Kesari

 

“Oh, wow,” I breathed as I walked through the elegant front doors of a massive glass and silver office building. Perched on the San Francisco waterfront, some architect had wisely figured out a way to reflect the water and sky off the glass to create a masterpiece.

Once I’d checked in with security, I was led upstairs by a harried secretary. She was plump and blonde, biting at her thumb and glancing at her watch.

“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” I asked politely and pointedly, studying her face.

“Oh, well yes,” she said, looking embarrassed. “My boyfriend decided to fly in for a surprise visit, but he only has a day here before he has to fly back out. But I promised I’d work late.”

“How cute!” I gushed. “Oh, my goodness, you have to go. Wait, tell me your name.”

“Um, Sammi,” Sammi said, nonplussed.

“Sammi, I want you to tell me exactly how to get to Director Weslark’s office and then go see your man,” I said. “I’ll explain everything, don’t worry. You are not working late tonight.”

“What–I… Are you sure?” Sammi asked.

“Of course!” I enthused.

After getting excellent instructions, I bid farewell to Sammi and all but skipped down the hall. I hoped she’d have an amazing night. And I was sure Piper wouldn’t mind.

Piper and Balt, who I’d only seen a handful of times since Greece. Now I was working for her. Piper Weslark! She’d called me last week, asking if I wanted to stay in the States for few months to help out with a project that required my skills. I’d immediately said yes.

Piper had sounded relieved and surprised at that, which made me shake my head.

Sure, Greece had been scary and intense as hell, but it had been fun. And being contracted out by Shifters of Anubis was a big deal. They only took the best. My dad had all but started crying after he found out, while my mom had danced around the room.

Plus, finally, for the first time in my life, I’d be living on my own.

I was twenty-six, it was time.

“You are completely out of your mind!” came a deep bark and a door banged open. Curious, I stopped and stared as a man came stomping out and down the hall. He was blond, tall and infuriated. “I’m out. Get another damn cousin, Piper. You have plenty.”

My lips twisted before I could help it. Oh, I recognized this jackass.

Roy Zima-Weslark almost didn’t see me as he flashed by, but then our eyes met for a brief second and his shoulders went up around his ears, panic in his gaze. It surprised me, as I’d barely seen any expression on the guy’s face before. Before I could help it, I rolled my eyes and he let out a huff, picking up his pace as he stormed by me.

Suddenly a huge man darted by me, then stopped. “Kesari! You’re here.”

“Balt!” I cried out and he gave me a hug. “How are you?”

“I’m-uh–” The dark-haired Greek giant was distracted. “I have to catch him. Go ahead in.”

Watching Balt chase after Roy, I let out a laugh. Things were already getting interesting. Walking in, I wondered what that jerk had been so upset about, but that vanished when I saw Piper.

She was standing next to her desk, staring at the ceiling with an exasperated expression, but she lit up when she heard me knock.

“Hey, Doc,” she said with a grin.

Letting out a squeal, I ran over and hugged her. “Look at you, you’re glowing! How’s the baby? How are you? How’s Balt? I can’t believe he’s letting you work! Do you feel okay?”

“Babies,” Piper said, her eyes going wide and she let out a nervous laugh.

“What?” I gasped.

“Twins,” Piper said, swallowing and giving me a nervous smile. “They run in the Kazan family.”

“Piper!” I almost screamed.

She sat in one of the armchairs in front of her desk and took a deep breath. “I found out two weeks ago and I'm still reeling. We haven't told anyone else yet but since you…" Her eyes became bright. “Well, you’re kind of the fairy godmother, here. I wanted you to know.”

Smiling, I sat down across from her and took her hands. “So, you’ve been good?”

Her face lit with a soft joy and her eyes closed for a moment. “Better than good.”

I swallowed, squeezing her hands and sitting back. Memories of that night in Greece were hitting me like bright flashes of light. The black creep along pale flesh. The shattered blue of Piper’s eyes. And the lights reflecting off the marble floor, deep and almost mirror like.

I could even still smell that night. Faint ocean, jasmine from the outside, wood-smoke, and sweat. Something, sharp and almost clean, but too chemical. Blood.

“Kesari?”

I snapped back to the present and sat up straighter. “Spaced for a moment, sorry. So, what was this big meeting about today?”

“He’s gone,” said Balt from the doorway.

I watched Piper’s jaw set and she stood up, striding around her desk. The office was large and airy, filled with lovely furniture and white rugs. But there were books all over the table, piles by the window and across the desk.

Picking up her phone, she held up one finger to me and smiled apologetically. “Hi, Andrei. It’s Piper.” Pause. “Yes, I know that.” A longer pause. “If you want this to work, you need to get that boy on a leash. And pronto. He’s heading for the airport.”

She hung up as Balt came around the desk and threw himself in a wide chair by the window. “Do we need…?” he started to ask, but Piper shook her head. “Hope not.”

Their eyes landed on me. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?” I asked, trying to smile, even as nerves sprung up out nowhere.

 

Standing in the bathroom twenty minutes later, I scrubbed at my hands and tried to breathe. “Okay, this wasn’t what you were expecting, but that’s okay,” I muttered.

Wasn’t what you were expecting – you thought you were going to be working in a fancy research facility, not picking through the leftovers of the TLO. Not putting a puzzle together where half the pieces are missing and you don’t know what the end picture should even resemble.

“Life isn’t fair and it throws unexpected punches at you,” I murmured out loud.

Undercover? A voice in my head screamed. With Roy? With Roy Zima-Weslark as your partner? As your…

“You can say no, Kesari,” Piper suddenly said in a soft voice at my elbow and I jumped. I hadn’t even heard her come in. “Do not force yourself to do this out of any obligation, please.”

“No, I said I would do it. I didn’t ask questions.” Maybe I should have. “This is a big deal. To turn this down means moving back to Berlin, back in with my parents and back to a job that’s fun, but it’s not this.” I turned off the sink. “Not helping people and making a difference.”

“It wasn’t what you were expecting. I kind of banked on that,” Piper said with a sigh.

“That’s okay,” I said resolutely. “Piper, I was there that night. I saw you take charge. I saw the sacrifices everyone made to help Balt and you. The teamwork and the family. We helped kids.” I took the paper towels she offered me and wiped off my hands. “All those Kazan children wiped free of those black marks. Healthy and whole again. That wasn’t what I was expecting either.”

“You’re one of the good ones, Kesari,” Piper said. “It’s why I wanted you for this.”

“I don’t know about leading this up, though,” I said nervously, tapping my foot. “And I for sure don’t know about Roy. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw me.”

“He didn’t know you were coming. And he’s not happy with this job. Roy is a lone wolf who doesn’t like having his hand forced. But he’s smart, Kes. So damn smart. And he’s wasting away being a Runner.” She bit her lip. “I-no, I shouldn’t say anything else.”

There was a moment of silence.

“You know what? I can handle Roy,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

“Are you sure?” Piper asked, making a pained face. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“I’m sure,” I said, thinking back on all the male colleagues and peers I’d had to deal with over the years. “Do you know how few women there were in my programs in school? I’m used to jerks and I know how to deal with just about anyone. I can make friends with just about anyone.”

“Like Soraya,” Piper laughed. “Roy isn’t… He’s not a jerk. He’s overworked and burnt out. Needs a change of pace.” Her eyes became distant. “He needs to figure out what he wants, not what anyone else does…”

“Not even you, Piper Weslark?”

She gave me a smirk. “Well, I might have a few ideas about what’s best for him, but he doesn’t necessarily have to listen to me.”

I snorted delicately. “If you say so.”

“Alright, let’s hash the rest of this out and go to dinner,” Piper said. “And by the way, I’m so happy for the two of you. You and Roy are adorable together!”

I winced. “Okay, you don’t need to rub salt in the wound.”

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and laughed as we walked down the hall. “All I’m saying is that I have no idea how Roy landed a woman like you.”

“Me either,” I said with a bleak laugh.

Roy Zima-Weslark is going to be my fake boyfriend.

Oh, boy.

This should be… fun.

 

It was not fun. A day later, as I watched Balt and Piper leave, a lump of nerves pitted themselves in my stomach and refused to budge. However, I tried to focus on the positives.

I was standing in the middle of a gorgeous rental house in Bear Valley, where snowy white mountains reared up into a flawless blue sky. Tucked down away from the town of Little Meadow off Route 4, it was in the middle of nowhere and peaceful.

It had everything, too. Completely furnished. Books and state of the art entertainment centers in the living room and bedrooms. Even new clothes for me – cute winter jackets, boots, and jammies. Plus, fancy new equipment any chemist in her right mind would go ga-ga over.

But after my luggage was in, Piper had gotten a call and I’d urged them to go. They said he’d be along any minute and not to worry, there were guards around the house for now.

Until Roy got here, my new bodyguard and boyfriend.

I understood Piper’s logic. It was perfect, honestly. The town was small, barely four hundred or so people between Little and Big Meadow, never mind Bear Valley. They’d been told the facility that had been closed down was due to downsizing, where in reality it had been silently raided in the night. But if they got suspicious and started chattering about conspiracies on social media, the TLO might move in and cut their losses. We had to be discreet.

Piper's team was stretched thin and she couldn't ask for more. I didn't ask why, but it sounded like Shifters of Anubis, in general, was stretched thin. Thus, they could only hold this situation for so long. Usually they’d spend a year, but we only had months.

Here was where Roy and I came in. We were supposed to figure out what that facility was for, beyond the obvious TLO tricks. There was a hunch there was a secret here – something hidden in plain sight. And I was determined to figure out what it was.

Instead of moving my luggage into one of the rooms, I sat down at the table and began reading the reports from Piper’s team. My team. Oh, I had to stop doing that.

Absorbed in the reading, I jumped when someone spoke.

"You did not lock the door," said a deep male voice with a rumble of Russia and a lilt of Icelandic in it. A voice that was cool, almost detached in a way that seemed amused, but when you met his eyes, there wasn't a hint of laughter anywhere.

Roy was standing there, a bag slung over his shoulder and a slight tilt to his left eyebrow. And his lips were a bit more firmly pressed together than usual, but other than that, he was impassive. Merely making an observation.

Quite a few inches over six feet, Roy was big and broad-shouldered. His jaw was strong and stubborn, covered in a bristle of gold hair, while his head was covered in a black snowcap. He always wore all black. It made his Nordic features jump out all the more, especially his sapphire blue eyes. I’d never seen that blue anywhere but the deep, neon hues of a frozen river.

“I knew you were coming,” I said, trying to match his coolness, but sounding defensive.

This was not fun or a good start. There had to be peace between us if this was going to work.

“Still, Doc. You should lock the damn door,” he said with a sigh. “And what are you doing?”

“Reading,” I said flatly. “There’s a lot of paperwork to go through.”

He nodded stiffly. “But why are you not unpacked or in a room? We will not have time tomorrow.”

“Oh,” I said, jumping up and forcing a smile on my face. “I also wanted to wait because I think you should have the bigger room. It’s only fair since you…” I trailed off, already putting my foot in it. “There’s a fireplace. It’s nice.”

Roy glanced up and down the hall. “I will take the one down there. Closer to the road and it has a better visual vantage point. Lev!” he barked. A white cat with points of gold at its nose and paws leaped on the table. “You’ve got the big room with her.”

“Hi!” I said enthusiastically to the cat. “Oh, you’re gorgeous.”

You’ve got good taste, Lev said, supremely pleased. She flicked her tail at me and gold eyes grew amused. I hope you don’t mind being bunkmates.

“Not at all! So, Lev – lion in Russian, right?” I asked.

She’s good. Lev commented, hopping down and waltzing into our room. Sharp. I don’t know why you don’t like her, Roy.

“Ignore her,” Roy muttered, glancing away and a muscle in his jaw jumped.

A small pinch went through my chest at Lev’s words. “Do you…?” But Roy had vanished down the hall and I let out a sigh. “Of course.”

Oh, things were off to a terrible start and he hadn’t even been here five minutes.

Lugging my stuff into my new room, I watched Lev sniff around and then hop on the window. She glanced at me. Why do you look like someone punched you in the stomach?

“It’s nothing,” I muttered, heaving my suitcase on the bed.

Don't worry about Roy. And don't take it personally. Her voice became somewhat exasperated and sad. He doesn’t like anyone.

In spite of myself, a feeling of pity came over me and I rubbed my arms. “Sounds lonely.”

It is, Lev replied, staring out the window. But try to convince him of that.