CovertDesires by Chandra Ryan Page B

blur of meetings. Some were on
the books but others were covert. And as she got further into the week it grew
harder and harder for Rowe to keep them separated. And she wasn’t the only one.
It appeared that subterfuge was taking a toll on all of them. But that would
all end today. Sometime within the next ten hours she would meet her maker. And
make sure he was dragged off to a detention center far, far away.
    “Are you okay?” It was the tenth time in the last hour Jack
had asked.
    She zipped up her cargo pants and slipped a tank top over
her head before answering. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
    “Okay is never good.”
    She shook her head. “To you, maybe. To me it’s okay.” She
grabbed her holster and fastened it around her thigh before sliding her weapon
in it. That was the best part of this whole mission. She got to be herself and
she was armed. There were no roles for her to play and no parts to remember.
She was a Subservient agent for the government, leading a mission to protect
her kind.
    At its base it was the absolute truth. The details were
tricky. But they usually were. She just had to focus on the big picture and
trust her team to take care of the rest. “And when this is all done, I’ll be
great.”
    He crossed the room to take her in his arms. “Better believe
it.”
    Tipping her head back, she welcomed his kiss. Seeth had
argued that seeing Jack before the mission would be a distraction. But he was
wrong. She took strength from Jack. Yes, she would rather hang around and
explore the kiss a little longer. But if she’d made him stay at his place last
night there wouldn’t have been a kiss. Even though she had to walk away from
him she wouldn’t give up this moment for anything.
    When she couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer, she
broke the kiss with a smile. “We should get to work.” She gave him another kiss
but kept this one brief.
    “You could call in sick.”
    “The captain would have your balls.” She leaned forward to
whisper, “And I’m too fond of them to let that happen.”
    “You do have a point.”
    “Of course I do. And on that note, I should go make the
coffee.” Coffee was more of an obsession than a drink for him. One she’d
learned early on to accommodate. There was no way she was getting him out the
door before he’d had at least one cup.
    Even when he insisted on having two that day, they still
managed to make it to the station in a half an hour. Which was, thankfully, a
few minutes early. It gave them time to meet up with the rest of their group.
    “Today we’ll be transporting a group of Subservients to a
secure location.” Seeth nodded to her as she and Jack walked into the
conference room. “If you’ve been selected to serve on this case, it’s because
you are the best of the best and one of the most trusted members of my team.”
    She looked around at the familiar faces that made up the
team as she took a seat in the back of the room. They were the men and women
she’d come to think of as her family. She would hate to think any of them
would’ve betrayed her.
    “We have gathered intelligence that leads us to believe a government
hostile is plotting a mass kidnapping of the Subservients. At this point I’d
like to introduce Agent Mitchel Jones. He’s a Sub Type Three. And he works for
the Planetary Defense System.”
    She leaned over to whisper to Jack, “Technokinesis.”
    Seeth shot her a look but then continued, “I’m sorry for the
last-minute introduction but he’s been recovering in a medical facility and has
not been cleared for travel until today.”
    Jack squeezed her hand as Mitchel stood. He was the guy
they’d seen being tortured at the compound. The one they’d blown their cover
for.
    “Thank you, sir. And thank you for including me today.” He
turned his attention to the group. “I know I’m a new face to many of you here.
And I know our agencies haven’t always worked well together in the past. But
that ends today. I’ve