by I. T. Lucas
Throwing a robe over her pajamas, she rushed into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time.
One of the joys of pregnancy, and she didn’t mean it sarcastically. Every reminder of the life growing inside her was precious, even the too-frequent visits to the bathroom.
Thank God that the baby was still too tiny to be affected by that horrendous noise. According to Bridget, the baby’s ears were not formed yet, and it would take another month until she could hear sounds.
That might be true physically. But in the metaphysical realm, Syssi was sure that Allegra could hear every word, and she conducted entire conversations with her daughter, albeit one-sided.
When she was done in the bathroom, Syssi padded to the suite’s common area.
Mey and Jin were already there, sitting at the dining table with their mates, and so were Lokan and Carol. Callie and Wonder were in the kitchen with Anandur and Brundar, and Kian was on the couch, reading his morning newspaper.
He lifted his head and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Was I the only one who stayed in bed?” Syssi walked over and sat on his lap.
Kian dropped the paper and wrapped her in his arms. “You needed the rest. The stress last night couldn’t have been good for the baby.”
“Allegra is fine. Her ears have not developed yet.”
“Maybe not, but she could be affected by the stress hormones your body produced. From now on, I want you to stay as calm as you can possibly be.”
“Oh, I’m planning on it.” She pushed to her feet and walked over to the dining table. “Today is going to be all about lazing in bed with a good romance novel, preferably something funny.”
“I have one for you,” Callie walked in with a steaming mug of coffee and put it in front of Syssi. “The Bride Who Lost her Shoes.”
Syssi arched a brow. “That’s the title?”
“Yeah. Make sure you’re near a bathroom when you’re reading it. You’ll laugh so hard.”
“Then maybe it’s not such a great idea.” Syssi had trouble holding it in her bladder as it was. “But I’ll give it a try. After everything that happened yesterday, I could use a good laugh.”
Kian sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I need to leave soon, but if you need anything, call me.”
“Who are you taking with you?”
“Anandur, Brundar, and Lokan.” He glanced at Dalhu. “Do you want to come as well?”
“No, thank you.”
“I want to come,” Amanda said. “I wanted to check out Kalugal’s men, and I didn’t get to do that last night.”
Kian didn’t look too happy, and Dalhu even less so. But both knew better than to argue with Amanda. It was just as futile as arguing with Annani.
“If you’re going, then I’m coming with you,” Dalhu said.
“Of course, darling. I wouldn’t go without my protector.” She leaned and kissed his clean-shaven cheek.
Syssi would have preferred for Dalhu to stay.
Yamanu and Arwel were fine Guardians, and they were more than enough to keep the ladies safe, but Syssi would have felt better having Dalhu around.
Somehow, he seemed invincible, even more so than the brothers, and that was saying a lot.
“I want to come too,” Carol said. “I can help Amanda take notes.”
Lokan glanced at Kian with an expression that said, 'please help.'
“Lokan is going to be busy helping us with the captured operatives.”
“I know.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t offer to help Lokan. I offered to assist Amanda with her matchmaking mission.”
Instead of having a confrontation with Carol, Kian pulled his phone out. “I need to check with Bridget on how Roberts is doing.” He typed a quick message.
If he had expected Lokan to convince his mate to stay behind, that wasn’t happening. Apparently, Lokan had learned that compromise was key to mated bliss and kept quiet.
“I feel sorry for Simmons,” Syssi said. “I know that he was a bad guy, but still.”
Carol gaped at her. “You are too nice for your own good, Syssi. The ass-wipe wanted to capture all of us and take us to his program. Can you imagine what he would have done to make us cooperate?”
“He couldn’t have done anything. As soon as we recuperated from the attack, we could have easily overtaken the men he brought to transport us.”
“Not if he kept us all drugged. It takes a lot to achieve that, but he had Roberts with him, a medical doctor, and he would have adjusted the dosage.”
Syssi shivered. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that. Thank God for the drones and for Roni.” She leaned on Kian’s arm. “And thank God for Kian’s paranoia. We wouldn’t be sitting here and having coffee if he didn’t insist on extreme security measures.”
Kian put his phone down. “Actually, it was Kalugal’s idea. He wanted us to come, and he knew that I wouldn’t allow it unless I believed it was safe, so he suggested that we use the drones like we did during the hostage exchange. You need to thank him, not me.”
“I’m grateful to both of you. If you had refused to come, there would have been no drones, and Kalugal and all of his men and Jacki would have been taken.”
As the return text arrived, Kian read it and nodded. “Bridget says that Roberts is doing well and we can interrogate him. Ruvon’s blood did wonders for him.”
“I didn’t know that our blood could do that,” Callie said.
“I didn’t know that either.” Kian put the phone back in his pocket. “Bridget says that it’s a temporary effect and only works in very specific cases.”
“That’s a shame.” Syssi sighed. “I thought that we could help Fernando. He’s dying.”
For a long moment, no one talked.
It was a miracle that Fernando had lived for as long as he did. And it was all thanks to Nathalie and her dedication to her adoptive father. Andrew had been wonderfully supporting through it all, and it was going to be hard on all of them, but especially on Phoenix. She was too young to understand death.
“We should get going.” Kian kissed the top of her head and pushed to his feet.
The brothers followed, and so did Dalhu and Amanda, Carol and Lokan.
Carol just took it for granted that she was going with them, and that was that.
“Good luck.” Syssi accompanied Kian to the door. “I just want to put this entire episode behind us and go home.”
“So do I.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lightly. “But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
26
Kian
Kalugal’s gate opened as soon as Anandur drove up to it, and once their two cars were in, the gate closed, and the front door opened.
“Good morning.” Kalugal motioned for them to go in. “I’m so glad you decided to join us as well.” He smiled at Amanda and Carol. “Jacki will be happy to see you.”
“How is she feeling?” Carol asked.
“Much better. Her hearing is almost back to normal. Come, join us for breakfast. Bridget and Turner and your three Guardians are already in the dining room.” He sidled up to Kian. “Are those the three burly bears?”
Kian chuckled. “I have no clue. I wasn’t the one who assigned them. Why don’t you ask Jacki?”
“I don’t want her to know that I’m jealous.”
“I think she knows.”
Kalugal’s dining room was big, but this morning it was crowded, and as Kian and the rest of their party entered, the three Guardians got up to make room for them.
“Good morning, boss,” Gregor said. “Do you need us to stay, or can we go?”
“You can go.”
He had the brothers, Turner, and Dalhu with him. Hopefully, that was enough.
While everyone said hello, Rufsur and Phinas stood up, and friendly handshakes were exchanged between them and the three departing Guardians.
If not for Kian’s mistrust of former Brotherhood members, he would have enjoyed se
eing that. But as usual, he suspected that things were not as they seemed.
“Good morning.” The cook, together with another man, came in to clear the dishes and put down new place settings.
“Poor darling.” Amanda put her hand on his arm. “You’ve probably worked half the night to clean up after yesterday, and you are already serving breakfast.”
The cook looked flustered. “I’m good. I enjoy hard work.”
“How is Jin doing?” Jacki asked
She wasn’t talking as loudly as she had last night, which meant that her hearing had improved a lot.
“Jin is doing better,” Kian said. “She is resting, as should you.”
Kalugal cast her a look that said, 'I told you so.'
She rolled her eyes. “I wanted to say hi to everyone. When you go about your business in the bunker, I’ll rest.” She looked at Amanda. “Are you going with them to interrogate Roberts?”
“I have more important things to do.” She moved closer to Jacki. “I want a tour of the house and introductions to its inhabitants.” She winked. “Carol and I are going to take notes.”
Dalhu looked like he had just sucked on a lemon, and Kian would have saved him by inviting him to join them in the bunker, but someone needed to keep an eye on Amanda and Carol.
“I can show you the library,” Jacki said. “That’s the coolest room in the house, and it has thousands of books.” She glanced at Kalugal. “Is that okay?”
He took her hand and kissed it. “This is your house now, Jacki. You can show Amanda and Carol every nook and cranny, except for my office, that is.” He cast an apologetic glance at Amanda. “I’m sure you can understand why it has to stay off limits to visitors.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not interested in your office. But I would love to see your artifact collection.”
His eyes brightened. “It would be my pleasure, but perhaps some other time. We have urgent issues to attend to.” He turned to Kian. “I want Simmons’s men out of here as soon as possible.”
“They are good to go,” Bridget said. “I didn’t realize it last night, but in addition to the driver of Simmons’s van, several had minor injuries. They didn’t go down easily, and our Guardians didn’t hold back while apprehending them. The thralling part came later. But there was nothing serious, and I patched them up.”
“Good.” Kian tapped his fingers on the table. “Their memories need to be thoroughly scrubbed, and new ones implanted.” He looked at Lokan. “Can you handle that?”
“Sure thing.”
“These are ex-Marines,” Kalugal said. “They are not stupid, and we need a good story. I liked your idea, Kian. We should use that.”
“What is that?” Lokan asked.
“The story is that they were hired for a secret mission and agreed to get hypnotized to forget it. They will remember agreeing to that and to a certain amount of money they were supposed to get paid.”
“We can give each one an envelope with cash,” Kalugal said. “Simmons had a lot of money in his briefcase, and I can add a bonus on top of that.”
Kian nodded. “Good. So that’s settled.” He looked at Lokan. “Feel free to embellish the story, just make sure that they all remember the same thing.”
“No problem.”
“Rufsur, you can prepare the envelopes with the money,” Kalugal said. “And you’ll need eight drivers. Seven men to drive the vans and operatives to their respective destinations, and one more to pick our guys up. After they deliver Hector and his men to a location near their homes, they should put the men behind the wheel and thrall them to wake up fifteen or thirty minutes later.”
“We need to tamper with the GPS on the vans,” Kian said.
Kalugal grimaced. “Right. Can your hacker do that? I know some people, but it will get done faster if your guys get on it. They would also need to do the same to the operatives’ phones. Or we can just take them away and destroy them.”
“That would look suspicious given the story we are going to plant in their heads,” Kian said. “It’s better to erase the data. I’ll need the phone numbers and the GPS registration numbers.”
“I’ll get them,” Lokan said. “Tell Roni that he needs to erase the data from the cloud as well.”
Kian chuckled. “He doesn’t need to be told. Roni knows what to do.”
“Don’t expect, inspect.” Kalugal leaned back in his chair. “It never hurts to remind people. Even the smartest among us can get distracted, or forget, or get preoccupied with something else.”
Turner nodded. “I agree a hundred percent.”
27
Jacki
Atzil showed up with a fresh coffee carafe as soon as the men left. “More coffee?”
The poor guy kept stealing glances at Amanda like an awestruck teenager. The problem was that Jacki wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.
Dalhu didn’t look happy, and at one point she’d heard him growl, which meant that everyone around the table had heard it too.
“Please.” Amanda smiled at him brightly. “What brand are you using? It’s delicious.”
Kian’s sister was drinking up the attention and ignoring her mate’s displeasure.
“It’s from a private roaster that Kalugal discovered. We get weekly shipments.”
“What is its name? And do they ship to Los Angeles?”
“I can write the name down for you.” Standing awkwardly with the carafe in hand, Atzil seemed unsure of what to do next.
“Come sit with us, Atzil,” Jacki offered.
“Yes, please do.” Amanda motioned to the chair next to her.
With Amanda on one side and Carol on the other, Atzil was between a rock and a hard place, or between matchmaker number one and number two.
“What made you become a chef?” Carol asked.
Atzil shifted in the chair. “I’m not a chef, just a cook, and I do it because someone has to, and Kalugal doesn’t allow humans in the house.”
Amanda lifted a brow. “Kalugal does his own laundry? Somehow I can’t see that.”
Jacki chuckled. “Shamash does it for him. And he also cleans the master suite. The rest of the house and the bunker are maintained by the other men. They have a schedule they follow, and Rufsur ensures compliance.”
“Interesting.” Amanda tapped a finger on her chin. “It’s the same for us. Kian doesn’t allow outsiders into our village either, but I’m lucky to have Onidu.”
“Is he a servant?” Atzil said.
“He’s my butler.”
Atzil nodded. “Like Shamash is for Kalugal. You and Kian are the bosses of your community, so naturally, you don’t do your own household chores.”
“Not exactly.” Amanda lifted her coffee cup and took a sip. “Kian is the boss. I’m not. But I don’t want to talk about me. I want to talk about you and your friends.” She leaned closer and whispered loudly. “Carol and I are here to see who of our friends might be good matches for you and yours.” She put a hand on his arm. “And you’re lucky to be the first one we chose to interview.”
Atzil cast a questioning glance at Jacki.
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t get to meet any of their single friends, so I can’t help you with inside information.”
Swallowing audibly, he turned to Amanda. “Why start with me? Rufsur and Phinas should be first. They are the highest ranked.”
“I don’t care about that.” Amanda put her hand over her chest. “Compatibility and what’s in the heart are more important than status and rank.” She cast a loving glance at Dalhu. “On the face of things, my mate seems to be a simple man. He was just a junior commander of a small team in the Brotherhood, but he is so much more than that. Dalhu is a fearsome warrior, a talented artist, and he loves me and cherishes me with everything that he is. I couldn’t have asked for a better pairing.”
Jacki had a feeling that Atzil had stopped listening after Amanda had said that Dalhu was a former Brotherhood member, and he was gaping at the guy with
wide eyes.
“You were a Brother?”
Dalhu nodded. “What of it?”
“How did you end up with the goddess’s daughter?”
“Sheer dumb luck, or maybe the Fates orchestrated our meeting.”
“It was the Fates.” Amanda took her mate’s hand and clasped it. “And the Fates also brought Kalugal and Jacki together. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that we should just sit back and let them do all the work. We can help to move their agenda along.”
Atzil squared his shoulders. “I’m not only a cook. Before I volunteered for the position, I was also a fearsome warrior.”
Amanda smiled. “Many clanswomen would love to have a man who can cook. That’s actually your best selling point.” She gave him a once-over that made Dalhu growl again. “And you are very handsome too. I’m sure that your superb physique is not the result of lifting heavy pots and stirring spaghetti sauce.”
Jacki felt bad for Atzil.
Amanda was appraising him as if he were a prize bull for sale, and Carol was not much better.
While Amanda was doing all the talking, Carol was taking notes on her tablet. And given the looks she was casting at Atzil, she was estimating his height and weight.
Except, given the big grin on his chiseled face, he didn’t mind. “Working in the kitchen and cooking for the men is not easy, and I don’t have much spare time. But I train for at least two hours a day.”
“Awesome,” Carol said. “Would you mind if I take a picture of you?”
“Not at all.” He flashed her a bright smile.
She snapped a couple with her tablet and motioned for him to stand up.
Jacki was about to say something and save him the embarrassment, but Atzil not only got up, he also posed for the camera while flexing his impressive muscles.
After going over the pictures she’d just taken, Carol looked up and grinned. “This gives me a great idea. We can make profiles for all of Kalugal’s men, and then do the same for the clan’s single ladies. We will create the first immortal dating app.”
