Page 54 of Affair

“Ethan. Help. This kitten has claws, and tits. I’m scared.”

That helped calm the man down even more.

He actually laughed.

“I know. I like her like that. She’s not allowed to change,” he admitted.

Then, Ethan went there.

“I love you both. I’ll see you when you get home, and neither of you had better be dinged-up. Got that? If you are, I’m going to be bitchy, and no one likes me in a mood.”

Oh, they did not like a bitchy Ethan. A calm one was so much better for everyone involved.

“Bye, sexy man,” Elizabeth said, as Gene kissed his phone like a total smitten nut.

Yeah, she got that.

Hanging up, Gene tucked his phone away. As soon as he did, Ivan pulled out an earbud. He saw the hand signals through the glass from the pilot, alerting them to being at their destination.

“We are about to land atArea Fifty-Two,” he warned. “Wrap it up.”

That worked for her.

When they had privacy again, Elizabeth reassured Gene in case he was still nervous about being left behind, or how they all felt about him being part of their family.

“He loves you so much, and so do I,” she admitted.

Oh, Gene knew how lucky he was.

His family was his world.

Between the family, and the fact that he and Ethan had Willa together, that cemented him into that world. He was never leaving.

And Tommy had better not threaten what was his or he was in for a big surprise.

Gene would get mean.

As they touched down onto the roof of the new Hunter lair, they were met with the keeper of the concrete bunker. She was right there as they stepped out onto the landing pad.

“Hello, MATE,” Elizabeth said.

Zen curtsied.

Then the hologram moved toward her, as the helicopter went silent, and the pilot would wait here.

“Elizabeth, welcome back to my home,” MATE said. “The Hunters are inside, having coffee.”

She was curious.

“Do they know that I’m here?”

MATE shook her head.

Today, she was a redhead, and dressed like she was going to a rave. One of the best things about MATE was that she was learning who she was, and changed identities like most people changed their underwear.

Someone couldn’t make up her circuits as to what she wanted to look like.

That she was changing meant that Chris’ AI was getting smarter, and his wish to make one hell of a scary-ass computer that could take over the world might just happen.