Where The Numinous Awaits

Ch. 24: Dex's Recon

September 2 | Night

Legend was up to something. I just didn't know what. The need to get to the bottom of it gnawed at me. When he returned later that night, I checked the odometer on my sedan and reviewed everything within the radius of where he could have gone, but no suspicious location jumped out at me. It almost felt unfair to doubt him; however, I knew enough about Legend Liang to hold onto my skepticism.

I stood over his sleeping form the next morning and felt a quickening in my heart. Was I seriously falling for the bad boy? Long hair pooled around his angular face. Thick black lashes fringed his closed eyelids, and his nostrils flared over parted lips as he snored softly. He slept without a shirt, and the magnificence of his body invited hours of gazing. My eyes followed a thin trail of hair down his tattooed torso to where it disappeared in his shorts. I bit my lower lip as I turned away to get my day started.

I didn't need Legend's problems. I wanted to be sensible. I wanted to not be enchanted by the parts he showed when he thought no one was looking. He was kind to those less fortunate, always the first to lend a hand in a crisis, slow to anger and quick to comfort. But he was also self-protective and not above dishonesty. What sort of criminal activity was he into that had slipped past my thorough vetting of him?

Unable to dig further, I made arrangements for the recon mission, marshaling a surveillance van from OASIS. The ride arrived later that evening, and we discussed going through with the wiretap the following day.

"The stuff they don't show you in movies is how boring a stakeout is." I peeled and stuck a utilities company logo on the side door. "Hours and hours of sitting and waiting in the cramped, musty compartment of a truck."

"I wish I could come," Nixie pouted as she surveyed the interior. One side of the van was modified with a shelf with computer monitors and audio equipment. A mirrored screen could be brought down to conceal it, creating the effect of an empty truck.

"You'll be eating lobster and filet mignon, princess. You won't even be thinking about us," Legend chuckled. He was changing the plates for me.

"I never stop thinking about you two," she flirted.

Grinning, I moved to the other side of the vehicle and applied the second sticker. The surveillance van was parked behind Abuelita's classic car. The shipping crate had finally been taken away that morning, and I had my yard back. Meanwhile, Delilah was staying out of the sun in the shed. She had asked for arts and crafts supplies to keep her busy.

I looked up as my cottage door opened. Fitz came out in the tuxedo that I had rented for him for Nixie's dinner with the president. He had a huge smile on his face as he modeled the fit, spinning around with his arms outstretched.

"How do I look? Are my guns showing?" He flexed his muscles in a double entendre.

Nixie playfully bopped his forehead. "We see you, Double-O Seven."

"Tomorrow evening I'm sending you out with some neat spy gear, too," I announced. "Your cuff links will communicate directly into Nixie's inner ear ring. She'll be wearing a panic button watch. Plus, you'll carry a vape pen loaded with tranquilizer darts."

"Right. Don't want to assassinate the president," Fitz joked.

"The president will have his own security team. Your job will be simple. An escort will meet you at the restaurant, and you'll pretend you're on a date while you keep an eye on Nixie. If it looks like she's in a bind, get her out of there safely."

"Copy that," he said.

"What about me? Don't tell me Fitz is the only one who gets the cool toys," Nixie leaned against the van, and I caught Legend checking out her legs in the jean shorts she was wearing. I reached under the front seat and pulled forward a box of gadgets. Her eyes widened with delight.