hadn’t worked well then. It wouldn’t work now.
“Tilly and I have been on a walk, exploring our new environment,” she finally responded. “And you, Simon? What brings you to this floor so late at night?” She peered around his shoulder toward the door from which he had emerged, now closed behind him.
He didn’t want her going in there and snooping—or even reporting his presence to anyone else. Of course he still had his stock, planned answers if—and, most likely, when—he was questioned about being here at this hour. He was simply too busy during the daytime to mix the homeopathic healing formulations he was working on to help his patients. When he had applied for the job at Charles Carder more than a year ago, he’d brought samples of some energy tablets and nutritional supplements he’d been working on to help recuperating infectious-disease patients regain their strength. Testimonials, too, from physicians and nurse practitioners and others who had used them. Harmless stuff that wouldn’t require any government approvals.
Genuine? Sure. But also a good cover for what he really was working on.
Though authorized to be present, he had carefully selected a lab outside the area surveyed by security cameras. Not that he would do anything obvious outside the lab that shouldn’t be caught on camera.
He had an ulterior motive for being at this location, sure. But he wouldn’t admit it to Grace. He had a feeling she had an ulterior motive, too—and was just as unlikely to spill it to him.
“Not over that old curiosity of yours, are you, Grace?” He attempted to sound amused. “Don’t worry about me. I’m approved to be here.” Partly. “I’m conducting officially sanctioned business that I can’t get to during the day. But you? Since you’re in the military and probably got briefed about this place, you may already have heard about some local thefts recently. For the safety of this hospital and its personnel, I’ve got the right to ask questions of people who may not be authorized to be in this area, and to report to those in charge. So tell me, what are you really doing here?”
Her lovely brown eyes had widened slightly before her demeanor grew bland once more. “Interesting. May I ask whom you report to about unauthorized visitors?”
She hadn’t answered his question—again. “No,” he responded to hers, “you may not.” Mostly because he’d lied. He reported, in this as in the rest of his life, only to himself—as much as he could get away with.
He had gathered, from her brief change of expression, that she was at least familiar with the thefts. Involved? Maybe. That would explain her questioning his presence. He’d keep an eye on her, just in case.
At least that gave him a good excuse. He only hoped he wouldn’t come to regret her presence any more than he already did.
Grace wanted to scream. To kick Simon right in his smug, gorgeous face—or somewhere else he’d notice.
He’d dared to remind her of the old days, even as he was baiting her all over again. Not answering her questions. Asking his own.
And still managing to get her hormones all stirred into a cauldron of seething, sexually arousing juices.
“Have a good night, Simon,” she finally said, signaling to Tilly to stand. They started briskly down the hall.
Grace wondered immediately if Simon would spend this night, or any others, alone. Someone as hot as he undoubtedly had a significant other waiting for him, panting, in bed. Maybe not a wife—she’d checked, and he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. But a lot of married physicians didn’t wear rings because it was hard to keep them sanitized, or to avoid catching them in sensitive equipment.
Did she believe anything he said? Oh, she felt certain he had rigged some arguably legitimate reason to be in this area, even at night. But could she trust that he was keeping an eye out for whoever was stealing the biohazard samples, rather than doing it himself?
She would keep close watch on him. It was part of her mission.
She’d love every minute—especially if she could prove that Simon was the thief she was after.
Early the next morning, all four Alpha Force members, plus two dogs, gathered upstairs in the furnished quarters assigned to Grace.
As they all took seats in her compact living room, Grace asked Lt. Autumn Katers, a recent recruit, “How’s your alter ego?” Like Grace, Autumn always brought her cover animal along on missions—a female red-tailed hawk who was initially trained for falconry.
“Venus is fine. Wonderful, in fact.” Autumn settled into her seat on the bland umber sofa.
“We’ll take her out for some fresh air once we’re done talking,” said Sgt. Ruby Belmont, who had opted for one of two stiff wooden chairs dragged in from the small kitchen. “We’ll give her as much flying time as she wants.” A tall, thin woman with glasses, Ruby was Autumn’s aide on Alpha Force missions. Like all shapeshifters’ backups, she helped take care of the cover animals—and watched their shifters’ backs while they, too, were in animal form.
Grace was continually pleased by how well her aide, Kristine, accomplished her job, and believed Ruby and she got along well. Right now, Kristine sat on the other kitchen chair, and Bailey lay on the floor next to Tilly.
“Okay, are we ready to report in?” Grace had selected the rust-colored armchair at the end of the coffee table so she could be more or less in the middle of the gang.
“Go for it,” said Autumn.
Using a special high-tech phone she’d brought on the mission for just this purpose, Grace pressed in the number for their commanding officer, Major Drew Connell, who expected their call.
“About time you reported in,” came his voice immediately after the first ring. He was in a time zone three hours later than theirs, so it would be 0930 at Ft. Lukman. Grace knew, though, that he referred not to the time today, but that they had been around a couple of days already.
“Ah, but I’m sure you loved the suspense of waiting,” she said lightly. “Only—well, nothing much to report so far, sir.” She gave a rundown of her first couple of days at the medical center, followed by her late walk-through last night with Tilly. “The lab floor, where biohazard materials are taken to be tested, was pretty quiet. I only saw one person—a doctor. He seemed reluctant to talk about why he was there, so I’ll find out more about him, but he’s my only potential suspect so far.” Grace didn’t mention she had a personal history with that doctor, although she suspected it would eventually have to be revealed.
Next, Autumn gave her report. Her cover as a communications officer allowed her to access the base’s aircraft hangars. She hadn’t been around long enough to explore them all, but she’d seen nothing suspicious in those she’d visited so far.
Ruby, too, had a background in aviation, so she had also started checking out the base’s facilities, but hadn’t yet done anything worth mentioning, other than fiddling with some of the security cameras on the night of the full moon.
Kristine finished. “Bailey and I walked the hospital grounds several times, especially near the remote storage area at the far end of one of the parking lots, and I showed Grace the tunnel leading to it—a way the test materials are transported. I’ve talked to a few military guards who hang out in that area, and I assume some materials are being stored there now. Nothing notable about the building housing the
