Contact Imminent by Kristine Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

find her from slopping over into their jurisdictions.
    Jani keyed her visitors through the rear entry and waited as they doffed their coats. Her own, she kept on. The number of humanish visitors she entertained prevented her from adjusting the temperature of the house to the higher setting her hybrid internal thermostat demanded, and she had resigned herself to feeling chilled until summer.
    â€œYou look beat.” Val wandered over to her, his trousers and pullover now truly revealed for the mismatched muddle that they were. “I hope you managed to catch some sleep, at least.”
    â€œNo, I didn’t.” Jani avoided Lucien’s pointed look. She pressed a hand to her stomach, and felt as well as heard the grumble. “Some food would be good.”
    â€œI’ll take care of it.” Lucien strode down the hall toward the kitchen, neat in winterweights, his orange captain’s bars bright against the dark grey shirt.
    â€œI’ll make coffee,” John grumbled as he took off after him.
    Jani watched the two men disappear through the kitchen doorway, then turned to Val, who eyed her in tired amusement.
    â€œLucky you. It’s been a long time since I had two men fighting over me.” He grabbed her sleeve and pulled her after him, stopping along the way to straighten a holo of a cityscene that hung crooked on the wall. “I was afraid something like this might happen if we showed up unannounced. But after we got that first call from Service Medical, John spent hours twisting arms for word about you. No one he called knew anything, which did wonders for his mood. Lucien can say what he likes, but if I had the choice between battling a ministry security team or my business partner, I think I’d take my chances with the nominal professionals.”
    Jani leaned against Val and lowered her head to his shoulder. “I should have called him, I suppose.”
    â€œYes, you should’ve.” Val slipped an arm around her waist and steered her toward the kitchen. “That was the least you could have done.”
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    By the time they entered the kitchen, the aroma of brewing coffee had already staked its claim to most of the room. The scent of frying onions, however, had taken hold of the area near the stove and seemed destined to beat back any and all comers with the aid of a few more ingredients.
    â€œOmelets, I think.” Lucien removed eggs, cheese, and other items from the cooler and set to work mixing and chopping, revealing not only an enviable ease around the kitchen but also the fact that he’d visited Jani often enough to know his way around hers. This in turn wasn’t lost on John, who shot Lucien looks of increasing sharpness as he scrabbled through drawers and cupboards in the hunt for coffee accessories.
    â€œIf anyone has any particular dislikes,” Lucien said, “tell me now because I’m throwing in everything I can find.”
    â€œHold the green pepper, if there’s any green pepper to hold.” Val held a chair for Jani as she sat at the square, four-person table, then took the seat next to hers. “Can’t abide the stuff.”
    Lucien turned. Val never spoke to him if he could avoid it, and his surprise at the man’s response informed his face witha teenage lightness. “No green pepper, it is.” He held Val’s gaze just a beat too long, then returned to his cooking.
    â€œChrist.” Val’s face reddened, his voice dropping to a rough whisper. “Doesn’t he even bother to hide it when you’re around?”
    Jani shrugged. “His is a continuing quest to make me jealous—it irks him that I never rise to the bait. Besides, he’s going to be on his own for the next few months. He needs to lay groundwork for future conquests.”
    â€œI am not interested.” Val watched Lucien chop and stir for a time, then shook his