nodded. “I can see him saying something like that. Don’t worry. Your husband is getting locked up this time.”

  “We’re not married,” she said.

  “Good. Then you can make a clean break when he’s taken out of here today. Do you plan to stay in this apartment?” he asked, looking around.

  She knew what he’d see. Cracked walls, stained carpets, and the ugliest furniture imaginable. The place reeked of mildew and piss, and unfortunately for her, the rent was past due. It might not have been much, but it had been home for the last year. As often as they’d been late, no way the landlord would renew the lease. Not that she could pay it anyway.

  “Where are we gonna go, Mama?” Shane asked.

  “I don’t know, baby.”

  The officer tilted his head. “Go pack your things. I was going to take you to a hotel for the night to give you some time to think things through, but it sounds like you need a more permanent solution.”

  “The rent is past due here,” she said. “I don’t have a job to pay for a hotel room. Could you take us to a shelter?”

  “Don’t worry about the cost,” he said in a soothing tone. “Just pack your things and be ready to go as soon as possible. Don’t leave anything behind that you want to keep.”

  Heidi took Shane’s hand and led him to his room, where she quickly packed his clothes and the few toys and books he owned. Everything fit into one bag. She set his tote in the living room and went to fill one for herself. Heidi didn’t own much, just a few changes of clothes and two pairs of shoes. Since it wasn’t flip-flop season, she put on her tennis shoes.

  When she was finished packing, she took Shane by the hand and went back to the living room, where a uniformed officer was carting her now ex-boyfriend out of the apartment. It gave her a bit of satisfaction to see that he couldn’t even stand upright on his own. The hunky alien who had rescued them picked up their bags and motioned for them to follow him. He’d been kind to them, but dread still filled Heidi’s stomach. What was going to happen to them now? She couldn’t afford rent anywhere, and even if she could find a job, it was Christmas break and she didn’t have anyone to watch Shane.

  The large SUV parked at the bar across the street looked exactly like the type of car she’d picture the alien driving. It looked every bit as capable as he was. Big, strong, and reliable. Those three things had been missing from her life lately. Actually, they’d been missing from her life since she had Shane at sixteen and dropped out of high school to move in with her loser boyfriend. She never did get her diploma, and Brent had kept her from getting her G.E.D. At first, she’d thought he wanted to take care of them. Later, she’d realized that he just wanted a way to control her. She’d taken some free classes at the library the past few months while Shane was in school and had learned about computer programs, housekeeping tips, and even how to be a better cook, due to taking a cooking class.

  The alien put their things into the back of the SUV before helping Shane into the backseat.

  “I don’t have a booster seat. Do you have one?” the alien asked.

  “Couldn’t afford one.” She licked her lips. “I know it’s against the law, but I was always really careful when I drove him anywhere. Brent did most of the driving though. It was his car.”

  He motioned to the rusted heap outside of her apartment. “That one?”

  Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded.

  The officer shook his head and finished buckling Shane into the monstrous vehicle. Then he opened the front passenger door for her and helped her up. He reached across her to fasten the seatbelt and then shut the door. When he slid behind the wheel on the driver’s side, his scent filled the vehicle. It was spicy with a hint of musk, and Heidi couldn’t remember ever smelling anything so good.

  He drove straight to the Terran Station, then helped them out of the SUV. Shane slipped his hand into the alien’s, then grabbed Heidi’s. As they walked inside, she nearly cried when she realized it was the first time her little boy had ever held a man’s hand. His father had never wanted anything to do with him. The alien led the way through the hallways and ushered them inside a clinic. Another purple alien in a white coat smiled in greeting.

  “Raylic, who have you brought to me?” the doctor asked.

  “Xonos, this is Heidi and her son, Shane. Heidi’s pregnant and her boyfriend decided to use her as a punching bag. I thought you might be more thorough than a human hospital.”

  Xonos frowned. “You know I’m only supposed to treat humans who are related to a Terran, either as a mate or as part of the mate’s family.”

  “I’m asking you to bend the rules this once. He hit her in the face and in the stomach. What if the human doctors miss something and she miscarries?”

  Xonos tapped his fingers on the counter. “I wasn’t allowed to break the rules for my daughter. Why do you think the council would look the other way if I broke them for you?”

  “Tell them I’m considering her as a mate. You’d have to check her for overall health then, wouldn’t you?”

  Xonos seemed surprised. “You’d be willing to claim them?”

  “Claim?” Heidi asked. “What are you talking about?”

  Xonos studied her a moment. “I’m not permitted to treat humans unless they are either married to a Terran, considering a specific
Terran for a mate, or are related to someone who is. And since you are none of those things, Raylic would have to tell the council he’s contemplating a mating -- or marriage -- to you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You can’t do that. You don’t even know us.”

  Shane tugged on Raylic’s hand. “Would that make you my daddy? You seem nice, and I’ve always wanted a nice daddy.”

  Her heart nearly broke at her son’s words and her eyes teared again. She blinked the moisture away as she looked up at the handsome cop who had come to their rescue. She didn’t know a lot about the Terrans, who had come to their world about nine years ago, but she did know that they mated for life. If he was offering to consider her as his mate, just so she could have medical treatment, it was a huge deal. And something she couldn’t allow him to do.

  “Just take me to the free clinic,” she said.

  “Free clinic?” Raylic asked, his brow furrowed.

  Xonos was shaking his head. “You need to go to the emergency room.”

  “I don’t have insurance,” she said. “I can’t afford a trip to the hospital. I’m sure the doctor at the free clinic can check me out just as easily.”

  “Don’t take her to the free clinic,” Xonos said. “She’ll get subpar care from a frazzled doctor who’s worked too many hours, seen too many patients, and isn’t getting paid enough. I’ve met with the doctor who runs the free clinic here, and the male is an imbecile.”

  “If you won’t treat her, then I guess I’m taking her to the hospital.”

  Heidi shook her head. “Shane can’t sit that long in an ER waiting room. We could be there for hours. This won’t be the first time I haven’t had medical care after going a round with Brent. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Xonos looked to the ceiling and muttered something under his breath. “All right. Bring her back, but when the council threatens to take my job, I’m sending them after you, Raylic.”