by Honor James
The captain snorted and shook his head. “The woman has her priorities,” he said.
“That she does.” Ansell chuckled. Reaching down for her hand he tugged her up from the chair. “Cap, can you put those sheets somewhere the cleaners can’t get at them?”
“Absolutely.” He nodded. Leaning across his desk, he took them from Lacey’s fingers. “Go, do whatever you need to do and then let’s start wrapping this up. This asshole has taken enough of our time and more than his share of manpower. Let’s put an end to him and the fear he’s causing in the folks around here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Lacey murmured. “And I’m hungry because I’m pregnant. Pregnant women need food lots, lots of food,” she mumbled and rose with Ansell’s help. “Now, take me and feed me please?” she asked with a grin.
Zhubin took her other hand and they left the captain’s office. They didn’t speak of anything concerning the case. They just spoke random things, idle chit-chat as they headed for the elevators and toward the cafeteria when they reached the right floor.
Lacey inhaled and sighed. “Oh god, they have lasagna.” She was barely pregnant but already some foods called to her while others sent her running for the bathroom. Lasagna was one that called to her. “Smells sooo good. Will you get me two slices while I check out what they have for dessert?”
“I’ve got the main course,” Ansell said with a chuckle.
Zhubin let her go ahead of him toward the dessert end of the buffet-style lineup. He was tense, watchful and didn’t stray more than five feet from her. Not all that odd really, given how they’d both been acting since she’d come back to work. They never left her alone and when she needed to be someplace by herself or with someone else, they always checked it thoroughly before letting her in there.
She was drooling, literally. The dessert bar had everything on it and she seemed to want it all. Without even thinking of it she slipped her hand into Zhubin’s, knowing that one of them would be close by and leaned into him with a happy grin. “Look, yum. I think I will take just a little of everything, except Jell-O. Ick.” She couldn’t look at Jell-O cubes without thinking of how they were made and that was just plain bad.
“Then ignore the Jell-O,” he said, nudging her past and turning his body to block her view. “You have plenty of other things to choose from. Including several chocolate-made items, a few caramel and then all the various fruit concoctions.”
“O, the caramel ones.” Her mouth began to water. “I think I will take those. Not so much on the chocolate but the caramel is all mine.” Okay, so she was like a ping pong ball with her “I want this” and “no instead I want that,” but that was all a part of being pregnant, or so she was telling herself.
Zhubin collected two different dishes, darling man that he was, and waved her onward. He didn’t even question her choice, not even a flicker, he was either rolling with it or had decided it was better not to question the pregnant woman. Either way it was a wonderful and very wise choice.
Lacey smiled, that’s all that she could do at that moment. She was happy, so very happy to have the men in her life that she did. When she took a seat she sighed happily and licked her lips. “You are both so good to me. For me,” she said and bumped her shoulder to Zhubin’s and watched Ansell approaching with a heavily laden tray of foods. “See, so good to me.”
“We just want what is best for you,” he said with a shrug. “You’ve been through so much this past year and I just want you to be happy and feel safe always. With the baby on the way I feel this need to get this asshole wrapped up and delivered on a silver platter sooner than later. He’s taken too much from us already and doesn’t deserve any more from us, ever.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “He doesn’t deserve another breath from us but we will have to dedicate more than that in finding him. We have to stop him. We have to ensure that this monster never again harms another.”
“We’ll stop him,” Ansell said, his heat warming her other side. “There is no other option and, no matter what, it will happen. He’s a threat to everything and everyone. Because he’s got nearly no pattern at all we only have one route to stopping him. In just a few hours we’ll start laying the groundwork and see if we can’t get him to bite.”
“Good. As long as we can be sure to catch him, that’s all that I care about. We catch him. We make him go away for good. And then life will go on. Once he has been caught and I’m able to take maternity leave I think that I will feel a hundred times better.”
“We’ll definitely feel better with you safe from him,” he said. He slid the tray in front of her so it was easy for all three of them to reach. “Had no clue what you wanted, Z, so there are some options. Lasagna for the lady though, as requested, and a few other things I know you’ll want to nibble on.”
“Thank you.” She took the lasagna and inhaled the scents of it. Her stomach rumbled. “Oh goodness I’m starving. Thank you for getting me food.” She began to eat without waiting for her men.
They split up the remaining food between them, leaving some of the extras that Ansell had mentioned, on the tray before her and then dug in. Conversation was suspended as they all ate, the men watching everyone and everything happening in the cafeteria. Both were tense, but it was to be expected when they were so damned close to finally getting their man.
After she was finished with her lasagna Lacey then began to grab miscellaneous items from the tray and ate this and then that. She enjoyed the food that was before them a great deal. Especially the meat dishes. “Goodness, I’ve never been much of a meat eater but right now I can’t seem to get enough.”
Both of them gave a snort. “Luhpynes are primarily carnivores,” Ansell pointed out, not for the first time. “The more meat we have in our diet the happier we are. And you are carrying a Luhpyne cub so it stands to reason you need more meat in your diet to appease the little appetite you’re caring for.”
“Well then you better get in line at the butchers. If I am eating like this now, imagine how much more meat I will eat the further the pregnancy progresses? I mean seriously? I will totally be eating whole cows and pigs by that point.”
“We’ve already arranged to double our standing orders,” he grinned at her. “Another two weeks I think is when it goes into effect. Then we will be more than ready for you and your new appetites. We should also likely mention that your need for sex will likely go into overdrive. More than right after the mating even.”
“That’s a very good thing. And two weeks? You really think that I will start to pack food away like that in two weeks?” She blushed then, and laughed. “Oh you poor, poor men. If my sex drive increases the both of you will be begging for extra shifts at work just so that you can rest up.” He was right though, she was horny. Very.
“I highly doubt that,” Zhubin put in his two cents. “And yes, it will be about two weeks when your appetite goes into overdrive if my mother is to be believed. Which, considering she’s been through it before, she is. Plus she asked a few other women, neighbors of theirs, and they gave the same reply.”
“Wonderful,” Lacey muttered. “So will you guys be able to take time off while I am in this needful state or should we just get an office and soundproof it now so that I can attack you boys at any given moment in time?”
“Uh, no.” He shook his head with a smirk. “We will be doing the rotations, same as we are now, with you at home. It’s best you don’t work longer than you feel the need to. Especially once we have this asshole taken down, you can step back and just worry about yourself and the little Luhpyne.”
“That sounds perfect to me. I will still want to remain active and doing something, I don’t think that I’m cut out to be a stay-at-home mom but I do want to be there for our child’s first formative years. I just…I don’t know what I want. I think that I just need to let it all go and come to me when it does. Thoughts?”
“Go with your gut,” Ansell advised. Zhubin nodded in agreement on h
er other side. “Besides, you can always bring him into work with you. We can set up a playpen in the corner of our office and he can play and nap in there if you want to work part-time after you’ve given birth. It gives you the option to stay busy and in the know, but you’ll just have to avoid any offsite jobs until he’s older.”
“Do you really think that would fly? I would love that. I wouldn’t go out on calls but I could do the legwork that involves deskwork and computer work. Filing and all the other boring-as-crap stuff that we have to do but would still keep my mind off not working.” She needed to stay busy, had to, and they both knew it.
“Why not?” He shrugged. “Others have done it in your world. And really, you’ll still be working, just in a slightly limited capacity. You are good at all the legwork leading up to cases so, really, I don’t see it being an issue.”
“If it is, then we’ll just have to kill the Captain and get someone else in,” Zhubin said.
Lacey snorted her drink when Zhubin said that because he said it in a completely deadpan voice as if he had said nothing at all unusual. “Holy hell. Seriously?” She shook her head and wiped her face. “Goodness gravy, you are too funny. No we won’t be killing the Captain and you darn tootin’ well know it.” She knew it had been a tease, but it had been a damn good one with the way it was delivered.
Ansell was leaning on the table, looking around her, and shook his head. “I don’t think he was kidding, Lace,” he said, shooting her a shocked look.
“Of course I wasn’t kidding,” Zhubin said. “We all know ways that he could vanish without a trace and the body would never be found. Besides, if he fucks with our mate, it’ll be fully justifiable.”
Ansell hummed slightly and eased back, sharing a worried look with her. “Sure, buddy, whatever you say.”
Lacey laughed at that and shook her head. She smiled, she couldn’t help herself. “Well whatever happens, happens. All that I know is that no matter what I want to be with you boys. I need to be with you boys. I love you both very much and I know that we will have a great life together, only without making the captain disappear please?”
“We shall have to wait and see, so far he’s not high on my list of people I really want near you,” Zhubin muttered. Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you at all, Lace. That was never my intention.”
She honestly wasn’t sure why that was and cocked her head to the side. “What is it that you both know that I don’t? Why is it that you don’t want the captain anywhere near me right now? Is it because he’s male, or is there something else at play that I don’t know about?”
“Zhubin has a theory, one I’m not on board with,” Ansell said. “One that has the captain in cahoots with your psychopath,” he said that part very quietly. Which was probably a good thing given the number of other agents in the cafeteria who could have repeated it back to the captain.
“Oh that would be bad. That would be very, very bad indeed,” she whispered. “Well we will talk more later.” When there were fewer people around to listen in on their conversations. “Maybe when you boys take me home?” she asked with a smile.
“We’ll be here for a while yet, remember,” he said, lifting an eyebrow. “We have to wait for the night shift of the janitors,” he muttered. Then he just stared at her until she remembered they were going to do some role-playing and bait the trap even more. Or so they’d said.
“Crap on a cracker, true that,” she muttered. “Okay, well I will have to have a nap then. After we finish eating I will need a nap or I will never be able to stay awake long enough. Oh, the couch in your office Ansell. I think that would be good. What do you guys think?”
“Best place for you.” Zhubin nodded. “We can keep working out the details of this mess and you can sleep with us close by. A very win-win situation for all involved.” Sitting back in his chair he wiped his lips and fingers before looking at her. “You feeling all right, Lace? You look exhausted,” he said gently, reaching over to touch her cheek.
“Besides, I always sleep so much better when you are both near me.” Which was the sad but honest truth. She slept far better having them near her than she did without them close. She was addicted to them, truth be known. “I’m fine. I’m just so very tired. Between what happened with the sickness and this pregnancy I’m afraid that I’m just plain-jane tired all the time seemingly. Sorry.”
“There is no reason for you to apologize, Lacey.” Pulling her closer he hugged her, rubbing a hand up and down her back. “Why don’t you finish up your dessert and then we can go up to the office? We’ll get you settled and then get to work ourselves. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me.” She knew that she would likely have to see the doctors on the other side of the Veil sooner rather than later so that they could make sure their son was okay, and so that they could ensure that whatever it was that she was going through was going to be okay as well. “We will see Gennette’s doctors when they can see us as well. I just want to make sure that our son isn’t hurt because I’m human, you know?”
“The baby is fine, Lacey,” he assured her, yet again. “But yes, we have an appointment scheduled for next week. Mom will let me know the exact day and time when she has a moment. She had to confirm with the doctor before letting us know as there was an emergency that ended up messing up the scheduling a bit.”
“Good.” She knew that she worried too much, but it was her right to worry. She was going to be a mom. She was in charge of growing and creating a baby, a perfect little baby boy and she damn well was going to do everything in her power to ensure that the child was happy, healthy, and safe. All while inside of her. Somehow. Dammit.
“Deep breath and eat your sweets,” Zhubin suggested with a grin as he drew back. “Finish up your food and then let’s get out from under all these prying eyes. They all know something’s up but since they haven’t been told what’s up, they are all waiting for us to say or do something to give them a clue.”
“Damn irritating is what it is,” Ansell grumbled. Picking up his bottle of water, he finished it off and set it back on the tray.
“Well, we will get out of here as soon as I have finished my food. I just have a few more things to finish and then we will be able to get out of here. Mostly because I’m ready for a nap. Like whoa ready for a nap.”
“Finish up,” Ansell said. “I’ll get rid of the rest of this and grab us some more water for later. Z, you want anything else?”
“Nah, I’m good, thanks though,” he said as he moved the empty dishes onto the tray. Ansell collected it and moved off to dispose of everything.
Lacey finished the last of the foods that she wanted and then pulled back with a happy smile. “That was yummy. I swear food tastes better now.” That, or she was just finally letting herself enjoy it. “But I am so ready for my nap now.”
“Considering all you ate.” Zhubin grinned at her. “Can’t imagine why you might want a little nap. Come on.” He got up to his feet and held out a hand to her. Helping her up to her feet he drew her close to him and let her step around him to lead the way out of the cafeteria.
This was one of the many things that Lacey loved about her men, now that she had fully accepted them into her life she was held close, she was protected as if she were the singular most important being in the world, and she loved it. Even more now that she was pregnant. No, it wasn’t a planned pregnancy, but she was so very happy about it that nothing else mattered but the love that created the child that she carried and the love she felt for both men.
Ansell joined them for the walk to the elevators and grinned down at her. He didn’t say anything but did give her a little bump with his hip to hers. The ride up to their floor they stayed quiet, since there were another couple of office workers in there with them.
When they were finally up in the offices Lacey yawned and grabbed her blanket from Zhubin’s desk chair and followed them to Ansell’s office. “All right, boys. I’m sleeping,” sh
e muttered and dropped onto the sofa, trusting them to close up the blinds and dim the lights enough for her to rest. Pulling one of the throw pillows close, she put it under her head and yawned. “I love you guys. Good nap for me,” she teased with a smile, and then was sound asleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Forty-eight hours later the trap was set as best as they could manage. Or that’s what they were all hoping. They’d talked in hushed whispers where the night crew could overhear them two nights before and had even dropped a memo in a familiar code while carrying files around the office. Now they were on location with everyone else several blocks further out and waiting.
It had been tricky finding places for the snipers and the rest of the team to sit and wait. Places that this subject wouldn’t look, the ones that were so obvious even a civilian wouldn’t pick them. There were a few slightly obvious spots filled, the ones the subject would expect backup for a raid to be sitting and waiting at the ready. They had to make it all look real and yet still have enough coverage to nail the fucker when he showed. Not “if,” there could not be an “if.” It was a “when” because she wanted this over with once and for all.
“You’re getting agitated again,” Ansell mumbled from his reclined and very lazy position in the driver’s seat of the truck. He had the seat all the way back and even a booted foot up and braced on the open window.
“Well of course I am.” Lacey shifted in her seat again. She was getting agitated because nothing was happening yet. She was ready for action. Ready to get the ones that wanted to kill her. She wanted to get the rat-fink bastard that had poisoned her and almost cost her the life of the still-forming child inside of her. To say that she was antsy was an understatement, and they all knew that. “I just pray that this works.” She would feel much better if it did, less stressed for sure.
“It’ll work,” he said, shifting in the seat slightly and let out a relaxed-sounding sigh. How he was so calm and relaxed, she’d never know. Hell, the man was practically asleep in his seat! “You just have to have a little faith and believe that we’ve done all we can to cover all the bases. Which we have. We can’t do any more than that, Lace.”
