Chapter 5

What the fuck am I doing? Amira asked herself once she was back at work. I was way out of line with him at lunch.

Heavy footsteps coming from the hall interrupted her thoughts. She'd just slipped her purse into her lower desk drawer when Stan appeared in the doorway.

"Is your boss available?"

"I'm sure he is. Let me call him on the intercom."

"No need. Come with me," Stan said to her as he reached for her wrist and practically dragged her into her boss's office.

"What are you doing here, and why are you man-handling my assistant?" Richard demanded with an incredulous look on his face.

"Zagan escaped," Stan announced, and Amira's stomach dropped.

"That can't be." The words escaped her lips without her permission, but they were out there, nonetheless.

"It can," Stan said grimly.

"He was in maximum security." Amira still couldn't accept it. "How'd he escape?"

"We're still trying to figure that one out. One minute, he's on the camera at four this morning, and the next, he isn't. Your guess is as good as mine given his Houdini act."

Amira pressed a hand to her chest, which felt heavier and heavier by the second. She tried to steady her breathing, but it grew jagged as the world closed in on her like a fast-approaching tunnel. She reached out to the edge of Richard's desk to steady herself, but her knees buckled. She was about to fall to the floor, but Richard was already there, catching her in his strong, solid arms.

"I've got you." His words were a warm whisper against the shell of her ear as he guided her into the chair opposite his desk. A water bottle was quickly opened and placed in her hand before he stepped back from her. "Give her some air, Stan."

Stan let out a cough and took two steps back from Amira before he crossed the other side of Richard's desk and gazed out the window overlooking the campus.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Amira. I realize this is a sensitive topic for us all, but this is ten times worse for someone like you. Someone who's been a target before. FUC doesn't like telling survivors that their tormenter is out there, on the loose. I'm sorry to have to be the one to give you the news."

Amira took a long pull from her water bottle before speaking. She needed the time to collect her thoughts. Bile began swirling in the pit of her stomach. If she didn't say the right thing now, she'd be pulled from her assignment before she even started it.

She gazed at Stan and took in a breath before stating, "Stan, I know this looks bad, but I can handle myself."

"That you can. I wouldn't have recommended you if I didn't think you could handle it."

"I feel a ‘but' coming on. What's the but?"

"But until you are one hundred percent and can put what Zagan did to you behind you?—"

Amira jumped from her seat. "Stan, please! I've got this! I've so got this!"

Stan broke out into a grin. "Would you let me finish? I get you have this, but it's Zagan, and I want you in this with backup." Stan's gaze shifted to Richard's. "Amira is going to stay on her security assignment, but she's going to have a partner."

"Stan, you can't be serious!"

"Oh, I am, Richard! You and I know you need to go out in the field occasionally to keep that badge of yours active. This is the perfect time for you. Act as her backup when Gregor is in town to visit. You can act as Amira's date for the next few days. In fact—start tonight and case out one of the places we can go to eat. The pub, maybe."

"That place is always crawling with FUCs," Amira objected. "There's no way Zagan would make a move with that many eyes around."

"Then go somewhere else. Maybe The Joint, in the next town over. They're friendly to shifters, and I planned on taking him there at some point."

Amira wasn't buying it. "I've already done research on The Joint, and you know it well. Why should Richard and I go there tonight?"

"Because I want both of you familiar with it."

"This just feels like you're giving me a babysitter."

Stan sighed. "I just want as many people as possible to have my back while I'm with Gregor. So, I'm counting on both you and Richard."

"Fine." Amira crossed her arms before continuing. "Is that all? Because I need to finish up some work."

"Okay," Stan said, smiling. "You good with this, Richard?"

Richard nodded. Since she seemed to be dismissed, Amira stomped back to her desk. She knew she was focusing on Stan's assigning her a babysitter instead of thinking about how afraid she was that Zagan was on the loose. She had no problem going on a fake date with Richard. Heck, she was excited to have another reason to go out with him. But she hated the fact that, once again, she was being treated like a helpless lamb.

Stan followed her. Amira let out a sigh. "Stan, it's bad enough my family doesn't take me seriously, but when will you all realize I don't need protection in my life? I can take care of myself, I'll have you know."

Stan placed his palms out as if to signify surrender.

"Amira, that's not what this is about. This isn"t personal. I"d want backup security on Gregor under these circumstances no matter what."

"Then why not pull in someone else from FUC?" she shot back. "Why assign my boss, who isn't usually a field agent, to be my partner?"

"Hey, if you don't want to pretend to be dating Richard, you don't have to. I just thought it would be more natural. I saw the two of you going off to lunch together today, and I thought it might look natural if we were all out having fun together. Is Richard the problem? Because you're right. I could call in another agent instead."

"That's not it, Stan." Amira crossed her arms again and let out another sigh. "I'm fine with Richard. Actually, I kind of enjoy his company. I like him."

Stan pulled up a chair next to Amira's desk and straddled it. "Wait… you like him? Richard, I mean. You actually like him?"

Amira shrugged her shoulders. "What's not to like? He's a good guy. Maybe a little misunderstood, but a good guy nonetheless."

"Just so we're clear… we are talking about Richard, right?" Stan asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, Stan! We're talking about Richard. Why is it so hard to think someone likes him?"

"I guess because he's even more old-fashioned than I am, and I'm definitely older than he is."

"Yeah, I get it. But like I said, he's just misunderstood."

"If you say so, Amira." Stan shrugged. "So, what's this really about, then?"

She sighed. "My problem is that I just want to do a good job, and I hope when the time comes, I shift into something a little more terrifying than a freaking lamb so I can prove that I'm capable."

"I hope so too. But just in case, I think having a llama by your side is a good thing."