by Gini Koch
Oh, great. I had nothing for him. “Oh, thank you.”
Jeff took Jamie from me. “Open it.”
“Jeff, I don’t have anything for you.”
He gave me a blank look. “Why should you?”
“Uh, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, whatever reason you’re giving me this.”
“Just had my child. I’d have given it to you a week ago, but for some reason, things were a little tense.”
“Oh.” Felt stupid. “I should still have something for you.” Jeff was incredibly thoughtful, and I was incredibly not-so-thoughtful.
He laughed. “Open it, baby. I like giving you presents a lot more than I like getting them. You are my present, remember? And you gave me the next best present in the world a week ago.” He kissed Jamie, who cooed at him and the lights.
I opened. The light from the Christmas tree showed a beautiful scarf—in red. “Oh, wow, Jeff. Color! And it’s gorgeous, too.”
“Unroll it.”
As I did, I felt something smaller inside. Decided it would be smart to finish unrolling carefully. A diamond tennis bracelet landed in my palm. “Oh, Jeff. Oh, my God.” There was one charm hanging on it, a single diamond encircled in platinum, with December 25th etched on it.
“We can add more, if . . . you still want more.” He sounded hesitant. I looked up at him. I could tell what he hoped I’d say, but also that if I didn’t, he’d still love me.
I leaned up and kissed him. “Jeff, I want as many of your children as we’re given. Whether that’s one, two, or many.”
“Really?”
I laughed. “Yes. Really. And I want to practice all the time, too. Just so we never miss a chance and all that.”
He grinned. “Like I’ve said since the moment I met you, I love how you think.”
Jeff kissed me again, our usual wonderful kiss. Then he gave me Jamie, put the bracelet on my wrist, wrapped the red scarf around my neck, and put his arm around my shoulders. We stood there, watching the tree that represented, in its way, everything we worked and sacrificed for every day, while the snow fell softly on our little family and the rest of our lives stretched ahead of us.
It was the best New Year’s Eve of my life.
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Coming in April 2012.
The fifth novel in the Alien series from Gini Koch
ALIEN DIPLOMACY
Read on for a sneak preview
“WHO’S THAT?” LEN ASKED.
“Someone from my Washington Wife class.”
“Why’s he here?” Kyle asked.
“No idea.”
I pondered this weirdness for about half a block, when a familiar figure with black hair and beard stepped out of a doorway. He was dressed as I was used to, in casual, baggy, well worn but clean clothes, big camera around his neck. I still couldn’t tell if the clothes were hiding muscles or pudginess. He was under six feet and much smaller than Len and Kyle all the way around.
He beamed at me, blue eyes twinkling. “Here you are, my favorite alien lover.”
“Mister Joel Oliver, always a pleasure. Meet Len and Kyle, my friends who, like me, don’t believe in aliens.”
Oliver snorted. His snort was a lot more like mine than Mrs. Darcy Lockwood’s. I wondered for a moment what her opinion was of Mister Joel Oliver, then figured it had to be poor. He was the main investigative reporter for the World Weekly News after all, and I didn’t have to ask to know what Lockwood thought of those kinds of newspapers.
Len and Kyle nodded at him. “Nice to meet you, Mister Oliver,” Len said, in a tone indicating he was lying.
Oliver smiled wider. “Mister Joel Oliver, please. As Missus Martini is well aware, a man in my position needs to ensure whatever shreds of respect he can garner. How are you, my dear?”
“I’m good. Why are we having this conversation?”
Kyle shoved past Oliver, gently, as Len took my arm and kept me and the stroller moving along.
Oliver wasn’t fazed, of course. He trotted along with us. “I have more information,” he said quietly.
“This is you barking. This is me being the wrong tree.”
“I can’t risk going to your oldest friend right now,” Oliver said as he tried to get a couple of snaps of Jamie, which Kyle quite effectively blocked. Football players as paparazzi protection was rather brilliant. Not a surprise Chuckie had come up with it.
“And why is that?”
“I’m being followed.” He said it calmly.
“Turn about being fair play and all that?” Hey, I had a sarcasm knob, too.
Oliver sighed. “I’m not your enemy. But I believe the people following me are.”
We turned a corner and kept on walking. We weren’t rushing; in fact, we were going quite slowly. I was used to having big guys around, but Len and Kyle were clearly adjusting to their new protection detail, and having Oliver along was causing some issues on the sidewalk. I considered if we should just run for it. It was a safe bet that Len and Kyle would have no problem beating Oliver over a short distance, and circumstances constantly ensured that my sprinting skills remained topnotch.
Jamie started to cry, loudly. We all stopped while I did a fast diaper check. Oliver poked his head around as I was doing this. “Oh, what a beautiful baby!” He sounded sincere, and the camera wasn’t snapping.
Jamie looked right at him, gurgled and smiled. He bent closer; she reached up and tugged on his beard. Oliver laughed and tickled her tummy, earning giggles. I cleared my throat and Oliver backed off. Jamie looked back at me. I decided to take the hint.
“Fine. Why don’t you come along with us and share the latest?”
Len and Kyle gave me looks that said I was crazy. I was used to looks like that. Since meeting the boys from A-C, I got those looks on a very regular basis. “Jamie likes him.” Which, because she had both empathic and imageering blocks implanted, courtesy of Jeff and Christopher, likely meant that ACE was giving me a hint.
Since ACE tended to leave us alone so it didn’t interfere with our free will, I’d learned to pay close attention to whatever hints Jamie seemed to be giving me. I was all over getting an assist from the superconsciousness whenever possible. I liked being alive and keeping my nearest and dearest alive, too.
Len shook his head. “You’re the boss.”
We started off again, Len on one side of the stroller, Kyle on the other, Mister Joel Oliver walking next to me while I pushed. If we went at a leisurely pace, this wasn’t too bad. The limo appeared to be several blocks away, but even though it was cold, it was a pretty day, so I decided to enjoy our impromptu constitutional. “So, MJO, how did you find out about the assassination attempt?”
“MJO?”
“I like to save the breath when I can.”
He gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me. I glared at him. He sighed. “I have a network of informants. All of them agree that something big is going down, and the President’s Ball came up as the likely location more often than not.”
“That’s it? Something big?” We had our entire network panicked over this? I began to wonder if Chuckie needed a vacation or something.
He sighed again. “Missus Martini, there’s more to it than that. I have informants all over the world. When, worldwide, the same things start popping, you have to pay attention.”
This I knew to be true. “So, why are we assuming assassination?”
“Every major political player will be there, foreign dignitaries, high-ranking military…”
“Got it. It’s essentially like shooting fish in a barrel, right?”
“So it seems. Thank you for listening to me,” Oliver said quietly. “I appreciate you and Mister Reynolds occasionally treating me as more than an idiot annoyance.”
I broke down and shot him a smile. However, I neither confirmed nor denied. No reason to let Oliver feel like he was a trusted member of our team, though he certainly seemed to want to be. “You said you had more news.”
“I do. I haven’t shared it yet because I still feel I’m being followed.”
I faked a trip, stopped and checked my shoelace, taking the opportunity to do a quick scan around me. I saw no one and nothing suspicious, however, if they were good, I wouldn’t be likely to spot them anyway. “So, now whoever’s following you knows you’re with me,” I said as we started up again. “How is this a good plan? If you have a plan, I mean.”
“You have a beautiful little princess there, and I mean that quite literally. I’m negotiating for another World Weekly News exclusive. After all, we got all the pictures from your wedding. It makes sense that we’d want to gain the exclusive baby pictures. And, of course, I’m approaching you while your husband isn’t around because he’d object and you might not.”
It was a good story, actually. I figured it was even one Chuckie would approve of, though Oliver was right—there was no way Jeff would okay pics of Jamie being published anywhere, let alone in the tabloid with the worst reputation around. “So, you spend time on that or are you just winging it?”
“Unlike you, I tend to think things out beforehand. However, a good investigative journalist has to be instantly adaptable.”
I decided to let the comment about my ability to plan pass. After all, in some ways, he was right. “Who’s following you?”
“I’m not sure.” We finally reached the limo. Against all odds, Len had found a street without any cars on it. “Please check the car before we get into it,” Oliver said to Len.
“Why?” Len asked.
“You shouldn’t have left it out of your control.”
I coughed. “They’re special cars.”
“Yes, but even the most advanced car can be tampered with if it’s left unattended.”
Len looked like he felt he was flunking his first assignment. “Len, it’s fine.”
Kyle looked worried. “Not if there’s something wrong. Mister Reynolds will be furious.”
“Dudes, seriously, we leave the limos unattended all the time. But, if you have some special way of checking for car bombs, let’s be paranoid. Chuckie will be happy if we find a bomb, in that sense, and pleased with your precautionary instincts if we don’t. Win-win all the way around.”
The SUV we’d been in for a big battle during Operation Fugly had been tampered with—by an A-C. I’d learned early on that we couldn’t really trust anyone and were probably not safe when we thought we were. While Len and Kyle made a couple of phone calls, I did what Reader wanted. I thought. The first thought that came to mind was that ACE had clearly allowed Jamie to share that she liked Oliver. Meaning, there was a reason ACE felt Oliver should be with us, right now.
I looked up and down the street. “Why are we the only car on this street?”
“A good question,” Oliver said. He sounded like he thought it was not only good, but that it had occurred to him, too, and he didn’t like his conclusion. I was with him.
“We weren’t when I parked it,” Len said. “Two cars pulled out while I was cruising around, so I took advantage of the opportunity.” He and Kyle exchanged a look. “I think we might want to move away from the limo.”
I did a fast inventory. I had Jamie, my purse, the stroller, and her diaper bag. I didn’t think we had anything of importance in the trunk, and the boys hadn’t brought any paraphernalia with them that wasn’t on their persons. “What about Jamie’s car seat?”
“If I were planting a bomb that wasn’t set to go off when the car started,” Oliver said quickly, as Kyle moved to open the door, “I’d absolutely figure the new mother would want her baby’s car seat.”
Kyle’s hand froze. “That makes sense to me. You think Kitty’s the target? Or the baby?” He growled this last question. I liked overprotectiveness toward my child from our new bodyguard.
“As I already told your superior, I don’t know who the target is. However, Missus Martini is on the guest list for the President’s Ball, ergo, she’s a potential target.” I realized we weren’t even pretending that Chuckie was just a globetrotting millionaire playboy, nor we were pretending that Len and Kyle were merely along for the ride. Under the circumstances, I decided to table my worry about our lack of good security procedures and just accept that Oliver clearly knew all about us. No one believed him other than us, so really, it was back to the bigger issues for me, like getting away from a potentially rigged limousine.
We quickly moved our little group across the street and back down the block. “I’m not that new a mother anymore,” I mentioned to Oliver as I took Jamie out of the stroller and held her tightly.
“Three months is still new,” he said with a smile. “How long for the bomb squad?”
“Not too much longer,” Kyle said shortly. He and Len were busy looking all around. We weren’t exactly being subtle, but no one really seemed to be around to notice.
I dug my phone out of my purse. Jeff answered immediately. “What’s going on? Reynolds has been making urgent calls for the past few minutes and his stress is off the charts.”
“There’s been a lot of that today. Your blocks okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m concerned about my wife and child.”
“We’re fine, as far as we know. We’re with our personal paparazzo. Len found a too-convenient parking place and we’re all waiting for some folks to come and let us know if our limo’s been rigged or not.”
“Reynolds says his people will be there in another minute. How far from the limo are you all?”
“We can still see it.”
“Get farther away.”
“Jeff, really—”
I was going to tell him he was overreacting. Only the limo exploded before I could finish my sentence.
Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. She lives with her husband and daughter, 3 dogs (aka The Canine Death Squad), and 3 cats (aka The Killer Kitties). When she’s not writing, Gini spends her time going to rock concerts with her daughter, teaching her pets to “bring it,” and driving her husband insane asking, “Have I told you about this story idea yet?” You can reach her via her website (www.ginikoch.com), email ([email protected]), Twitter (@GiniKoch), or FaceBook (facebook.com/Gini.Koch).
DAW Books Presents GINI KOCH’s
Alien Novels:
TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN
ALIEN TANGO
ALIEN IN THE FAMILY
ALIEN PROLIFERATION
ALIEN DIPLOMACY
(coming in April 2012)
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
&nb
sp; CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
CHAPTER 79
CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 81
CHAPTER 82
CHAPTER 83
CHAPTER 84
CHAPTER 85
CHAPTER 86
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 88
Teaser chapter
DAW Books Presents GINI KOCH’s
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
