A.L.F.A. Instincts

by Milly Taiden

  Even dragging butt, and she had substantial butt to drag, she was glad to be here. She was able to decode messages important to national security. How many others could really say their job was as important as hers?

  Looking around the room, she had no idea so many people came into work this early. They were the ones who had children to pick up from soccer practice or band rehearsal. Had a loving spouse to go home to, and whatever else that was wonderful in their lives. She wouldn’t know. Never been there. No T-shirt.

  She turned down the aisle toward the kitchen and was startled by a man standing in the center of the corridor. “Hey, Marty. I wasn’t expecting to see you there. What are doing standing in the middle of the hall?”

  He grinned. His eyes were as round as plates. “Oh, just lucky, I guess, to not run into you at the corner. You’ve done a great job of teaching me how to be careful.” He was fidgety, seemed a bit afraid of being close to her. “Well, need to get back to work.” He scooted over, his back against the wall and sidestepped until he was a distance away, then hurried on.

  She sighed. Yeah, she’d done the proverbial run into a coworker carrying coffee while coming around the corner act. But she hadn’t done that for a long time. Not yet this year, and they were halfway through.

  In the kitchen, someone had placed a dozen donuts on the table. Oh my god. She was so thankful. In her rush out the door this morning, breakfast hadn’t happened. Not when the director wanted to see you right away. Maybe she should find an apartment closer to the office. But stuff was so expensive in this part of DC.

  Coffee in hand, she sat at the four-person table and plucked a glazed donut from the box. And it was still warm. Oh my god, again. If they did this every morning, she was changing her work hours. The dough melted on her tongue, the glazing sliding onto her taste buds. Pure heaven, and the reason she had a lot of butt to drag around. Oh, well. She’d rather live shorter and be happy than live longer and be miserable.

  From the hallway, she heard high-heeled shoes clack on the terrazzo floor. Annie, a lady who worked across the room from her, walked in. Upon seeing Kari sitting at the table, she froze in her tracks.

  “Good morning, Annie,” she said.

  “Hey, Kari.” The smile on her coworker’s face was faker than shit. Even she could see that. “You’re here early.” Annie poured coffee into a mug designed as a cat face.

  “Yeah, had a rush job come in. Didn’t take long, so here I am eating donuts,” she said. Surprising her, Annie took a cream-filled pastry from the box instead of running out of the room.

  “But they’re freaking good. Still warm,” Annie said. Ahh, Kari thought, the draw of sugar was strong enough to create even the most awkward of meetings. The silence between them was thicker than the lemon goo squirted into the donut Annie held.

  Kari noticed the diamond ring on Annie’s hand. “How’s it going with Keith?” she asked. She hoped that was the man’s name.

  “Good, good,” Annie said. “Any men on your horizon?” Kari saw the slight cringe Annie made after asking the question. Yeah, the woman didn’t care, just being polite and asking the wrong question to someone she didn’t want to talk to. But Kari had a funny comeback for this. First time for everything.

  Kari snorted. “The closest I’ve been to a man was when I wiped spilled tea off the TV when a commercial advertising the Thunder from Down Under tour came on. Then I had to wipe my drool from the screen.”

  Annie laughed. “Aren’t they absolutely gorgeous? At least you can look at them. Keith turns the channel as soon as he hears the music for the commercial start, whether I’m in the living room or not.” They both laughed over men and their jealousies. But in reality, she’d love to have someone who would be jealous. Shit, she’d be glad just to have someone. She sighed.

  Her coworker’s eyes turned sad, sympathetic. But she didn’t come any closer. “Hey, now,” Annie said. “Just because you haven’t found somebody yet doesn’t mean you won’t.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Though she didn’t believe it. “But I’m in my thirties now and ready to do something with my life.” She’d been here since college, day in, day out. The worst part was Kari had never even been in love.

  Annie whispered back, “It will happen. You just have to find him, then kick his ass for not finding you sooner.” She glanced at the clock. “I need to get back to my desk. Lots to do today.” She hurried out of the kitchen. That was the longest conversation Kari had ever had with someone from her office.

  Kari hefted her bag over her shoulder. Talking to no one in the room, she said, “Yeah, might as well get started. Maybe I’ll leave early and check out the new spa that opened across the block. The pictures online made the place look incredible.”

  At the main aisle, she trudged to her desk in the back by the wall. She laid her bag on the desk and noted the message button flashing on her phone. Wow, no one used the phone anymore. All her correspondence was via email or some other electronic means. She couldn’t remember the last time she actually used her office phone. They were too easy to tap into.

  She listened to the message and about died. The director wanted to see her again when “she had a moment.” Like she’d ever tell the director Sorry, no moments available right now. He probably wanted to ask questions about the message from this morning.

  Kari loved her job. She loved solving puzzles and riddles and figuring out mathematical problems. But she felt tired now . . . tired of her mundane life. Maybe she needed some time off. Visit her family in Florida. Go to the beach, get eaten by a shark. She shivered. She had a hard time getting in the ocean knowing how many critters existed that could kill or hurt her.

  She might even try one of those online dating services. She was leery of those. There were stories about women being robbed and also not knowing if the picture you saw online was who you’d see in person. But it seemed like a good way to “meet” a bunch of guys at the same time.

  The elevator to the director’s floor opened. She needed to pull herself together. It was time for work and not personal catastrophes like her love life. And she had to remember not to touch anything on the director’s desk.

  CHAPTER 3

  For the third time today, Kari knocked on the FBI director’s door. Hearing the obligatory “Enter,” she stepped inside the office. The director grabbed his coffee cup and sat back in his chair.

  “Please, have a seat. Thank you for coming up so quickly, Miss Tomlin.” Again, not like she was going to tell him to bugger off.

  “Absolutely, sir,” she said. “What can I do for you?”

  “Miss Tomlin,” he began, “you’ve been with us for some time, now. Is that correct?”

  Oh shit. Was he firing her? Was the message decoded incorrectly? No, it had to be right. Had she done something wrong? “Yes, sir. Since college, sir.”

  “And in all that time, you’ve never taken a full week of vacation,” he continued. “Do you not enjoy taking time off, Miss Tomlin?” She heard the humor in his voice and relaxed a bit. She smiled.

  “No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. I just don’t have anywhere really to go.”

  “I see.” He cleared his throat and set his cup on the desk. Funny how he always grabbed his cup and scooted away from his desk whenever she came in. “I just got off the phone with Director Tumbel.” She had no idea who that was, but wouldn’t ask, either. “His group needs a female to help on a project. I thought you would be a good choice for that.”

  Oh, come on. Couldn’t they find a male who could type and file? Why did it always have to be a woman to do that work? Mainly because men couldn’t get that shit right. She met the director’s eyes and realized he was waiting for her to say something. Shit. What was the question?

  “Yes, sir.” Damn, she hoped she didn’t make an idiot of herself.

  “Is that a yes, I’d like to go, or yes, I wasn’t listening and don’t know what
to say.”

  Kari busted out in a laugh. The way he said it was hilarious. He damn well knew which yes it was, but chose not to embarrass her. He was a good guy. Not many of those around. If she ever came across one who was single, she’d grab hold and never let go. Good luck finding one available, though.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll help them do whatever they need. Is it a lot of typing or more organizational?”

  His brows drew down. What did she say now?

  “The job is a field assignment in a foreign country,” he said.

  Kari heard the words because she was paying attention, but must’ve heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, sir. What did you say?” She scooted forward in her seat.

  “Miss Tomlin,” he leaned over his desk, “we need a female to go undercover for a short assignment.”

  She slid to her feet, jumping up. The director snatched his coffee cup. “Yes! I’d so love to go into the field.” Her fist hit that damn copper flag statue again. She reached to put it back in place, and the director threw his hand up, stopping her.

  “Let me get that. Please have a seat.” He set the figurine upright, and she sat, almost buzzing with excitement. “Director Tumbel will brief you when you arrive, but I need to ask you a question.”

  Oh shit. She hoped it wasn’t a true or false. She hated those questions, she always chose the wrong one.

  “Miss Tomlin, you have decoded many classified items for us,” he paused.

  “Yes, sir.” Where was he going with this?

  His hands clasped together on the desk. “Do you know about the shifters in our community?

  She sat quietly, thinking. What was the right answer here? If she said no, would that keep her from going? If she said yes, would someone hunt her down and kill her for knowing something she shouldn’t?

  “I have decoded a couple messages that had information about . . . others. Of course, I’ve never talked about it with anyone. So I just thought ‘that’s cool’ and didn’t worry about it.” Please be the right answer, please be the right answer. Please—

  “Wonderful, Miss Tomlin.” He smiled. “Then I don’t have to go into all that. I figured you had, so I knew you were the person for this assignment.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” She was ready to come out of her skin. “What is the organization?”

  “It’s ALFA, Alpha League Federal Agency,” he simply replied.

  That meant absolutely nothing to her. Never heard of them. “Great.” She sprang to her feet. “I won’t let you down, sir.” With that she hurried out the door. In the hallway, she held her first victory dance in a long time. Her arms pumped, booty shook. Yes, she was going into the field. Oh, wait. She knocked on the door again.

  “Yes, Miss Tomlin.”

  She felt her face melting from embarrassment. “Um, sir. Where do I go for the briefing and when?”

  The director came to her and handed her a sticky note with an address scribbled on it. “There is no name on the building, but the number is easy to see. Josh Tumbel, the director, would like you to go over as soon as you can for briefing.”

  * * *

  • • •

  After packing her laptop and talking with her boss, she made it to the ALFA building in record time. She had enough excitement built up inside to fuel a jet plane across the ocean. She knocked on the door that had a plaque that read Director Josh Tumbel. She wondered if his first name was Joshua. She couldn’t imagine “Josh” being a shifter.

  She wondered what his animal looked like. Would he have big teeth if he was a wolf? How about lots of hair all over his body? If he was an elephant, he’d have a six-foot dong, according to the Animal Channel. She couldn’t imagine—six feet long.

  The door flew open, startling her. A gorgeous man smiled at her. Damn, was he married? Hubba, hubba.

  “You must be Kari.” They shook hands.

  “Yes,” was all she could manage. Josh looked like a human, no hint of an animal at all.

  “Come in,” he said. He gestured to another gorgeous man sitting in front of a desk. Good god. Did they need a receptionist? Shit, she’d type and file the whole damn day if she got to stare at them.

  “This is Sheldon Loper. You’ll be working with him on this assignment.”

  She stepped up to the man sitting and shook his hand, exchanging greetings. Her foot caught on one of the chair legs, tripping her enough to lose her balance. Figures, she thought as she tried to catch herself. Story of her life. But hands were there to steady her before she had a chance to react. These shifters were damn fast. Carefully, she sat in the second chair in front of the desk.

  “So,” Josh started, sitting behind his desk, “first off, I want to thank you, Miss Tomlin, for volunteering.”

  “Please call me Kari,” she said. “Unless we have code names.” She perked up instantly at that thought. How cool would that be?

  “No, for this mission, you can use your real names,” Josh said. He glanced at Sheldon in the chair next to hers, then back at her. “Is this by chance your first undercover assignment?”

  Her heart about stopped. How could they tell? Did she look like a kid in a candy store? Well, she sure as hell was! “My first field assignment,” she replied.

  Josh nodded. “That’s fine. This op isn’t too . . . demanding. Your role is to be a girlfriend to Sheldon and you’re on a trip to visit the city.”

  “What city would that be, sir? she asked.

  “Cloustien.”

  Her jaw dropped. “No way.” She looked at both men to make sure they weren’t joking. “This is so awesome.”

  Josh said, “I guess you’ve heard of the place?”

  “Well, yeah? Who hasn’t?” she said.

  Josh looked at Sheldon. “Indeed.” Sheldon shrugged. Josh held out a packet to her. “Here is information about the organization you’re touring with. They arrived in Cloustien yesterday, but are allowing you two to join them. Their organizer has no idea you are undercover. She thinks you are regular people coming at the last second.”

  She took the envelope from him. “What is the mission? What are we really doing?” she asked.

  Josh slid a file folder onto his desk. “One of our agents, Bryon Day, has gone missing and Sheldon will be searching for his whereabouts.” He handed the folder to her. She opened to the headshot inside. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes fixed on his, and her panties became very wet. Could you fall in love with a photograph? This man was the most stunning thing she’d ever seen.

  She scanned his stats on the sheet under the picture. The only one she really cared about was marital status. On that line was the letter S. She could cry at this moment; he was available. As long as he didn’t have a girlfriend. And let’s be real, how could a man like him not have an equally gorgeous female draping off his arm. Maybe females, plural.

  Both men breathed deeply and turned away from her. Was the director hiding a smile with his hand? She hadn’t done anything, so the joke couldn’t be on her.

  “Kari,” Josh asked, “you were told about our kind, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, my director told me you guys are shifters.”

  “Do you know much about shifters?” Sheldon asked.

  She knew one thing, and knew it well. “When a shifter finds its mate, they are instantly in love and stay in love until the day they die. They never cheat on each other. Don’t even look at the opposite sex anymore. Their souls are half of each other, bonded together the instant they become one.”

  That’s the kind of love she wanted. The type she could devote herself to and know he would always appreciate everything about her, and she, him. She let out a little sigh then looked at the guys. They stared at her with . . . fear or humor? She couldn’t tell.

  “Uh, yes,” Josh finally said. “That’s one thing. But we also have extraordinary senses of smell and hearing.
We can see in the dark and smell fear or lies or whatever scent the body excretes.”

  Her face paled. “Any scent?” Oh god. Her panties were still wet. Oh, well, nothing she could do about it now. She was not letting a little embarrassment keep her from going on this assignment. She straightened in her chair and cleared her throat. “So, when do we leave?”

  “Your itinerary and tickets are in your packet. Plane leaves in a few hours. You need to pack for cool evenings and warm days,” Josh told her.

  “How many days?” she asked.

  The two men looked at each other. Sheldon shrugged. “I would think I’d know something in a few days. Pack for five days. Just in case.”

  Josh nodded. “Sounds good.”

  She hopped up from her chair. “I gotta go, guys, if the plane leaves in few hours.” She glanced at her watch.

  “Oh, don’t worry too much about that,” Josh added. “We get special security clearance and seating. You don’t have to wait in any lines.”

  Sheldon then asked if he could drive her to her home, if she was taking the bus. He would also pick her up to go to the airport together. That was so thoughtful of him. He seemed like a really nice guy. Single? He didn’t wear a ring. She shook her head to clear her lusty thoughts.

  This was it! She would be on her way to Europe with a gorgeous male, looking for the man whose picture she had fallen in love with, in a town known for people disappearing under the earth and never coming back.

  CHAPTER 4

  Bryon Day scrunched against the back wall of his cell, cringing every time the whip stung his back. He preferred that to the fire torture or cattle prod they used. His eyes glanced at the group on the other side of the thick cage bars—several guards and the Big Dick himself.