Ada's Protective Mate Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Warning

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ~ About the Author ~

  ~ More Romance from Etopia Press ~

  Ada’s Protective Mate

  Jo Palmer

  Copyright Warning

  EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Etopia Press

  1643 Warwick Ave., #124

  Warwick, RI 02889

  http://www.etopiapress.com

  Ada’s Protective Mate

  Copyright © 2017 by Jo Palmer

  ISBN: 978-1-947135-24-6

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Etopia Press electronic publication: July 2017

  CHAPTER ONE

  Hanging up the telephone with a sigh, Ada Gerritsen opened the top drawer of her desk and reached for one of the neatly lined-up candy bars she kept stocked for just these occasions. She removed the wrapper with precise jerks and bit in, closing her eyes and allowing the small pleasure to take the edge off her annoyance.

  The minute she saw Nana Mae’s name on the caller ID, she should have known her day was about to take one of those unexpected, and very unwanted, dives into the abnormal and irritating. At the beginning of the conversation, Ada stood firm, not moved in any way by the request or by Nana Mae’s squeals of outrage. And she definitely wasn’t moved by the tried statement of “loyalty to family and kind.” Yet within five minutes, Nana Mae had dragged Ada into something she knew she should stay very far away from.

  A ridiculous Galdorcwide land dispute.

  If she wished to deal with creatures, she would have taken a job in Galdorcwide, not New York. Yet time and again Ada was dragged into disputes and discussions with the creatures and life she left behind. She often found creatures were ruled by their natures and positions, whereas humans obeyed the law or suffered the consequences. She opened her eyes and tossed the chocolate wrapper in the bin beside her desk. Ada glared glumly at the framed poster on her office wall.

  Enjoy life to the fullest by taking what you want. The brownie motto.

  Humans who saw the poster automatically assumed it was an ironic little joke about the criminals she represented. They were wrong. Brownies were known for being sneaky and taking whatever they wanted, though if they were caught, they denied everything with a smile and flattery. And then they ran.

  She should have smiled and run the moment she heard Nana Mae’s voice. This was what happened when family had your phone number. Constant nagging, reminders of obligations, family loyalty, and the obligatory guilt trips. Ada was not one to be easily swayed by supposed obligations, and even little less by loyalty, which was sorely lacking in her nature. But Nana Mae knew how to twist things and was damn good with guilt.

  With a hiss of annoyance, Ada sat up in her chair, smoothed down the tweed skirt of her suit and clicked on her e-mail inbox. As promised, Nana had sent the information, and a quick scan revealed a hell of a lot more than the older woman had said during their brief telephone conversation. Cursing Nana even more, Ada printed the documents to read in the cab on the way to the meeting and stuffed them into a folder.

  Ada turned in her seat and unlocked a cabinet behind her desk. She withdrew a thick Galdorcwide land rights book and placed it, along with the folder, inside her large Prada handbag then locked the cabinet. Leaving her office, Ada went to the open plan area where the staff was busy on phones and computers. She looked around for the intern, Remika, an imp and the only other creature in the human firm.

  As usual, Remika Alberts was flirting with a criminal, one who would give her a good seeing-to in the bathroom or stairwell after he’d played innocent to his lawyer. Then he’d steal her purse or apartment keys.

  Remi was such a sucker for bad boys.

  Grabbing the intern, Ada hurried them to the elevators. She thrust a laptop into Remika’s hands and then pressed the elevator button hard in annoyance.

  “Where are we going?”

  “A land dispute meeting.” Ada impatiently hit the button for the elevator a few more times.

  “Did you say land dispute?” Remi frowned.

  “Yes.”

  “Hang on,” Remi said. “Conflict of interest here! Me imp, you brownie. I cannot be a lawyer on the brownie side; my kind will turn me into a slimy, slithering toad! Or worse, a sneaky disloyal brownie.”

  Not offended in the least by the imp’s remark—brownies were sneaky and disloyal—Ada flicked open her compact and applied lip gloss to her naturally plump, ruby-red lips.

  Mildly curious, she closed the compact. “You cannot be turned into a brownie, can you?”

  She eyed her only real friend distrustfully. Imps were known to be less than truthful at times and had an annoying tendency to exaggerate. Ada pressed the elevator button again and cursed the slowness of the ancient contraptions.

  “Uh-huh.” Remi rolled her eyes. “Imps have big whammy magic, hon. You really need to take more of an interest in the creature world. Now, back to the point of sides in the land dispute—”

  “Remi, lawyers, mediators, and judges are impartial. Your imp kind knows that.”

  “Are you crazy? Imps don’t give a crap about— Hi, Carl!” Remi battered her lashes at the senior lawyer approaching them. “My, is that a new suit? It looks fabulous on you. Armani?”

  Carl Renwick was a dynamic lawyer and a partner in the prestigious firm where Ada had worked as a criminal lawyer for the past three-and-a-half years. She’d worked hard to attain her position and had achieved it without using any little brownie tricks or the renowned sneakiness of her kind. Like any creature living and working among humans, she had adapted to their ways and methods for getting what she wanted, finding that humans could be as diverse and crafty as any creature. At present, Carl was interfering with her ambitions to move up the corporate ladder. For that, she was as nice to his face as everyone else in the firm, but behind his back, she fantasized about sneaking into his bedroom late one night and shredding his designer suits.

  Smiling that practiced, seducer smile, Carl stepped into her personal space. Ada lowered her lashes a little, gritting her teeth and smiling as the sleazy human put a hand on her arm.

  “I wasn’t aware you were out of the office this afternoon, Ada.”

  “I wished to double check that last minute research for your case before court on Thursday.” Ada had learned jus
t how to deal with Carl. Make everything about him and his needs.

  Carl’s smile became egotistical. “Good, I have a few concerns about that.” Carl began caressing her arm, Ada wishing to recoil in distaste but held her ground. Barely. “Why don’t I drop by your place tonight, we can discuss the case, and your possible promotion over takeout.”

  Without awaiting a response, the ego-inflamed human sauntered off.

  “He’s got it bad for you.” Remi tugged Ada into the elevator that had finally arrived and pushed the button for the ground floor.

  “He thinks I’m a challenge.”

  “I’m sure there is that, but half the men in this building would pay to jump you, hon.” Remi laughed.

  “I want that promotion, and not because I slept with Carl.” Ada pressed the ground button impatiently even though Remi had already done so.

  She was annoyed by Carl, annoyed Nana Mae still had the ability to give her the guilts and was more than irritated by the fact she now had to go to a ridiculous land dispute meeting where she would sit through a lot of whining and name calling. This was not why she had worked so damned hard to become a lawyer.

  Taking a deep breath, Ada worked at calming herself down. There was absolutely no point in allowing the situation to dictate her emotions. No, she was disciplined, centered, and focused. This minor aberration to the day’s events was nothing.

  She was just beginning to relax when Remi spoke.

  “What if you got the promotion without sleeping with him, then—”

  “I am not going to sleep with the jerk. Come on, we only have fifteen minutes to get across town for this ridiculous meeting.”

  A few minutes later they were in a cab stuck in traffic, and Ada chose to dwell on her predicament, rather than look through the documents Nana Mae Gerritsen had sent. There were creatures in the world that most humans did not know of, and that was the way everyone liked it. Ada was a brownie, Remi an imp and Galdorcwide was the magical little land they were from and where a great majority of creatures resided.

  Galdorcwide was similar in appearance to a fairy tale world, with crystal waterfalls, castles, palaces, and magic. There were also demons, werewolves, vampires, imps, fairies, brownies and others who each had their allotted areas, which was the cause of the latest dispute as the imps and brownies declared the werewolves had stolen some of their lands. If this weren’t bad enough, the brownies were running around with tape measures and sneaking into homes, offices, palaces, and castles measuring every inch and were now contesting how much land the imps had.

  The entire situation was ridiculous! These were immortal creatures with magic acting like children. The problem was, though it seemed childish to her, the dispute was very important to the brownies. They were without the rigid structure werewolves and imps had, and they didn't hold positions on the High Council, which led to her kind being ultrasensitive and feeling the need to assert themselves. Ada could understand this. It did seem at times that brownies were considered the workers. They lacked the High Council importance, had no rigid structure, and naturally worked hard, as was their way. They were given the manual labor and low paid work, despite possibly having higher skills, experience, and degrees.

  Galdorcwide was a nice enough place; Ada didn’t have anything against it. She had fond memories of her childhood, playing with other brownies in the fields behind the brownie suburb. These days though, she preferred the world outside the shrouded creature domain and was impatient for this meeting to be done with so she could once again concentrate on her own life. She didn’t want to be drawn into brownie, or any creature, nonsense.

  Finally through traffic, she climbed out of the cab behind Remi and smoothed the skirt of her suit. She glanced at the large building directly across from Central Park and spotted a buzzer beside the gates. Ada gave it a quick press.

  “Ooh, nice digs. I think this is a vamp-owned building. They must be holding the meeting on neutral ground.” Remi said. “Yeah, right. Not neutral at all. It’s a well-known fact the bloodsuckers show favor to the dogs.”

  “That’s a valid point for the argument.” Ada took out her phone and jotted down a quick note. “This is how we are going to play it. You simper and beguile and show full understanding and loyalty to your kind, while at the same time expressing how the poor little brownies, so kind and friendly, deserve to be heard. This way the brownies will feel a small allegiance and victory while I go for the werewolves throats.”

  “You get all the damn fun,” Remi grumbled.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t be an intern for much longer, and then I know you’re going to lay every single partner to get to the top.”

  Laughing, Remi pressed the button. “How right you are, hon. Maybe you should try it sometime, might loosen that conservative knot you’ve got going on. Then again, the whole superior untouchable ice-princess routine does make the men go into heat. And with your sultry looks—oh look, it’s a dog.”

  A werewolf approached the gate from inside. He studied Ada and Remi through the steel bars. She wondered if there was magical spell over the building that stopped anyone from entering without permission. This was the sort of thing creatures did to protect themselves and maintain the secrecy of what they were from humans. If this were a vamp-owned building as Remi said, security would be extremely tight. Vampires were creatures who had major trust issues. And they aligned themselves with the werewolves, who were aggressive bastards and highly territorial. Vamps, werewolves, sorcerers who preferred to be called immortals, and demons were the big powers. Fairies were also, but they tended to be free spirited fun loving creatures and did not bother themselves very often with disagreements or asserting their positions.

  Ada took out the top sheet from the dispute documents folder and held it up for him to see.

  “Lawyers on behalf of the brownie and imp clans for the land dispute meeting.”

  The werewolf squinted at the sheet, top lip curling. “More of you.” He muttered and opened the gate. “Don’t touch anything.”

  Ada and Remi stepped into a grand marble foyer with a high cathedral ceiling and a double staircase. She took a moment to appreciate a medieval tapestry on the wall, noted a beautiful Ming vase, and eye-catching Matisse painting. Vampires had good taste. Classic and elegant.

  Returning her attention to the reason she was here, Ada focused on Remi. Her friend, as usual, was flirting. Brownies were known for being sensitive to nature and magic. They sensed changes in nature, the struggles, and growth, and felt when magic was being used. While a brownie’s senses may not be as strong as other paranormals, such as enhanced hearing and strength, Ada could feel the subtle rising of the security werewolf’s body temperature with the attention he was receiving from Remi.

  “This way.” The security guard ushered them into an elevator, sniffing both.

  “How did the witch spell go?” Ada asked Remika. She gave the werewolf a haughty look when he moved closer to her.

  “What witch spell—oh, to banish the stalker warlock? As I haven’t been jumped in a few days, I’m guessing it worked really well.” Remi said.

  Remi was a cute, flirtatious imp who attracted attention wherever she went and had no trouble accumulating lovers, and the occasional overzealous admirer.

  “Warlock problem?” The werewolf inquired. “I can take care of that for you…at a reasonable price.”

  Smiling, Remi trailed a long nail down the werewolf’s chest. “How unfortunate that the creature has been dealt with. Never mind, I’ll remember the offer next time I have a stalker problem.”

  Ada rolled her eyes. “Expect a call tomorrow.” The imp was one of her best friends, but she was a trouble magnet, forever in need of a savior or spell and usually coming to Ada for a solution.

  The elevator doors opened to another foyer. The werewolf led Ada and Remi through security doors and into a waiting room where he pressed a button on an intercom. Ada took the opportunity to load Remi up with the Galdorcwide land law book an
d the folder containing the land dispute documents. This way they looked professional and ready.

  In some ways, Ada would like to be a little more like Remi. The imp was a dynamo intern and would be a well-sought-after lawyer in a few months when she finished her internship. Remi was smart, personable, and could work anyone over without them noticing. Plus, she was fun and open, which Ada was a touch envious of. Around the law firm Ada was known as “the ice princess” and probably took life more seriously than was strictly necessary. But that was fundamentally who she was. Disciplined, focused, driven, ambitious and a hard worker. She did know how to have fun, possibly not the type others considered to be all that enjoyable, but then, everyone was different. There was no changing herself, and when it came right down to it, Ada was fine with exactly who she was, in most ways. And as for the others, Remi was working on her.

  “Lawyers for the dispute.” The werewolf spoke into the intercom.

  “More?” A lightly accented voice responded.

  An Italian accent, Ada thought. Though Galdorcwide was separated from the human world by a magical barrier, creatures were still able to move between both and often lived in different countries.

  “Yeah,” the werewolf responded. “More lawyers.”

  More? How big was this meeting? Ada was hoping to smooth things over with a forceful reminder of the even land allocation centuries ago after the clan wars, thus fulfilling the guilt trip and getting out of here as quickly as possible. Destiny’s curse! If her Nana and the brownies had hired another lawyer and wasted her valuable time, she’d be paying Remi for a few little imp potions to teach them a lesson, or getting one for herself that stopped any feelings of guilt the next time Nana called.