representative of his Wisconsin constituency, and his country, very seriously. But Crandall was also all about appearances. Of course. He was a politician.
Alec had worked for Crandall for six years now, right out of law school and passing the bar. Respected him. Liked him.
Was trusted by him. Crandall assigned him all the jobs he didnât want to even describe to other aides. Ones where the person executing the orders could soil his hands. Ones that could get the asses of both the congressman and his aide kicked out of the House and into prison if things went wrong.
Some job for a lawyer.
Alec loved it. Excelled at it.
He had gotten to know, from experience, when Crandall kept something to himself. As heâd been doing ever since telling Alec of a special secret assignment that would be a huge favor to Crandall, and to the entire country.
That could mean he was really in trouble if Alec screwed up.
Something was wrong, and Alec was about to learn what it was.
âAll I knowââ Alec looked at the general while feeling Nellaâs and Crandallâs gazes on him ââis that something sensitive was stolen, and Iâm to help get it back.â
âExactly.â The generalâs smile crinkled his face even more.
âCrandall, explain to Alec and Lt. Reyes what it is. Iâve given Nella some background, but you give the rest. Then Iâll tell them our plan for them to recover it.â
Sitting in the closest chair to the window, Nella couldnât help cringing inside. Nor could she resist watching Alecâs face as the congressman, who sat between them, began to speak.
Alec hadnât believed his own eyes before. Would he believe his boss? As if heâd have a choice.
Would he blame that on her? And why, after all this time, should she care?
âIâm very glad to meet you, Nella,â the congressman said. âAnd Iâm especially pleased about your unusual skills. You can help us all out of a very touchy situation.â
âIâll try, sir.â
âI also want to tell you how proud I am about the progress
Alpha Force has made since its inception, Greg,â the congressman said. The two older men, who obviously knew each other well, engaged in conversation. Nella listened without concentratingâ her mind, and gaze, on Alec.
The years had only increased the strong masculine appearance of the man whoâd once stolen her heart. His features were angular, his piercing brown eyes unreadable beneath straight heavy brows. He wore his deep-brown hair a lot longer than the military types she worked with.
Under his suit jacket, the breadth of his shoulders was apparent. She wondered if he was as buff as heâd been back when.
Attention, soldier. She made herself tune in again to Congressman Crowther. The man was shorter than his imposing presence in the media suggested. He wore a button-down white shirt that emphasized the darkest shades in his salt-and-pepper hair, and a striped tie, but no jacket.
âAs you know,â he was saying to General Yarrow, âIâve been attempting to obtain additional funding for your pet projectâha, haâAlpha Force.â
That brought a brief smile to the generalâs face, but a look of puzzlement to Alecâs. Obviously he hadnât heard about Alpha Force. And wouldnât have believed it, anyway, considering how heâd acted with her so long ago.
âFor those with the highest clearance, Iâd loaded a lot of information Iâd collected about Alpha onto a memory stick with lots of capacity. Didnât want to leave it on the computer at my office, since even with all our security, I was concerned about hackers. And here that fool tabloid reporter Sherman Jonash. Ah, yes, I can tell from your expression, Nella, that you know who he is.â His grin was wry. âIâve got some bills up for consideration for appropriating funds to the military, including Alpha Force. Sometimes it spurs other representatives to act if the media start pushing, so I agreed to let him interview me. It was the off-the-wall stuff I anticipated, and I handled it fine. Only⦠well, heâd come to my office. I didnât realize until after heâd left that the thumb drive wasnât where Iâd put it, in a drawer under my computer keyboard. Iâd been called out for a quick question by an aideâa minute, two tops. Most other stuff the bastard could have grabbed would have been harmless, but⦠Anyway, he could expose the existence of Alpha Force if he finds a way to get through the passwords and other safeguards on that stick. Bad for you, and bad for me, too, since in public I support strict supervision over military forces and operations, even covert ops. And we all know thatâs not how Alpha Force works. We need that memory stick back, Nella. Thatâs where you come in. And because this is so sensitive for me, I want my most trusted aide, Alec, to work with you. You okay with that?â
All eyes in the room were suddenly on her. She inhaled slowly. Was she okay with it?
She knew she could do the job, but all regular Alpha Force members were to fulfill their missions only with someone else watching their backs.
Congressman Crowther trusted Alec. General Yarrow was going along with it.
She stood and approached Alec. âIâm fine with it,â she said, âif Alec is. We did know each other years ago, General, Congressman. Our brief acquaintance did not end well.â She looked down. Alecâs gaze was emotionlessâexcept for his eyes. They shot fire at her, both anger and⦠well, she could be imagining it, but a hint of the old attraction seemed to lurk there, too.
She would turn it off immediately with her next words. âI can handle your assisting me, Alec, if you can. I gather that the congressman hasnât confided in you yet the nature of Alpha Force.â
âDoesnât matter.â He rose. His turn to look down on her. He apparently still needed to feel in charge. Well, if they worked together now, sheâd teach him that wasnât always possible. âIâm in.â
âFine,â she said. âThen you can accept that Alpha Force is a covert Special Forces military unit primarily comprising shape-shifters. And that what you saw in the woods all those years ago was true, and not a result of your being drunk. I do, in fact, shift into a lynx, Alec.â She turned away from him. âAnd, Congressman, I accept your assignment. I can enter any premises while in lynx form and steal back your memory stick.â
Chapter 2
âSo I could have believed my eyes that night?â Alecâs tone was as neutral as his expression had remained over the past hour. If not for their previous relationship, Nella might have thought he accepted everything without question.
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