“Mom?” Em asked when her mother took too long to respond.

  Mom glanced back at Dad and finally spoke. “It’s been twenty years, so we don’t know exactly what’s been going on in Ethia, but your dad did reach out to someone on the battle cruiser before he attempted to give himself up. He was assured that Michael would be looked after when he got back.”

  “And yet Dad still decided to give himself up,” Eric pointed out.

  “Arie wanted Michael to stay here. Both of us did. Neither of us wanted Michael to have to go through all the hardship he would have to face in being plunged back into his old life. His brothers were only one concern of many.”

  “But he will at least have protection against his brothers?” Eric asked with concern in his voice.

  Mom shrugged. “I would like to think by now that Ghar has taken the threat of his other sons against Michael more seriously and will have protection in place for him, but Arie was never one to leave things to chance. We both knew there was a strong possibility of Michael being found and taken back to the Empire, and if that ever happened, Arie wanted Michael to be prepared.

  “You know about the family time at the dojo that we did for years on Sundays, learning many types of self-defense. That benefited all of us, but mostly Michael. Arie didn’t stop there, though. He also did specialized training with Michael.”

  “What kind of specialized training?” Eric asked with a tone of curiosity in his voice.

  “It’s an Ethian fighting discipline your brother will be able to use if he ever finds his life in danger. It can be used for defense against extremely aggressive opponents, and even kill attackers quickly if necessary.”

  “I don’t remember anything like that,” Eric’s face screwed up in puzzlement.

  Neither did Emmaline. When the heck did this supposed training even take place? She went back through her memories to see if a clue lay there, but she was coming up with nothing.

  “That’s because Arie only worked with Michael on it.”

  “But when?” Emmaline blurted out. “Dad never said anything about doing specialized training with Michael, and I can’t think of when they could have possibly had the time.”

  Mom’s eyes met Emmaline’s. “They did it during those fishing trips together. The ones Michael always complained about but went on, anyway.”

  “Over to Hudson River Park?” Eric asked, his brow furrowing. “But they always came back with fish.”

  “Yes, because your dad stopped at the fish market on the way home and got fresh catches, or he paid someone at the park for their catch. It was the perfect excuse because neither of you could stand going fishing, and he found just the right place to rent as a training space for the two of them close to there.”

  Emmaline’s gaze went to her father as she took that in—not only this secret training that had been going on with Michael for who knows how long, but the level of duplicity her dad had engaged in to make it happen. It was not something she thought him capable of, but it was obvious there was a lot more to her father than she knew. And that bothered her deeply.

  Eric was obviously having none of it as he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He fixed Mom with a glower. “If Michael were doing any sort of specialized training, he would have told me about it.”

  Mom shook her head. “It was locked away, so Michael didn’t remember. How it worked was Arie would begin each session by opening the section in Michael’s mind that he carved out to hold the training, and then he closed it after each session. That way, Michael would remember the training only when he was in that room, but when he stepped out, he would forget it ever happened. But those memories are keyed to a special series of actions. If your brother ever finds himself in mortal danger of being attacked by anyone, Michael will instantly be able to remember the memories of learning this fighting discipline, and use them to defend himself.”

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  “Okay, that’s kind of cool,” Emmaline admitted.

  Eric was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Mom spoke again. “I’m sorry you had to learn about everything in this way, Eric. I know it’s a lot to take in. And I know you are upset about Michael being gone. We all are.”

  Eric’s jaw clenched, his fingers digging into his biceps. “I just want my brother back, and I’m angry I wasn’t here to do anything to help him. Why did he just go with them? Why didn’t he fight back? And what the hell happened to Dad?”

  “If your brother hadn’t gone with them, those on the battle cruiser would most definitely have kept looking for your father and me. I’m actually surprised they didn’t even after getting Michael. I thought for sure…” Mom’s voice trailed off as she ran a nervous hand through her hair.

  “You thought what?” Eric asked.

  Mom shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. They left. They took Michael. End of story.” She then looked toward the bed where Dad lay. “I’m not exactly sure how your father got like this. I don’t think it’s an actual stroke. Neither does the doctor. I suspect it might have been from using his Dome-ni, but we are still waiting on the last of the test results to get a better picture of what’s going on.”

  “How much longer is it going to be? It’s been hours,” Emmaline couldn’t help the whine in her voice. If there was one sure way to torture a person, it was waiting for freaking results in a hospital.

  “He said he’d call as soon as he had something,” Mom said.

  “But you left the room. How can you get his call if you left the phone?” Emmaline asked.

  “I’ve kept my cell phone on and texted him to call so that Anna and I could get some food.” Mom picked up the top container and handed it to Emmaline along with one of the bottles of water. “I’m sorry. It’s probably cold by now.”

  Em opened the container and was hit in the face with the smell of melted cheese and toasted bread. It was a grilled cheese with a large helping of fries. But it wasn’t just any grilled cheese. The slices of bread were the thick Texas toast she liked with a yellow and white mixture of different cheeses that oozed out over the sides and was toasted where it had met the grill. This was a perfect grilled cheese. Her stomach growled its approval.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Emmaline said as she lifted out one of the halves and took a bite.

  “You can have mine if you want, Eric. I can go back and get another,” Mom offered him the other container.

  He shook his head. “No, go ahead. I’m not hungry.”

  But Mom didn’t open her container. She set it back down and just stood there hovering over Eric. She clearly wanted to hug him, but she kept her distance. Eric sat there scowling at the floor, deep in thought. Emmaline kept eating her grilled cheese. She hadn’t realized how hungry she had gotten. She was nearly done with the first half when she heard a soft “Dammit” come from her brother.

  Emmaline looked up from her sandwich. Eric hadn’t changed positions, but Mom was sending him a scowl of disapproval. She didn’t like cursing of any kind at any age, and she was usually very quick to say something about it.

  “I don’t think that language is necessary.”

  “I think it is,” Eric said as he raised his gaze to Mom’s, “because I’m starting to realize the impossible position I’m in now.”

  “What do you mean?” Mom asked.

  “Did you know that General Rikker picked me up from the airport? Hell, he was even the one to get my leave to go through so quickly. At first I thought he was just being a good friend, but now I think it was something else entirely. He was quick to tell me that the alien ship that came to New York appeared right outside the farm. He also told me he got a good satellite image of Dad being put in the back of the ambulance. And before he dropped me off, he made me promise to tell him if I found out anything about that ship or why it was here.”

  Mom’s face suddenly lost all color. “Does he know?”

  Eric shook his head. “If he knew for sure, he’d already have picked you up and had you across an interrogation table. I think he suspects that our family is connected to the ship somehow, or at least Dad. I don’t think he believed Dad stroked out because he saw an alien ship hovering outside the window. He finds it highly suspicious Dad was there on a weekday this time of year.”

  Mom let out a sigh. “So he doesn’t know. That’s good.”

  Eric shook his head. “Just because he doesn’t know, doesn’t mean he won’t find out. He has the full power of the United States government behind him, Mom. And I’m part of that. If I don’t report this, and he finds out I knew about it, I could get in a lot of trouble.”

  Emmaline’s heart suddenly sped up like it was in a race for its life as she desperately attempted to quell her fear. What would the government do if they learned the truth about their family? Would the world find out too? Em forgot all about her sandwich as she looked to her mother for reassurance, but Mom looked pale and frightened. Emmaline remembered the cabin in the woods. Did that mean they would have to go on the run again?

  Mom closed her eyes briefly, her composure returning in measured breaths. When she opened them again, she seemed steadier, and her eyes held a steely resolve.

  “Well, your dad and I always knew that this might get out, but I was hoping to avoid that. We aren’t here legally and had to do certain things to stay here and stay in hiding.”

  Eric clenched his jaw. “I can’t lie to him, Mom.” And then he blew out a long breath. “But I also can’t just hand you over.”

  Mom was quiet for a moment as she looked at Dad and laid her hand over his. She squeezed it tight and turned back to Eric. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You are going to have to report me to General Rikker,” Mom said.