by Tasha Black
Before she could start her chat with Reeves, she noticed a flash of movement in her periphery.
She turned to see Rex, the administrative assistant from the academy, running across the field, his blond hair ruffling in the wind. The female cadets always thought Rex was a little dreamy, but today he looked worried.
“Veronica,” he called to her.
“Excuse me a moment,” she told Reeves, and headed toward Rex.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Someone’s trying to reach you,” he panted in reply. “It’s an emergency.”
3
Georgia
Georgia stood calmly, feet shoulder width apart, in the dining room of the observatory in Stargazer, Pennsylvania.
She gazed out the window at the dark surface of the placid lake, willing herself to be as still and cool as the water.
She’d been on hold long enough that the phone had warmed to the temperature of her ear.
She tried not to notice Posey and Rima fidgeting at the table beside her.
Posey had just called on her dancer friend Honey at that resort in the Catskills for help.
In comparison, Georgia should have been feeling confident that her contact at the police academy would come through for them. But there was so much riding on her instincts that it was hard to feel very confident about anything.
The smell of chai tea wafted in from the kitchen. Even Dr. Bhimani was nervous. Rima’s mom seemed to think a cup of tea would solve all their problems.
It couldn’t solve this one.
At last the silent phone came to life.
“Hello?” Veronica’s normally husky voice was up an octave - worried.
“Hey Veronica. It’s Georgia.”
“Georgia,” Veronica echoed, sounding surprised.
She had every right to be surprised. It wasn’t like they’d really stayed in touch much after high school. Georgia had been strong-armed by her dad into going to college. Veronica had gone on to work at the police academy - the same one Georgia had hoped to attend.
“I know this is out of the blue,” Georgia said. “But I need your help with something.”
“Sure,” Veronica said without hesitation. “What is it?”
God love her.
“I’ve got three guys who need internships,” Georgia told her.
“Oh, gee…” Veronica began.
“Unpaid internships, nothing official,” Georgia said at once. “They need a bit of real world experience and if your mom’s Facebook page is accurate, you guys need hands on deck. Just get a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.”
“Who are they?”
It was a reasonable question.
Too bad Georgia couldn’t answer it. She had no idea if the Feds were listening in on her calls.
She and her sisters-in-law had… liberated a bunch of the men from the planet Aerie who were being kept in the lab next to the Observatory.
But she had a feeling the officials in charge wouldn’t exactly see it that way.
In the lab, scientists were trying to make these men click permanently into their human forms artificially, without bonding to a mate as it was meant to happen. As Georgia, Posey and Rima saw it, this was nothing but hopeless torture for the men. It wasn’t working and it never could.
And if Aerie thought their men couldn’t click with Earth women… Well, Earth would soon be a distant memory if that were the case.
So Georgia and her friends had snuck out some of the alien men, sending them off to places where they hoped they might learn more about Earth, and meet women who would love them and help them click.
“I think you’ll recognize them the moment you see them,” Georgia said in as significant a way as she knew how.
Everyone knew these guys from Aerie were over-the-top big and sexy.
“From high school?” Veronica ventured.
Darn.
“Nope,” Georgia said. “I don’t have time to explain, but just look out for them. You’ll know as soon as you see them. Make sure they meet some decent women, okay?”
“What are you talking about?” Veronica demanded.
But Georgia hung up, before her friend could ask the wrong type of questions - questions that might alert anyone listening in about what was happening.
“Everything okay?” Rima asked quietly.
Georgia shook her head.
“She’ll get it,” Posey said comfortingly. “She’ll understand everything once she reads your letter.”
“What letter?” Georgia asked.
“The letter of introduction,” Posey said slowly. “Like the one I sent with Kitt for Honey, to make sure she knew the guys were aliens and needed to find mates?”
“I didn’t write a letter,” Georgia said. “This isn’t a Jane Austen novel.”
Rima and Posey exchanged a look.
“I’m sure they’ll be okay,” Rima said quickly.
A sinking feeling threatened and Georgia pushed it back.
Veronica Nunez was smart and resourceful. Her instincts would lead her in the right direction even if she didn’t immediately notice the men’s striking resemblance to their gorgeous brethren.
She hoped.
4
Lobo
Lobo approached the small building with a degree of skepticism. He had watched several films about life at the police academy. In those movies, the sturdy brick mid-rise buildings of the academy rose out of a lush, rolling lawn. Rows of cadets were always outside doing jumping jacks while officers in impressive uniforms patrolled the grounds.
The building before him, on the other hand, looked more like a haunted church. The squat stone structure peered out from behind an overgrown rhododendron hedge that skimmed the sidewalk in front of it. A tower on one side reached for the clouds, the frames of its windows clotted with numberless coats of lumpy green paint that nearly matched the weathered copper of the roof.
A wooden sign swung from the mailbox, the number it bore confirming that he was in the right place.
He shrugged and jogged onto the front porch. Lobo doubted this police academy would be as funny as the one from the movies, but hopefully they would at least have an officer who made delightful sound effects with his mouth.
The place had a damp, woodsy smell that reminded him of the blueberry patch near the pond back in Stargazer.
He felt momentarily lost, and wished he hadn’t left his brothers at the cafe in town.
But Georgia had advised him to approach the woman who was to rescue them in the most discreet way possible. And the more Lobo learned about the way his kind was perceived by human females, the more he realized having all three of them arrive at once would be the opposite of discreet.
There was a bronze knocker on the door. He grabbed it and gave a firm knock, then stepped back to wait.
A female voice spoke in a lilting cadence somewhere nearby.
He knocked again, a bit harder this time.
On Aerie, manners were very important. Appearing to be impatient in any way ran counter to his deepest cultural instincts. So when there was still no answer, he decided to investigate instead of increasing the intensity of his knocks.
Lobo strode through the small garden, past the thicket of rhododendrons, to find a high fence separating him from a dusty field in back.
At the far end of it he saw the owner of the sing-song voice.
She was tall for a female, with long black hair in a ponytail that swung down her back.
Her hair matched the shining coat of a large dog that stood at the center of the field, its massive paws splayed on the dusty grass.
He scanned the area, but didn’t see any other humans or animals.
While he watched, the woman sang out another command to the dog.
It tilted its head in a curious way, but did not approach her.
Maybe…
Lobo tasted the flavor of the creature’s uncertain thoughts. It was both enamored of the woman and frightened
of her.
Lobo examined her through the animal’s eyes.
Kind, funny.
Whatever her personality, she was lovely to look at. She wore a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, informal clothing. She held a red ball in her hands. But to Lobo she could not have been more beautiful if she were wearing the finest gown and carrying a scepter. He admired her tall, proud figure and the determined way in which she was trying to communicate with the creature, however unsuccessfully.
He hoped that the woman he was observing would turn out to be Veronica Nunez. That would be a stroke of luck. Lobo decided he should find out right away.
There did not appear to be any type of gate or opening in the fence, so he decided to scale it instead.
He jogged a few steps, jumped and grabbed the top of the fence, and then swung himself over.
“No,” the woman screamed before his feet had even hit the ground.
5
Veronica
Veronica shifted the ball from her right hand to her left and crooned to Zeus.
The enormous Rottweiler observed her wistfully.
He wanted that ball.
But he was afraid.
Zeus had been rescued from a dog-fighting ring in the city. Most of the animals found on that bust had to be put down right away. But the local SPCA took Zeus on, hoping he was not too far gone to be saved.
After a few days, they saw the error of their ways, and tried to bring him to Veronica, ostensibly for training to become a police dog.
It did no good for Veronica to explain that police dogs had to be trained from birth.
“Just foster him, then,” the woman had said. “Please. He’s been trained to be aggressive, but there’s such a sweetness to him. If you can bring him around and he’s really obedient maybe we can find him a home.”
Veronica wasn’t exactly a hard sell. She loved dogs and there really was a sweetness to Zeus. Except when he was aggressive over his food. And his toys. And his bed.
He hadn’t let anyone near him for the first couple of days. But Veronica would sit in his pen with him after she brought his food each night. She talked to him about her day and just kept him company.
About a week into that routine, he came over and casually lay down next to her, flopping his massive head onto her knee with a huff of resignation, as if he had given up on not snuggling with her.
It was a victory, for sure. But he still didn’t like her touching him. And he still wouldn’t let anyone else near him.
Out in the open field he often got nervous about Veronica all over again. He liked her best when she was sitting down and being still. It was going to take some time to get him comfortable enough to play with the ball.
Fortunately, she had the time. It wasn’t like anyone was waiting up for her at home.
Zeus perked up his ears and turned. She followed his gaze to see a strange man launch himself effortlessly over the tall fence.
“No,” she screamed.
But it was too late. The big lanky body was already kicking up the dust from his landing.
And Zeus was streaking across the field toward him.
Veronica bolted toward them, knowing there was nothing she could do.
Zeus launched himself into the air and knocked the man down on his back.
Veronica watched in horror as the big dog leapt onto the man’s chest.
Zeus thrust his massive head down.
And began to lick the man’s face eagerly.
What in the world?
The man laughed - a deep, happy sound that made Veronica smile in spite of herself.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, sitting up. “I’m very sorry to have intruded.”
His intense blue eyes were somehow very familiar.
Veronica took in the chiseled body and the high cheekbones. It was unlikely that she would have met this guy before and not remembered him.
Then it hit her. This was the man from her dream.
Suddenly, she felt almost faint.
“I didn’t see a way in so I jumped over the fence,” the man explained politely.
Veronica looked back in wonder at the twelve-foot high chain link fence behind him.
“I’m Lobo,” he continued, undaunted. “My sister-in-law, Georgia, sent me to find Veronica Nunez. Is that you?”
“That’s me,” she managed.
“My brothers and I just got into town,” he told her. “Georgia said you could help us find internships.”
Zeus snuffled playfully at Lobo’s armpit and Lobo put a friendly arm around the big dog and snuffled him back.
Zeus grinned and wagged his stump of a tail.
“I’ve got an opening at the kennel,” Veronica heard herself say. “I think you’d be a good fit.”
6
Veronica
Veronica took a swig of hard apple cider. Nothing like a bit of liquid courage before telling her best buds she had volunteered them to take on interns.
The Legal Beagle was pretty busy for a weeknight. Off-duty cops were shooting pool and drinking beer everywhere she looked. Hopefully her roommates wouldn’t yell at her in public. And even if they did, in the relative din, maybe no one would notice.
Part of her was just glad to get them all together. Trinity always kept odd hours, and it seemed like Brooke hardly ever got a break from teaching martial arts at her gym lately. Veronica couldn’t remember the last time they’d all been out for a night on the town.
Sadly, this wasn’t going to be one of those nights.
“So I know we’re all snowed under,” she began, a little too loudly.
Brooke looked up, her blue eyes cold as ice. She already smelled a rat.
“You’re telling me,” Trinity muttered.
“My friend Georgia called me today,” Veronica continued doggedly.
“The one who married an alien?” Brooke’s serious expression broke into a sunny grin.
“Yeah, that Georgia,” Veronica said.
“If she wants to come and stay it’s not a problem,” Trinity said immediately, one brow arched. “We can always make time for her, especially if she brings that husband.”
Georgia and her two friends Posey and Rima were all over the news. The three of them had met and married three unbelievably gorgeous guys who happened to be aliens. It was wild to know someone who had become an instant celebrity.
Veronica wondered again why Georgia would need her help finding internships for people when the world seemed to be her oyster right now.
“Are they coming?” Brooke asked.
“No,” Veronica said. “She called because she wanted me to find internships for a couple of people.”
“She wanted what?” Brooke asked.
“Does she seriously have nothing better to do than arrange internships?” Trinity asked.
“She’s a super nice person,” Veronica explained. “And she’s very practical. Apparently, my mom has been posting on Facebook that we’re all short staffed.”
“Do they have tech experience?” Trinity sounded excited.
“I have no idea,” Veronica said. “But the one I met was spooky good with Zeus.”
“Isn’t Zeus the killer dog?” Brooke asked.
“I wish you wouldn’t call him that,” Veronica said.
“I’m sorry,” Brooke said. “Let me rephrase that. Isn’t he the dog that you rescued from a fighting ring, and won’t let anyone near him without roaring at them and gnashing his giant teeth like he wants to eat them?”
“He is,” Veronica admitted.
“Wow,” Trinity said. “That’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” Veronica said, mulling it over as she stared into the murky depths of her cider.
“Yeah,” Brooke said with feeling.
Veronica looked up from her cider to find Brooke gazing at the entry to the pub.
The door was open and the light from the lamppost outside silhouetted three gigantic men. The muggy air from the str
eet had turned to fog and the effect was as if the Legal Beagle were being infiltrated by three rock stars.
Or three…
Aliens.
“Veronica,” a familiar deep voice said.
Lobo.
“Hi,” Veronica said weakly.
“Oh my god,” Trinity said, “they’re—”
Brooke elbowed Trinity in the solar plexus before she could finish her sentence.
The men strode toward them.
Veronica found her eyes locked with Lobo’s once again. He was flanked by two other men, each a hulking specimen of masculinity. But she had eyes only for Lobo.
Could he really be an alien?
“These are my brothers,” he told her. “Conan and Hawkeye.”
Conan smiled, his hazel eyes twinkling. He had a youthful air about him.
Hawkeye smirked and nodded.
“Hello, boys,” Veronica said, pretending she wasn’t freaking out. “These are my friends, Brooke and Trinity.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Brooke said with her cocky pirate smile. She was all swagger, and Veronica had never been so impressed. Her own cool seemed to have evaporated.
“Hello,” Conan said, gazing at Brooke like she might know all the secrets of the universe.
“Trinity,” Hawkeye said, offering his massive hand to Veronica’s shy friend.
Trinity looked up from her cider, her eyes traveling slowly up Hawkeye’s impressive frame to meet his eye.
“Hey, there,” Trinity said, grabbing his hand and shaking it.
“Thank you for meeting us,” Lobo said quietly to Veronica. “We appreciate that you are willing to shelter us. We will work hard for you and protect you with our lives.”
“Uh, wow, hopefully it won’t come to that,” Veronica said.
“If it does, we are at your service.”
He was gazing down at her with such intensity. It was hard to remember where they were, what they were supposed to be doing. He wasn’t physically touching her, but his eyes and even his voice seemed to caress her.