LIGHTNING RIDER by Maree Anderson

CHAPTER FOUR

An alien who rode lightning? Inside her?

Andie's world tilted on its axis. Her hospital room seemed to expand to immense, out-of-this-world proportions, only to abruptly contract and close in on her, suffocating her... kind of like the man before her had done.

It couldn't be true. She couldn't bring herself to believe it.

This time, it wasn't only her hospital room's lights that flickered. The lights in the corridor and the room across from hers did the off-on off-on thing, too. And this time, Andie noticed it when her heart-rate monitor stuttered.

"Weird."

"I beg your pardon?" Bradley said, his forehead wrinkling.

"Uh— Never mind."

Be calm, Karylon. For Light's sake be calm.

Now the "alien" inside her was talking to itself? Great. Just great.

I promise I'll answer all your questions later, okay, Andie? When we're alone.

Me having a nice little catch-up session with my alien friend? Riiight. Like that's gonna be a heap of fun.

Save the sarcasm for lover-boy, there. He's the one who really deserves it.

Bradley reached over to give Andie's hand a pat. The instant his hand made contact with hers, his eyes widened and he hissed in a breath. He yanked back his hand, shaking it and frowning with shock and confusion.

"What's wrong?" Andie said.

Oops! We zapped him. The alien who insisted on being called Karylon could barely contain her glee. Don't know quite how it happened, but it sure serves him right.

"Uh, nothing's wrong, darling," Bradley said, quickly smoothing his features. "It's good to see you fighting fit again. And I hope your experience has taught you a valuable lesson."

He hopes dying taught you a lesson? Sheesh. Where was this guy when they handed out sympathy and compassion? Admiring himself in the mirror?

"And what lesson might that be, Bradley?" Andie asked. Her own attempt at a smile deteriorated into a snarl because she had a fairly good idea what was coming. Some crap about not "allowing" her to attempt such a dangerous recreational pursuit again. Some BS about her finding a more appropriate hobby—straight out of a Regency period drawing room, no doubt.

She needed him to say it aloud, though. For the record. So she could shoot him down.

Go on, Bradley. I dare you to say it....

"You should take some time off—rest, recuperate." He adroitly skirted the fraught topic of Andie waiting 'til he was out of town to sneak off and visit her family, and then compounding her crimes by signing up for—horrors!—a slickrock bike tour.

"Time off." Diverted, Andie gave serious consideration to that idea. She had leave owing. Mmm. A real holiday, not just the odd stolen weekend here and there. Maybe an entire month off to get her head together. And maybe, she might even summon the courage to book a proper adventure tour, and have a go at some of the hair-raising activities she used to do "BB". Before Bradley.

Wait for it, Karylon whispered.

"You're always getting into scrapes when I'm not around, Andrea, and to be quite frank, it can't go on like this. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of that dinky little apartment I arranged for you. So I cancelled your lease with the landlord and organized it all before I came down here. As soon as you're discharged, you'll move in with me and Mother so I can take proper care of you."

Told you so. This guy's a real piece of work.

A harassed-looking nurse popped her head through the doorway. "Everything all right in here?"

Andie was so stunned by Bradley's highhandedness, she was unable to form actual words and could only manage a nod for the nurse.

"We're experiencing some minor power fluctuations on this floor." The nurse hurried over to Andie's beside and gave the diagnostic equipment a cursory inspection. "Nothing to be concerned about. I'm sure it'll be sorted soon."

She rushed from the room before Bradley could think of an appropriate response, and deprived of his victim, he shut his mouth with a snap.

Andie gave him narrowed, mega-pissed-off eyes. "You... you... gave notice to my landlord? What on earth makes you think you have the right to do that?"

She itched to grab him by his immaculate lapels and scream in his face. How bloody dare he! The instant Bradley left her in peace she would ring her landlord, and assure the man she had no intention of giving up her apartment, and demand that he—

Oh oh. Light bulb moment. Maybe she would let it slide because it would be a blessing in disguise. She could give her notice to Dickwad—which would be a singular pleasure—and move back in with her parents for a while. Create some distance from Bradley. Insist that he make the trek to Moab if he wanted to see her. Yeah. He loathed Moab. This might work out to her advantage, after all.

Now you're thinking smart, Karylon said.

"And another thing, darling," Bradley said. "When were you going to confess about your work difficulties?"

Huh? "Whatever do you mean?"

"Richard informs me there's been an incident."

"An incident? Really. Yes, well, that's one way of describing it, I suppose." Andie snorted and rolled her eyes. The "incident" had been her finally getting fed up, and warning Dickwad that the next time he groped her ass she would file a sexual harassment charge. She wondered how Bradley would react if she told him flat-out that his pal Richard was a sleaze.

"I pulled quite a few strings to get you that executive assistant position, Andrea. You were hardly the most qualified applicant for the job. You wouldn't have had the faintest chance if I hadn't put in a good word for you with Richard."

Straw, meet camel's back.

Andie so was not going to take this lying down. "Richard may be one of your biggest clients, Bradley, but he's also a pretentious, ass-grabbing bastard, who delights in making my life—and the life of everyone with the misfortune to work in his office—a misery. He treats all his female employees like we were put on this earth to tempt him. And believe me, he's always tempted."

"Still, not to worry, darling. I've smoothed things over with Richard. And we're agreed that as you're a little too nervy to master such a demanding role, Richard will cut back your hours and lighten your load. No more overtime for you!" He waggled his finger in her face as though she was a child caught with one hand in the cookie jar instead of a grown woman.

"I can understand why you didn't confide in me," he said, oblivious to her growing fury. "A little embarrassing for you to have to finally confront the fact that you don't cope well under pressure, eh?" He plastered what he probably imagined was a sympathetic expression on his face.

She blew out a breath from between clenched teeth. He hadn't bothered to listen to a word she'd just said. Insufferable, arrogant, asshole.

As Novik would say, fornicating fuck-nosed lightning bugs! This guy doesn't let up, does he?

Andie agreed, and without any conscious effort at all, found herself conversing mentally with the supposed alien inside her. From what you've shown me, he never has. But right now, I'm more furious with myself for letting him— Hang on. Who's this Novik? Please God he's not another personality stuck in my head.

Don't be silly. He's an acquaintance of mine who— Oh, never mind. Later.

"Darling," Bradley said, his tone dripping condescension. "This would be the perfect time for you to give up working altogether. Richard understands you may prefer to give notice after what you've been through. And it's not as though you'll need to worry about money when you move in with me. I'll provide everything you could possibly need."

Yeah. Karylon made a rude noise that echoed like she'd blown the mother of all raspberries inside Andie's head. So long as you don't have anything resembling a brain, and really do believe that the Earth revolves around making Bradley Freaking Winters happy.

Andie fumed. If Dr. Ross walked in right now, she had no doubts whatsoever he'd see smoke coming out of her ears.

Bradley might as well have come right out and announced that she was so incompetent, her boss was only letting her stay on as a favor to him. Huh. That was so far from the truth as to be laughable. Dickwad relied heavily on her expertise. He would find it damned hard to replace her. Plus, if she'd been that incapable, Dickwad would have fired her ass way before now—his "friendship" with Bradley notwithstanding. Dickwad might have hands like a randy octopus but he was a hard-nosed businessman, not a charity worker.

Now that she could see things clearly, Andie realized that manipulating her into believing she was useless without him was typical of Bradley. And strike that thought about him being perceptive. Because apparently he didn't have a clue how pissed off she was right now. After six whole years, he didn't know her at all.

Be calm, Karylon said.

I don't want to be calm. I want to squeeze his throat until his eyes pop out of his stupid head.

Excellent visual.

Karylon seemed vastly amused by the whole situation. Nice for her.

"And if I do give up work, I would do what, exactly?" Andie bit out. "Sit in my boudoir with my thumb up my butt all day? Oh wait, I couldn't even do that, because I'd be ruining the horribly expensive manicure I had the day before."

Karylon spluttered. Ooh, that was goood!

Bradley's nostrils flared. "Don't be crude, Andrea. It doesn't become you."

"I suppose your mother has some charity work all lined up for me. Something acceptable that will bore me to oblivion and beyond."

"Darling," he said in a patronizing tone that only increased her ire tenfold. "Of course you may work—if you feel you must. Haven't I always made it clear that you won't be required to give up work until we're married? Something part-time and not too taxing until we set a date will be quite acceptable."

Gah! It was hopeless trying to argue with him. Bradley used words like a velvet-covered battering ram—always uttering them in the most sincere and reasonable of tones, and always for Andie's own good, which left her tongue-tied and unable to muster an argument without seeming like the most unreasonable creature alive.

She flopped back on the pillows. A steel band tightened about her forehead—the beginnings of a Bradley-induced migraine if she wasn't mistaken.

Ouch. That's gotta hurt. Let me fix that for you.

The lights gave the barest of flickers.

Andie felt a weird sensation that she could only describe as being like someone was painting feather-light brushstrokes directly behind her eyes. She blinked, sneezed once. And the headache was gone.

Whoa.

Hmm. That's better. I'm getting back some control.

Huh?

Never mind. Just say, "Thank you, Karylon."

Uh, thank you, Karylon.

My pleasure.

With her headache banished—not that she felt equipped to dwell on exactly how that had happened right now—Andie figured she would indulge herself to the full. She had nothing left to lose except her sanity.

And Bradley, of course.

Funny. After years of desperately trying to be everything he wanted so she didn't lose him, now she didn't much care.

She examined the proud features of the man she'd thought she loved and shuddered. She'd had a lucky escape. And so had he. Because if she hadn't been über-conscious of being in a hospital, and how bad it would look to for her to assault a visitor, she'd have risen from her bed like some avenging angel of womanhood and smacked him a good one.

"Enlighten me, Bradley. Why exactly will I have to give up working if we get married?" She wondered whether he even registered the "if".

Behind his glasses, Bradley's eyes narrowed and his nostrils pinched in that expression he got when things weren't quite going to plan—the one that reminded Andie of—

A constipated baboon, Karylon said.

Andie couldn't help a snort of agreement, quickly disguised as a cough. She took a sip of water and prepared herself to endure whatever oh-so-reasonable explanation he came up with.

Bradley speared her with The Look, the mildly disappointed "Is this too much to expect from the woman I love?" expression that made her feel panicky and ill and inevitably, resulted in her giving in and doing whatever he wanted.

She felt the first tickle of panic as she began to react in the same old way she always did whenever she attempted to flout Bradley's wishes. Her shoulders hunched as though expecting a blow—a verbal one, of course, for he would never be so uncouth as to lay a hand on her. Her chest tightened until it was an effort to breathe and if she spoke, there'd be a weak-sounding, wobbly hesitation in her voice. Finally, all her self-worth would eke out through the pores of her skin, leaving her cowed and miserable, hating herself for giving in but scared if she didn't, he'd cut her loose.

Except this time, Andie refused to let her Pavlov's dog-type reaction overwhelm her. She straightened her spine, threw back her shoulders, and projected assurance. She stared right into his pale, soulless eyes, and found the inner strength to counter her body's instinctive reactions. She even managed to convince herself she had a good chance of winning this encounter—that it would end with Bradley giving in to her demands for a change.

I'm proud of you, Andie. You go, girl. Sock it to him. Karylon's proud-parent-type smugness rolled through Andie's mind, further bolstering her resolve.

"We always agreed you would give up working once we were married, Andrea," Bradley said, oblivious to Andie's newfound backbone.

Tell me this is gonna be good, Karylon said.

Oh, yeah. It'll be good. Bradley Winters isn't gonna know what's hit him.

Andie knew that he would be shocked to his core by her defiance, and some wicked little part of her reveled in the knowledge.

An image of herself and another woman skipping round a bonfire and burning Bradley in effigy flit through her mind.

Ouch. Harsh. This Karylon persona of hers sure had a fertile imagination.

She resolutely ignored the Karylon persona's exasperated sigh.

"You will have more than enough activities to keep you occupied, Andrea," Bradley was saying, "what with helping Mother manage her charities and—"

She flung up her hand to cut him off. "Enough, already, Bradley. I don't seem to recall agreeing to anything of the kind. It was wholly your decision that I would give up work, not mine. And if you want our relationship to continue, then you need to quit browbeating me and start listening to what I have to say. In fact, I think it would be a good idea if we took a break from each other for a bit."

Wow. That wasn't so hard, after all.

Is that it? Karylon asked, her tone shrieking disbelief. You got me all keyed up and rubbing my little Elemental hands with anticipatory glee for that wussy declaration?

I thought I expressed myself quite well. Even projected inside her own head Andie knew that had come across as defensive.

I had hoped for something a little more definitive from you. Like telling His High And Mightiness to go screw himself. Or— Never mind. I'll handle this.

Before Andie could so much as blink, she felt herself being shunted aside. She could observe Bradley, but she couldn't speak. Or make any part of her own body move. And worse, even though she could feel the panic welling up inside her, it was smothered before it could take hold.

It was like being possessed while still fully aware.

It was terrifying. She hated it, tried to fight it. But she was powerless.

~~~

Copyright 2012 Maree Anderson

www.mareeanderson.com