by K. D. Jones
Ren was shocked. He looked over at his brother to make sure that Kyd was speaking the truth. “Are you sure?”
Kyd smirked as he opened his eyes to stare back at his younger brother. “I take it that you didn’t know she had feelings for you.”
Ren shook his head. “No, I didn’t. She’s lovely and smart. But …” Ren was interrupted when a soft knock sounded at the suite’s door.
Ren stood up and walked across the room to open the door. Lindsey stood on the other side. She gave him a flirty smile. This only confirmed what his brother just told him. He didn’t know what to do.
“Come in, Miss Carreli.”
The attractive female walked through the door. Her golden brown hair pulled up and secured tightly on top of her head. She wore a silky, blue top with short sleeves and a pencil skirt that ended two inches above her knees, leaving a nice view of her legs. As she walked, her hips swung side to side in an inviting manner.
Ren smelled her arousal and frowned as he turned to close the door.
Kyd sat up and made room on the couch for Lindsey to sit beside him. “Did you miss me after I left?” he asked, giving her a sexy wink.
Lindsey rolled her eyes at him. “Oh yeah, I missed having to play referee between you and G.I. Jane downstairs.” She turned to Ren and said, “I deserve a raise just for having to deal with all the crap your brother causes.” Noticing that Ren didn’t catch her joke the way she intended, she added, “I’m just joking about the Commander. I don’t need a raise.”
Ren smiled, understanding the joke was about his brother causing trouble. He felt he could relate. “Tell me what you found out from the Earth females involved.”
Lindsey got right down to business. “After I made the Commander leave the room where we were questioning the women, I found out the brunette in fatigues, the one I called G.I. Jane, is actually Captain Jaxon Malone. She’s an active Air Force captain and a member of the military exchange team that will be going to Katiera for training,” Lindsey paused as Commander KydEL sighed heavily and made some kind of remark that didn’t make it through her translator.
She continued with her report. “Captain Malone says that she had convinced her friend, the redhead, to come with her and apply for relocation to Katiera. The redhead’s name is Cassandra Anne Tomlin. She is twenty-five years old. She’d been working as a legal assistant up until six months ago. She quit her job and then went missing.”
“Why would she just take off like that, when she obviously knew she was breeding and would need special care?” Ren wanted to yell at the female for putting herself in danger.
“Captain Malone refused to answer any questions pertaining to Miss Tomlin’s pregnancy. However, I did some digging and found out that Miss Tomlin did not apply for a special license.” Lindsey pulled her digital tablet out to verify the facts she had entered earlier.
Both men looked confused, but it was Kyd, who asked, “What does this special license mean?”
“One of the things the EWG implemented in an attempt to control the population problem was to require special licenses for all pregnancies. No license means that you are guilty of an unauthorized pregnancy. You can resolve the issue with a government-mandated abortion. If you do not consent to the abortion, you are then arrested and may still be subject to a government-mandated abortion. Anyone aware of a woman with an unauthorized pregnancy is required to turn them over to the EWG or they could face serious charges for aiding a criminal.”
Neither of the men said anything as they thought about this.
Lindsey continued to relay the information she had gathered. “I had a friend of mine check the databases for special licenses; Miss Tomlin is not registered.”
Ren cleared his throat, “So … she has broken the EWG law and is now a wanted criminal?” He ran a hand through his dark hair. His stomach turned at the thought of being forced to hand the female over to the EWG.
Lindsey shook her head, “That’s what has me confused. Miss Tomlin was never reported to the EWG for being in violation. If I had to take a guess, I would say the father of the child is someone with political connections and wants to contain the situation.”
Kyd’s comm link beeped. He stood and walked into the dining area to answer the call. “Commander KydEL here.”
Ren sighed. “What can we do for the female that won’t leave us in any kind of violation with the EWG?” Personally, he didn’t care one bit about what the EWG said. However, he was the Prime Leader of the Katieran Nation and had to act in the best interest of his people.
“The Katieran Nation can offer Miss Tomlin political asylum,” Lindsey offered.
“What is this political sylum?” Ren asked leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“Political asylum. It’s a type of protection and safe passage that a nation can offer to refugees.” Lindsey added, “The EWG can do nothing if Miss Tomlin accepts the offer of asylum.”
“Do it. Offer Miss Tomlin this A-sylum. Is there anything else that needs to be done?” Ren could already see his beautiful, redheaded goddess standing under the twin suns of his home planet. He was imagining the way the bright red strands of her glorious hair would stand out and sparkle. Her ivory skin would shine with health and happiness. He couldn’t wait to get her home. Wait a minute. She wasn’t his. What was he thinking?
Lindsey looked at Ren and had a sinking feeling. He seemed way too protective of Miss Tomlin. She saw her chances to win Ren for herself diminishing by the second. Nevertheless, she was a professional and would do her job no matter what her personal feelings were.
“Miss Tomlin needs to get off the planet … immediately. Tonight, if possible. The longer she remains on Earth, the greater the chance the EWG will discover her presence.”
“I understand. I was planning to leave in a couple of hours in my personal shuttle to join our transport ship orbiting the planet. I will take the female with me. Is there any official paperwork required for this A-sylum?” Ren reached for his own digital tablet on the table beside his chair to make changes to his flight plan. A 3D image of the flight plan came on the display.
“The official paperwork will take a little time for me to draw up and then it has to be submitted to the EWG. Miss Tomlin’s situation is one that cannot wait for the ‘red tape’ to be cleared. With your permission, I can verbally offer her political asylum by the authority of the Katieran Nation. As long as I have two witnesses present to testify that Miss Tomlin accepted the offer of her own free will, that is all that is required at this time. I can later have the official papers drawn up and submitted after Miss Tomlin is aboard the transport ship.” Lindsey put away her tablet.
Ren nodded his agreement. He then stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Thank you so much, Miss Carreli, for the great job you’ve done for us here.” Ren waited for Lindsey to stand and walked her to the door. “Would you do one more thing for me regarding this matter?”
“Of course, what do you need?” She gave him a gentle smile.
“The male. I want to know the name of the male who abandoned Miss Tomlin and her young.” Ren could not help but sound angry. It was unacceptable to him, about the treatment of this delicate female.
“I will do my best, Prime Leader.” Lindsey walked through the open door. She hoped that this Miss Tomlin was deserving of Ren’s attention. It was rare to find a man of worth. And Ren was very much a man of worth.
