by V J Lee
V.J. Lee
Others Agency
Copyright © 2019 by V.J. Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
V.J. Lee asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
Editing by Hillary Crawford
Editing by Lorelei Knott-Wahl
Editing by Colleen Snodgrass
Cover art by Shana Colbert
This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy
Find out more at reedsy.com
I wouldn’t have even started this if it wasn’t for my amazing husband, Mark Wahl (BEST HUSBAND EVER) I LOVE YOU MORE. And all those awesome people who had to listen to me drone on about these books.
Contents
Acknowledgement
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
About the Author
Also by V.J. Lee
Acknowledgement
My wonderful editors Colleen Snodgrass, Hillary Crawford. Pre-editor and daughter-in-law Lorelei Wahl. Proofreader Sandra Leblanc, Shana Colbert (who also designed the amazing cover you are a true rock star). My awesome sisters in blood and love for reading and giving me their input: Deanne Zamora, Monica Bird, and Angela Young (I would have never gotten this far without you). None of this would be possible without each one of you. Not to mention my wonderful boys Nick Wahl and Larry Wahl and their wives Lorelei and Sonya and my ever-loyal furbabies. Thanks to everyone who believed in me and urged me on all twelve of you lol.
Chapter 1
Rissa Jackson sat silently in the dark conference room. The smell of strong coffee and sugar doughnuts wafted to her nose. Yes, she had already devoured two of them, and yes, she was contemplating a third. She had the gym scheduled for two hours later, but exactly how many miles she would have to run to kill the empty calories, she wasn’t sure.
Click … another picture appeared on the projection screen—another missing woman. How many was that now? She had stopped counting a while ago, in the sea of redheads, blondes, brunettes—hmmm … no women with black hair … interesting. None of the families of the young women had even reported them missing, but before she could pinpoint the source of her boss’s concern to their whereabouts, Jock began to explain.
“The reason I want all of you …” He scanned the room containing ten Agency members dressed in standard-issued black slacks and white button up shirts, and then continued. “… Well, all of you who are here, anyway, to be on the lookout for these women who haven’t been reported missing, is because our intelligence links their disappearance to the Others.”
The Others—an underwhelming, umbrella-type noun that referred to overwhelming, specific non-humans—aliens, vampires, werewolves and anything else that humans attributed to fairytale creatures or nightmares.
Oh, how real it all is, Rissa thought. No one knew that better than she did. From adolescence, she could see through their human masks. Her eyes revealed the scary truth or the beautiful lie that so many were, which led to her eventual recruitment by the Others Agency to help chase bad guys.
Oh, sure, they weren’t all bad. Even monsters had a certain degree of free will—the ability to choose to do good or ill. However, the Agency was there to clean up the messes they made and resolve the problems they caused.
Some years ago, the Men in Black movies were produced, and Rissa swore someone in the Agency sold their likeness to Hollywood and made a pretty penny under a pseudonym. Not a bad idea, actually. Those movies were basedon them, sure, but nobody would ever believe something like that existed. Humans preferred to be comfortably unaware, blissfully ignorant.
When she was recruited, the Agency certainly approved of her gift—she could see through the human skin to what lurked beneath the surface—so they brought her into the teen program when she was fifteen. She had planned to be a doctor, and had spent her free time reading medical journals and memorizing anatomical terms, but Agency work turned out to be her true calling. She excelled at everything the Agency threw at her. She was tough as nails, and as an agent, she was made of awesome.
The darkness in the room was cut by a sudden sliver of light from the door opening, and dust danced through the air as if happily welcoming the newcomers. Rissa didn’t have to look toward the door to know it was Trevor Snow and Petra Ezekiel walking in. She fought back the desire to vomit into the nearest trash bin. These two, the Angelina and Brad of the Others Agency, were totally inseparable, and equally nausea-inducing.
Rissa glanced at the time and date stamp at the bottom of her screen. The couple had been together (this time) for three months, twelve days, three hours, forty-one minutes and twenty-five… make that twenty-six seconds—one hundred and four days. She didn’t want to, but couldn’t help but keep track of the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds since Trevor had left her for Petra. It felt like a hundred and four lifetimes.
The golden couple snuck in, hand-in-hand, taking the last chairs in the back of the room. Petra draped her long, lean legs across Trevor’s. Her skirt rode up, revealing olive-hued thighs.
A voice boomed. “So very nice of you two to join us! Now that you are at work, please act like it. Or go get a room and I will dock you a day’s pay.”
God bless Jock Simms. She heard shuffling and didn’t have to look to know that legs were being moved and bodies were sitting up straight.
Jock continued. “As I was saying … we believe it to be Others, because, well, no one seems to know that the women are missing. The reports coming in are from people not within the girls’ inner circles, but from mere acquaintances who haven’t seen them in weeks. So, Rissa, have you noticed anything lurking?”
Rissa cleared her throat. “The only thing I have noticed lately, is a large number of Vampires in the area at night, but they’re new ones, not Ethan’s, so I don’t know if he’s even aware of their presence.”
“That would explain why friends and families don’t know the girls are missing. They may have been hypnotized into thinking nothing is wrong. But we still don’t know why they’re abducting women.”
“I think Ethan needs to be made aware and kept in the loop. I can ask for a mee
ting with him as soon as possible,” Rissa said.
“I’ll do it,” Trevor piped in from the back of the room.
“I really don’t care who does it,” Jock sighed. “I just want the Vampire King in on this. I also think Rissa should go back to nights for a while to keep an eye on these new Vamps.”
Once again, a “God bless Jock” was in order. She had been asking him for the transfer back to nights for weeks. There was more action at night, so much more ass-kicking, but best of all, no golden couple shoving their happiness in her face and triggering her gag reflex.
Jock began issuing tasks. “Riss, I would like you to take the rest of the day off so you can come back in tonight and start working this case right away. Petra, you will need to get in touch with the local news outlets. Put out some feelers to see what they know. I want you to get in touch with both human and Others’ news outlets.”
“I do have the best insiders, willing to give me anything I want,” Petra bragged.
Petra was beautiful. She was the face of the Agency, always on the news and at city meetings to do PR. She could dress any way she wanted, usually expensive and colorful, but she always looked perfect, no matter what she wore. She was almost six feet tall without heels, had effortlessly beautiful olive skin, and hair black as night and straight as a pin. She had a professional-looking angled bob haircut, short in the back and shoulder-length in the front. Exotic, almond-shaped eyes reflected light green and enhanced her skin tone. Furthermore, there wasn’t an ounce of fat on her perfect body.
She was the complete and total opposite of Rissa, who was five-two-and-three-quarters—she rounded up, telling everyone she was five-three. Silky brown hair fell in unruly waves down her back. Unlike Petra’s olive skin, Rissa’s was pale from working nights for so many years, and where Petra had like zero-percent body fat, Rissa had well-defined muscles and enormous, heaving breasts. Petra was a B-cup at best, so she could just suck on Rissa’s double Ds … wait, that didn’t sound right.
“Okay, hit the lights,” Jock commanded.
The brightness of the lights made everybody squint, and Rissa blinked several times. She kept her focus up front on Jock. He was six feet tall with brown hair that had started to gray at the temples, which only enhanced his distinguished good looks. His tanned skin was weathered from years of being outside chasing the bad guys. At the ripe old age of fifty-nine, his body was as fit as someone half his age, and his tailored white Oxford shirt couldn’t hide the fact that his muscles were toned and firm. Gray eyes sparkled with knowledge and understanding of the universe’s deeply hidden secrets. She would say Jock was like the “father she never had,” but she had the best dad in the world. She couldn’t ask for better parents, and therefore, honored them by labeling Jock as a favorite uncle instead.
Rissa usually sat in the front of the room. They didn’t have long, drawn-out meetings, so they settled for metal folding chairs, which they would grab and place wherever they wanted to sit, replacing them against the wall when they were done. They were a Government Agency, but one of those departments that the government would vehemently deny knowledge of, if things ever came to light.
As such, their budget was next to nothing. The doughnuts were brought in by one of the agents when they had meetings, and they all pitched in money when they needed coffee, filters or a new coffee maker. The limited funds they did receive went to technology, weapons and wages. It was simple. Rissa liked simple; she was simple, and maybe that’s why the love of her life found it so easy to walk away from her.
“Trevor, if you could stay behind so I can fill you in on what you missed … Petra, go get started digging up what you can find on these missing women,” Jock said as everyone started folding their chairs.
Petra must have stood, because Rissa heard the chair scraping back against cheap white tiles. “I’m sorry we were late. I was trying on clothes, and someone couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, so we just had to take care of business right there in the dressing room. I know you can all relate, being men and all,” Petra said casually.
Point taken. Rissa was just another one of the guys.
“Inappropriate, much?” Steve whispered to no one in particular.
Jock scowled. “Enough, Petra. Just get to work.”
“But I can’t be alone … I need Trevor with me,” Petra whined.
“You’re in a building full of highly trained agents. You will be fine. Go to your office, and I’ll have someone guard your door.”
“I’ll be there shortly, as soon as I get the details of the case,” Trevor said in a soft, soothing voice.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
Rissa heard the smacking of a kiss, and then the door opened and shut, as the sound of heels clicked on the tiles down the hallway.
Rissa took in a breath of air like she had been underwater. Whenever Petra was around, she felt like she needed to hold her breath or she would say something she would regret. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Trevor; he had enough to worry about.
Jock cleared his throat, as if he could tell where her thoughts had gone. “The rest of you know what you need to do, so get your asses out there and do it. Rissa, your team on the night shift will be Jones and Davis. When you come back in tonight, they’ll catch you up on where they’re in the case.”
“Thanks, Jock. Thank you for everything.”
“I want you to know that this is not a permanent switch. I want you on days with me, so I can keep an eye on you.”
“I think this case will be good for me … help me to get my bearings.” She felt Trevor standing behind her, so she quickly leaned her folded chair against the wall. It was her turn to click-clack down the hallway, but before she had a chance to turn and leave, he leaned down to her ear and said, “I’m sorry about Petra.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” She turned and walked out the door, making sure to avoid eye contact with her former flame.
* * *
Trevor watched as the space between him and Rissa grew.
“I don’t like the way your woman taunts her,” Jock ground out.
Trevor rubbed the massive knot in the back of his neck. “I know. I don’t either. Petra just can’t keep her mouth shut. I know that was uncalled for and directed straight toward Rissa.” Trevor shook his head. “Hell, Jock, we didn’t do anything in a dressing room. She was just trying on clothes and taking too long. The only hands I put on her were to drag her out of the store, so we wouldn’t be any later than we already were. By the way, why the hell are you teaming Rissa up with the Washington brothers?”
“You have no authority to question my actions. But you know as well as I do that they will keep Rissa safe, even if it means laying down their own lives for her.”
“Yeah, I also know they would do anything to just lay down with her … or on her.”
Jock snorted. “That’s really no longer a concern of yours, now is it? Have there been any more death threats against Petra and Jacob?”
“Nothing since I moved in.”
“Do you think … maybe, just maybe, the threat was fabricated?”
Trevor shook his head. “You didn’t see the fear in her eyes after they broke in. You saw the broken glass, the overturned furniture. She was scared to death. You can’t fake that.”
That night, was the third time Petra had changed Trevor’s life forever. The first, was breaking his heart and walking out of his life for no conceivable reason. The second occurred three years later, when she walked back into his life with the most perfect little boy he had ever seen … his son. The third, was the night that masked men broke into Petra’s house, while Trevor was having a date night with Rissa, because he had been with Riss at the time. The masked men tried to rape Petra and take Jacob.
That kind of fear changes a man. Trevor made the decision soon after that incident to move in with his ex. He had told Rissa he needed to protect his son, nothing more. The sweet, wonderful woman, Rissa
, told him she understood. She simply asked him if he would still come see her once in a while, have dinner with her, hold her, make love to her. Of course he would, he promised.
Three weeks had passed before he came home, once again, after being with Rissa, to find that Petra had received death threats against her and Jacob. She was so scared and pale that all he could do was hold her and put her to bed. Petra clung to him, begging him not leave her. She needed his strength.
An attempt to comfort Petra resulted in the worst decision of his life; he ended up having sex with her. The one and only thing that was unforgivable to Rissa was infidelity. The second the sex with Petra was over, she started telling him that he needed to end things with Rissa, that he needed to make a home with her and Jacob. If he didn’t, not only would she tell Rissa what had happened, but she would also see to it that he’d never see his son again.
The following night after work, he went to Rissa’s to tell her their two-and-a-half-year-long relationship was over, but the beautiful, big-hearted woman had already guessed it. Man, how he remembered that day like it was yesterday.
* * *
He had walked into the house without knocking; it was his house, after all. It smelled of musky jasmine, just like Rissa. The air was warm from the day’s heat, however, it hadn’t yet become so unbearable that they had to switch on the air. After only being together for three months, he had asked Rissa to move in with him. He couldn’t think clearly without her. Everything was dull when she wasn’t around. She made everything brighter. His heart was hammering in his chest, his palms sweaty, as if the guilt was attached to the moisture in his body and was trying to escape from his pores.
Rissa had just finished working out at the Agency, so she still had on a black sports bra and workout pants. Just like always, as soon as she hit the door, her shoes and socks came off, so she was beautifully barefoot. Standing at the sink, rinsing out her water bottle, Rissa didn’t even turn around as she said, “Trevor … you don’t have to say it. I already know. I could see it in your eyes today at work. I could tell by your actions.”