Claws of the Lynx. Linda O. Johnston

Of course. He was a politician.

      Alec had worked for Crandall for six years now, right out of law school and passing the bar. Respected him. Liked him.

      Was trusted by him. Crandall assigned him all the jobs he didn’t want to even describe to other aides. Ones where the person executing the orders could soil his hands. Ones that could get the asses of both the congressman and his aide kicked out of the House and into prison if things went wrong.

      Some job for a lawyer.

      Alec loved it. Excelled at it.

      He had gotten to know, from experience, when Crandall kept something to himself. As he’d been doing ever since telling Alec of a special secret assignment that would be a huge favor to Crandall, and to the entire country.

      That could mean he was really in trouble if Alec screwed up.

      Something was wrong, and Alec was about to learn what it was.

      “All I know—” Alec looked at the general while feeling Nella’s and Crandall’s gazes on him “—is that something sensitive was stolen, and I’m to help get it back.”

      “Exactly.” The general’s smile crinkled his face even more.

      “Crandall, explain to Alec and Lt. Reyes what it is. I’ve given Nella some background, but you give the rest. Then I’ll tell them our plan for them to recover it.”

      Sitting in the closest chair to the window, Nella couldn’t help cringing inside. Nor could she resist watching Alec’s face as the congressman, who sat between them, began to speak.

      Alec hadn’t believed his own eyes before. Would he believe his boss? As if he’d have a choice.

      Would he blame that on her? And why, after all this time, should she care?

      “I’m very glad to meet you, Nella,” the congressman said. “And I’m especially pleased about your unusual skills. You can help us all out of a very touchy situation.”

      “I’ll try, sir.”

      “I also want to tell you how proud I am about the progress

      Alpha Force has made since its inception, Greg,” the congressman said. The two older men, who obviously knew each other well, engaged in conversation. Nella listened without concentrating— her mind, and gaze, on Alec.

      The years had only increased the strong masculine appearance of the man who’d once stolen her heart. His features were angular, his piercing brown eyes unreadable beneath straight heavy brows. He wore his deep-brown hair a lot longer than the military types she worked with.

      Under his suit jacket, the breadth of his shoulders was apparent. She wondered if he was as buff as he’d been back when.

      Attention, soldier. She made herself tune in again to Congressman Crowther. The man was shorter than his imposing presence in the media suggested. He wore a button-down white shirt that emphasized the darkest shades in his salt-and-pepper hair, and a striped tie, but no jacket.

      “As you know,” he was saying to General Yarrow, “I’ve been attempting to obtain additional funding for your pet project—ha, ha—Alpha Force.”

      That brought a brief smile to the general’s face, but a look of puzzlement to Alec’s. Obviously he hadn’t heard about Alpha Force. And wouldn’t have believed it, anyway, considering how he’d acted with her so long ago.

      “For those with the highest clearance, I’d loaded a lot of information I’d collected about Alpha onto a memory stick with lots of capacity. Didn’t want to leave it on the computer at my office, since even with all our security, I was concerned about hackers. And here that fool tabloid reporter Sherman Jonash. Ah, yes, I can tell from your expression, Nella, that you know who he is.” His grin was wry. “I’ve got some bills up for consideration for appropriating funds to the military, including Alpha Force. Sometimes it spurs other representatives to act if the media start pushing, so I agreed to let him interview me. It was the off-the-wall stuff I anticipated, and I handled it fine. Only… well, he’d come to my office. I didn’t realize until after he’d left that the thumb drive wasn’t where I’d put it, in a drawer under my computer keyboard. I’d been called out for a quick question by an aide—a minute, two tops. Most other stuff the bastard could have grabbed would have been harmless, but… Anyway, he could expose the existence of Alpha Force if he finds a way to get through the passwords and other safeguards on that stick. Bad for you, and bad for me, too, since in public I support strict supervision over military forces and operations, even covert ops. And we all know that’s not how Alpha Force works. We need that memory stick back, Nella. That’s where you come in. And because this is so sensitive for me, I want my most trusted aide, Alec, to work with you. You okay with that?”

      All eyes in the room were suddenly on her. She inhaled slowly. Was she okay with it?

      She knew she could do the job, but all regular Alpha Force members were to fulfill their missions only with someone else watching their backs.

      Congressman Crowther trusted Alec. General Yarrow was going along with it.

      She stood and approached Alec. “I’m fine with it,” she said, “if Alec is. We did know each other years ago, General, Congressman. Our brief acquaintance did not end well.” She looked down. Alec’s gaze was emotionless—except for his eyes. They shot fire at her, both anger and… well, she could be imagining it, but a hint of the old attraction seemed to lurk there, too.

      She would turn it off immediately with her next words. “I can handle your assisting me, Alec, if you can. I gather that the congressman hasn’t confided in you yet the nature of Alpha Force.”

      “Doesn’t matter.” He rose. His turn to look down on her. He apparently still needed to feel in charge. Well, if they worked together now, she’d teach him that wasn’t always possible. “I’m in.”

      “Fine,” she said. “Then you can accept that Alpha Force is a covert Special Forces military unit primarily comprising shape-shifters. And that what you saw in the woods all those years ago was true, and not a result of your being drunk. I do, in fact, shift into a lynx, Alec.” She turned away from him. “And, Congressman, I accept your assignment. I can enter any premises while in lynx form and steal back your memory stick.”