20. Flora

Flora

I couldn’t stop shaking. For some reason today’s incident freaked me out more than the other two. Maybe because other people were involved. I know it was her job, but I’d been terrified when my bodyguard had run away from the car.

“Let’s get you upstairs,” Teresa said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. “I need to get the keys to a car and report this incident to my boss.”

As we walked to the elevator, she kept her arm around me, her other hand thumbing out a message on her phone.

The offices of Sapphic Security were tasteful but not fancy. The lobby looked like it belonged to a law firm or accounting company, with a hallway full of offices and conference rooms. Teresa brought me back to a windowless conference room near the back, directing me to a chair before making me a cup of tea from the little coffee station against the wall.

“Some of my team will be here soon,” she told me. “We’ll figure out next steps.”

Teresa’s boss Lois arrived first, soon followed by Angie and Wanda, the two agents I’d met at my house last week, and another woman named Bella. I sat quietly next to Teresa while she briefed them on the incident.

“They were too close for me to get the plates,” she told them. “But it was a steel gray SUV, probably a Honda, with a very dark after-market window tint.”

“Well that narrows it down,” Lois said sarcastically.

“I’ll start pulling the traffic cams,” Wanda said. “See if we can get a clear picture of what happened.”

“We should get you to a safe house, Miss Meyer,” Lois said, her voice much softer than the tone she used with her team. Not that it seemed to bother them.

“No,” I said firmly. “I’m not going to let this guy scare me and I’m certainly not going to leave my job. People are counting on me.”

“Who do we like for this perp?” Angie asked.

“I’ve been looking at that asshole Richardson the CFO,” Teresa told her. “But I’m not finding much to tie him to this, other than the fact he’s a misogynist who clearly thinks the Flora doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“Anyone else?”

“I did some prelims on the rest of the family. There are a couple of relatives who might be hoping to cash in, but no one raises any flags. None of them have regular contact with Flora, but they don’t have any animosity either, as far as she knows, right?”

“Right,” I agreed. “I mean we exchange texts on holidays but that’s about it. They live over in Spokane and rarely come to Seattle, at least as far as I know. I’ve never seen any of them show any interest in my money. I’m not even sure that they know how wealthy I really am.”

“We should send someone out to talk to them just in case though.” Teresa looked around. “They’re shifters so we might want to send one of the wolves.”

“On it,” Lois said, loudly tapping away on her laptop.

“There must be someone that we’re missing,” Teresa mused. “Besides your friend Julia, who do you spend time with?”

I shook my head. “Just my godfather Henry.” I looked around the table. “He’s my attorney and the one who hired you. He’s been really worried about me ever since my parents died. He doesn’t believe it was an accident either.”

I could see the wheels turning in people’s minds.

“I already checked him out,” Teresa announced. “He’s clean.”

I looked at her in surprise. “You ran background checks on my attorney?”

She shrugged. “I’ve learned that you can’t be too careful in this business. The person closest to you is often the one with the biggest axe to grind.”

“Henry has no axe to grind,” I said indignantly. “He’s like a father to me.”

“Well, there’s nothing in his background to say that isn’t true,” she told the team. “Good credit. No gambling or addictions issues. No criminal history, not even a traffic ticket. He has a shit ton of money, all wisely invested. All indications are that he was a true friend to Flora’s father and has no reason to resent her.”

“Well someone does,” Lois said. “We need to wrap this up before someone gets hurt.”

“Agreed.”

Lois stared at Teresa for a long moment, and I had the strangest sense like they were having a silent conversation. Teresa looked down and tilted her head, almost like she was submitting to Lois, then turned back to me.

“We should head back to your place,” she said.

“I want a second agent on duty when you’re at the mansion,” Lois said. “I want them patrolling whenever you’re there. I don’t think your security crew can find their assholes with their elbows.”

I looked at Teresa in confusion.

“She thinks they’re incompetent,” Teresa translated.

“We’ll set up a rotation. I’m down an agent while Martha is on her honeymoon so I’ll see if the bears can do some freelance work.”

Lois sent me a stern look. “Since you won’t go to a safe house I’m going to strongly encourage you to avoid going anywhere but home or work while we’re wrapping this up.”

When I didn’t respond immediately she glared at Teresa. “Stay focused and keep your mate safe.”

By the time we got back to my house one of the guys I’d met last weekend was waiting for us.

“Hey Boris, thanks for coming,” Teresa greeted the bear shifter with a hug.

“Is no problem,” he said, giving me a little bow of greeting.

I loved these guys, they were so courtly.

Teresa rolled her eyes. “Let’s get in the house. I don’t like having Flora out in the open like this.”

The rest of the day passed quickly. I had some work to do, so I holed up in my library while Teresa and Boris prowled around the house like they were expecting an ambush from a mob of angry marauders at any moment.

After a while I didn’t hear them anymore, so I went looking to see what they were doing. I found them in the kitchen. Teresa was leaning against the island while Boris dug through my cabinets.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Boris is going to cook dinner for us,” Teresa said. “You’re in for a treat, he’s a great cook.”

I must have looked surprised because she added, “He and his brothers own a restaurant.”

“I make Vereshchaka,” he said proudly. “Is short ribs and sausage, and also I am making Draniki , potato pancakes. You will like.”

“I’m sure I will,” I said. “I so rarely have fresh cooked food. How can I help?”

Boris put me to work chopping up root vegetables that he was going to roast as a side dish. While we prepped the food, Teresa did a tour of the house, inside and out, looking for issues.

“All clear,” she said when she returned a full forty-five minutes after she left.

“We eat in one more hour,” Boris told her. “I am here all night. Now I take nap like cat, you wake me in sixty minutes, okay?”

“Will do.”

“Oh, I should show him a bedroom,” I said, starting to follow after Boris.

“Trust me, that guy can sleep anywhere. He’s probably cuddled up under a table right now.”

I didn’t know whether to believe her or not, but when I went back to the library I caught a glimpse of Boris sleeping in my entryway, sitting up with his back against the door. Shaking my head, I got back to work until it was dinner time.

After enjoying a delicious meal of Belarusian food, I headed upstairs. I put on a nightgown and settled in bed, thinking that I’d read for a while until it was time for bed, but I was super restless. That close call with the SUV had freaked me out more than I wanted to admit, and now that I was alone, I couldn’t seem to calm my restless mind.

Finally, around nine o’clock I exited my room and knocked softly on Teresa’s door. I’d heard her come up a while ago and knew she was in there. She opened the door immediately, like she’d been waiting on the other side.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I can’t sleep. I just keep replaying what happened today,” I told her. “I just… I don’t want to be alone.”

“Do you want me to come in with you until you fall asleep?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, I want you to come in with me until morning. Nothing has to happen, but can you do that? Will you stay with me tonight?”

“I’m not sure if I can keep my hands off of you if we spend another night together,” she told me, her expression conflicted.

“I don’t want you to keep your hands off me,” I said softly. “I want you to make me forget.”