“Wait, this guy was gonna breed a hostess for his god-queen using, let me see if I have this right, his own daughter?”
“Yep.”
“Gross.”
“Very.”
“Did he fail? I mean, this story sounds like it’s heading for failure.”
“This is one we can rack up to the Program’s win column. They sent in a team of heavy hitters, something like four immortal agents, maybe even the director himself, I don’t know, but they killed the demigod in the process and rescued three daughters this guy had bred. Who knows how many more kids he has out there wandering around, and who knows if he was the only demigod doing that shit.”
“So, do you think this Duchen lady is one of that evil demigod guy’s daughters?”
KC shrugged. “I don’t know, but after getting a look at her profile and her dating history, I am wondering if that’s not just why but how she’s able to have so many lovers and apparently never get pregnant or catch a magical STD.”
“There’s potions and things for that,” Mack shrugged.
KC raised an eyebrow.
“You’re not the only one who knows stuff,” Mack huffed. He shrugged and blushed slightly. “Okay, part of Cassandra Protocol training involves being aware of what technological and magical prophylactics are out there and how well they work against a number of diseases, hexes, and curses.”
“Seriously?”
“Not every scary monster out there is a mass of muscles, bones, claws, and teeth. You mentioned incubi and succubi, and sometimes the bad guys use demons like that to compromise our side.”
KC leaned back and considered her husband for a moment. “Were you ever ‘compromised’?”
“Unlike you, I actually was a virgin on our wedding night, so you don’t get to play jealous.”
KC laughed. “Aw, I hit a nerve!”
“Maybe,” Mack shrugged.
“I’m sorry. You know I only find it hard to believe because you’re so... damn beefy beautiful.”
Mack started to blush again, which sent KC into a fit of giggles.
“I am not some piece of meat,” Mack protested.
“Yes, you are. You’re my piece of tasty, tasty meat,” KC teased. She grabbed hold of Mack’s right hand in her left. “I love you, babe.”
“I love you, too.”
“And we’ll continue this conversation, but, first, let’s follow the lawyer. There she is.”
Mack spotted Athena Duchen where KC was pointing. He rolled his window down a little. The breeze was blowing their way, and he inhaled the scents that came with it. He spent several seconds sorting the scents in his mind, separating out the different people from one another. Then, he pinned down Athena Duchen’s scent. She was definitely Fae, but her scent carried a hint of something else. Maybe KC was right, Mack considered as he locked the lawyer’s scent and other features into his mind.
Visually, Athena Duchen was stunning. She was right on the edge between petite and average in height, almost as tall as KC. She had a similar sized build to KC’s, too, if slightly smaller. Mack didn’t think the lawyer’s current dark auburn was her natural hair color, not judging by the hint of hair care products he was detecting.
“I think she uses the same brand of hair coloring that you do,” he observed.
“Really? That’s... interesting. You got a lock on her scent?”
“Yeah, her heartbeat, too. What about you?”
KC’s eyes were glowing red. “I’ve got her blood scent and heat signature.”
“Wanna follow her home?”
“Not tonight.”
“We should probably find a motel and a restaurant. In that order.”
“Good idea.”
Mack rolled his window up and put the SUV into gear. “Wanna find another Best Western?”
“No, let’s break the pattern,” KC said. “I’ll check local rates online.”
“Busy day tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“What if heartfelt appeals and threats of blackmail don’t work?”
“We’ll use sex to win her over.”
Mack wasn’t entirely certain KC was joking.
Chapter Five
Dover, Delaware
Friday, May 3, 2019
ATHENA DUCHEN NEVER noticed the Toyota SUV that followed her from her home to her office, nor did she seem to notice the handsome couple in business attire who followed her into the building. The couple took a different elevator, but they all arrived on the same floor within moments of one another. While Athena headed back to her office to begin her day, the couple approached the receptionist’s desk.
“Good morning and welcome to Boros, Mason, Charbonneau, & Salcedo,” the perky young African American woman behind the desk said with a bright, welcoming smile.
“And a very good morning to you, too,” KC replied with an equally bright smile. “My client and I have a nine a.m. meeting with a, um, Ms. Dutchens?”
“That’s Ms. Duchen,” the receptionist corrected, “Doo-kin.”
“Is that how it’s pronounced?” KC laughed. “Thank you for saving me from embarrassing myself in front of her later.”
“You’re quite welcome, Miz...?”
“Oh! Where is my head this morning? I’m Kayleigh MacMurray, and this is my client, Montana Llewellyn.”
The receptionist perused the calendar on her computer screen. “Yes, I see your appointment right here, Ms. MacMurray. You’re quite a bit early. Ms. Duchen only just arrived herself, but if you don’t mind having a seat in our waiting area here, I will let her know you’ve arrived.”
“Thank you!” KC gushed. “You’re so sweet!”
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?” Mack chuckled a moment later when the two of them were settled down in the shockingly comfortable couch in the waiting area.
“All part and parcel to the role,” KC mused. “I am, after all, your manager and agent, and it’s a very people-friendly profession, you know.”
“I’m sorry, I thought you’d actually met my agent. She’s a natural born killer,” Mack snickered.
KC elbowed him in the arm.
A trim young white man dressed in a matching maroon suit vest and bow tie combo approached them a few minutes later.
“Uh, Ms. MacMurray and Ms., er, I mean, Mr. Llewellyn?”
KC and Mack rose to their feet.
“That’s us,” KC said.
“Hello, I’m Reggie, Ms. Duchen’s personal secretary. If you will both come with me, please?”
Reggie turned on his heel and led them past the reception desk, down a brightly lit hall decorated with portraits of the senior partners, and around a corner that opened up into what looked like another waiting area.
“This is a preferential client waiting,” Reggie explained. “Much more comfortable than the waiting area out by reception.”
“That was pretty nice out there,” Mack observed.
“Please excuse my earlier fumble, Mr. Llewellyn. For a fleeting moment I had been hoping that you were the author,” Reggie sighed.
“I am the author.”
Reggie stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. “Really? You’re the author of The Zoe Kenneth Chronicles?”
“Yes, and I am not a woman. The Romance genre is the last bastion of sexism in the publishing industry. Who’s gonna read an historical romance written by a man, much less a big slab of meat like me? So, I use a feminine sounding pen name.”
Reggie had grown near giddy in obviously suppressed excitement. “I love your books, even if you don’t have enough gay characters.”
“Edgar and Rory aren’t enough for you?” KC snickered.
“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong! I totally ship Redgar!” Reggie gushed.
“Is that their couple name?” Mack sighed. Then, he shrugged. “Never mind. Whatever keeps the fans happy and buying the books. Couldn’t help noticing we’ve stopped.”
Reggie blushed. “Right. This way!”
The young secretary practically skipped across the waiting area to one of the surrounding offices and knocked on the door. “Athena, it really is Montana Llewellyn, and she’s a man!”
Athena Duchen came to the door of her office to greet Mack and KC. “Oh, hello! Reggie and I were hoping you’d be the Montana Llewellyn! Come in! Come in! Can we get you anything? Coffee, tea, a breakfast pastry?”
“Just your assurance that neither of you will go blabbing to your friends that my client is a man, not the pretty little woman on the back cover of his books,” KC said.
“Consider it privileged. Right, Reg?”
Reggie looked crestfallen. “Yes,” he agreed with a sigh. Then, he frowned as a thought struck him. “So, who is the Monty on the back cover of the books?”
“She’s a product of Photoshop,” Mack admitted. “The publisher took a couple of images from Adobe Stock, women that reminded them of, like, Stephenie Meyer and Cassandra Clare, and mixed them with some of my features to create the short, middle aged, portly stay-at-home mom that you were expecting.”
Reggie looked like he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. “And like that all of my illusions are shattered.” Then, he smiled brightly. “On the other hand, you do look like Edgar...”
“And before this turns into a sexual harassment claim,” Athena said, shooing Reggie back to his desk.
KC chuckled. “Is it really harassment if he enjoys the attention?”
Athena’s office wasn’t huge, but it also wasn’t exactly a closet either. The room had more than ample space for a desk, a very high-end office chair, and two leather appointed visitor’s chairs. Her filing cabinets were artfully concealed behind a cabinetry facade, and the wall behind her desk was a mass of law books on glass shelves with their own accent lighting. Athena waved Mack and KC to the visitor’s chairs while she settled into her own massive leather and gleaming steel seat.
“Well, how can the offices of Boros, Mason, Charbonneau, & Salcedo be of service to you?”
KC leaned forward in her seat. “Before we start, may I ask just how thin the walls are here?”
“If you’re worried about eavesdroppers, don’t. Not only is each office and conference room lined with the latest in sound dampening materials, but Mr. Boros makes it a point to give everyone their own personal white noise generator.” Athena touched a device on the edge of her desk. “These are the same models the NSA have in their offices to thwart listening devices. Honestly, if we were to go next door to my colleague Tom’s office, we’d be hearing ‘Scotland the Brave’ being played by the loudest drum and pipe band known to man, and that’s without the white noise generator being turned on.”
“Loud bagpipe music?” Mack repeated.
“He claims it helps him concentrate, and since he’s the absolute best legal writer on staff, we let him,” Athena chuckled. “Mr. Boros and Mr. Mason, our senior managing partners, like collecting misfit geniuses like old Tom.”
“I’d like to meet this gentleman,” Mack chuckled. “I happen to be fond of bagpipes myself.”
Athena frowned and shook her head. “No, Tom isn’t a... ‘people’ person.”
“That’s too bad,” Mack pouted.
“Getting back to business, I believe you are assuring us of our freedom to speak clearly and openly with you, correct?” KC clarified. “Without anybody but the three of us knowing what’s been said between us?”
“Yes. One of the perks of taking one of the offices flanking Tom’s is that I’ve actually got more soundproofing than any other office on this floor.”
“That’s good because we’re not actually here about establishing a land trust or anything like that,” KC said.
“You’re not?”
“No, our business is more of a personal nature, and we may stray into topics outside of normal jurisprudence.”
“I’m not a criminal attorney.”
“Funny you should say that since your profile on Legal Beagle carries an endorsement from a United States Attorney with ties to the Program.”
Athena froze at the mention of the Paraweb legal advice site, but her eyes bulged at the mention of the Program.
“Are you Program agents?”
“Oh, no!” KC exclaimed. “No, we’re not. We’re actually licensed paranormal security services contractors.”
“Among other things,” Mack added.
“Yes, you see, if we were Program agents, we’d have barged in with FBI badges and warrants and just generally made a nuisance of ourselves, but that’s because they’re usually in a hurry since the world is ending any moment, and they need what they need yesterday.” KC paused. “Look, we’re not here for you, so just relax.”
Athena exhaled. “Oh. I mean, why would the Program be interested in me?”
“Not to put too fine of a point on it, but there is that thing with the centaur,” KC said.
Athena flushed. “We were both consenting adults.”
“And it’s none of our business,” KC confirmed. “I’m just putting the stick out on the table. I have no intention or desire to use it if I don’t have to.”
“What do you want, then?” Athena growled.
KC glanced over at Mack.
“As you’ve no doubt figured out already ‘Montana Llewellyn’ is just a pen name. My real name is Hieronymus MacDuff, and I am the co-owner of the Double M Ranch in Big Sky, Montana.”
Athena blinked. “I know that name. It’s like an orphanage or something, right?”
“Foster care group home, actually. Rather, I should say, that’s one of the things we do there besides equestrian therapy and cattle and horse breeding. Your firm represents and, I believe, administers a trust for an anonymous angel donor who not only provides a stipend to the group home, but also provides timely material resources just when they’re needed.”
“And this is a bad thing?” Athena asked in obvious confusion.
“No, it’s a very good thing. I personally benefited from it as a child.”
“I don’t understand.”
Mack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Let me start from the beginning. The Double M has always been owned by a MacDuff in partnership with a Monroe, the double M’s. My father was the MacDuff before me. In 1994, when I was just six years old, my parents were murdered. The Monroe in question was and is my godfather, and I was taken in and adopted by him and his wife, and I grew up in that group home as one of their children. About that same time your client, our angel donor, began the stipend. Ms. Duchen, the MacDuffs and the Monroes are a pretty thoroughly inter-married clan, and I’ve grown up knowing just who my father was and who his people are. On the other hand, the only things I know about my mother is that her last name was Llewellyn, which I carry as a middle name, and recently I have found out that she has a brother. I am working on the theory that your client, our angel donor, is my maternal uncle. I want to meet him. I think he can tell me things about my mother that I need to know so that I can better understand myself.”
“Um, wow, that’s... that’s some story,” Athena said, “and it’s the truth, too. I mean, I can tell you’re leaving details out, but you really believe what you’re saying, but what if, I repeat, what if my client isn’t your long, lost uncle? I’m sorry, but I cannot reveal who my client is without their express permission.”
“We’re not asking you to,” KC said. “Contact your client. Tell him, her, or it that Hieronymus Llewellyn MacDuff wants to meet. Your client can set up whatever precautions they want, and we’ll abide by them.”
“And if I refuse?” Athena challenged.
“I’ll use the stick,” KC growled back.
Athena considered the two of them for a moment. “You’re lovers, aren’t you?”
Mack and KC glanced at one another.
“Don’t bother to deny it. It’s my gift. I am an empath, and I can see the true beauty and love in people. One of the reasons why I went into family law, I suppose. The more beneficial side of my heritage. My
mother is a wood nymph, and my father, may he rot, is a Cupid.”
“Fertility deity. Told you,” KC slapped Mack on one of his biceps.
“Cupids are Olympians, not gods, but I accept your point,” Mack said. “We were spit balling about why you, um, you know, uh...”
“Schtup everybody who’ll take me into their bed?” Athena supplied. She leaned back in her chair with a smile. “I do have needs, which are magnified once a month by a geas, and I can lay most of the blame at my father’s feet, but before I could do that, I had to track him down. My mother married a wonderful man who adopted me, gave me his name, and raised me with unconditional love. He’s a lawyer, too, and he helped me track my birth father down, so I do understand your desire, Mr. Llewellyn... or is it MacDuff?”
“Just ‘Mack’ is fine.”
“I will contact my client, but if they want no contact, I won’t press the issue. On the other hand, I’ll find out for sure if they’re your uncle, Mack.” Athena grabbed a piece of note paper and handed it to Mack. “Give me a number or an email address I can reliably contact you at.”
KC took the paper from Mack and handed it back to Athena. “We’ll call you after the close of business today. On your private cell.”
“You have my number?”
“We also know where you live. That’s not a threat by the way, just a statement of fact.”
“It sounds a bit threatening, and quite impressive.”
“Tracking people down is just one of the things we do,” KC shrugged. “Coming to you is just the easiest way of doing this that we could think of. Mack’s uncle is something of a ghost.”
“Like a spy, not a real ghost,” Mack clarified.
“I got that,” Athena said.
“You’ll get in touch with the client today, right?” KC pressed.
“Yes, but I think you should both leave before I start to get... excited,” Athena said.
KC raised an eyebrow.
“Forceful women and strapping men are a personal weakness of mine, so, just leave, now, please?”
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