Alien Tango

couples and Serene. Gower and Reader seemed at ease, as did Claudia and Lorraine. Randy and Joe looked as uncomfortable as I felt. Which somehow made me feel better.
    Serene seemed like a scared rabbit, but I couldn’t blame her. It was clear from how she’d talked to and about Martini and Christopher that she was in awe of their status, and I had the feeling she hadn’t been over to Martini Manor before now.
    I heard a woman’s voice, talking to Christopher, but out of sight. The words weren’t clear, but it didn’t sound unpleasant. That conversation over, I was somewhat unsurprised to see Lucinda come the way Christopher had gone.
    She hugged Gower and Reader, then came over to us. I tried to move away from Martini again so they’d have free hugging room, but he clearly didn’t want me to, because his hold on my shoulders didn’t release. He was tensed up again.
    Lucinda noticed, but she didn’t get upset. She just came and hugged us both. Martini’s body relaxed, and he hugged his mother back. I just sort of got squished, but I managed not to take it personally.
    “Do you need to go into isolation?” she asked as the group hug ended.
    “No, just to bed.”
    She nodded. “Can you take the others up? I want to get Serene tucked away.”
    “Yep.” Martini moved us off. I looked over my shoulder—Lucinda had her arm around Serene and was leading her off in a different direction.
    “How close to your parents’ bedroom will we be?”
    “Different wing. We move fast enough that the rooms don’t have to be close for a parent to get to a child.” He grinned. “The room monitors turn off easily, too. And the rooms are pretty well soundproofed.”
    “Good. Not that this will be a worry tonight,” I said as sternly as I could manage.
    Martini chuckled. “That’s what waking up’s for.”

CHAPTER 62
    OUR THINGS WERE IN A ROOM, it had a bed, we got undressed, crawled into said bed, cuddled up, and both fell asleep immediately.
    I woke up to see daylight streaming in the window. It was a shock. Dulce living floors were all underground, and I’d become accustomed to the pseudo-daylight the master-computer-controlled lighting provided. Real sunlight was a rarity these days.
    I was alone in the bed, which caused me a lot of worry. “In the bathroom,” Martini called. “Nice to know you care.” I heard the shower turn on.
    Rolled out of bed and joined him. Tried for quiet sex. Failed. Decided not to care.
    Whoever ran the laundry services at Dulce had the contract for Martini Manor as well. All our clothes were back, cleaned and pressed. My Converse had been snatched in the night and cleaned off as well. I chose not to wonder how—time spent thinking about that was not time well spent for me.
    It was midafternoon before we got out of the room, and not because we’d spent that much time in the shower, but because we’d slept in so late. Martini seemed better, at least his back looked perfectly fine, but I wasn’t so sure. No isolation likely meant not enough regeneration.
    Everyone gathered in the dining hall, where another great meal was served. This one seemed designed to cover all the bases—sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs. I had some of everything, Martini stuck with sandwiches, fruit, and veggies. He was a much healthier eater than I was. He avoided the cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. I took one of each and snagged some for the road, too.
    This meal was much more relaxed as well. Lucinda and Alfred seemed happy to have us there, as opposed to trying to run half of us out of town. I wondered if Marianne had told me the truth and decided she might have. I also assumed she’d told her mother that pushing me away wasn’t going to work.
    Kevin had been up the earliest, making phone calls and arrangements. Sadly, no one had been able to connect anything definitively to Leventhal Reid, so he was still out and about, doing his nasty work. With Howard Taft dead, that avenue was closed. Kevin had people working on Frank Taft, Turco, Helen, and the rest of those we’d taken into custody, but so far, nothing.
    Daniel Chee and his family appeared safe, but Kevin didn’t relax the guard on them—just in case. They were going to have A-C and P.T.C.U. guards until we knew if Reid had been stopped or was in custody. I liked how Kevin thought.
    Michael and Brian got word that they had to get back to Kennedy and report in, so they were going to stay with the Martinis