When Earth is conquered by the sinister Greys and the alien who killed Evie's husband returns seeking her help, she must find a way to enact her revenge and fight the growing feelings for the creature who is an exact replica of the man she loved.
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'I-I don't believe you,' I said.
Had the room gotten smaller? Were the walls moving inwards?
My throat tightened and my heart was beating so hard in my chest that the pounding resounded right up into my skull, a maddening rush of noise that made me feel suddenly dizzy and sick.
Lena mock-pouted, a cruel light dancing in her eyes. 'Oh, Evelyn, did you actually think he cared for you? Or is it just Evie's delusions that you suffer from now? He played a good game, yes? A long game, but still a good one. He really had you fooled, didn't he?'
No, no, he loved me. He did. I'd seen his love. Felt it. How could that be faked?
I thought back to our night in the hotel. Everything he'd said. The way he'd looked at me. The way he'd touched me. When he'd told me he loved me. It was their love – Tom and Evie's – but it was also ours. Ours.
'It really was perfect,' Lena continued. 'You were so utterly lost in Evie that you desperately wanted to believe he was Tom and all he had to do was play along.'
It's just a wall. A mask. Something to hide behind. It's what we're good at.
I remembered his words then like an ice pick straight to my heart. I felt the sharp edge pierce it, the slash of the cold blade right through the centre. He'd practically told me how good the Greys were at pretending and I'd still chosen to believe the lie. Lena was right. He had fooled me. And I'd let him.
'Wait,' I said, suddenly remembering. 'What about Rico? Where does he fit into all of this? You said he was the one who betrayed your group and Tom tortured him and left him for dead. If it was you all along, why did Tom attack him?'
Lena's expression soured. 'Rico had grown too accustomed to his new life here. His nasty little habits became too addictive for him. He knew he would have to give it all up and he didn't want to. In the end, we knew we'd have to deal with him before he ruined everything.'
'And the rest of your people? You betrayed them?'
'Another perfect part of the plan,' she said, sighing almost wistfully, as if recalling a romantic twist to a story and not the fact they'd led the men, women and children of Lena's group to their deaths. 'Tom just has a way about him, doesn't he? I mean, he is so believable. We made them believe that Rico planned to have them killed, and Tom offered to help them escape and they just followed him. Just like that.' She snapped her fingers close to my face, making me blink. 'Then, while he was disposing of them, I caught Rico until the Commander returned to deal with him. Don't be sad, Evelyn, Rico was not a good human.'
I glared at her. 'I don't give a shit about Rico, you mad bitch. I give a shit about the people in your group that trusted you and died because of it.'
