Her hair was gathered in two braids that she could secure with pins to her head in moments. The pants, a work vest, a baseball hat, and a different pair of sunglasses would transform her into a guy.
At least from afar.
She hadn’t had time to go searching for proper costumes or real uniforms, and all the items had come from Target, but they would do. No one would be checking out her outfits too closely.
Passing a corner house with a for lease sign, she decided to take a small risk and pushed the pedestrian gate. If anyone asked what she was doing there, she could pretend to be a confused maid who had wandered into the wrong address.
The back of the property was on the same street as the mansion, so perhaps it could be a good spot to watch it without being noticed.
Looking through the windows, she saw that the place was furnished, but it didn’t look inhabited. The owner had probably furnished it to make it more attractive to potential lessors.
As she rounded the corner, a smile bloomed on Eleanor’s face. An exterior staircase led to the second-floor balcony, from where she would have an unobstructed view of the mansion’s driveway gate.
Just in case someone looked up and noticed her there, she pulled a rag out of her tote and held it in her hand. She could pretend to be wiping down the balusters or cleaning the windows.
For an hour or so, nothing interesting happened at the mansion. The gate hadn’t opened even once, and Eleanor decided that spying was not exciting at all. It was damn boring.
But then a restaurant delivery van arrived and stopped at the gate. The driver got out and pressed the buzzer, and a moment later, it opened. He got back behind the wheel and drove inside.
So, they were ordering food.
If she could stop the driver on his way out, she could ask him about the size of the order, and that way, figure out how many people resided in the mansion.
Racing down the stairs, she ran out into the street and waited for the van to round the corner. It took much longer than she’d expected.
When twenty minutes later it finally did, she jumped into the middle of the street and waved her arms. “Stop, please! I need help!”
With screeching tires, the van stopped a few feet away from her, and the driver jumped out. “Are you crazy? What the hell were you thinking jumping into the middle of the street like that? Do you have a death wish?”
“Get back behind the wheel.” She imbued her tone with compulsion.
Confused, he did as she asked while she hopped into the passenger seat. “Drive away at a normal speed.”
His eyes glazing over, he nodded.
She needed to ease up on the compulsion, or his brain would freeze.
“How many people did you deliver food for?” She used a gentler push this time.
“There were forty main courses in the order and ten side dishes.”
“Were there forty people inside?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the problem with compulsion. The answers matched the question precisely, while she needed the guy to elaborate.
“Tell me exactly what you saw inside the house and what you were told.”
“There were two security guards at the gate, but they didn’t move from their station. Three guys came out of the house and helped me carry the food inside. When everything was placed on the kitchen counter, one of the men complained that the portions were small and that there wasn’t enough food. I asked him if they were having a party, and he said that they were just a bunch of hungry men. He said that given the prices, he expected the portions to be bigger. Then the other guy said that servings in fancy restaurants were always small and that he would have ordered from their usual place. Then the first guy said that he was sick of eating the same food every day and called the restaurant to order more stuff.”
“Is someone else delivering the second order, or is it you?”
“I’m the only delivery guy they have. I’m going back.”
Eleanor smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Jesse.”
“I’m Gina, and I’m coming with you. If anyone asks you who I am, tell them that I’m your cousin from Illinois.”
70
Rufsur
“Do you want to come with us to the café?” Jacki asked. “Kalugal and I are meeting Kian, Syssi, Amanda, and Dalhu for lunch.”
Atzil and Ruvon hadn’t returned yet, and Rufsur wondered whether the ladies he’d seen them flirting with had taken them home with them. If not, they might still be there, checking out the selection.
When he’d returned to the house, Jacki and Kalugal had been in their bedroom, so he hadn’t had an opportunity to talk with either of them.
Jacki had emerged only a few minutes ago and had gone into the kitchen to make coffee. Kalugal was either taking a shower or a nap, but he wasn’t going to ask which one unless Jacki volunteered the information.
He glanced at his watch. It was only ten minutes after twelve, but maybe Edna would be okay with him coming to get her earlier. Besides, Kalugal still hadn’t emerged from the bedroom, so it wasn’t as if they were heading out already.
Lucky bastard. Not only was he mated to a great girl, but he could also enjoy her anytime he wanted.
“I told Edna that I will pick her up at one o'clock, and we will have lunch together, but if we get there before that, I’ll see if she can join us earlier.”
“I’m sure she can. That’s going to be our final goodbye for this visit. Are you all packed?”
“I never unpacked. I was living out of my duffle bag.”
She chuckled. “No wonder you look so rumpled.”
He glanced down at his T-shirt. “I didn’t notice, but you are right. Do you think I should iron it?”
“If you take it off, I can iron it for you.”
He could only imagine what Kalugal would think if he came out of the bedroom and saw him sitting there bare-chested while Jacki ironed his shirt.
“Thanks, but I can do it myself.” He gave the shirt a tug. “Or I can just do this.” He gave it a few more. “Much better.”
“Men.” Jacki shook her head. “Do you want coffee?”
Coffee was safe. “I would love some. Thank you. Do you know if Kalugal got any updates from home?”
If they were saying goodbye to their hosts over lunch, the coast must be clear.
She handed him a mug and sat on the couch next to him. “So far, Phinas has nothing to report. Kalugal spoke with him less than an hour ago, and there has been no suspicious activity around the house. If not for Syssi insisting on having a bad feeling about it, we would have been on our way to the airstrip by now. Instead, we are leaving at four. Kalugal wants us to have dinner at home.”
“That’s a shame. Kian’s cyborg butler is a great cook.” He smiled. “Just don’t tell Atzil that I said so.”
He couldn’t care less about what he ate for dinner. Sandwiches from the café’s vending machine would have been fine if he could share them with Edna.
Jacki patted his arm. “I know that it’s not about Okidu’s cooking but about having more time with Edna. You don’t need to pretend to be all macho with me. Having feelings doesn’t make you any less manly.”