Trust: Kaylid Novellas, #4

By Mel Todd

Trusting others is the hardest thing you ever do.

 

When McKenna turned into a cougar, JD Davidson rolled with it. After all, he turned into a bear. But standing on the sidelines with Toni Diaz as McKenna was kidnapped as well as Toni's kids? That proved harder than he expected.

Falling love with a beautiful woman should have been easy, but why would she love him? Not to mention aliens, government, and an impending invasion. Anyone smart would have turned and run. He just had to trust that maybe they would have something to live for on the other side. Alien's can't kill everyone, right?

Caught in the middle of an invasion all he can do is guard McKenna's back, trust in his friends, and kill as many enemy as possible. But when their hopes are answered, will his trust be rewarded or shattered?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bad Ash Publishing
• Release date: Jul 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386463993

Mel Todd

Chasing her dream of being a full-time writer, Mel Todd has 17 stories out, her Kaylid Chronicles, the Blood War series, and more to come.  Owner of Bad Ash Publishing she is creating a book empire full of good stories and good authors.   With over a million words published, she is aiming for another million in the next two years.  All stories that will grab you and make you hunger for more.  With one co-author and more books in the work, her stories can be found on Amazon and other retailers.  You can follow her on Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/badashbooks/

Book preview

1

AMOR FATI

With all the attention on the Rossville Police department and their new outreach program, can McKenna Largo and the other cops help make this change seem normal? Reaching out to kids has become the standard for Police and Fire Departments. Usually this is to underprivileged youth or inner city, but this time it is to those children who can shift. They are definitely the minority as only 1% of all shifters are under the age of eighteen. Does this mean something? Or just the luck of the draw? ~KWAK News

Joseph Daniel Davidson, better known as JD to everyone, had initially dreaded the day at the zoo. Getting to hang with Toni made him understand why McKenna had been so drawn to her. She had a solid presence that lifted his mood. The kids had been great. The littlest of them, a girl called Nam, had a frailness about her that made her almost doll-like, and he wanted to pick her up and cuddle her, an odd feeling. But overall, he had enjoyed talking with parents and Kala Mansour. The young officer was smart, energetic, and made him feel old. But she clicked with the kids and watching them smile made it all worth it. McKenna and he didn't talk much while they were there, since they talked all the time. They purposefully spread out and interacted with other people.

Entering into the open area in front of the zoo the bus sat, waiting, its engine idling. A half-thought flashed across his mind, but a parent said something, and he shifted his attention. The thought disappeared before he could get it to clarify.

McKenna and Kala went up ahead to the bus with the youngest kids. They'd all been drawn to Kala, pretty and soft-spoken, the kids had taken to her. McKenna with her fame, much to her discomfort, was also a draw for both the parents and the kids. But she rolled with it. They headed over to the bus as JD answered the question from one of the parents.

JD didn't know what drew his attention back to the bus. He paused in his conversation with the parent, they'd been talking about weight-lifting and how to build muscle. But something about the bus. He stopped mid-conversation, and looked at the bus, frowning. JD tilted his head, starting to move forward, then paused as the doors opened.

That's it. Why were the doors closed? They should be open for the kids to get on the bus.

A moment later Kala stumbled out, her hands raised, her normal caramel-colored skin ashy gray. JD started to move even as she stepped down on the pavement, his hand reaching for a gun that wasn't there. The crack of a weapon firing shattered the conversations that had filled the space a moment before.

Everything happened at once. The doors to the bus slammed shut as the engine revved. A dark spot spread across Kala's chest as the concrete planter directly in front of her shattered. Kids and adults screamed and threw themselves to the ground.

JD reached Kala as her head hit the pavement. Even as he moved on automatic, flipping Kala over and starting basic first aid, he knew it wouldn't make a difference. The shot had blown out her heart. She had been dead before she hit the ground. He pulled out his phone, dialing 911. Toni dropped down next to him, her face a pale mask.

911, what's your emergency? The calm voice of the dispatcher didn't help as his gaze followed the bus tearing out of the parking lot. Carrying kids and his best friend away from him.

JD Davidson, badge number 34021. Officer down at Sacramento Zoo. He kept up the quiet flow of information, barely letting the operator interrupt as Toni tried to help him, her knowing the steps better than he did since she did this for a living, though normally she was the 911 dispatcher on the other end of a call. But Kala's heart never started again. By the time the ambulances and other police arrived they were both going through the motions. He could see the same bleak acceptance on her face that matched his heart as she kept looking out towards where the bus had gone.

The bus with her children.

The thought slammed into him, and he wanted to go to her, to the other parents holding their kids close. Toni was the only parent there whose kids were in that bus. The other parents weren't here, though he didn't envy the cops who would be making those calls. Telling them their children had been taken would be another version of hell.

The EMTs took Kala's body, leaving them there, blood-stained and exhausted. He started to move towards Toni, looking smaller than he'd ever seen, when a voice halted him in his tracks.

Davidson, what the hell happened? He jerked around to see Kirk glaring at him and only practice kept him from snapping at the man.

We'd finished at the zoo and were headed to the bus to drop the kids back off. McKenna and Kala were with the youngest kids and headed to the bus first to help them get on. The rest of us lagged behind, talking. I looked up and Kala was stepping off the bus. They shot her and took off before anyone had a chance to react. Even to himself he sounded choppy, factual, the words came out stilted and hollow, not reflecting how much he wanted to rage and scream.

Kirk turned and looked at the still form the EMTs loaded into the quiet ambulance, his jaw pulsing. That show of stress helped JD, it made him think Kirk wasn't taking this in stride.

Did you see them? How many? Anything? Kirk's voice was hard but almost soft. JD felt like he should be screaming, screaming was the correct response to all of this. But it wouldn't help anything right now.

JD shook his head. The windows were tinted and up. It happened before we really realized anything was wrong. None of us had vehicles here, so I called 911 and tried to, he broke off swallowing hard. Kala had been dead, but he had tried.

Understood. The detectives have your statement? Kirk's voice mellowed a bit, and it made JD even more irritated.

Not yet, been a bit crazy, but it's exactly what I told you. I don't have a damn useful thing to impart. His voice started to rise. JD clenched his teeth and lowered the volume. So where do I start? Do they need people to start canvassing? The license plate of the bus should be on the paperwork. He started to say more, his fingers twitching with the need to spin something, but Kirk held up his hand, an odd look on his face.

Davidson, Kirk stopped and sighed. JD. Go home. You can't work on this case. You're too close to it. Let the detectives do their jobs. You're involved with the crime which means you can't assist with this case. Finish talking to the detectives. Tell them what you need, what you can, then go home.

JD started to argue, to rant, but he knew policy, and Kirk had it on his side. Oh, he could make an exception, but that really only happened on TV, and this wasn't a TV show.

JD, really, go home. Have a drink, have ten drinks. We'll find her. Kirk tried to sound confident, but JD could hear the worry in his voice. McKenna had so much attention on her right now, who knew who had grabbed her. Kirk turned and yelled at a patrol officer standing by his car. Take Davidson to the station. He's off duty for the rest of the day after he talks to the detectives.

He gave JD one more look then stormed away to deal with the press that had started to descend. JD looked around the entrance to the zoo, the bright yellow crime scene tape flapping obscenely bright. The chatter of the press created an annoying buzz that permeated the area. Rage and grief gripped him and stayed as he answered questions, gave statements, dealt with the forms, provided his badge number more times than he could count, and repeated the same words over and over. Words that hammered home the facts, Kala was dead and McKenna was missing.

Ready to go, JD?

The voice of a fellow officer pulled him away from the rage surging through him, the desire to turn into a bear and destroy everything and everyone. They'd finished with him, leaving him standing there, lost. With McKenna gone, JD felt like his right arm was missing also. The rest of the parents were gone, the kids all packed away.

How long have I been standing here? Where's Toni? Is she okay?

The officer waited for him patiently. Finally JD grunted and climbed in the squad car. He recognized the other officer, but for the life of him couldn't pull out his name and didn't care enough to ask. They rode in silence back to the station and he climbed out with another grunt of thanks then headed to his Hummer. Even looking at it brought back memories.

She isn't dead. She can't be dead. She's the closest thing I have to a family.

The thought spiraled through his mind as he drove home. There were no lights or sirens behind him, so he assumed he hadn't run