Page 1 of I Dated a Holiday Hero (Blind Date Corporation #19)

H ever watched Desmond and his growing family from the porch. The meal and games night had been great, and once again, the small, practical research and development arm had a successful holiday meal.

Hever called her mother while she was cleaning up. “So, my passive activation bit me in the butt again this year.”

Her mother chuckled on the large kitchen projection. “ Well, it looks like you had fun. ”

“I did. Desmond’s family is great.”

Her mom said, “ You didn’t... uh... have a date?”

Hever glanced at her parent. “No. Not for the holidays. All is quiet.”

“ Ah, well. I can hope. How is work? ”

“Classified.”

Her mother laughed. “ Good to know .”

They chatted about the big family party in a week and who all would be attending.

“ What are you bringing for the littles? ”

“Oh, just some stuff I made on my breaks. Little scooters that they sit on and stuff.”

“ Nice. Did you want to have them dropped by before the weekend? ”

“Sure. I know you like to colour-code your decorations. I will send them by tomorrow.”

“ Why don’t you bring them by for dinner, and I can start the holiday hugging. ” Her mom grinned.

“Of course, Mom. It’s the best part of the holidays.”

She got a request for a date the next night and denied it.

She said farewell to her mother and promised to be at her place for dinner the following night.

When the dishes were taken care of, she got a call from Zera. “Hey, boss.”

“ Hever, why did you deny the date with your patron? ”

“Because my mom wants me over for dinner, and I won’t be away from her place before nine.”

Zera huffed. “ He hates it when you deny him. ”

“He can find another minimally powered escort.”

Zera grumbled. “ None of them are omegas. ”

“Ooh. That’s the issue? Seriously. You need to teach more of those girls to take a knot, and this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“ That isn’t his only issue. He’s attached to you. ”

“Can I make another knot-knot joke?” She smiled.

Zera sighed. “ No. No, you can’t. ”

“Spoilsport.”

“ What is the decoration in the background? ”

“Oh, Desmond’s kids were playing pin the tail on the robot. We had to arrange our own holiday party... again.”

Zera paled. “ You are kidding.”

“Nope.”

“ But practical R Hever’s mother could get help to her daughter’s current location.

She made the call.

“Madame Ambassador, I have to report that your daughter, Hever, was abducted tonight. About four minutes ago.”

“ Zera? You are Hever’s boss.”

“Correct. I was on a call with her when there was someone at the door. They blew it open and hauled your child into the night.”

Ambassador Veradil nodded. “ Do you know where she is? I know you have all your escorts wired with trackers .”

Zera blinked. “Oh. She told you.”

“ No, she didn’t. I had the tracker signal identified when she first got the implant. Now, where is she? ”

Zera stared and shook herself. “It appears to be a base in the foothills of Elwor.”

“ Understood. Can you send anyone for her? ”

“I hate to say this, but the defenders are all on missions, and the ones local are off-com.”

“ Fine. I will force some of them on com. She’s a full Aksallan citizen and the niece of the prefect. Family will get her if no one else will .”

Zera paused. “She does have a patron.”

“ Only one?”

“Only one that she accepted. I can ask him if he can come.”

The ambassador glared at her. “ Do that. I am contacting the prefect. ”

The call went black. Zera called the matter manipulator, and he asked why Aksalla Fifty-Five had rejected the date. Zera cleared her throat. “She had family matters to attend, but now she has been taken by someone in Elwor.”

He paused. “ You are joking .”

“No. Why?”

“ I am on assignment there. Where is she? ”

“At a base at the bottom of the hills. Near the Horin River.”

“ I am twenty minutes away .”

“Bear in mind, she might be bait for you.”

“ Understood. Is she injured? ”

“There was blood and a strange gurgling noise, so yes.”

“ Shit. Do you know why they wanted her? ”

“She is a Z-Corp tech.”

“ Ah. She has knowledge of mechanical systems? ”

“She does.”

“ Right. I will go looking for her. They are working on a tank and haven’t gotten it up and running yet .”

“Oh, that is right up her alley.”

“ I will go to the base. ”

Zera got the notice of a dozen Aksallan actives heading for Elwor “You will have Aksallan support in under an hour. Some heavy-hitters, two Ikan, one Ikir.”

“ So, not just a tech. ”

“No, not just a tech.” Zera sighed. “She has a lot of family. Dangerous family.”

“ Fair enough. I will take care. ”

“Good. They are only going to be careful with her. I will send you her identity. Do not disclose it anywhere.”

* * * *

H ever was propped up in a lab, making splints for her fingers and coughing up blood from her lung. They weren’t offering her any medical assistance or food or water. The ten-wheeled tank in front of her was a monster, and she flicked through the specs that they had given her.

She wheezed. “What do you want it to do?”

“Destroy actives.”

“What kind?”

“All.”

“This thing can’t fly and isn’t submersible. You need them to wander in front of you, like sheep.”

She coughed and wiped blood off the tablet. Her ribs were braced with half her shirt being tied tight around her torso. She was as supported as well as she could be.

The researcher growled. “It worked in Uradda.”

“And they have lost all their actives. How sad is that?” She grinned.

She wasn’t allowed to touch the vehicle, so she only had the designs to go on. “So, I asked before, what do you want this to do?”

“Stun blasts.”

She looked and said, “Wrong power supply. You need a higher range of power output to short out nervous systems. This will just give them headaches.”

There was a thud in the distance, and she kept asking questions while the researcher asked, “Who is coming for you?”

“I dunno? Maybe my family.”

“You... don’t have family.”

She didn’t look up from the designs. “I was adopted into a very large family.”

More distant thuds and shouting.

“A very large, angry family.”

There was a soft huffing, and claws tore the researcher’s neck out. When the man took form, she had been prepared to greet her cousin, but she blinked and squeaked. “Patron?”

“Fifty-Five? Or is Hever appropriate?”

He was standing with white hair, wearing a dark green suit with a blood-red trim.

He reached out to touch the blood on her cheek, but a sharp voice rapped out, “Hever! What did you get yourself into?”

“I am sorry, Doc.”

Torenne arrived at her side. “Zera said she heard your breath slurping around.”

“Yeah, well, I broke a rib, and it went for a walk.”

Torenne said, “Sit up, this is going to hurt.”

“Bring it, bitch.”

Torenne grinned and pressed her hand to Hever’s side. The entire area was on fire, but then it settled. The hand was next.

When Torenne ran her hands through Hever’s hair, they were close. Torenne chuckled. “Chocolate and honey?”

“Yeah, feel free to make fun of me. They took my scent nullifiers. I will put my cuffs on as soon as I am home again.”

Torenne worked on her head wound. “Is that what those are? I just thought you wore jewellery.”

“Nope. Nullifiers.”

“It smells really nice.”

“Good to know. Sorry to have rousted everyone for this. Was it Mom or Zera?”

“Zera called your mom.”

“Oh, geez. I am never going to hear the end of this. She’s gonna make me move home.”

“Why?”

“Mom only agreed to let me leave my round-the-clock monitors and guards if I said I would be on alert and keep out of trouble. Oh, I hope the presents are okay.”

“Your friend headed to your home to check on things and get the door repaired.”

“Gotta love efficient women.”

“So, what is Krix doing here?”

“Um, he was my patron. Zera asked him to come.” She blinked to clear the blurry tears.

“A patron? Seriously? How old are you?”

“Um, twenty-eight.”

Torenne smiled. “Well, that is a bit of a shock. I think of you as eight years old, learning to speak Aksallan.”

“I know. That is obvious. Okay, I am good to travel.”