Alien vs. Alien

Extra-Terrestrial Division.
    My mother, as it turned out, was a consultant, just as I’d always been told. Only she consulted on antiterrorism, since she was actually the head of the very clandestine and very kick-butt Presidential Terrorism Control Unit. She was also the only non-Israeli, non-Jew to be in the Mossad. A long story I’d never fully gotten out of her, but basically my mom wrote the book on kicking butt and taking names.
    “Why would this go to Homeland Security?”
    “It would go to Homeland Security because Senator Armstrong has the highest-level security clearances, and you’re part of American Centaurion, and these pictures indicate a severe security risk if you and I are having an affair, particularly if it’s perceived that Armstrong is trying to cover it up,” Chuckie said patiently.
    “So, who’s Cliff?”
    “Clifford Goodman, the recently appointed Head of Special Immigration Services. He reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
    “Special meaning extraterrestrial?”
    “Yes.”
    “You like him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Really?” I tried not to sound shocked and failed, if Chuckie giving me a rather snide look was any indication.
    He shrugged. “He’s no worse than your average younger politician and better than most. He’s been quite helpful to me, and to Centaurion Division, since he moved into the position. And he’s a decent guy. You’ve met him.”
    “I have?”
    “At the President’s Ball. After all the excitement was over. The President introduced you to him personally.”
    We’d met so many people that night, after almost dying so many times, most of them were a blur. But Chuckie didn’t hate this guy, and he wasn’t in the Cabal of Evil, so fine, I could file this information in my To Be Worried About Later folder. I had a much more pressing concern. “So what does Mom know about this?” I sort of hoped absolutely nothing.
    “She knows what I did before coming here today, and she also knows that if there are pictures, they’re either from years ago or doctored. They’re doctored; she won’t be upset with you.” Chuckie grinned. “So you can stop worrying.”
    “For about five minutes,” Christopher added. “Because I don’t think that threat Armstrong made was an idle one.”
    “No, it wasn’t,” Jeff agreed. “However, I didn’t pick up what I was expe [at em"cting to.”
    “What were you expecting?”
    “Devious intent, triumph, those kinds of emotions, baby. What I got, however, was a lot of concern and, of course, lust from Pepé Le Pew.” Jeff shook his head. “Armstrong might have been telling the truth.”
    “Great.” Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “So, who’s out to get all of us this time? And why?”

    Yi

CHAPTER 5

    “N O IDEA,” JEFF SAID. “But lunch is ready, so let’s eat.”
    Christopher put the pictures once again into their plain brown wrapper and handed them to me. “Thanks. I want to put these into my purse or something,” I said to Jeff as the others headed for the dining room. “I do
not
want your parents to take a gander.”
    Jeff smiled and took my hand. “I’ll go with you.”
    He zipped us off at hyperspeed, so we were in the bedroom in about a second flat. “So, miss me?” he asked as I shoved the pictures into my purse.
    I turned around, flung myself at him, and kissed him. His kiss was, as always, amazing—deep, sensuous, his lips and tongue owning mine.
    He ended the kiss slowly. “So, when were you going to tell me?”
    “Tell you what? I didn’t know about these pictures, and I absolutely wasn’t having an affair with Chuckie, or anyone else for that matter.”
    “I know, baby. There’s no way you could hide that from me. No, I mean about Jamie being ready to come home.”
    “She isn’t.” I looked at his expression. He was upset, much more about this than the naked pictures. “Tito, Melanie, and Emily are supposed to come down tomorrow and check her out. Then, if they all think she’s done teething, we can head home.”
    “She hasn’t been in pain for three days.”
    “And just how do you know that? You’re not supposed to be monitoring, her or me, remember? That’s the whole reason we’ve been here for a month.”
    He looked just a little guilty. “Yeah, I know . . .”
    “But you have been, haven’t you?”
    “Yeah. When Reynolds told me about Oliver’s warning, I figured I’d better check. So I’ve done random checks over the past couple of