19. Teresa

Teresa

I watched Flora leave the kitchen, trying to decide if I should follow her. Then I reminded myself that what I said was valid. I needed to keep focused on protecting her. I could spend the rest of my life loving her if we could just figure out how to eliminate the threat first.

With that in mind, I called my boss.

“Taylor!”

I winced and move the phone away from my ear. My boss was a bellower. Or as Angie liked to tease her, she barked like the wolf she was.

“Hey boss, checking in. Did you find anything yet?”

“I damn well would have called you if we found something, or do you think I don’t know how to do my job anymore?”

I rolled my eyes but knew better than to respond.

“How’s it going there?” she asked.

“The client is fine, but I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Flora is… well, she’s my mate,” I forced myself to say.

“Christ on a cracker! Did you just figure this out today?”

“No.”

“Then why am I only hearing this news now, almost a week after you got the assignment?”

I looked down at the table that was still pushed away from my chair from the make out session with Flora a few minutes ago, then jumped up and hustled away as if Lois could see it through the phone.

“I thought it was a mistake or something. She’s not… what I was expecting.”

“Yeah yeah Taylor, my mate wasn’t what I was expecting either you know, but fate knows what it’s doing. Monique makes me very happy, unlike my irresponsible staff who think they should hide crucial information from me!”

As she spoke, Lois’s voice got even louder.

“I’m sorry Lois, but you have to understand that I can’t leave someone else to protect her.”

The sigh seemed to come from the depths of Lois’s soul.

“I’m not going to ask if you claimed her, but if you haven’t, I’ll remind you that once you do it’s almost impossible to stay detached enough to do your job. Just because your coworkers lucked out doesn’t mean that you will. If you feel yourself slipping at all, you tell me immediately and I’ll send back up. Do you copy?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“All right, anything else?” Lois asked.

“Yes, I’d like to get a Sapphic Security car. Relying on a car service to get us around town is making me twitchy.”

“Good thinking,” Lois agreed. “This guy’s been quiet for a few days now. My spidey senses are telling me he’ll try something soon.”

“Agreed. I’ll pick one up in the morning.”

“Sounds good. And Taylor, remember what I said. The minute you feel compromised I want a call.”

She hung up the phone before I could respond.

Little did I know that I’d need back up in less than twenty-four hours.

We got up on Saturday morning and after drinking a protein shake I made for her, I suggested that Flora come to the basement and work out with me. We’d been working out together most nights after work – a compromise since Flora liked to sleep as late as possible -- and although she would never admit it, I thought Flora was enjoying it. Especially when I told her I’d teach her sword fighting.

I’d learned sword fighting as a young girl. It was a weird weapon choice in this day and age, but my father had belonged to a Renaissance Fair group, and he’d traveled to fairs across the country during the summer months re-enacting sword fights for the crowds.

Dad had given me a full-size sword when I turned ten, and other than when I was in the military I’d practiced with it regularly. It helped with both my reflexes and balance, and more than that, it was an enjoyable way to work out.

I’d gotten Flora a smaller sword and put a guard on mine to make sure I didn’t accidently hurt her. It had only been a few days, but Flora was really getting into it, enough that she readily came downstairs to work out with me.

We did some stretching, then sparred with the swords for a while before doing some bodyweight exercises. By the time we headed back upstairs we were both feeling the burn of a good workout.

“My arm feels like lead,” Flora complained as we entered the kitchen. “It’s crazy how heavy that sword feels after a while.”

“But your arms are getting stronger, so that’s pretty cool,” I reminded her.

With her face flushed from her workout and her hair pulling out of the long braid she was wearing she looked young and almost carefree. I liked her better like this, no makeup, looking totally natural, and wearing casual clothes. It was a look I knew she never showed to the rest of the world, which made me appreciate it even more.

It was early in the day, and since it was Saturday Flora wasn’t going into the office. After eating breakfast, I suggested that we call for a ride over to Sapphic Security to pick up a car.

We were halfway to the office when I heard the driver swear.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“The jerk behind me is riding my bumper,” the driver grumbled. “Every time I speed he just increases his speed too.”

“Get down,” I ordered Flora. “On the floor, make yourself as small as you can.”

To Flora’s credit, she complied immediately, curling up into a ball on the floor behind the passenger seat. Slipping my gun out of my waistband, I lowered myself until just the top of my head was visible over the back seat and looked out at the car behind us. The windows were dark tinted, darker than was allowed by law, making it hard to see anything other than a general outline of the driver.

Traffic cleared and the car swung alongside us. Instincts kicked in.

“Go!” I shouted to the driver. “He’s going to side swipe us!”

The driver floored the gas pedal, making the town car shoot up just enough that when the other driver turned the wheel, he only clipped the back panel. Flora screamed as the guy hit us hard enough that the driver struggled to stay in his lane from the impact.

“Damn it,” the driver yelled. “My boss is gonna kill me.”

“We need to lose him. Turn right at the next intersection,” I instructed. “Don’t signal, don’t slow down, turn at the last possible second.”

The driver complied, jerking the wheel to the side with a squeal of rubber, and I continued my instructions.

“Go left. No signal. Now right. Now pull into that alley and stop.”

I opened the door the instant the car stopped.

“Lock the doors. If I don’t come back in five minutes, drive directly to the police station. Don’t stop for anyone or anything. Keep her safe.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Teresa, what are you doing?” Flora called from the car floor. “It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be right back. Stay down Flora, and don’t move.”

I crept down the alley, exiting onto the sidewalk in just enough time to see the now-dented SUV driving slowly down the street, clearly looking for us. I pretended to look in a shop window, watching their reflection in the window until they drove out of sight. I waited another full minute to make sure they weren’t coming back before returning to the town car.

After making sure that everyone was okay I directed the driver up the back roads until we reached the Sapphic Security offices at the edge of town. I entered my code for the car to drive into the garage, then gave the driver a Sapphic Security business card to call to get his vehicle fixed.

“Have your boss call us, okay? We’ll make sure he knows it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes ma’am. Thank you.”

I helped Flora out of the car, then waited for the town car to exit the garage again before pulling her into my arms. Flora’s face was blank, but her slight body was shaking from the adrenaline dump.

“Are you okay, baby?”

“Yeah.” Her voice was small. “Someone is really trying to kill me, but I don’t understand why.”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” I promised. “Whoever this guy is, he’s escalating now. That will make it easier to catch him. We’re going to widen our net and end this.”