Chapter 5
~ Danielle ~
Their morning meeting went off without a hitch and Jem had even come through with the getting the injunction approved. They arrived at county lock up around 1 pm, able to bargain from a position of strength.
Smiling at Jon, Danielle asked playfully. “Are you ready for your very first case to be the biggest one of the century?”
“Are you trying to make me anxious? If that is your intention, you are doing a wonderful job.”
“Sorry, I’m enjoying the adrenaline rush. I do that sometimes.”
“That is a typical reaction for a person with no skin in the game.”
“I’ll try to tone it down, you big spoilsport.”
That at least got a laugh from him. They were shown into a holding room with no windows and no cameras. Danielle had been careful to ensure total privacy. Jon had made arrangements for them to have a half hour with each person. Danielle gave them all the same speech about how her firm wanted to change the law and their services would be free, and the only requirement was total cooperation with the process.
Four of the Hunduri were wealthy and had no intention of turning over their legal counsel to a group of attorney’s working on multiple cases. That left a little more time to spend with the ones who wanted it.
Most of the males were extremely upset when they brought them in. With each Danielle introduced herself and Jon. She stood across the room as Jon explained the services her firm was offering to each in Hunduri. Danielle could understand most of what they were saying, but she could just never seem to make the words come out of her mouth.
In each case, they were careful to clarify. “The bottom line is you are not human so why should you and your mate have to procreate like humans? We have already filed an injunction with the courts to prohibit them from touching your nest, and we have a strong team of attorneys who have been researching this issue for months. This is an equal rights issue. Taking your case is good for you because we are extremely good at what we do and our dedication to this issue is unmatched by any other firm. It’s good for my firm because we want to be at the epicenter of the alien rights issue. We want to go down in human history as the people who took the bull by the horns and wrestled this issue to the ground. You can be part of the fight or not, your choice. We give you our personal promise that if you give us a chance, my team and I will use every single device at our disposal to win your case.” All eight males accepted their services. Danielle was extremely pleased with their day's work.
As they were coming out of the interview room one of the four, who chose other firms, was being brought in. Danielle actually bumped into him as she was walking out the door. He reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling with her heavy briefcase.
“Jesus, thanks for the save.” Glancing up, she looked into his face. He was strangely familiar, to the point that it was a little jarring. Murmuring a short apology, she headed for the door and put the whole situation out of her mind.
The next day she and Jon made another round of visits their new clients to update them on their case and gather a little more information. Rather than seeing each individually, they split the cases between the two of them and visited them in their holding cells. It was a quicker and easier solution, and they figured to be out in a couple of hours.
Their clients had been housed in separate cells from the other prisoners, because of the sensitive nature of the case. That was her first clue that the justice system didn’t see them as real criminals.
Their goal was to sit with them two at a time and get a feel for what was going on with their families and if they had supports in place to enable them to manage their nests in the male’s absence. When she went in to speak to one of their clients his cellie was the Kalian she almost ran over the day before.
Upon entering the cell, she introduced herself and made nice. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was running on automatic pilot and didn’t see you coming.”
“My name is Andrew. And bumping into you was the highlight of my entire day.”
“You don’t look much like an Andrew.”
Smiling down at her, he explained. “My human step-mother dressed me in little human boy clothing and gave me a human name. I continue in the way she taught me, in honor of her memory.”
“That’s really sweet. It was nice talking to you.”
“You as well, Miss. Danielle. Be careful walking in your very high heels.”
Grinning, she quipped. “I’m normally the one dishing out advice in this setting.”
Andrews’s eyes were warm, as he looked down at her. “I’ll bet you give very good advice.”
Reaching out to hand him her card, she smiled. “I’m one of the best attorneys in the business because I actually care about alien rights. If you feel you aren’t getting the best representation, give me a call.” Turning on her heel, she couldn’t get over how familiar the man was. Something about his face and his voice felt like an intimate whisper straight from her past.
She quickly sat with her client and got right down to business. The man was a little distraught. She could tell he was stressed because he was running his hand through his hair and stammering over his words. “Everyone tells me my case cannot be won because I broke the law and right or wrong the law is the law?”
Danielle took his hands into hers and reassured him that was not remotely true. “I believe your case can be won and I have every intention of winning it. Please know that no matter how long the fight or how much time I have to spend I will not rest until you are back with your family again. Trust me when I say your case can be won. The state I grew up had laws in place to protect Kalian who nested their young and before long so will this state. I plan to make that happen or die trying.” She watched his anxiety click down a notch.
“Okay, if you say so. I just don’t want anything to happen to my little one. She’s all I’ve got.”
“Do you have someone managing your nest? It’s no good if I win your case if the child does not survive.”
“Thanks be to the gods, I do. My bond mate will see to our unborn child, as long as they don’t remove the nest.”
“We have a court order in place barring them from touching your nest. Have no worries about that. I need to go. Is there anything else you need before I leave.”
“No, just get me out of here if you can.”
“I will. Sit tight and stay out of trouble on the inside. I’ll be back in a day or two.”
As she was leaving his cell mate walked over to her and said, “I have no one to manage my nest and my attorney never even asked me about that.” Danielle said, “Sounds like you didn’t make a very good choice in attorneys.”
Flicking her business card the man was still clutching in his hand, she stated flatly. “If you would like to reconsider your choices call me. I will come immediately to talk to you. You have a right to a second opinion to help you ensure your legal needs are getting met.”
She couldn’t help staring at him.
“You are looking at me like you know me. I can assure you that we have never met. Trust me I would remember.” She smiled up at his handsome face. “Call me anytime.”
Danielle and Jon strolled out of the cell block and were getting into the car when her cell phone sounded off. It was Andrew asking to see her.
She shot Jon an apologetic look. “He sounds worried. I hate to leave without seeing what he wants.”
“I would not leave one of my Kalian brothers in the lurch.”
“We’ll try to make it fast.”
They signed back in, asked for a private meeting room, and made arrangements to see him.
Andrew slid into the chair in front of her and leaned onto the table. He was very large for a Kalian. He was about fifty percent larger than she was, naturally with golden skin, gray eyes and short coarse dark hair. She would say he easily qualified for the term attractive. Maybe in regular clothing instead of an orange jumpsuit, he would even be considered hot. There was something about him, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. The odd feeling of familiarity just kept getting stronger.
He still looked a little apprehensive as he explained. “I would like a second opinion on my case and maybe to reconsider your very generous offer of legal counsel.”
Taking out a legal pad, she poised to begin taking notes as he talked. “Just start at the beginning and tell us everything.”
Wiping his hands down the front of his jumpsuit, he spoke. “I do not have a mate. I mated with a human female, and she became pregnant. She agreed to nest the child as opposed to ‘getting rid of it,' her words not mine. That was the only reason I risked a nest. The child has been nested for about two months and will be ready to birth in about four or five months. The child’s mother ended up in an automobile accident and did not survive. I was told something about her traveling with a driver who was intoxicated. I have no friends or family to care for my nest, much less my two other children who are currently staying with a neighbor. I suspect that the neighbor will try to hang in there for a couple of weeks and then turn my children over to the state. He cannot take care of children.”
His voice was smooth and the cadence was unique. She could almost predict how he was going to pronounce certain words. Shaking the growing obsession away, she asked primly. “Is there anyone you trust with your children that we could call?”
The male looked pensive for a brief moment finally responded. “No, no one I can think of. I was raised by my grandfather and he died about six years ago. His wife died the year before. It has always just been me and my girls.”
Danielle leaned over the table and stared at his face for a long moment before asking suspiciously. “Are you sure we have never met? You seem so familiar.”
He answered firmly. “I know for a fact that we have never met. You are very beautiful and like I said before I would remember meeting someone like you.”
Jon who had learned to go with her instincts asked quickly. “Do you think you have seen him in a mug shot? We can begin checking aliases. We can’t afford to make our benchmark case one involving a felon.”
Suddenly she realized what it was about him. Jumping to her feet, she walked around the table, leaned close to him, and inhaled deeply. She leaned closer and ran her face up and down his neck.
Jon looked shocked, but Andrew appeared more than a little amused. Smothering a smile, he quietly pointed out the obvious. “You should not smell other people without asking. That is an issue normally only Kalian have.”
“I need to talk to you privately.”
He replied slyly. “I’ll bet you do.”
“Seriously, I do. Jon, can I get you step out for a moment?”
The thoroughly embarrassed man responded curtly. “Only if we can pretend this never happened when I return.”
Once the door closed behind him, Danielle smelled him again. “I think you do have family and I think I know them. My father had a best friend the entire time I was growing up. I loved him and his bond mate like they were a second set of parents and even lived in their home for months when my mother was ill. They were both Kalian. I was best friends with their children my entire childhood. I was certain I would end up with one of their gorgeous sons, as was my father. I kissed every single one of them and realized they were like brothers to me. They all have the same scent you do.”
Andrew held up one hand. “You are human. Your sense of smell is not that highly evolved. Probably being raised around Kalian gave you a false sense your own…”
She waved her hand to interrupt him. “Look, I don’t have to be Kalian to know how people smell. I have a freaking nose, and I know how to use it.” She slid her arms around his neck and gave him a long sensual kiss. It was electrifying for both of them.
He walked her back against the wall and gently lifted her into his arms. Drawing her to him, he kissed her over. Losing all sense of space and time, she reveled in the pleasure of finally finding her one.
She realized at some point that he was handling her like he would a Kalian female. His arms were wrapped around her, and he was caressing her lower back. Being touched by him immediately flipped all the right switches for her. Before she could even stop herself her fingers were inside the back of his clothing caressing the pad on his lower back. His scent was incredible, and she felt like her entire body was absolutely on fire for his touch. Daniella had to literally force herself back to the reality of their situation.
She put one hand on his chest and pushed out the only words that mattered at the moment. “You are the son of Naren and Argn. When I kiss your lips, you don’t feel like a brother.”
He gently dropped her from his arms, turned his back and said, “I don’t want anything bad to happen to my unborn child, but I also don’t my parents’ first impression of me to be this. It would shame me deeply for them to see me in a place like this and don’t want to drag them into my problems. Help me, Danielle and I will be forever in your debt.”
“Tell me what you need, and I will do my best to help you. I can’t take care of your family and be your attorney. You will have to choose one or the other. My firm can take your case if you truly are not getting appropriate counsel from your own legal team. However, if I take care of your girls then I will have to be hands off on your case.”
He thought over her words and said, “My greatest need right now is for someone I can trust to take care of my small girls and manage my nest. Will you do that for me?”
Nodding, she swallowed thickly. “Of course, I will do whatever you need. Trust me when I say I will not let you down. Do you want to stay with your firm or do you want Jon to pick your case up?”
He sighed and said, “I really don’t think my current team knows what they are doing here. I would prefer Jon and I understand I will not be seeing you again.”
“You will actually be seeing me every single day when I bring your girls for visitation.”
Turing so fast, she had to back up to keep from getting bumped, his expression was nothing short of appalled. “Please do not bring my girls ever to a place like this. I would not like this to be one of their memories of me.”
Danielle reached out and touched him gently on the arms. “Don’t worry, the area for family visitation is designed to look like a park, and you wear your regular clothing. There are no cuffs or anything that would embarrass you in front of your family.”
Andrew wrapped his arms around her. “I do not know how you have found me in my time of need but thank you for helping me. You must be close to my family to be so accommodating.”
She teased him gently. “I am, but I must admit it doesn’t hurt that you are smoking hot and kiss like the devil himself. I might have decided to help you even I didn’t know your family.”
Summoning Jon back, Danielle quickly explained. “Sorry about this Jon but Andrew and I did figure out how we know each other. I can’t be on his case. He does want you if you can manage it. I am going to take his children and manage the nest until he’s released. I will need assistance with the nest. I know nothing about the mechanics of nesting and wouldn’t know what to do if there was a problem. Perhaps you or Jem can assist me.”
Andrew immediately stepped closer. “Absolutely not, I refuse to allow other males to be near my unborn child.” The man was seriously angry. His nostrils were flaring, and his hands were balled into tight fists at his side.
Danielle was totally at a loss to explain his reaction.
Jon quickly clarified., “No male can see the nest belonging to another male. This is our culture’s strictest taboo.”
Danielle had a deep crease in her brow as she thought about the situation “What we really need is a house arrest type situation so he can care for his own nest. Maybe we can get a special order for monitoring equipment to be installed in the meanwhile with a 3D imager linked to his cell. That way he can monitor what is going on with the nest and give me instructions. It would also be a way for him to monitor the care his other two children are getting.”
Jon just looked totally bewildered from one to the other of them. “I am unsure if such things are even possible.”
Danielle began to gather up her stuff to leave. Andrew reached out to her and pulled her close. “My little girls are very small and innocent. They have only known me. They are probably very frightened right now. Please go to them and just take care of them for a little while for me. Maybe you can teach them to get used to humans. I know you are a busy woman and I promise to try to work something else out as soon as possible. If you absolutely have to, send them to my parents but tell them nothing of me being imprisoned.”
“I will honor that request, but it breaks my heart not to tell them about you. Know that my bond with your family is strong. I would walk through fire for any one of them or for you. Don’t worry; I will make this work for you.”
She called Edward on her cell phone and asked him to begin working on a petition for the 3D imaging link and on the possibility of getting him released on house arrest. She left Jon with his new client and went in search of Andrew’s children.