Chills & Thrills: Three Novel Box Set

by A. K. Alexander

  Kobach sipped the vodka, anticipation swelling in the pit of her stomach with the knowledge that it was only a matter of time before she would be the most respected, feared, and powerful human being on Earth.

  Chapter Four

  The explosion was deafening.

  I was being tossed back and landed hard on my back. I cried out. Debris and dust were everywhere and I could no longer see him. A minute ago, he’d been right there. Right in front of me, reaching out for me. Telling me that everything was okay. I heard another man’s voice now. Who was calling me? I recognized it but it wasn’t my dad. I could hear the drone of a helicopter. Where was Dad?

  Then I saw him. What was left of him—blood and his...his...oh god, Daddy!” I screamed. “Daddy! No!”

  “Kylie, hey Ky. Come on. Wake up. Wake up.”

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and the familiar voice of Noah—soothing, comforting. “Come on, you’re okay. Bad dream.”

  I wiped what I knew were tears from my eyes and blinked several times. “Yeah. Bad dream.”

  “Considering what you were just put through, it’s a no-brainer that you’re a little bit, um, freaked.”

  I nodded, agreeing with his assessment, not wanting him to know the truth. I never spoke of my nightmares or what caused them. Only Grant Simms knew the entire truth, and I suspected there was more that he knew about that day when I was only ten and my father was killed right in front of me. But neither one of us cared to open that door. There was still too much there. Too much pain and grief and anguish. I didn’t care to go back there ever—at all. I wished my subconscious would get with that program.

  I sat up and immediately wished I hadn’t. Shockwaves of pain ripped through my shoulder and, seemingly, every square inch of my frame. It didn’t matter how long I spent in the gym, or jogging or the hellish hand-to-hand training PSI agents went through on a nearly daily basis. Every fight and gun battle resulted in days of aches and pains.

  The life of an agent. A life I most certainly hadn’t chosen for myself.

  I was in a helicopter, swooping low over what I knew to be the hills connecting San Diego County to Orange County. Beautiful country. Too bad I felt like I might vomit. Probably a damn good thing I hadn’t had that Patrón, after all.

  Noah was sitting next to me where I had been snoozing, of all places, on his own shoulder. No wonder I had slept so peacefully. Sleeping on Noah’s shoulder was a place I had often wished to be. But had no right to. Noah, after all, was a married man. I thought about what had happened between us in Mexico only two nights ago. I’d kissed him. We’d had margaritas. I said that I was going to bed. I went to my room. Noah went to his. But five minutes later, he’d knocked on my door—just wanted to be sure that I was prepared for the next day. I told him that I was. However, there was something in his eyes—smoldering heat is what I saw, and the next thing I knew, he had his arms around me. He kissed me then—hard, passionate, hot. I kissed him back until I started to get to that point where I knew inside there would be no turning back.

  Married, I reminded myself. And I’m no home wrecker. I think. I asked him to leave. But, there is this part of me as horrible as it seems and sounds that is wishing I hadn’t asked him to go.

  “I would never let anyone hurt you, Ky,” he said earnestly, snapping me back to the right then and there. “I am sorry I wasn’t there for you earlier last night with Rodriguez.”

  I nodded, still thinking about the dream, still thinking about what had become of my father—still thinking about the other night—the kiss.

  I had watched my dad die. Watched his body being torn to shreds. Right before my eyes. I had been only ten. Ten.

  I shook my head again and looked at Noah’s handsome face. “Let’s drop it. Our lines got crossed. I know you did the best you could under the circumstances. I’m just glad...” my voice trailed off. I hope he was getting the clue that I wanted to drop all of it—the dream and our kiss, the team’s late arrival that nearly cost me my life. It had all been a moment in time, and now in the past, where all of it needed to remain.

  “Glad for what?” he asked, and I saw his jawline ripple a little. Never a good sign with Agent Noah Kensington.

  “Nothing. Forget it.”

  “That Ayden was there?”

  “Do you blame me?” I asked. “We all have our gifts. This time, his gift saved my ass.”

  “And my gift nearly killed you.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.” He took in a lot of air and looked out the chopper’s cabin window at the landscape slipping rapidly past.

  * * *

  The helicopter touched down on the roof of a nondescript federal building in downtown Los Angeles.

  We exited quickly, keeping our heads down as dirt and debris were whipped up in a frenzy. We passed through a door guarded by two armed MPs, and soon found ourselves on an elevator heading rapidly down. Through it all Noah hadn’t uttered a word.

  I knew that Noah had issues with Ayden. Probably because Ayden did not hide his feelings for me. Probably because Ayden was a single man. I now knew that Noah had feelings for me. It was hard not to care about your team members—especially this team, a team that worked so closely together, trained so closely, and shared such an unusual bond. I was chalking our kiss up to that, but couldn’t help wondering if it did mean more. However, I couldn’t allow that. I was not willing to come between someone’s marriage.

  Noah’s wife worked in another department in the CIA. A far less glamorous and safer department. I knew the two of them loved each other, and Noah had always said kind things about his wife. But, I was fairly certain, he had never looked at his wife the way he looked at me the other night. I had seen them together enough to believe that the spark between them had either died, or was never there in the first place, and yes it made me curious, but it was not my business.

  The elevator door opened onto a bright hallway with polished floors and gleaming ceiling lights.

  We passed through a checkpoint at the far end, underwent fingerprint scans, retina scans, and telepath scans. Strange to be sure, but there were those in the department who specialized in telepathy, including our boss. No one but an expert could pass the telepaths.

  I waited for the young man to scan my thoughts, then he nodded and I passed through the final checkpoint and stepped deeper into the PSI Los Angeles office.

  A receptionist looked up from her desk. She could have been Moneypenny from James Bond. I always suspected that the man I sometimes thought of as my stepdad, likened himself to James Bond.

  A psychic James Bond, that is.

  “Mr. Simms is waiting for you,” said the receptionist.

  I nodded and we all stepped into Grant Simms’ spacious office.

  The office had a majestic view of downtown Los Angeles, high enough that helicopters swept before the massive windows, which Grant Simms was currently peering through, his hands clasped behind his back. Grant was a tall man with wide shoulders. He’d been a hell of a field agent, I had heard. Now he ran a secret government agency that few in congress had even heard about. I was still certain the president himself had no knowledge of this division of the agency.

  “I’m sorry to bring you back here so soon,” said Grant, finally turning around. He would have been a handsome man, with his full head of gray hair and strong jaw and deep-set eyes. Handsome, except for the half dozen fine scars that ran along his cheeks. They looked like knife wounds, except Grant Simms never talked about them, and pretended as if they weren’t there. I pretended too.

  Grant Simms had always been there for me, especially when my father was killed. Grant had overseen my early training and education, and had even recruited me for this very program. He’d always been there, through thick and thin.

  And so when he asked about my injuries, he was sincere, his concern for me obvious. But he never gave me special treatment in the program, and for that I was glad. I didn’t need special treatment.


  Ayden sat in one of the four client chairs before Grant’s leather tooled desk. “What gives, boss? Can’t a guy spend a little time on a sandy beach with a beautiful woman?”

  Ayden looked at me. I was used to his flirting. Noah looked away.

  “The beaches can wait,” said Grant. He leveled his considerable stare onto me. “I have an assignment for your team.”

  I nodded, waiting.

  “We’re looking for a girl who’s been kidnapped.”

  “A rescue?” said Noah, sitting up.

  Grant Simms nodded. “She’s not just any girl, either.”

  Noah rubbed the back of his neck. I knew he was getting a psychic hit. “She’s one of us,” he said suddenly.

  Grant Simms nodded. “Very good.”

  “There’s more,” said Noah, rubbing his neck again and looking at me. “She’s an audial. Like you.”

  Chapter Five

  I looked from Noah to Simms.

  “Is this true?” I asked, my eyes trained on Simms now.

  He nodded.

  My mouth might have dropped open a little. “How do you know this?”

  “The mother,” Simms said.

  “The mother?” I glanced at Noah. He gave a quick nod, barely noticeable to anyone else in the room. I knew what it meant—he had not gotten that read exactly. I also knew that although Simms was a telepath that when it came to audials like myself, he was somewhat limited in getting an accurate mind read. I am not certain anyone else on the team was aware of Simms limitations. I think I was the only one because it was after a few scotches one night and a stressful week of taking down a terrorist cell outside of Portland Oregon that he let it slip that reading the thoughts of an audial was not easy for him. I have to admit that made me breathe a little bit easier around him.

  “She came to us when the child went missing.” Simms folded his fingers together, placing his elbows on top of his desk.

  “Why? Why not go to the police? Why would she come to us?” I asked.

  “Because she claims someone from the CIA reached out to her about a year ago, stating that they were aware of her daughter’s gifts. Apparently, the child was seeing a psychiatrist who was involved with an agent, and this doctor told him about the girl.”

  “Is that true? First off, the psychiatrist would be breaking some serious code of ethics. She’s someone I’d like to speak with,” I said.

  “You would be able to, if she existed. It was all a guise. So is the agent ploy. There is no one within the agency who reached out to this mother. Her story is that the agent claimed to be aware of the girl’s gift, and for a nice sum of money, the CIA apparently wanted to conduct some tests on the child and the mother agreed. When the girl went missing, her mother came to the CIA, thinking that we had something to do with it, which we obviously do not. My connection there then turned her over to me. I think we can begin making some assumptions about who might have an interest in this child, and for what reasons. Her mother claims that her daughter Hope knows things.”

  “What kind of things?” Noah asked.

  “Terrorist activities, possibly new strains of viruses to be concerned about, political conspiracies...and more.” Simms shrugged. “On top of that, she’s already fluent in four other languages; including Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.”

  I didn’t like the sound of this. There was something here that Simms wasn’t saying and it was gnawing on my gut. I shifted uneasily in the leather chair.

  Simms placed his hand on a thick folder on top of his desk, and slid it to me. “Here’s your intel on Hope Mitchell. We need to find her. In the wrong hands...well, we know what can happen when secrets wind up in the wrong hands.”

  “I’d like to speak to the mother,” I said.

  “I’ll see what I can arrange,” Simms replied. “She’s been placed in a safe house.”

  I stood. Noah and Ayden followed suit. “Arrange it, Grant. We need to see this little girl’s mother.”

  We left Simms’ office.

  Ayden smiled and said cheerfully, “Just another day at the office.”

  “I don’t like this,” I replied. “Something is off here. Let’s start combing through this file see what we get. Did either of you get any kind of read, besides confirmation that Hope is an audial?”

  Noah shook his head. “I did get that Simms has talked to the mother, but there is something else there and I don’t what that is yet. I’ll work on it.”

  “You?” I looked at Ayden.

  “I haven’t tuned in yet. I’ll make copies of that file and that way we can all go through it. I tend to get better reads in the present if I have an idea about who I’m connecting with. This might be a bit difficult. I haven’t worked much with child energy.”

  “Well, if she’s one of us, she’s not exactly an ordinary child.” I opened up the file. The first item inside was a 5x7 photo of Hope. She was a pretty little girl with big blue eyes, dark hair, a pinch of freckles across her nose, a bright smile—there was an intelligence in those eyes. I could easily see she was a smart kid. There was also something else that I recognized behind the eyes—a sadness mixed with a little bit of fear. God, did I get that. A sudden, deep protectiveness came over me as I studied the photo. In that moment I vowed to find Hope Mitchell and bring her home safely.

  Chapter Six

  Hope opened her eyes slowly. She felt warm and tingly, and a little bit confused. Where was she?

  A hand stroked her hair back off of her face, and she closed her eyes again—her mother was here, wherever here was.

  “There you go. Sleep, dear girl.”

  The warmth and comfort dissipated, and she opened her eyes again, focusing on the woman standing next to her bed—the woman who was not her mother. A woman who sounded strange to her. In her mixed up state, she tried to figure out the accent, but was so drowsy. “Who are you?” she muttered. “Where’s my mom? I want my mom.”

  “I’m Orlenda. You’ve had a bit of a bad fall, and I’m helping take care of you.” She placed a spindly hand on Hope’s arm. “Your mother is just fine and she will be here soon.”

  “When?” Hope asked. The woman was tall, very thin, reminding her of a ballerina but much older than most ballerinas. Her hair was almost white with silver streaks through it and pulled straight back off of her face. The eyes were a steely blue and although her voice sounded kind, it did not match the eyes, and Hope knew the woman was lying to her about her mother. However, she’d been trained, and she knew they had drugged her and as she was starting to become more alert, there was pain in her right leg. The woman standing over her was smart, and Hope knew she aimed to take advantage of her. She’d been told that at the compound. She would have to be just as smart as this lady—Orlenda.

  Hope was aware that she would not be able to use her gift, or outsmart Orlenda until she was fully awake and aware. She closed her eyes again. “Will you wake me up when my mom gets here?” she asked, playing into the charade.

  “Of course. You rest.” Orlenda patted her hand.

  Hope heard her leave the room. As the door closed, tears burned her eyes, which she shut tighter, trying hard not to cry. She couldn’t help it. She had no idea where she was or who had her. But she knew what she had been told would happen to her if someone outside of the compound took her.

  Chapter Seven

  I was alone in my apartment.

  Unlike other agents or investigators, those who work for the PSI sometimes need to do more than glance through a file. Sometimes we need to absorb, assimilate, feel our way through a file.

  Especially when it came to missing persons. We needed to get a feel for the missing, we needed to connect on a psychic level to the missing, which is why the more information we’re given the better. Especially personal information. Which was one of the reasons why I wanted to speak to the mother. Give me a sweater or a necklace or even a pair of shoes, and the psychic hits come stronger and more detailed.

  Now, all we had to
work with was the thick dossier, which is what I was studying now on my balcony, overlooking the busy Los Feliz Boulevard, which someone had once said was the busiest street in Los Angeles. Looking at it now, at rush hour, and the endless sea of red brake lights, I believed it.

  I also didn’t have to worry about it. Not up here, on my balcony with a glass of Cabernet. My feet were crossed up on the iron balcony railing. I was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, my hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Not exactly the glamorous secret agent most people imagine, but my job was rarely glamorous. Sure, it had its moments, especially when I was under cover.

  Even then, undercover assignments vary. Hell, I last posed as a high-class prostitute.

  And I did it well, I thought, grinning and drinking from the glass. Nice trick with the scalpel in the panties thing. That is one I will surely remember, just in case I’m ever needed to play that part again. I might pull the scalpel on whoever might consider asking me to play that part again. I took another long sip of the wine and wished I had a steak to grill. Sadly, my fridge had only the bare essentials, and so my choices for dinner consisted of either a grilled cheese, a Lean Cuisine, or I could get a can of soup from the cupboard. I was leaning toward the grilled cheese.

  But the thought of making a sandwich was forgotten as I continued reading through the dossier. The file troubled me on a few levels. The first were the similarities between the girl and myself. Not only did she look astoundingly similar to me as a kid, her talents were nearly as powerful as mine, if not more so.

  Her audial range was tremendous. Her accuracy nearly unheard of. She would be a tremendous value to PSI...and other agencies around the world. But, the PSI had rules on utilizing children with these gifts. They were rules that I agreed with. Plus, I had never come across a child who had honed the gift in this way. In fact, I had only met a few other audials. The skill/gift can be frightening for a child, which is completely understandable, and so many times it’s quelled—shoved down so deeply that it’s actually lost for a period of time, possibly even forever.