by Gail Koger
“We can start with the Colosseum and then hit the beach.”
Uncle Jesse transformed back to his human form and rubbed his hands together. “Any nude beaches nearby?”
I let out a groan. “What are you twelve?” A glittering blue light suddenly formed around me.
Jake grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out.
The light expanded and the catacombs abruptly vanished.
Chapter Fifteen
The light faded away and we were standing on a transporter platform. “This is getting really old.”
Jake pulled his laser pistol. “Very old.”
“Put your weapon away. You won’t need it,” a heavily accented voice said.
A dapper, older man wearing a black turtleneck sweater and gray suit stepped into the light with his hands raised. “I am your father, Aldo Dragos.”
‘Luke, I am your father’, echoed briefly in my head before I said coldly, “My father is Samuel Tsosie. You’re my sperm donor.”
Aldo winced. “I was told you; your mother and my brother Max had perished in a fire.”
“Who told you that?”
“Giovanni.”
My hands curled into fists. “That murdering sonovabitch lied to you. His henchmen shot Uncle Max in front of us, barricaded the doors and set the house on fire.”
“You went out the escape tunnel?”
“We did and hid under the chicken coop until they left.”
“Bene. Bene. It was what I taught her.”
Jake rubbed my back. “Tell him everything.”
All my pain and fury welled up in me. I opened my mouth, and everything came spewing out. How we were forced to flee Italy with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Too afraid to use her telepathic abilities, mama worked as a cook on a merchant ship that was sailing to America. “Every time mama thought we were safe the hunters found us. They chased us across the United States until we ended up in Arizona.”
Shock flared in Aldo’s eyes. “Where in Arizona?”
“The Navajo Nation.”
“So close,” Aldo whispered.
I ignored his stricken look and plowed on. “Once again the thugs located us. This time our luck ran out. A tire blew on the old van mama had managed to buy. She lost control of the car and we crashed.” Tears leaked down my cheeks. “Even though mama was dying, her only thought was keeping me safe. I tried so hard to keep death from taking her.”
Jake wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve got you, buttercup. I’ve got you.”
“What happened to Giovanni’s men?” Aldo’s voice was taut with anger.
“I killed them,” Father answered.
I blinked in surprise and quickly wiped the tears off my face. Father, Uncle Jesse, and General Jones stood behind my sperm donor. All of them were seriously pissed. “How did they find us?”
“I put a tracker on you.”
I gave him the stink eye.
Jake just shrugged.
Uncle Jesse asked, “Want me to eat him?”
“Not yet,” I replied.
General Jones interjected, “Did you know Aldo lived in Sun City until about six months ago.”
“What?”
“If I had known you still lived, I would have moved heaven and Earth to find you,” Aldo responded.
The knot in my stomach began to loosen. He was telling the truth. “When did you find out I was alive?”
“Two days ago. I was investigating rumors about Giovanni’s activities and discovered the files he had on you,” Aldo answered.
Jake demanded, “Do you know why he wanted CeeCee dead?”
“Even as a child she could look at a person’s aura and tell if they were lying. Giovanni was afraid when CeeCee grew older she would expose his murderous activities.
“His fears proved to be true,” Father said.
I snorted. “Just not the way he thought. I was tracking Jia, not him.”
“Jia Stanka?” Aldo was clearly surprised.
Jake traded glances with the General. “Do you know her?”
“Jia is a master thief who appropriated one of my prototypes. Despite my best efforts to retrieve it, I was unsuccessful. In my search of Giovanni’s files, I came across an interesting fact. Jia Stanka is Derek Jones’s daughter.”
“That explains her green eyes and red hair,” I exclaimed.
“Impossible,” the General barked.
“I have proof.”
The General gestured with his laser pistol. “Show us.”
“You do not need that. I am not your enemy.”
“Aren’t you?” Jake countered.
“My niece, Kizzy, is mated to Ethan Jones and you are my daughter’s mate. I would never harm them or you.”
I stared at my sperm donor’s aura. “He’s telling the truth.”
The General holstered his weapon. “Let’s see your evidence.”
Aldo walked over to a computer console and with a few keystrokes Jia’s files popped up. “DNA never lies.”
The General scanned the files, then quickly checked something on his bracelet. “The DNA matches. She’s Derek’s daughter all right.”
“Damn, how did that happen?” Jake asked.
I snickered. “The usual way. Insert tab A into slot B.”
“Is that how it works?” Jake brushed his lips over mine. “Maybe we could do a little show and tell later.”
“Children,” Father scolded.
Jake winked at me. “Sorry, sir.”
“Do you know where Jia’s mom is?” Inquiring minds wanted to know.
“Her mother was killed in a car accident when Jia was a year old. No family came for her and she was placed in an orphanage,” Aldo said.
“Isn’t that unusual?”
Aldo nodded. “It was. I investigated further and found all of Jia’s mother’s family had been killed in an avalanche.”
“If Uncle Derek knew Jia was his child, he would have come for her,” Jake stated.
I frowned. “Would he?”
“Without a doubt. Derek was touring Europe around the time Jia was conceived. Maybe the condom broke, or they had an argument. We won’t know until we talk to him,” General Jones said.
Hmm. It was also possible a drunk and horny Derek had a one-night stand and Jia’s mother had no way of contacting him when she found out she was pregnant. A sudden thought hit me. “Could Adam be Jia’s son?”
“They are not a genetic match. According to Giovanni’s investigator, Adam is a street kid she adopted,” Aldo advised.
General Jones checked his bracelet. “I want to tell Derek in person about his daughter and I’ve asked him to meet us at the villa.”
And I had a cousin who I really wanted to meet too. “Why don’t you have Ethan and Kizzy come with him.”
“An excellent idea,” the General agreed.
Jake prodded me. “Invite Aldo to the villa. You have a lot to talk about.”
We did. I looked at Father and he nodded. “Please come to the villa, Aldo, I’d like to get to know you.”
Aldo gave a slight bow. “I would be honored.”
Three hours later, we were having dinner at Giulia and they did have the best risotto in Rome. Surprisingly, Aldo and Father got along. The General was quite fascinated by Aldo’s ivory cane. It contained a super-duper spy camera equipped with a scanner that would pick up the frequency range of the museum’s security system. It also had an electromagnetic pulse feature that fried all electronic devices. With one press of a button, the alarm systems, cameras, lights, and communication devices would be put out of commission, permanently.
“I can’t wait to see how Uncle Derek handles being a father,” Jake commented.
“Didn’t he run all the police departments in Arizona?”
“He did.”
“His daughter’s a master thief and God knows what else. It’ll make for an interesting relationship if we ever find
her.”
“Jia has the best hunters in the galaxy after her. It’s only a matter of time, before they locate her,” Jake drawled.
“Jia’s a Jones and she won’t come quietly,” the General added.
“And a Dragos. A deadly combination.” I held up my wine glass. “To family.”
Everyone one raised their glasses. “To family.”
The end or is it?
Jia’s and Trayon’s story is coming this winter.
I hope you enjoyed this book. A review is greatly appreciated. For news on the Coletti Warlords and Shenanigans series, upcoming events and contests go to my Facebook page:
facebook.com/Colettiwarlordbooks
Books in the Coletti Warlord series
Vexing Voss
Reality Bites
Just Desserts
Wulf and the Bounty Hunter
Game on Askole
Crossing Quinn
Hothar’s Folly
Sassing Saul
Defying the Relic Hunter
Arresting the Warlord
Paranormal romances:
Catching Dragos
Shenanigans
The Trouble with Tigers
Gail Koger links:
goodreads.com/author/show/1598719.Gail_Koger
Twitter: @Askole
facebook.com/Colettiwarlordbooks
GailKoger.com