Page 5 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

He grinned. "Guilty. I get lonely sometimes, and Melinda here is a good listener."

"Right." Kyra rolled her eyes, but the amusement in her voice was unmistakable.

They soon reached the paved section of the roadas it wound through a stand of trees, eventually opening up to reveal the airstrip and the large hangar in the back.

Despite them arriving almost half an hour early, the jet was already on the tarmac, and its engines were running.

Max pulled the car into a parking area, where two other vehicles were already parked—a van and a car probably belonging to the pilot. He would need to arrange for someone to pick up his baby and bring her to the parking garage either in the keep or the village. He wasn't leaving her out in the open.

After grabbing their bags from the trunk, they walked toward Yamanu, who was waving them over.

"About time," he said by way of greeting, though his tone was light. "I was beginning to think you'd decided to skip the mission and elope instead."

"Careful," Max warned, though no real heat was behind it. "I'd hate to have to kick your ass in front of everyone this early in the morning."

"You can try, buddy." Yamanu laughed, then turned to Kyra. "I have a gift for you." He pulled a package out of his duffle bag. "A new clan sat phone, pre-loaded with all the contacts you'll need."

"Thank you." Kyra took it, examining the sleek device. "Is it secure?"

Yamanu grinned. "It's encrypted six ways from Sunday, according to William. You can even call your rebel friends."

"I wouldn't. Not directly."

"Max can show you how it works. And now, for the big gift." He handed her a large shopping bag. "Compliments of Eva, our master of disguises."

It was heavy, and as Kyra unzipped the bag, she found a folded black abaya and niqab and then another garment that looked like the torso of a fat woman with large breasts. "What is that?"

"That's a fat suit," Yamanu said. "You wear it under your clothing to change the shape of your body. Eva used to do undercover detective work before she joined the clan. She's still in that business, but she mostly manages it these days. Now that she's a mother, she has a crew of young immortals doing the fieldwork for her. Mey called her yesterday about Iranian traditional clothing, and she suggested pairing it with this. You can hide a lot of weapons under these fake boobs and that belly, or anything else you might need to conceal, for that matter. It can't fool a scanner, but it can pass a pat-down."

A slow smile spread across Kyra's face as she examined the garment more closely. "That's ingenious," she said. "No one looks twice at a heavyset woman in conservative clothing. This is perfect camouflage. And you are right. I can hide all sorts of weapons under it."

"That was Eva's thinking," Yamanu agreed. "She says it gets a little sweaty inside, so take that into consideration."

"Tell her I said thank you." Kyra put the itemsback in the bag. "This will make things much easier for me."

"You can tell her yourself." Yamanu pointed at the phone. "Eva said to call her if you have any questions about how to strap it on or anything else you need. She has a lot of experience working undercover."

"I will. Thank you."

"And this one is for you." Yamanu handed Max a small bundle. "You'll need a little makeup if you don't want to draw attention to yourself."

Max frowned at the package. "Is that what's in here? Makeup?"

Yamanu laughed. "It wouldn't do the trick without the proper clothing, right? We are going all out."

"Don't tell me that I need to wear a caftan. How am I supposed to run or fight in that?"

Kyra chuckled. "If I can do all that in an abaya, niqab, and a fat suit, you can do it in a caftan."

Max groaned. "You're right, but I don't have to like it." He put the bundle inside his duffel bag and zipped it up.

They followed Yamanu to the jet, where the rest of the team was gathered. Jade stood with the two pureblooded Kra-ell females, Rishba and Asuka, and the hybrid males, Dima and Anton.

As they approached, Jade turned to them. "Good morning."

Kyra handed the bag with her new disguise to Max and stepped forward. "I want to thank all of youfor doing this. I know you're risking a lot to help rescue my family, and I'm grateful."

Jade waved away her thanks with a dismissive gesture. "We're doing this for fun," she said, and though her tone was flat, there was a gleam in her large, dark eyes. "And for the clan. We owe them a great deal."

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