Parallel Desire (16 page)

"That's too long." Jared thought, flipping through possibilities. "Where is there an open area near you? Some place discreet."

"Roosevelt Island, but what do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to send one of our stealth crafts for you."

"Whoa, Bennett, there are all sorts of no-fly zones and restrictions around D.C."

Jared laughed softly, realizing how very little Kelsey's father knew about their clandestine war. "Sir, trust me on this: We fly way under the radar. They'll never know we were there."

There was silence on the other end for a beat, and when his father-in-law did speak, his voice was hoarse and pained. "Bennett, I've known the vice president for a long, long time.
Years
. We've been friends for years. And that friend was not the man who ate lunch with me yesterday."

W
ell, Chris had to hand
it to Jared Bennett: He was as elusive as all get out, seemingly everywhere on base and nowhere at the exact same time. Chris had spent the past hour chasing him from the lodge to the med sector, back over to the athletic complex, and now finally in the hangar. All in hopes of buttonholing the commander for a quick conference.

At the moment, Bennett was supposedly finishing up with his elders in the council room. This fact had been confirmed by the closed chamber door. So Chris marked time outside in the hallway, going over his action plan. Hope had said that if anyone could get through to Tierny, it would be his lifelong best friend. And since arguing with the Antousian soldier had gotten Chris exactly nowhere, it was time to bring in the big guns. Hope had nearly freaked when he'd shared Jake's intention to go the mission alone, her normally soft voice shrill across the cell phone. He was in total agreement with her, and since Tierny wasn't listening to reason or persuasion, Chris had decided to lay the issue at Jared's royal feet.

Chris propped back against the wall, reading over his latest notes on the upcoming rave. They had three more days until Friday night. His most recent debriefing from headquarters revealed that not only were the Antousians trafficking in human bodies so they could use them as hosts—but apparently some kind of sex slavery ring was going on, as well. This was new and totally disturbing information. Just thinking about what those aliens might be doing to the women they kidnapped left him feeling queasy. It also meant it was more critical than ever that their team be configured in exactly the right way.

The door across the hall burst open. Bennett appeared in its frame, a glowering expression on his face. Whatever his elders had just said, he wasn't a happy camper about it. Jared muttered in Refarian, never even noticing Chris as he stormed down the hall.

"Bennett!" he called, trotting to catch up. "Hold up!"

As if seeing him for the first time, the commander halted. "Harper."

Chris cleared his throat. "Look, we need to chat. I need a little help with your boy Tierny."

The dark expression on Jared's face grew even darker. "What's the problem?"

"He's insisting on going in alone on Friday night, and that's just not gonna cut it."

"I agree." Bennett glanced past him, farther down the hall, seeming very distracted.

Gee, could the guy be any terser? Or maybe he just had bigger interplanetary fish to fry. It was tough to gauge. "Is this not a good time?" Chris finally asked after a drawn-out moment of silence.

Bennett swung his gaze back on him. "We do need to talk, Agent Harper, because I received some very disturbing news just a short time ago." Bennett seemed to think a moment, then said, "Let's go up to my quarters. It'll be more private that way. And Kelsey should be part of this meeting, too."

K
elsey knew trouble was
brewing the minute Jared crossed the threshold of their chambers, Chris Harper in tow. Both men wore identical expressions, a mixture of apprehension and fury. Jared's black eyes were narrowed practically to slits, and Chris's mouth was drawn in harsh lines.

"Kelse, we need to talk," Jared announced, dropping his uniform jacket onto the foot of their bed.

Chris stood in the center of the room, glancing subtly about him. The agent had never entered their chambers, and his curiosity was palpable. "Hello … my lady," he greeted her awkwardly, then shoved both hands in his pockets and stared at the floor.

It always surprised her that such a blustering alpha male could occasionally possess such a shy streak.

She smiled. "Like I've told you before, Agent Harper, Kelsey's just fine."

"Chris is, too." He flashed her a grin, the tension in his features easing up just a little. And then he stared at the floor some more.

She could only imagine that the guy found it more than slightly strange that she, a fellow human, was queen of the Refarian people. No wonder he always seemed so totally at a loss around her. She felt the same way sometimes about her newfound role.

"Harper, follow me." Jared indicated the sitting area that adjoined their bedroom, then opened his arms wide to Kelsey. "Come here, sweet love," he murmured against her cheek as he folded her into a strong embrace. Keeping his arm around her, he walked with her into the next room.

"What's going on?" she asked under her breath.

"Heard from your father." He kept his voice low, following Chris toward their study, a small room dominated by a pair of plush leather sofas and a too-small desk.

After waiting for them to be seated, Jared reached for the desk chair, flipped it backwards, and settled his body onto the flimsy frame. His heavy arms draping across the back of it, he focused squarely on Chris. "Tell me about Jake."

Chris began, "To use human vernacular, Commander, he's acting a fool."

For the first time since entering their quarters, Jared cracked a smile. "Oh, now, this I find impossible to believe."

Chris leaned forward, not an easy task on the deep sofa; Kelsey had sunk into the cavernous thing and wasn't going to be wobbling her pregnant way back up without assistance. No wonder Jared had chosen the straight-back chair.

"Seriously, sir—"

Jared cut Chris off. "I was being sarcastic." He laughed, brushing a hand through his long hair. "I've known the man for my whole life, and he's a hothead, a loner, and … the best damned soldier I've ever fought beside. So tell me what Jakob's trying to pull this time."

"He's not agreeable to support on Friday night. Doesn't want to risk the lives of anyone else—or his own deep cover. He believes that having others involved will compromise the integrity of the mission, especially concerning his ability to impersonate the human Jake Tierny."

Jared nodded thoughtfully. "He might well be right."

"From one hothead to another, sir," Chris replied, "I think he's going about this all wrong. And he's not going to listen to me; that's been made perfectly clear."

A frisson of fear shot down Kelsey's spine as she imagined Jake completely alone, facing their enemies. "But he will listen to
you
, Jared," she said, following Chris's train of thought.

"My point exactly." Chris nodded vigorously. "This might be our one real chance to figure out exactly what they're doing at these raves. I can't risk fu—
screwing
it up," he said, catching himself with an apologetic glance toward Kelsey, "because of his vendetta."

Kelsey kept her gaze on Jared, curious as to how he'd respond. He nodded thoughtfully. "Well, with what I just heard from Kelsey's father, I agree completely on this one."

"What did you hear?" Chris blurted before Kelsey could even get her own question out.

Jared filled them in on the details of his phone call from Patrick Wells, about his meeting with the vice president, that he was certain that the leader had been "replaced."

"Oh, damn," was all Chris could say, sinking back into the sofa. The words that came to Kelsey's mind were far more
choice
than that.

"So Dad's on his way here? Today?"

"He'll arrive in approximately four hours," Jared answered in a grim tone. "He will give us a full debriefing at that time. But he made one thing patently clear—that the man he met with yesterday is not the one he's known for many years."

"And what about Jake?" she asked, thinking about the danger their friend seemed determined to step into.

"He won't go on that operation, not without a full team. I concur with Harper completely."

Jared punched the comm on his forearm, hailing Jake, whose hoarse voice answered within seconds.

"Jakob, come to my quarters, please," he replied crisply. "Right away."

"A
nd who else do you
propose should go in on this thing?" Jake stormed, pacing the small sitting room in agitation. "Huh, J? Whose lives are you willing to lay on the line?"

The three of them—Kelsey, Jared, Chris—all stared at him with sickeningly patient expressions—and he felt totally jumped, physically and emotionally cramped in the oppressively small room. "Seriously," he barreled ahead, "tell me who you're willing to nominate for this ugly job. Who you're willing to lose."

Jared stood, facing him, and planted a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Certainly not you, Jakob."

"That's my call, not yours."

"I beg to differ, friend," Jared answered with a calm that only served to irritate Jake even more. "You go with support, or you stay back here on base."

"Meshdki
,
Jared, you're not being fair."

"It's not my job to be fair—it's my job to watch over my people, including you. Especially you."

Jake glared at his king, muttering low Refarian curses. "So who else do you propose? Tell me that."

On the sofa, Chris cleared his throat, unfolding a piece of paper. "Here's the lineup … you, obviously. Me—"

Jake growled despite himself. "Already covered that idea, Harper, a few hours ago."

"What's your problem with me going in?" Chris asked angrily.

Jake sighed, planting both hands on his hips. "Because if something happened to you on my watch, Hope would never forgive me."

"Funny, but that's exactly what she said to me about you going in alone."

"Whatever."

Jared interrupted. "You're not getting your way on this one, Jakob. Who else, Agent Harper?"

"Shelby Tyler, because she's already briefed in, and if there are any medical needs, she can cover them."

Jake hit the proverbial roof. "No way in fucking, godsdamned hell is Shelby coming!" he roared.

The entire room fell silent, the other three staring at him in shock. "Really," he added in a much calmer voice. "She's been through enough."

Nobody said a word; understanding glances were exchanged until Kelsey finally broke the tension. "So tell us how you really feel about her, why don't you, Jake?"

Tossing his hands into the air, he stormed out of the room, just needing some space. A moment later and Kelsey was right on top of him.

"Talk to me, Jake." She stared up at him patiently, such kindness and sympathy in her eyes that he felt like a total jerk for just wishing she'd leave him be.

"She has been through enough," he answered slowly. "You get me? That woman lost everything in the Texas fire, and that's enough in my book."

Kelsey reached for his arm. "Kind of like you?"

"Nothing like me."

"Look," Kelsey said, walking to the door that separated the two rooms and closing it. "You can talk to me. What's going on between the two of you?"

Jake dropped onto the end of the bed, raking a hand over his short-cropped hair. "I don't want her at risk like that. Okay?"

"Are you two involved?"

He muttered several curses. "You could say that."

"Then maybe she shouldn't go. I can get them to pull her off the roster if that's what you want. Jared would understand."

Jake lifted his eyes to hers, thinking how very much he loved the woman standing before him, his queen—yet she had none of the same memories that he did. "I'll do whatever you ask of me, Kelsey.
You.
I trust your wisdom."

She nodded, slipping both palms over her pregnant belly protectively. "I know all about Shelby's story, and so does Jared. I know the people she lost, what happened in that fire. My guess is that she'd want in on your fight … all the more so because she cares about you."

He waved her off. "She doesn't care about me. That's not it." He was lying right through his teeth, but he was willing to attempt subterfuge if it meant protecting Shelby.

"Oh, really? Then why did she jump at the chance to go fetch you from Texas? With all the heartache that just going back there had to have meant to her? Tell me, Jake, why would she have gone?"

He dropped his head heavily. "I hate the idea of a woman—especially her—being at risk."

"But she knows the Antousians, just like you do. She could offer strong support"

"Because she knows them, she shouldn't have to go through that."

"Maybe. But I have a suggestion."

"Yeah?"

"Let's ask her what she wants to do." Kelsey's innate wisdom shone forth from her eyes. "It should be her choice, not yours, Jake. She's strong, and it should be her call."

"But—"

"No arguing," she said, cutting him off. "As your queen, I have made my decision. Shelby calls her own shots on this one."