Read Online United: An Alienated Novel by Melissa Landers - Free Book Online

cheeks. “We missed you so much,” she said, pulling back to brush the lint off his tunic and smooth the strands of hair that had escaped his ponytail.
    Aelyx let her fuss over him, glad for the attention. As a clone, this was the closest he would ever come to having a mother. “I missed you, too.”
    A soldier snuck up behind Cara and captured her in a headlock. Aelyx stiffened until he recognized the boy as Troy Sweeney, her older brother. Troy had the same electric blue eyes as Cara, but he’d inherited their mother’s black hair instead of their father’s red. He scrubbed his knuckles over Cara’s scalp until she squealed and thrust an elbow in his belly. Then he ruffled her already mussed hair and called her dorkus.
    Aelyx shared a glance with Elle and tried to imagine having that kind of sibling bond with her. Clearly she was thinking the same thing, because she told him privately, If you ever do that to me, I’ll smother you in your sleep .
    “Elle,” Troy breathed, yanking off his camouflage hat and flinching to attention. His pupils widened and his teeth flashed in a lopsided smile. His reaction was nearly identical to that of Jake Winters, and Aelyx had to clamp his lips together to trap a laugh. He’d forgotten about Troy’s unrequited crush on Elle.
    Aelyx nudged Elle and asked, Have you picked out names for your offspring yet? She burned a glare into his head, and he responded by making kissing noises, which earned him a punch on the arm.
    “Uh-huh,” Cara muttered. “You’re nothing like human siblings at all.”
    “I didn’t know you were coming,” Troy said to Elle while sliding an annoyed look at his sister. “Someone forgot to mention it.”
    Cara rolled her eyes. “Excuse me for being preoccupied with saving the world from alien domination.”
    “Speaking of which,” interrupted Colonel Rutter, who’d been silently observing them from the fringes. “Not a word about these Ari-bol”—mispronouncing it Airy-Ball—“to anyone outside the group. HALO will lose their damn minds, start rioting in the streets again.” Aelyx grimaced as he recalled last year’s run-ins with the fanatical group Humans Against L’eihr Occupation. Colonel Rutter motioned toward three black SUVs parked nearby. “We should probably get a move on before rush hour hits; otherwise it’ll be gridlock on the bridge.”
    “I’d like to fly the shuttle to the penthouse,” Aelyx said. “Cloaked, of course, so I can keep it docked there.”
    “Me, too,” Cara added.
    “All right.” Rutter jutted his chin at Troy. “Sergeant Sweeney, go with them.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “As for the rest of you,” Rutter continued, “no one sets foot outside that penthouse without an armed shadow. Understood?” He glanced around the group until he found Syrine, and then his no-nonsense tone went softer than a butterfly’s wing. “Why don’t you ride with me, hon? I’ve got a box for you in my car.”
    Syrine darted a glance at Aelyx while she fidgeted with her pear-seed pendant. Colonel Rutter had been David’s commander, the one who’d assigned him as their bodyguard last winter. David hadn’t left any family behind, so the box probably contained his possessions.
    Syrine managed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you for thinking of me.”
    Aelyx slid an arm around her. “I hope his deck of trick cards is in there. It was his favorite thing in the world, aside from you.”
    “ Trick deck?” she asked. “You mean …”
    “Every time he guessed your card, he was cheating,” Aelyx finished with a grin. “I can’t believe you never noticed.” He leaned down and whispered, “Are you going to be okay? If not, you can ride with me in the shuttle.”
    “I’m fine,” she whispered back. “I want to see what’s in the box.”
    Colonel Rutter clapped his palms together. “All right, folks. Let’s roll.” He gestured at the shuttle. “Or fly, as the case may be.”

    The shuttle arrived in