Dark Queen’s Quest

by I. T. Lucas

  And that was another thing. How did Jin fit into the theory he’d come up with?

  On the face of things, she didn’t.

  Perhaps Mey wasn’t telling him the whole story about her sister either?

  What if Jin had been taken to put pressure on Mey?

  Nah, that wasn’t it either. When he’d asked her what she was willing to sacrifice to save her sister, Mey had said anything and had meant it.

  The question was whether she was willing to betray her adopted country as well. That wasn’t a personal sacrifice. She could be potentially putting a lot of people in danger by revealing military secrets.

  It seemed that to help Mey, he would have to find Jin. Perhaps William and Roni could do more than her old boyfriend could. After all, Roni still had a backdoor to government data, and the facial recognition software William had improved on was the best in the world.

  Or so he claimed.

  “Do you have a picture of Jin on your phone?”

  “Yes. I have many.”

  “Great. Could you share some of them with me? I know a guy who can hack into anywhere. He might be able to find out where she went by hacking into airport security surveillance footage.”

  Mey’s eyes widened. “That would be awesome.” She pushed up to her feet. “But in my rush to hear what you have found out, I stupidly left my phone in my purse.” She started walking briskly, her flip-flops flapping noisily against her soles. “What if Jin tried to call? Or sent me a message? How could I have just left it there?”

  He shook his head. Whatever Mey had done during her service, she hadn’t been a spy.

  “Did you forget what I told you about your phone? The conversation we had shouldn’t have been made anywhere near it. I thought that you left it behind on purpose.”

  She slapped her forehead. “Talk about being stupid. I totally forgot about that. The thing is, I’m glued to that phone because I’m waiting for Jin to contact me. I should have cut this short.”

  “Relax. She told you that she would try to make contact once a week. It hasn’t been that long since her last text.”

  “I know. But I can’t help thinking what if?” She cast him an apologetic glance. “It’s not logical. But I have to check.”

  “Of course.”

  Mey practically ran the rest of the way and snatched her purse off the ground as soon as they got there.

  “Oh, thank God.” She put a hand over her chest. “There have been no calls.”

  “Are you ready to get back to work?” Derek glared at her. “That was much longer than ten minutes and the clouds are back.”

  “I’m sorry. Just give me one more moment.” She brought up her photo application and started scrolling quickly. “I think that should do it. I’m texting them to you. I have more if your friend isn’t happy with these. Jin really has the perfect look for what he has in mind.”

  That was no doubt for the benefit of whoever might have been listening in.

  Yamanu looked at the images she sent. “Looks good. I’m going to call him while you finish the shoot.” He turned to Derek. “How much longer is it going to take?”

  Derek lifted his eyes to the sky. “I need to fiddle with the lighting now, so it will take longer than it should've. Maybe an hour.” He looked at his watch. “No longer than that because I’m getting hungry. It’s time for lunch.”

  “I’m going to walk around a little more.” Yamanu winked at Mey.

  He wanted to check on the guy in the tree and whether he was still there, and then he was going to text William and ask the dude for a favor.

  After that, he was going to take Mey out to lunch.

  The good thing about starting a workday early in the morning was finishing it early in the day, and he was looking forward to spending it with Mey.

  When he found a secluded spot, Yamanu shrouded himself and headed back to the tree.

  While talking with Mey, he hadn’t been paying attention to people’s intents, but now that he was alone and let his senses flare, he no longer felt the guy’s intense focus on her.

  Just in case, he checked the tree as well as a wide area around it. The guy wasn’t there, and Yamanu wondered if the watcher had left because of the roughing up he’d given him.

  He hadn’t used much force, but it had been enough to cause the human some nasty aches and pains for at least several hours.

  41

  Mey

  “It’s nice having a big strong guy like you around,” Julie said as Yamanu once more collected her things. “I feel like I’m on a mini vacation.”

  Mey cast her a glare.

  Flirting with Yamanu was not allowed. He belonged to her.

  “Do you have plans for the weekend?” Yamanu asked, probably just to be polite, but Julie smiled from ear to ear as if he was asking her out.

  “I was planning on relaxing at home, but I’m open to suggestions.”

  Yamanu glanced at Mey over Julie’s head. “Mey and I are going to spend the weekend with Arielle and Arwel. How about you?” He turned to Derek before Julie had a chance to respond and invite herself over. “Any exciting plans?”

  “I’m driving down to my parents’ house. My brother and his brood are going to be there, and my mom practically begged me to come help out. Those boys are a handful.”

  Mey felt a pang of sorrow. She would have loved a house full of kids, and chasing around three rambunctious boys sounded like fun, not a chore. But then she was young and in good shape, while Derek’s mother had bad knees and couldn't keep up with her grandchildren.

  It reminded her of a saying that poignantly described the situation.

  God gives nuts to those without teeth.

  Mey was healthy and capable, but her adoptive family was tiny, and no one had young children.

  She cast a sidelong glance at Yamanu. He had the most pleasant personality. Just being around him calmed her nerves. He would have made such a wonderful father. Did he intend to keep his vow forever, or was there a time limit? She hadn’t thought to ask, but that was a very important question. There was a big difference between not right now and never.

  As Yamanu loaded Julie’s chair and case into the van, his phone pinged with an incoming message, and Mey instinctively tensed. Even though there was no way his hacker friend had already found something, she couldn’t help the surge of hope.

  He pulled out his phone and read the message. “Arielle wants to take a walk down Wall Street and eat lunch over there. Are you in the mood for it?”

  Mey looked down at her red dress and the four-inch heels that went with it. She should have taken them off right after the shoot, but she’d wanted to look nice for Yamanu. It wasn’t often that she could walk in heels next to a guy and not tower over him.

  Except, she hadn’t expected to do much walking. They were supposed to go somewhere nice to have lunch, and the elegant dress would look funny with flip-flops.

  Frankly, she wouldn't have minded skipping lunch. Right now, sitting down on the couch and relaxing with a cup of tea in front of the dumb box was much more appealing.

  She looked at Yamanu, who didn’t look overjoyed at the prospect either. “Do you have to join them?”

  He nodded. “The entire bunch is coming, including Eva, the baby, and her husband.”

  That was his way of telling her that Arielle needed her entire security detail when going out.

  Had he said baby, though?

  Suddenly, the prospect of a walk didn’t seem so daunting. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I want to see Eva’s baby. Heck, I want to hold him. Do you think she will let me? Or is she one of those overprotective mothers?”

  He helped her into the back seat of the van. “She’s protective, but she has no problem with people holding him. Back home, that little guy is in high demand. All the single ladies want their baby fix.”

  Back home. Did it mean that Yamanu worked for Arielle and her family on a regular basis? And why were there so many single ladies there, and just one
baby?

  Questions and more questions. Both Yamanu and Arielle were enigmas.

  “Where do you want me to drop you off?” Derek asked.

  “Would you mind driving to Wall Street? We can take a cab if the traffic is bad.”

  Derek shrugged. “Traffic is always bad. I’ll get you there.”

  Yamanu looked at his phone. “Do you know where Delmonico’s is?”

  Derek whistled. “That’s a fancy place. Who’s paying for lunch?”

  “Arielle.”

  “Yeah, Mey told me that she comes from money.” He glanced at them through the rearview mirror. “European aristocracy.”

  Yamanu slanted a reproachful look at Mey.

  She lifted her hands. “That’s all I said, I swear. Derek asked how Ari could afford to stay at a pricey hotel with her entire retinue, so I said she came from money. Models don’t get paid much, and she hasn’t even started working yet.”

  “I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourselves. Arielle’s safety depends on it.”

  Julie turned back. “Is it her real name?”

  Mey had wondered that as well and had decided that it couldn’t be. If Ari was trying to work incognito, she must be using an alias.

  Yamanu lifted a brow. “What do you think?”

  “I think that it’s not. But it’s a good choice. I like it.”

  By the time Derek dropped them off next to the restaurant, Ari and her gang had already been seated, which was good because Mey had decided to keep her heels on until after lunch.

  If she was going to eat at a fancy place like that, she wasn’t going to do it in flip-flops.

  “Mey!” Arielle jumped up. “I’m so glad that you are joining us.” She pulled her into her arms and hugged her like one would a sister. “Come, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

  Taking Mey by the hand, she brought her around the table to where Eva was sitting with her baby in her arms.

  “This is Eva, and this is Ethan.”

  Mey crouched next to the sleeping baby. “He is adorable,” she whispered.

  “No need to keep quiet,” Eva said. “He is used to people talking around him. In fact, conversations put him to sleep even if they are loud.”

  “He must be a friendly baby.” Mey smoothed one finger over his soft hair.

  “He is.” Eva leaned and kissed his cheek. “My sweet little angel. He’s such an easy boy.”

  “Hi, I’m Bhathian.” Eva’s husband offered her his hand.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  The guy was a hunk, and he looked a bit younger than his wife. Good for Eva. She was a beautiful woman and could have any guy, regardless of age.

  The other two bodyguards, Ewan and Uisdean, were very handsome too. Their entire group looked like they’d just stepped off a movie set.

  It probably wasn’t a coincidence. Arielle, or whatever her real name was, probably liked to surround herself with good-looking people, and since she was paying their salaries, she could pick and choose.

  The thing was, she didn’t seem like the type. Maybe it had been her mother or father who’d chosen her crew?

  Ari seemed so nice and friendly, and she wasn’t stuck up at all. She had the mannerisms of a princess, but it was more about the grace with which she carried herself and the fluidity of her movements. She must have taken ballet for years to achieve such poise.

  “Come sit next to me.” Ari motioned for Arwel to move one seat over. “You look gorgeous in this dress. Red is your color and so is the wrap style. Not everyone can pull it off. My younger sister likes Diane von Furstenberg’s dresses. Amanda has a similar build to yours and she is almost as tall. Maybe an inch shorter.”

  “Do you have any other siblings?”

  Ari nodded. “I have two sisters and a brother, but we are scattered all over the world. I don’t get to see them much.”

  42

  Yamanu

  As they waited for the second course to be served, Yamanu held Mey’s hand under the table, giving it a little squeeze every time she shifted nervously on her chair.

  The conversation was stilted, with everyone trying to sound like regular humans with everyday human concerns, and not doing a great job of it.

  If Mey wasn’t as sharp as she was, she might have missed the blunders, but even a less observant person would have wondered about the long moments of silence amongst a group of people who knew each other well.

  “I need to visit the ladies’ room.” Mey pulled her hand out of his grip and got up.

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “Don’t be silly.” She bent and kissed his cheek. “It’s right over there.” She pointed toward the back. “And you can see anyone who goes in and out of there.”

  “Not necessarily. There might be a back door.”

  “There isn’t,” Arwel said. “I checked.”

  As Mey took her satchel, slung the strap over her shoulder, and walked toward the bathroom, Yamanu watched her hips sway enticingly, the fluid fabric of her red dress alternating between flaring and clinging.

  She was a fine, fine woman.

  “You are falling for her,” Arwel stated. “In fact, I think you are already in love with Mey.”

  Alena nodded in agreement but said nothing, waiting for him to respond.

  Bhathian and the other Guardians pretended to be busy with whatever they could get their hands on. Bhathian rearranged the blanket around his son, Ewan grabbed another piece of bread, and Uisdean checked his phone.

  Yamanu shook his head. “Mey is beautiful, but this is just a fling. It’s going to end as soon as we are done here and go back to Los Angeles.”

  The words tasted like a lie to him, but he couldn’t allow himself to think otherwise. Not only because of his vow, but because she was a human and there could be nothing permanent between them.

  Arwel sighed. “I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve never shown interest in a woman beyond a casual glance.”

  He shrugged even though that was mostly true. The potion that he’d gotten the recipe for nearly seven hundred years ago was still working well. In the past he’d brewed it himself, but he’d found an herbalist in Chinatown to do it for him. Gertrude could have done it as well, but then his secret might have been revealed.

  He preferred for everyone to keep guessing rather than providing a solid clue that he was actively medicating himself. He’d almost spilled the beans when Andrew had needed help with his rampant sex drive after his transition. Nathalie had been still human and pregnant, and at the time Bridget hadn’t figured out yet that using condoms would have been enough to prevent her from transitioning.

  Although Nathalie might not have wanted to take the chance anyway. Protecting her unborn baby had been top priority, and condoms were known to malfunction on occasion.

  “No response?” Arwel cocked a brow.

  “What do you want me to say? I like Mey. I like her a lot. But falling for her would be stupid of me. She’s a human.”

  “She might be a Dormant,” Eva said. She then glanced around the restaurant to make sure that no one was listening and then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Does she have any special abilities?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Did she do anything unusual since you met her?” Eva continued.

  “Like what?”

  “Like zone out or stare into the distance. Vivian and Ella do that when they communicate telepathically. But even if she’s not telepathic, all paranormal talents require concentration, which can result in her appearing scatterbrained.” Eva glanced at Arwel. “Even in your case, I’m sure that when you were young, you were easily distracted by the human emotions flowing at you.” She turned back to Yamanu. “Does she ask you or the people on her crew to repeat things they’ve said?”

  “No. I would say the opposite is true. She’s very alert and doesn’t miss much.”

  Except, Eva’s line of questioning resonated with what the detective he’d caught e
arlier had said. Whoever had sent him was also interested in catching Mey doing something unusual.

  As a surge of hope rushed through Yamanu, Mey walked back to the table and sat down.

  Unable to help himself, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick kiss on the mouth.

  Arwel cleared his throat, and Alena tried to stifle a chuckle.

  Mey smiled. “Did you miss me while I was gone?”

  “Yes. Terribly.”

  43

  Mey

  “I’m going to take a shower.” Mey put her satchel on the dresser and pulled out a change of clothes and the few toiletries she’d brought with her.

  Yamanu sat on the bed and kicked his shoes off. “Did you have fun today?”

  “Oh yeah. Arielle and Eva are really fun to hang out with, and the guys are nice too.”

  They were all a little odd, though, and not only because the men had hardly spoken two words to her, and the ladies kept talking about trivial things like the best places to go shopping and dining in New York.

  They were all young looking, and yet very old-fashioned in their mannerisms and even in their patterns of speech.

  Maybe it was because they were foreigners, or at least some of them were. Eva was clearly a New Yorker, but even she sometimes used phrases more suited to someone triple her age. Arwel, Bhathian, and Yamanu spoke American English with no accents, but Ewan and Uisdean had a bit of Scottish in theirs.

  The most logical explanation was that they had all lived in Europe for a while, probably in the country where Arielle was from, and that’s why they sounded a little off.

  Still, Mey couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it.

  The first moment she got a chance, she was going to listen to the walls and find out what they were hiding.