by Lucy Kelly
“She’s only three days into the assignment, and she’s got something already?” Briggs asked.
“She didn’t call me; one of Kadyrov’s men came out and waved me down. They must have run a check on me because they’ve used my cab before. My wife’s second cousin owning this cab company has really worked in our favor.”
“Then she didn’t have anything for us?” asked Briggs.
“As a matter of fact, we have a big problem. She said that Anthony’s cover is blown and that he should get out of town for a while; he might be a target. She wanted me to get this information in fast. And she’s under suspicion, too. It was probably because of the meet with Anthony on the street two days ago. She also mentioned that she watched a possible payoff tonight; all she got was a first name ‘Andre,’ said he was an ‘associate’ and that he gave her the ‘heebie jeebies.’ I’m not sure what that’s code for but it doesn’t sound too good. We should probably do a search on known associates with a first name of Andre. When she was in the cab, the light was red; they must have bugged her coat or more likely her purse,” said Fareed.
His cab was approaching a popular late-night bar, so he pulled over and asked for the fare. They played this strictly for show, staying in character even when they knew they weren’t being watched. No one wanted this operation to go bust the way so many had in the past. He planned on taking a few more fares before he turned in his cab for the night.
When Grace walked into her apartment, the first thing she did was kick off her shoes. Dealers made an average paycheck, but her cover was supposed to have been working as a restaurant hostess. So the apartment was a furnished rental, blah brown furniture, eggshell white walls and beige wall-to-wall carpeting. The door opened onto a small living room. Since this was Chicago, there was a hall closet to handle the different outer layers people wore through the seasons. She hung up her coat and after extracting her cell phone, she hung up her purse.
“Ooh, it feels good to get those torture devices off my feet,” she said, as she stepped into her slippers. Who knows what lurks in that rug.
She walked over to the entertainment center and turned the radio on low, humming along with it as she started her winding down routine. She was lucky to have a bedroom instead of a pullout. She passed through it into the bathroom, and began to fill the tub. Then she put a headband around her forehead and ears to keep her hair away from her face while she creamed off her make-up. As she was taking off her make-up, she looked at the small, satellite clock sitting above the sink. There was a small, red light; looks like she had a bug. What she needed to know was whether it was audio only or audio-visual.
She added some bath salts to the water when the tub was half full. Then she walked into the bedroom to take off her clothes. She pulled off her shirt and jeans, tossing them into a hamper.
“Jalen’s coming. Woo-hoo. Can’t wait to see my baby,” she sang for anyone listening.
She picked up her alarm clock, it had the appearance of a cheap wind-up, in actuality it was a listening device detector. As she wound and set it, she saw that it also indicated bugs in the room.
Damn!
She grabbed her sleep shirt, a plain, white men’s, Double X T-shirt and went back into the bathroom in her bra and panties; she’d have to risk it. She shut the door, took off the remainder of her clothes, and climbed into the tub. As she lay back in the warm water, she tried to figure out what to do next.
Okay, Detective Anthony has been busted for sure. My super-girl power tells me that. Addie can call hers truth-seek, but super-girl power is way cooler. Now that I’m nearly thirty, though, I should probably change it. Unfortunately, the Captain doesn’t know about that, so I’ll have to come up with something to explain how I know Anthony’s cover was blown. And I’ll have to tell him about Mr. Kadyrov’s pointed questions about my so-called boyfriend slash fiancé. We thought seeing me with Detective Anthony would pave the way to bringing in a more experienced undercover operative to be my partner and back-up, now we have to think of something else.
And that brings me to another problem. Why did I give Mr. Kadyrov the name of those three aliens that Addie is hiding out at her place? Sure, their names are burned in my brain, and I’ve been having those hot and steamy dreams about them every night since they got here. But, damn it; I’m a trained detective. It was stupid of me to blurt out their names and descriptions like that. Especially since I’m going by how they looked in the dream and haven’t actually met them. Damn! Could I be any more stupid? I’m going to get my ass killed for sure.
My house is bugged. The biggest Russian Mafioso this side of the Mississippi is probably watching me bathe, and somehow I’ve got to convince the Captain to use three unknown men in his undercover operation.
Grace let herself sink beneath the water as she mentally went over everything. The entire time she’d been thinking she stayed in character and continued to hum and bathe as if nothing were out of the ordinary. She pulled the plug, letting the water drain and climbed out of the tub. Grabbing some towels, she quickly wrapped a towel around her body and another around her hair. She got out her cleaning supplies. Using the hand-held shower attachment and a long scrub brush, she cleaned the tub. Using the cleaning as an excuse, she looked all around the room and spotted the bug. As she dried off and then put on her body lotion, she considered what to do.
Okay, I know where the bugs are, so it’s only sound in here. Thank God I don’t have those assholes ogling me in the tub. I feel dirty just thinking about it. I’m going to need to contact Becky soon; she’s up at all hours, so I may risk contacting her tonight. If, and that’s a big if, I can do it without blowing my cover or letting Kadyrov know who she is.
All this time, Addie never knew that Becky sometimes worked for law enforcement. Many years ago when she’d first started hacking, another older and more experienced hacker who worked for the government had caught her. He liked her style and knew the government would be better off making her the same deal they’d made him. Ever since then, she worked a certain number of hours for the government as a freelance contractor for free. Any hours over and she got a nice fat consulting fee.
The only stipulation to avoid prosecution was that no one could know she worked for the government and she had to continue to do the work until she’d equaled the number of hours she would have spent in prison for the original hack job. As a scared high school senior, she accepted all stipulations. Since then she’d grown savvy and had long since negotiated her own deal. That’s how she was able to do so much now; she already had authorized access to every database she could need.
Addie still thinks her friend is a rebellious hacker and risk-taker, thought Grace. Actually, she’s a full-time programmer and part-time government contractor. Even I probably don’t know everyone she works for. I’d be surprised if she didn’t also work for the CIA or NSA or something. She got those IDs for Addie’s guys pretty damn quick.
Wait a minute! I still have that burner cell Addie gave me in my purse. I can use that to send a text. Before I try, I really need to find out if they have more eyes and ears on me. Plus there is definitely something on my jacket or in my purse. Damn, I’ll have to wait until morning. And just in case, I’ll go without a jacket and change purses, as it’s likely a tracking device and not a bug.
After she finished putting on her lotion, she went into the tiny kitchen to make some tea. She was shocked to discover that there were no bugs in range of her kitchen. So she casually took her tea, still humming and singing along with the radio into her small living room. The short counter that separated the kitchen from the living room was just long enough for two stools to fit. She’d never actually sat in them, preferring to eat at the couch in front of the TV. She thought it was more in character.
She turned off the radio and put her tea down on the end table. Then she curled up in the corner of the couch and pulled the t-shirt over her knees. She picked up her tea with one hand and the remote in the other, turning on the TV.
The green light on the DVR told her the living room was free of bugs, too.
Damn, those perverts! My bedroom and bathroom and not the living room or kitchen!
While she was flipping through the DVR to see what recorded while she was at work, she jacked up her power to see if that felt right. She couldn’t help a frown from showing so she made it work with what she was seeing on the TV. She shut it off and threw down the remote.
Whatever they placed out here, and I have no doubt there’s something, it’s ducking all my electronics from finding it. But my super-girl power says there’s something and that has never failed me. I really need a new name—psychic gift? —Oh well, I’ll think more on that later.
So she did the only thing she could do. She picked up a romance novel and her tea and then went to bed and read for an hour.
Chapter Two
Addie Perez was in her kitchen showing her Ankida how to make pancakes. She could hardly believe it had only been a little over two weeks since she met them. They’d married her within an hour of meeting her in person. She’d had a hard time understanding how the three of them had gotten her into bed so fast until they explained. Now the three of them were her husbands or, as they called them on HeVan, her Ankida.
They had also explained that she was the new Queen of their planet and was expected to use her special Queen’s powers to help re-populate their planet. Supposedly just being around her made others fertile and influenced the sex of the baby. This meant she was aptly named. Addie was her nickname. Her full name was Aditya, which meant Goddess of Wisdom and Fertility. She’d proven the fertility part, at least. The night before she had announced her pregnancy, one of her visitors, Valerie, a science-fiction writer with the power of sight, told her she was actually carrying three sets of twins. All she could think of was that she was glad she had three husbands—she was going to need them for diaper duty.
Another few things had also happened last night. Susan, the government agent masquerading as a forest ranger or something, turned out to be a genuine ‘man in black,’ or in this case, ‘woman in khaki’ and her name was Suzanna. Addie’s Queenly powers had heavily influenced Suzanna because it turned out that Suzanna was also a Nephilim. She was one of the many descendants of those long-ago aliens who had crash-landed on Earth. Her inborn instincts had her protecting Addie before she understood why she felt that she had to, even while she was still investigating her.
Suzanna was a medium—medium sized five-five, medium brown hair, medium brown eyes, just your average, every day, overlook-them-in-a-crowd woman. She said it made her ideal for government work because she could blend in anywhere. Addie felt that with a makeover, she’d be a whole new woman. But since they’d only known each other for a day, she’d wait a week or so to suggest it.
Miranda had whispered in her ear last night that Suzanna was a perfect match for the two navigator/pilot brothers: Jeze and Tyr. Sometime this morning, she would have to tell her everything.
That should be an interesting conversation, she thought, as she mixed the batter.
A few days ago, her college friend, Becky, had introduced her to Miranda, the pint-sized Venus blonde matchmaker. Her first official match for them was actually a personal friend of hers named Heidi and not a client. Heidi had been a friend of hers whom she met at a nursery buying plants. Miranda was the type that made friends and then kept them even when they tried to push her away. She was the one that helped Heidi get away from her abusive ex-husband.
It was a shame when she had to give up working with plants because her ex kept finding her. Miranda had gotten Heidi a job in an office building and just yesterday he’d actually found her again, though it had taken nearly a year. Luckily, he’d acted out in front of Security, so Miranda had whisked her here as a last minute dinner guest. Of course, Addie had invited her to stay.
Heidi was a few inches taller than Miranda, but she seemed shorter. Thin and pale with dishwater blond hair, a short nose slightly turned up at the end. Her bones stuck out at the shoulders and wrists, though Miranda said she looked loads better now than when she had first gotten her away from her ex. When the men first saw her, they had wanted to look after her as if she were a child. They soon realized, however, that her fear of their large size was palpable, and kept their distance.
It was Addie’s gentle giants, the two oldest of her Great Danes, who won Heidi over. They’d adopted her for the frail girl she had become and didn’t leave her alone for a minute. Addie heard the squeal last night when they followed Heidi into the bathroom. Last night they’d also told Heidi about the two men she was matched with. Heidi believed they were on an island in Greece. This morning Addie was going to have to tell her the truth at the same time she told Suzanna.
It was a good thing they were sleeping in, she would have this time alone with her guys, and she could think of the words to tell them they were part alien from a distant planet.
On that thought, Jalen, the head of her Royal Guard, entered the kitchen.
“Lady Addie, My Lords. May I beg a favor from you all?” he asked.
The four of them—Addie, Arjun, Rune and Kylan—all turned to where he was standing in the doorway.
“What’s wrong, Jalen?” Addie asked immediately.
“Last night before she left, Miranda, the vision-matcher, said she knows who is to be Joined to me and my brothers.”
Rune and Kylan immediately started congratulating him. Arjun was watching Addie and she was watching Jalen.
“I repeat. What’s wrong, Jalen?” asked Addie. “I can see you’re upset.”
Jalen looked at Addie. “Valerie, that writer who’s going to try and find more of our women, said she’s in Hell and in great danger. This is her picture, Addie,” he said, holding up the picture Miranda had told him about.
“Is this your sister Grace, the detective who’s currently working in secret in the criminal’s place of business?”
Addie stepped over and took the frame.
“Yes, this is Grace. Is she your Join? She’s the one in danger? She’s working an undercover assignment, and I don’t know how to get in touch with her.” She turned to her husbands with tears in her eyes.
“We can’t let anything happen to Grace. She and Granny Mac are all the family I’ve got left,” she cried out.
“Don’t worry. We won’t let anything happen to her. Sit down, Addie,” said Rune, helping her to a chair.
Just as she sat down, she looked up at Rune with a light in her eyes. “Rune, please go out to the car and bring me the maps. Kylan, please get some dried sage from the pantry and bring it here. Arjun, would you please hand me a plate and matches from the drawer next to the stove?”
Once she had all the things together on the table, she opened the map of Chicago. Then she lit the sage; after a few moments, she blew out the flame to create smoke from the embers, letting it curl over the table from the plate.
She took off her worry stone necklace. This had never worked for finding lost children or people in the past, but this situation was related to a Nephilim of HeVan.
I’m bringing two Joins together.
She concentrated on that while she used her necklace. She didn’t notice the golden aura that started to surround her as she pulled on her Nam-Nin power. When she felt the pull, she let go. They all leaned over to see where it landed. Grace was…at the mall?
Just then she heard a ringing coming from her purse. It was one of the burner cells she’d bought after she met the guys.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hey, Professor,” said Becky. “I’m glad you’re there. I’m meeting Grace at the mall, and she’s got a huge problem with her undercover assignment. She needs Jalen to come into the City and pose as her boyfriend slash fiancé. The detective she was going to work with had his cover blown. So what do you say, can he help?”
“Oh, Becky, I’m so glad you called. I’ve been so worried. She’s okay right now? Never mind. I know she’s okay. I’d know if something we
re really wrong with her. Yes, Jalen says Miranda saw her picture. She was here for dinner last night, and Grace is a perfect match for Jalen and his brothers. He’s here right now asking if he can go and help Grace,” said Addie.
“Well, Your Highness, did you give your permission? He’s your Royal Guard, after all.”
“Of course I did, Becky. How can you even ask? Arjun made me choose a Royal Guard. I never thought I needed them. He insisted, so I went along with it and chose Jalen, Justyn and Jett because I knew them already. You know I don’t need guards here on Earth.”
“I know. I just needed to be sure. Hold on a second,” said Becky.
Addie could hear Becky typing in the background. After a few minutes, Becky came back on the line.
“Okay. I went into the property records and made it look like Jalen owns Grace’s condo instead of Grace. I waylaid some of the Big and Tall clothing you’ve been ordering to the condo so Jalen will have clothes there. It will arrive tomorrow.”
They could hear a few more clicks and she continued, “I’m going to leave now and meet Grace at the mall before I go to my first client meeting. Jalen needs to get into town and get into Grace’s condo. He should probably buy a car and pay cash. That way there’s no trace and he’ll need it anyway going forward. Then he needs to call Grace’s cell, find out where she is, and pick her up. She’ll explain from there. Oh, and her undercover name is Grace Kelsey, it was easier to keep her first name.”
“There’s one big problem with that; Jalen doesn’t know how to drive. I’ve only taught Rune.”
At Jalen’s cough, she turned around.
“Lady Addie,” he began sheepishly, “we felt that in case of an emergency, we should all know how to drive your vehicle. We’ve been practicing at night, when we patrolled the area,” confessed Jalen.
