Alien in the House

was holding court with politicians from Arizona and New Mexico I didn’t know personally. I’d met too many people, my stomach was beginning to grumble, and my feet were starting to hate being in heels—the names were one long blur which nicely matched the faces, which were also blurry. Hoped I wasn’t giving off the same vibe as Whitmore and focused on smiling. Thankfully, I’d gotten really good at saying, “Chef says you’re going to love what’s coming.” It seemed to suffice.
    Reader and Gower were at the table on the other side, with Cliff, the Kramers, Eugene and Lydia, and Serene Dwyer. Alone. Without her husband, who, as I thought about it, I hadn’t seen anywhere.
    “Where’s Brian?” I asked her quietly as I gave her a hug.
    “With Patrick and the other kids,” she whispered back. “Tell you why later.”
    I could understand why Brian might want to be overseeing Patrick, who’d been born right after Operation Destruction. Like Jamie, Patrick was exhibiting some new and frighteningly impressive A-C talents and abilities. But babysitting was supposedly being taken care of by Denise, Patrick’s regular daycare provider, and no less a person than Gladys. So why wasn’t Brian here instead of at the Pontifex’s residence?
    He’d been in the Embassy at the start of this shindig. Brian not being here now was unsettling, but I knew better than to ask questions at the moment. Also didn’t know who was handling their assigned table, since Serene, as Head of Imageering, should have been holding court at a table different from Reader.
    Took a better look at the seating. Serene was next to Gower. So was Reader. This was a break from every other table. Something had happened while I was in the basement. But now wasn’t the time or place to find out what.
    This table had an empty seat which I assumed was for Raj. Assumption confirmed after we’d said hello to everyone, because Raj took his seat, giving me a smile that said I was surely competent enough to get to my own table three feet away. Loved his optimism.
    The head table had Jeff, the Armstrongs, the Brewers, and the McMillans, along with Reyes and someone I hadn’t seen in a very long time—Camilla, our A-C double, triple, and potentially quadruple agent.
    I gaped as Camilla smiled. “Kitty, it’s so nice to see you.” She leaned up, clearly for me to do the cheek-kiss I’d been handing out all over the room.
    Bent down to oblige.
    “Wipe the shocked look off your face, for God’s sake,” Camilla hissed in my ear. “I’m filling in as Reyes’ ‘date’ and working. Be happy I’m here, something’s going down tonight.”



CHAPTER 18
    I KISSED CAMILLA’S cheek on autopilot. It was amazing how I was suddenly laser focused and extremely alert.
    As with every other table, my seat was across from Jeff’s. I’d seen every dude in this room, and I could confirm that, as always, he was the hottest looking guy around. He also looked pleased and like he was suddenly glad Raj was around, too. Jeff shot me a proud look. “Everything fine in the kitchen?”
    “Absolutely. Chef has things well in hand.”
    All the men at my table stood, and Jeff looked like he was going to leave his seat to help me into mine. But I had Representatives Brewer and Reyes on either side, and they both reached for my chair. “Allow me,” Reyes said with a smile for me and Brewer, who laughed and sat down.
    The way the tables were arranged, Nathalie Brewer’s back was to Eugene’s. This should have meant he wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on, unless he was ready to share his affair with his wife.
    However, this wasn’t the case. Before Reyes could do anything else, Eugene leaped up from his table and somehow beat Reyes to my chair.
    “Here, Kitty, let me help you,” Eugene said, almost slamming the chair into my leg.
    “Thank you, but I’ve got it,” Reyes said, giving Eugene the look normally reserved for the crazy aunt in the attic. Couldn’t blame him.
    “No, no, please let me.” Eugene seemed strangely intent on being weirdly chivalrous. This didn’t compute.
    Worried for a moment that Reyes and Eugene were going to fight over my chair. However, Reyes chose the path of least resistance and shrugged. “Okay, if it means that much to you.”
    I looked at Jeff, to see if he had a clue as to what the hell was going on. Received the “what the hell?” look back. Clearly he had no idea what Eugene’s damage was, either.
    As