Page 32 of Monkey Business

“Alright, we’ll head out to the kennels and get Beast,” said Erin.

“No need. Sniff will meet you in front of the cafeteria with an SUV and the dog. Keep comms on at all times.” The women all tapped the comms device at the base of their ear. The soft chirp told them it was working.

“Do not remove your tracking devices for anything. The bracelets and necklaces cannot be pulled off by anyone, so no fear of pickpockets.”

“We got it, sweetie,” said Erin to her husband.

“I know you have it, Erin. We know you all have it, but it doesn’t prevent us from worrying about our wives. Our sisters, our friends. We love you all, and we wouldn’t ask this if it weren’t necessary. Allow us to worry a little.” Erin hugged Nine, kissing him sweetly.

“We’ll be alright. Don’t think we didn’t notice that you put a trained agent with each of us. We all have our weapons in the stealth netting and the small knives from Trak in our crossbody bags. No one will suspect at all.”

“We’ll be back soon,” said Ani. “I know you’ll be watching from the drones, but we’ll be fine.”

Carter looked at his wife, shaking his head. She was former CIA and one of the most badass women on the planet. But she was still his wife. His forever. His love.

“I love you, babe,” he said, kissing her.

“I know. You love me because we have great sex,” she giggled in his ear. He grinned at her, holding her tightly to his body.

“No. I love you because you’re the other half of me, Ani. You’re my soul. All of it.” She smiled at his sweet words and kissed him again.

“We’ll be alright. I promise you.”

When the SUV and Monster were brought around, the others watched as the four women got in the vehicle, the massive dog huddled between Erin and Lissa in the backseat.

“What do you think?” asked Gaspar in a low voice to Nine.

“I think anyone who tries to get at those women is going to be very, very sorry.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Beast was wearing his ‘service dog’ vest, forcing the circus ticket agents to allow him in. Although, one of the security men at the gate asked if he were a dog or a bear. Ani just smiled at him.

“A little of both. Strange crossbreeding,” she laughed. He frowned at her, unsure if she was joking or for real.

“It’s been years since I’ve been to a circus or carnival,” said Erin. “Nine doesn’t like the crowds.”

“Alec doesn’t either,” said Lissa, “but he likes the food.” She snapped a photo of the food trucks and texted it to him, knowing he would be jealous. A few minutes later, she got a text back.

Bring me back a funnel cake, corn dog, giant lemonade, churro, and one of those foot-long hot dogs.

Lissa just laughed, showing the women the text message. They all wanted to make a joke about ‘foot-long,’ but Lissa beat them to it.

“I should have told him he already has a foot-long,” she smiled.

“Girl, you beat me to the joke,” said Ani.

Beast was by her side, behaving perfectly as he was trained to do. The smells were wonderful for him, but he knew this was all business. His vest told him that.

“Well, let’s walk around, ladies,” said Erin.

They walked toward a large outdoor circle where jugglers were competing in a number of events. Groups would juggle traditional things like balls, bowling pins, and other things. Then, the real events began. Chainsaws, knives, swords, even flaming objects.

The team applauded for each of the groups, noting that whatever was happening with O’Noth didn’t seem to matter to these men and women. They were taking the competition seriously.

“Nine said that the O’Noth team was all in dark blue velvet. They didn’t win that competition,” said Lissa.

“I’m sure they’ll be pissed about that,” said Erin. “Let’s keep moving. There’s a lot more here than I thought there would be.”

---