Dark Operative_A Shadow of Death

by I. T. Lucas

  And if she were being honest, his ruthlessness turned her on.

  It wouldn't have if it were directed at innocents, but Turner's work was all about cleaning up the filth of the world, which Bridget supported wholeheartedly.

  His hard body and that amazing eight-pack of his were a bonus, not only because he looked and felt so good, but because Bridget appreciated the discipline that went into achieving such a level of fitness.

  For a man as accomplished and as busy as Turner, it must've been difficult to carve out the time needed to perfect his physique.

  He was an over-achiever. Just like her.

  "What are you going to do about your practice?" Turner asked as they entered her apartment.

  "I already talked with my son about him taking over for me. He was more than happy to do it, especially after I explained why I needed him. Either that or he is sick of working with humans and is looking for a dignified excuse to leave his residency."

  "When is he coming back?"

  "When I tell him I made up my mind that I'm going through with that."

  "In that case, you need to call him soon."

  "You're right. In fact, I need to call him before it's too late on the East Coast."

  Turner pushed his hands in his pockets. "Go ahead. I'll wait."

  "It might take a while."

  "I don't mind waiting." He remained standing.

  If she didn't tell him to sit down, would he wait for her in the same spot doing an impression of a statue?

  "Make yourself comfortable, and help yourself to the fridge or whatever else you need. I'd like you to feel at home here." She hesitated before heading to her bedroom to make the call. "I don't want to worry about you being thirsty or hungry. The more you do for yourself, the less I need to do for you." That got a smile out of him. "Understood."

  "Good."

  She was okay with preparing and serving him a nice dinner once in a while, but she had no intention of doing it daily. If he wanted to spend more time with her, he'd better learn to fend for himself.

  Bridget dialed Julian's number and waited, then waited some more. Finally, he answered just as she was about to end the call. "Hi, Mom."

  "Are you working?"

  "It seems I never stop."

  "Can you talk?"

  "I have a few minutes before I have to go back."

  "I made up my mind."

  There was a whoosh as he let out a long breath. "Thank the merciful Fates. I need to get out of here. Being around human drama every day all day long is draining. I don't know how you did it."

  She chuckled. "In my time residency was much shorter."

  "Lucky you."

  "Indeed. How soon can you leave?"

  "I need to talk with my chief. He is a mega asshole, but I can't abandon ship without giving notice."

  "Let me know."

  "I will. Love you, Mom."

  "I love you too. And, Julian?"

  "Yes?"

  "I'm glad you're coming back. I missed you."

  "Really? Do you miss my guitar playing and singing too?"

  "Incredibly so."

  "You used to hate it."

  "And now I miss it."

  "Mothers are strange creatures."

  "No. Just yours."

  "That's one of the many reasons you're the best."

  Sweet Julian. He always knew what to say to make her smile. "Good night. And don't let that A-hole human intimidate you."

  He chuckled. "In his dreams. Good night, Mom."

  Bridget connected her phone to the charging cable, stopped by the mirror on top of her dresser to check her hair, and squirted a little perfume behind her ears.

  In the living room, she found Turner perching on a barstool with his back to the counter, holding a bottle of Snake's Venom in his hand.

  "Be careful with that stuff. It has a very high alcohol content."

  "I know. I checked the label." He put the beer on the counter and pulled her in between his legs. "You look radiant. It must've been a good talk."

  "Julian always knows what to say to make me smile."

  Turner's hand on her back was slowly inching down to the curve of her buttocks. "I need to take lessons from him."

  "It only works on me. I don't think any other woman would appreciate the twisted sense of humor we share."

  "Perfect, because I'm only interested in you." His hand finally made it to its destination and gently squeezed her cheek, then the other joined on her other side. "This ass is a work of art. It was torture to keep thinking about it and not being able to touch it for an entire week."

  With a smirk, Bridget rubbed against his hardness. "Did you jerk off thinking about my butt?"

  "Every night. Sometimes twice a night."

  Did it mean he hadn't slaked his needs with some South American beauty?

  His client had no doubt offered him a selection of them. Over there, it was part of doing business. Bridget had been batting away jealous thoughts all week long.

  "Was this on top of shagging bimbettes? Or instead?"

  Her jealous comment wrested a grin out of him like nothing she had said before. "Jealous?"

  He had no idea. "I forgot to mention that before, but while we are together it has to be exclusive."

  "Same here. Besides, you ruined all other women for me. You're incomparable. After you kick me out, I'll have to join a monastery."

  "First of all, I'm not going to kick you out anytime soon. And second of all, you just gave me a great idea."

  "Are you going to join me in celibacy?"

  "Not a chance. But the monastery where the Doomers held our Carol is a perfect place for an all-girls school."

  "It burned to the ground."

  "We can rebuild it. I'm sure the land can be bought at a bargain price. Just think about the cosmic justice. Turning a place that was used as a prison for abducted women into a sanctuary for them is just too perfect."

  Chapter 34: Jackson

  "Remember, Sharon and Nick don't know about us. Only Tessa does," Jackson told Ruth again.

  Sylvia's mom was a bit scatterbrained, but she was determined to learn and was doing the best she could, given her limitations. It was difficult for a shy person to work with customers. But since most of their clientele were regulars, it was getting easier for her. She was only shy with strangers, maybe because she was such a homebody who'd never had a job before.

  "I got it. I'm not dumb." Ruth put the finishing touches on the sandwich she was making.

  Since she'd started working at the café, the customers had been enjoying sandwiches that were both tasty and artfully presented. It was a nice touch, but it was taking her too long. People preferred speed to esthetics.

  "I know you're not, but it's confusing with Tessa around. They are practically her siblings, which makes it hard to remember that they don't know."

  Ruth looked away from her creation. "How did Eva manage to hide what she was for so long?"

  "Sharon and Nick have been working with her for only six or seven years, so they were not a problem. The real deal was how she hid her nature from her husband and daughter for two decades. The woman is a talented actress and an amazing makeup artist. You should have seen her old lady disguise. If not for the smell, she would've fooled me."

  Ruth handed the plate to Gordon and started on another one. "I never met Eva. I'm curious."

  "She is intimidating, but she has a good heart."

  On his way out, Gordon cast him a glare. "Jackson, get your ass behind the counter. People are waiting for their cappuccinos."

  Jackson pushed away from the work table he'd been leaning against. "Right. I'll let you know when they are in, Ruth."

  She nodded.

  He hadn't told her anything about Sharon and Nick and the quest to find mates for them. If she clicked with Nick, good, if not, he didn't want her to get her hopes up.

  Not that he had much faith in the success of this experiment. The only thing Nick and Ruth had in common was
awkwardness.

  As had been agreed, Tessa walked in with her coworkers near closing time. That way everyone could take it easy without customers demanding their attention.

  "Hi, kitten," he said as he pulled her in for a hug. "How was your day?"

  She kissed him on the mouth, ignoring the looks from the few customers still occupying the booths. "Same as every other day. Boring. But it's better now."

  "If you hate accounting so much, why don't you ask Eva to give you something else to do?"

  Tessa shrugged. "It's a boring job, but someone needs to do it. I don't mind. It's not like I can do Nick's or Sharon's jobs."

  Nick snickered. "Anyone can do Sharon's job."

  Sharon crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, really? You want to try it for a day? If it's not written in code, you can't read it."

  "I don't want to read it. That doesn't mean I can't."

  Sharon waved in annoyance. "Whatever. Let's order something. I'm hungry."

  "What would you like?" Jackson asked.

  "The usual."

  "Same here," Nick said, sliding into the booth across from Sharon.

  "Kitten?"

  Tessa pushed her hand into the back pocket of his jeans. "I'll come with you to the kitchen and say hi to Ruth."

  She walked over to Sylvia's mom and gave her a hug. "How are you holding up?"

  Ruth adjusted the scrunchie holding her chestnut hair in a loose bun. "It gets stressful when the orders come in faster than I can make them. But other than that I'm enjoying it here. The guys are great, very eager to teach me so they can get out of here."

  Jackson pinned Sharon's and Nick's orders over the work table. "These two are the last ones for the day. Except for Tessa's special, that is."

  Ruth smiled. "Coming right up."

  "When you are done, come join us at the table."

  "Sure, boss man."

  Tessa laughed. "She must be your favorite employee. The guys never call you boss."

  "They don't need to say it. But they know it." He leaned and kissed the top of her head.

  Without her platform shoes, Tessa barely reached his collarbone, and that was after she'd gained a little height after her transition. He didn't mind one way or the other, loving every inch of her.

  A few minutes later the last of the customers left, and Jackson locked the door behind him. "Hallelujah." He dragged two chairs over for Gordon and Vlad who helped Ruth carry the plates from the kitchen.

  "Nick, Sharon, this is my new employee, Ruth. Ruth, this is Sharon, and that is Nick. They work with Tessa."

  Ruth smiled, looking only at Sharon. "It's nice to meet you."

  "Same here," Sharon said. "Come and sit with us."

  Tessa made room by squeezing closer to Sharon.

  "Thank you." Ruth sat on the very edge.

  Jackson sat next to Nick, while Gordon and Vlad sat on the chairs.

  Sharon chuckled. "Look at us. The way we are sitting we can play girls versus boys."

  Nick glanced at Ruth. "Do you play poker?"

  She shook her head.

  "Do you want to learn? We hold a poker night at our house once or twice a week. We play for pennies."

  As Ruth tugged on her scrunchie, letting the mass of her auburn locks spill around her face, Nick watched, mesmerized.

  Knowing Ruth, she had done it because she was nervous and wanted to hide behind her hair, but to Nick it must have looked like she was flirting.

  "I would love to," she said so quietly it was barely audible to the two humans. "But I really don't know the first thing about poker."

  Nick just stared for a few seconds until Sharon kicked him under the table. "I can teach you. It's not that complicated. And if you lose, it's not a big deal since we play for pennies."

  Sharon grinned. "You have to come. It's fun."

  Nick glared at her. "Looking for your next victim?"

  Sharon lifted her palms. "I swear that this is not my intention. And to prove it I will stay out of the game."

  Tessa giggled. "You're so full of good intentions. Admit that all you want is to get Robert out on the patio so you guys can kiss."

  Sharon pouted. "I'm still waiting for the big lug to invite me out on a date, or even come over to see me when it's not poker night. I feel like I'm courting a virgin."

  "Maybe he wants to save himself for marriage?" Ruth suggested. "Some hu… I mean some people still cling to old-fashioned ideas."

  Obviously, Ruth didn't know which Robert they were talking about. Come to think of it, Jackson wasn't sure Ruth knew who Robert the ex-Doomer was. She didn't live at the keep and didn't interact much with other clan members. He would enlighten her later.

  Sharon shook her head. "No, that's not the reason. I think the guy is strapped for cash and can't afford to take me out. Though I don't understand why. He has a good job that should pay well."

  "Maybe he has debts?" Nick offered. "Or maybe he supports his folks? Or, maybe he has a gambling problem?"

  Tessa burst out laughing. "I can just imagine Robert handing over sacks filled with all the pennies he lost."

  Chapter 35: Kian

  "Ready to check out the new cars?" Kian asked the brothers.

  Anandur pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and closed his phone, shoving it in his back pocket. "Sure. But don't expect me to replace my baby with one of these electrical contraptions. It's unnatural to let a car drive itself. I don't trust computers. They glitch too often. If I'm sitting on my couch while it happens that's okay, but not while I'm sitting in a moving vehicle."

  Kian slapped his back. "Every change is difficult to accept, but after a short while you can't understand how you've lived without it."

  Anandur followed him out of the office. "Toilets were an awesome invention."

  "Guns too," Brundar offered.

  They stopped by Onegus's on their way to the elevators. "Want to join us for a test ride?" Anandur asked.

  "And get out of here? Sure." Onegus rolled his chair away from his desk and stood up.

  Kian's new unofficial protocol was to take only one bodyguard with him, but today was an exception. He was taking three.

  His mother would approve.

  Except, he was not going out. The first shipment of cars had been delivered to the underground parking garage of one of the adjacent high-rises. He preferred to walk over rather than drive there, taking the tunnel connecting the keep's underground to the one across the street.

  "Did you get the paperwork?" Kian asked Onegus.

  "Already taken care of. All the cars in this shipment are registered to our local biotech company as part of their fleet."

  "That was fast. How did you manage that?"

  Onegus smiled. "Roni. That kid is worth his weight in diamonds. He can hack into any government system and update records as if it has been done by their own personnel."

  Kian wasn't happy with the shortcut Onegus had used. "There was no need to use a hacker for something that is perfectly legal and easily obtained by regular channels."

  "It would have taken weeks. Roni had all sixteen cars registered in under an hour. I like the efficiency."

  "Next time do it the regular way."

  Roni wasn't transitioning. Perhaps the kid's body was still too weak from the pneumonia, and the last thing Kian wanted was to overload him with work. Besides, taking unnecessary risks was stupid.

  "You know we are understaffed. If it makes things a little easier then why not?"

  Kian stopped and turned to face Onegus. "Because every hack is a risk. We want Roni's backdoor into the government network to remain open for when we really need it."

  Onegus shrugged. "You're the boss."

  Everyone kept saying that and still doing things they knew Kian wouldn't approve of. Evidently, his people were well aware that his bark was much worse than his bite. He needed to slap a few with heavy penalties so the rest would toe the line.

  His people were undisciplined, which besides annoying
the hell out of him, also meant that they were lax as far as security went—as evidenced by how effortlessly Turner had found out so much about them.

  He had no doubt that Turner's people did exactly as they were told, and that his security was ironclad. Anandur still hadn't found out where the guy lived or worked.

  Embarrassing.

  "Did you have any luck following Turner?" he asked.

  Anandur shook his head. "You wouldn't believe how sophisticated this guy is. He has cameras installed under his car, on its roof, and several on its sides, probably transmitting the feed to an app on his phone. He checks it every time he returns from visiting Bridget."

  Kian was impressed. "We should ask him to teach us his safety protocol. He makes us look like amateurs."

  "Wait, I'm not finished yet. You have no idea to what lengths he actually goes. The guy is paranoid in the extreme."

  "There is more?" Kian slowed his pace.

  "The last time he came to talk to Bridget, I waited for the guy on the street in a borrowed truck and followed him. Naturally, I kept quite a distance. So when he turned into the mall, and I got stuck at a red light, I thought that I lost him. I was sure it was an evasive maneuver, and that he'd left through another exit, but then I saw him leave the car with the valet and enter the mall. I waited for him to come back for hours, but he didn't."

  "Perhaps he had a lot of shopping to do," Onegus suggested.

  "I came back at night, and the car was still there. The valet just moved it out into the general parking lot. Turner must have tipped him to do that. He either had another car somewhere in the mall's many parking areas, or took an Uber from another exit."

  "He must've noticed you following him," Kian said. "I doubt he employs such elaborate maneuvers every time he goes somewhere."

  "Maybe. But next time, I'm going to take Brundar and another Guardian with me. Brundar and I are going to follow Turner into the mall, unseen under the cover of Brundar's shroud. I have to know how he does it. As soon as he exits, I'm going to call the other Guardian and have him follow the new vehicle or the Uber or taxi or whatever other mode of transportation he takes from there."

  "It's good that the rotations are over. Otherwise, you wouldn't have time to play detective," Onegus said. "It's not like there is any value in following Turner. He is not our enemy."