There was a knock on the door. They both turned. If Constance was on the other side, she’d belt her one. Rogar might not be hers forever, but he was hers for right now.
“I’ll get it,” she said, then marched to the door, ready for battle.
Chapter 26
Callie opened the door, surprised to see Freddie. “Good morning.”
“God, you’re even beautiful when you first wake up. You have that look about you.”
She frowned. “What look?”
“The look that says you’ve been well-loved.” He sighed. “Too bad I wasn’t the guy you were with.”
“Did you want something?” Rogar asked as he came up behind Callie. “Besides Callie that is.”
She glanced over her shoulder. Was that a note of jealousy she heard in his voice? His stern expression said it just might very well be. She kind of liked the idea that someone would be jealous over her.
Freddie seemed to weigh his options, then sighed deeply. “Since I apparently can’t have her, how about a cup of coffee?” He pushed the door open wider, and strolled inside. “Computers are a marvelous invention, you know. You can find out about anyone with the touch of a finger. Like the fact there is no prince of New Symtaria, nor is there even a country.” He went around the kitchen bar to the cabinets, opening them until he found the coffee.
She realized her mouth was hanging open, and snapped it closed. Crap, what were they going to do now? She cast a worried glance at Rogar, before shutting the front door. “Uh…what are you getting at?” she asked as she walked over to the bar.
He took the glass carafe to the sink and filled it, looking up only after pouring water into the machine. “Nothing much, except there isn’t a prince called Rogar Valkyir anywhere in the world.”
She gave a short, unconvincing laugh. “It’s a very small country. I doubt it’s even listed.”
Freddie looked at Rogar. “The guy is leading you down the wrong path Callie. He’s a con man. Believe me, I’ve met my share of them. I can’t believe you’ve fallen for his lines.”
“I haven’t lied to anyone,” Rogar said.
Freddie’s eyes narrowed, and for the first time in her life, Callie realized looks can be deceiving. There was a lot more to Freddie than anyone suspected.
“Then what is the name of your country?” he asked, voice as cold as ice.
“New Symtaria.”
Freddie shook his head. “Symtaria would have popped up on the search engine. Symtaria, new or old, doesn’t exist.”
Callie felt as though the room was quickly closing in on her. Please, please, please just drop it Freddie, she silently prayed.
“I’ll give you one hour to clear out. Alone. Then I’m calling the police, whether you’ve left or not.” He shook his head. “Why would you lie to Callie like that? She’s never done anything to anyone. She’s the only real and decent person I’ve ever met.”
“I didn’t intend to hurt Callie,” Rogar told him.
“But you have. She’ll be lucky if she doesn’t get in trouble. Did you just assume she would clean up the mess you’re leaving behind? The million dollar bid last night?” His lip curled into a sneer. “I doubt someone like you has ever seen that much money.”
“It’s not like that,” Callie broke in.
“Callie, don’t buy into his game. The jewels you wore last night were probably fake, or worse, stolen. I have lawyers who can help you if you need them. Don’t worry.”
She looked at Rogar, silently begging for help.
“I am not from your planet,” Rogar said.
Callie groaned. That was not the kind of help she had been praying for.
Freddie began to slowly inch around the bar, moving closer to her. “Another planet. That’s a little hard to buy, buddy.”
This was not going at all well.
Rogar looked calm, not at all disturbed that Freddie now knew he was an alien. Not that Callie thought for one minute Freddie believed Rogar. No, from the expression on Freddie’s face, she was pretty sure he thought Rogar was a nutcase. She wasn’t too sure this had been the right way to go.
“Tell me more about this planet you say you’re from,” Freddie urged.
Callie knew the drill, keep the crazy guy talking so they could make an escape. Been there, done that.
“We’re alien shapeshifters. I’ve come to take Callie home.”
“She is home.” Freddie was closer to her now.
“He’s telling the truth, Freddie,” she ventured. She might as well back up Rogar’s story.
Freddie stepped in front of her. She thought it was sweet that he would try to protect her. Not that she needed protecting.
“He’s only brainwashed you, Callie. I also have a psychiatrist on call who’s really pretty good. He’s helped me a lot.”
“Would you like me to prove it to you?” Rogar asked.
“Not Balam.” Freddie might have a coronary if Rogar suddenly shifted into Balam. She certainly didn’t want his death on her conscience.
“Not Balam,” he assured her.
“Who’s this Balam?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “How are you going to prove it?”
“Yeah, how?” Freddie leaned an elbow on the bar, practically daring Rogar to prove himself, but she could see his body was still tense, as though he waited for the perfect opportunity to grab her so they could make their escape.
“I’ve come to the conclusion there are certain things Symtarians can do that people from Earth can’t.”
Freddie snorted.
Rogar pointed his finger toward the lamp on the table beside the sofa. When he wiggled his finger, the lamp moved a few inches.
“Wow, you never mentioned you could do that,” she said.
“A magician’s trick.” Freddie scoffed, and opened both hands, then waved them back and forth. With the snap of a finger, he produced a rose, which he gave to Callie.
“I forgot you did magic tricks, Freddie. That was good.” She automatically brought it to her nose. Silk. Oh, well.
Rogar frowned. “Your gravity is slightly different from ours.” He closed his eyes, and slowly began to raise his hands, as he did, his body gravitated upward.
“Wow, he’s good.” Freddie was transfixed as he watched Rogar.
Apparently, he’d forgotten that he’d pegged Rogar as crazy. Callie’s lips turned down. Freddie didn’t seem as upset as he had. From the rapt expression on Freddie’s face, he certainly wasn’t as worried about her safety as he once was. Men!
“How’d you do that?” she asked.
Rogar’s feet settled on the floor once again. “I’ve noticed little things since coming to Earth. There must be something in the gravitational force.”
“I can’t do that.” Callie crossed her arms in front of her. She was lucky if she didn’t trip over her own two feet.
“Probably because you’re part Earthling. It might be something to explore. I have a theory about the gravitational force being somewhat different, which could have some effect on a Symtarian’s molecular structure.”
She took one look at Freddie. Rogar had talked his nerdy language, but Freddie still didn’t look as though he believed Rogar could be from another planet.
“I saw someone in Vegas who could do that,” Freddie said.
“Balam?” Rogar looked at Callie.
Callie really hadn’t wanted to take it this far, but it seemed they had no choice. She nodded.
A light fog began to fill the room.
“What’s happening?” Freddie straightened, looking around.
“It’s the only way we can make you believe,” Callie told him. “The Symtarians are a race of shapeshifters. They have animal guides that share their body.”
“Where are the cameras?” He looked around.
“There aren’t any.”
Rogar groaned, drawing their attention. The fog wasn’t so thick that they couldn’t see Rogar drop to the floor on his hands, then groan as he curled into a ball. Not so dense they couldn’t see flesh change to fur, hands become claws.
“I…I…”
She took Freddie’s hand in hers. The color had drained from his face. “It’ll be okay. Balam is a black jaguar. He’s also Rogar’s animal guide.”