Allen, Kayelle - T4 Alitus (2007)
Page 18
Which, no doubt, was one of the reasons Alitus picked him.
“Where is Minister Alitus?”
“I don’t know.” When she lifted a brow, he swallowed and his face turned bright red. “But—um, I’ll go find out right now, Your Majesty.”
“It’s your job to know these things, Jarod. See that you know it in the future.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It won’t happen again.” He bowed and left her presence.
A puppet as well and Alitus was never that.Her private line chimed and she pulled the mobile out of her desk and opened it, activating the locks on the doors at the same time.
Luc Saint-Cyr appeared before her.
“How are you, Luc?”
“Let’s cut right to the chase. Do you have any idea where your fucking Better is right now?”
“I beg your pardon!” She held herself as rigidly erect as the black satin stripe down the pant leg of her uniform. “You may be a Sempervian, Mr. Saint-Cyr, but in this office, I am still your Empress.Is that clear?”
The black eyes narrowed to slits. He looked away, taking deep breaths. When he faced her again, he inclined his head. “Your pardon, Your Majesty.”
“Now.” She folded her arms and glanced toward the door. “Why do you want to know where Alitus is?”
“The security tail I put on Wulf said he gave them the slip at an art gallery. He was seen walking through the place with a Better less than an hour ago. A Better who was accompanied by armed Praetorian. Unless you have Praetorian guarding anyone other than Alitus, that was him. Right now, neither of them are in sight and my goons can’t find him. Assholes! What the hell am I paying them for if they can’t keep him in sight for five minutes?”
“You mean you don’t trust your lover, Luc?”
“Donot go there, Rheyn. I want to know where your Better is.”
“Where Alitus happens to be is none of your business.” Still, her stomach tightened as if a cold hand had gripped it. Her throat constricted. “I’ll get back to you, Luc. Give me a few minutes.” She thumbed the control to off as he began to argue. Destoiya swallowed the bile in her throat.Surely, there’s an explanation…
A knock sounded on her door. Maybe that was Jarod, whom she’d sent to find Alitus. She released the lock and folded her hands on her desk.
A veiled Better entered, turned and shut the double doors behind him.
Destoiya palmed the gun fastened to a slot beneath her desk. “Alitus?”
He pulled off the veil.
“Rudy! Where’s Alitus?”
“He went out for the afternoon, Your Majesty. I haven’t heard from him, but he was scheduled to attend…” He pulled a reader out of his pocket. “—the opening of an art gallery over in the Top Tier district. Yutai Art, it looks like.” He tousled his hair, which looked a bit flat. “I think the owner is a childhood friend of his. Her parents worked on the FIST with his folks.”
The cold in her stomach changed to ice. It felt as though she couldn’t breathe. “Thank you, Rudy. Good job. You may go.”
She ignored his disappointment; she’d have to deal with that later. No doubt he thought she’d called him for a quickie. She’d had too few of those lately.
When the door closed, she stood and leaned both hands on her desk. Her private line chimed again. She snapped it on, prepared to snarl at whoever called.
Alitus appeared above her desktop in miniature, the front of his veil tossed back. “Your Majesty. I’m so glad you answered.” His brilliant smile soothed her heart. “I wanted to tell you something I’ve discovered. I think you’ll be excited.”
“Thank God.” She sank into her chair. “Where are you, love?”
“I attended an art show this afternoon and guess who I ran into?” He moved aside and Wulf Gabriel came into view behind him. “Wulf. We decided to see if I could evade detection by Praetorian when I’m veiled.” He held up one hand. “Before you lecture me, Your Majesty, let me explain.”
Destoiya pushed back her chair. “Go ahead, but I’m not promising you won’t get a tongue lashing.”
He grinned like a proud schoolboy with a good report card. “I walked out right in front of them with another Better and they never noticed a thing.” He cast a glance over his shoulder and Wulf smiled back. “Do you realize what this means?”
“Yes.” She folded her hands before her and leaned closer. “That you put yourself in danger to prove a silly point! And that I have some Praetorian who need a flogging. I want you home now.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I realize it was risky, but…”
“Risky! Alitus, it was foolhardy. What if something happened to you? Betters are targets out there. Two have been attacked in the last week.”
“That’s my point.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Weare targets and all because of these veils. It’s easy to see who Betters are and target us.” With a smile, he added, “At the same time, it gives me complete anonymity. No one knows who I am. Wulf and I went to a coffee shop and had something to eat. No one had any idea I was your man.”
“Alitus, what are you trying to say? I don’t understand your point.”
His patient smile warmed her even while she wanted to grab him by the throat and yell, “Just say it!”
“Your Majesty, I used my Better hearing this afternoon and uncovered not only a rebel plot but also a rebel hideout. The coffee shop where we met is an exchange house for intel. Once I return to the palace, I’ll set up a sting operation to stop them.” He bit his lower lip. “Unless you’d prefer to let them go.”
His expression said he meant her secret goal—to lose. “No. No, I like your plan. But it’s risky, Alitus. I’d rather you let someone else do it.”
“Oh, I will. Wulf is the same size as Rudolf and I. I think the three of us can work together to find out all sorts of intel. I’ll go over details with you when I get home.”
“Alitus, I…” She clenched her hands together. “You’re right, of course. I just—I don’t like you taking chances.”
“I’ll be careful. Your Majesty, as your Minister of Imperial Intelligence there is only so much I can do. But as the Conqueror’s Shadow, as a Better who feigns one side and walks the other, there is so much more.”
“My shadow…” Destoiya pressed a hand to her mouth. “Yes. Yes, I believe you’re right, my love.” She thanked every god she had ever prayed to that he was safe—and that his time with Wulf Gabriel was spent in serving her. “When will you be home, love? And where are you right now?”
“I’m with Wulf. We’re back at Yutai Art, in one of my friend Anne’s back rooms. She’s going to let us use it as a staging place. She’s loyal to you, Your Majesty. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. I have it all laid out. I want your blessing and approval on my plans. You’re brilliant when it comes to this. I could use your advice.”
His words warmed her heart. “Very well, Alitus.” She wet her lips. “Tell Wulf to call home, will you? Luc is worried about him. He should call right away. And Alitus…” She reached out and touched the holovid. Her fingers went right through the sparkling image. “Be careful.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Wulf, then turned back toward her, his eyelashes drifting down to shield his eyes. “Oh, don’t worry about that, my Conqueror.” He gazed straight into the lens. “I will.”
The End
About the Author:
Kayelle Allen designed and maintains www.kayelleallen.com a sprawling site which features a tour of the Tarthian Empire, the setting for her books. Her ebooks have received “Five Angel Recommended Read” ratings from Fallen Angel Reviews, the 2005 EIRRCA for Most Memorable Paranormal Romance of the Year, and been a Romance Junkies Book Club Staff Pick.
Meet LSB Authors At The House Of Sin
Lsbooks.NET
We invite you to visit Liquid Silver Books
LSbooks.com
for other exciting erotic romances.
MOLTEN Silver
Edgier, naught
ier – from Summer 2006
Terran Realm
Urban fantasy world: TerranRealm.com
Featured Series:
The Zodiac Series: 12 books, 24 stories and authors
Two hot stories for each sign, 12 signs
The Coven of the Wolf by Rae Morgan
Benevolent lusty witches keep evil forces at bay
Fallen: by Tiffany Aaron
Fallen angels in hot flight to redeem their wings
The Max Series by JB Skully
Meet Max, her not-absent dead husband, sexy detective Witt, his mother…
And many, many more!
About this Title
This eBook was created using ReaderWorks®Publisher 2.0, produced by OverDrive, Inc.
For more information about ReaderWorks, please visit us on the Web atwww.overdrive.com/readerworks