“It is now that we’ve had people having issues with American authorities. We’ve had at least three staff members be…,” she made air quotes, “accidentally detained while in the U.S. We’re hoping a U.S. bodyguard will help keep you from getting swept up in anything and if you do, at least we’ll know what happened and be able to intervene quickly.”
A bodyguard was perfect. I could mostly take care of myself, but I knew that my parents’ goons wouldn’t make a move on mewhen I was accompanied by some big burly man charged with my safety. At least I was pretty sure they wouldn’t…
“A bodyguard is fine.”
Marilee
“Martin!”
I jumped in my chair as I heard my boss Lois hollering my name from somewhere behind me. I spun around and leapt to my feet.
“Yes, boss?”
“My office. Now.”
I hurried after her, ignoring the curious looks from my coworkers. Being called into Lois’s office could be anything from getting a new assignment to getting your ass handed to you. Fortunately, I hadn’t messed anything up recently. At least as far as I knew.
Lois heaved herself into her desk chair, which squeaked ominously. She was a sturdy woman, a little chunky but mostly muscle. As usual she was dressed in a tight-fitting white tank top, black tactical pants, and what she called ‘shit kicking boots’. Her crew cut was newly shorn, making her eyes look even more prominent. She was an alpha wolf shifter, and it wasn’t unusual to see her wolf peering out when Lois was particularly agitated.
We saw the wolf a lot. Lois made agitation an art form. I was pretty sure she could dominate someone in her sleep.
I started to sit in a guest chair, then realized that she hadn’t told me to sit down and remained standing, my nails digging into the back of the closest chair. When I was in the military I had a reputation as a badass. Totally fearless. But I wasn’t too proud to admit that Lois scared me a little bit.
“You ready for a solo job?” my boss asked.
“Yes ma’am,” I said immediately.
I’d been working here at Sapphic Security for a year now, and so far I’d only worked as part of a team. Then again, most of our jobs were team focused.
Sapphic Security was one of the most well-known security companies in the world. Founded by a group of lesbian shifters who wanted a new career when they left the military, Sapphic Security had grown exponentially, with branches all over the world. You didn’t have to be female-identified, sapphic, or a supernatural being to work here, but it definitely helped sincethe vast majority of our employees checked all three boxes. Most of us were also former military.
Here at the Seattle branch everyone was mostly vampires. The weather appealed to that particular demographic. A few of the team were shifters – Lois for example – and a couple were mixed species like me. My mother was a vampire, and my father was a wolf shifter. When supernatural kids were the result of mixed species, one of three things happened. Either their inner animal was a mix of both beings, you were born one species or the other, or in rare cases you could feel two different and distinct beings inside.
I’d grown up thinking of myself as a vamp, but I knew my wolf was in there somewhere. My inner vamp had been clear about that since I first became aware that she was there. As a rule, vampires thought themselves superior to other species, and my vamp side had been openly derisive about my ‘sleeping dog’ as she called my wolf. That side of me had been dormant my whole life, but I’d always believed she’d make herself known sooner or later.
“There’s an economic convention or some shit happening tomorrow,” Lois continued.
She was nothing if not eloquent.
“We’ve been hired to babysit a diplomat by the name of Hazel Bryant while she does whatever it is a diplomat does.”
“I think they negotiate treaties and work on improving international…” My words broke off as I saw the look on my boss’s face. Clearly she didn’t want an explanation.
“Anyway,” she heaved a sigh that seemed to come from deep in her soul. “You’ll need to pick her up at the airport and stick with her twenty-four seven until she goes back to Canada in three days. You think you can handle that?”
“Of course,” I said, forcing myself to meet her eyes.
When they narrowed, I couldn’t help but look away.
“Here’s everything you need to know,” Lois said, sliding a file folder towards me across the desk. My boss hated computers and did almost everything on paper. “This should be a simple job, so try not to fuck it up, okay?”
“You can count on me,” I reassured her.
“Be sure to read through the itinerary because there’s some kind of a gala you’ll need to attend. You’ll need to pack for that.”
Lois turned away, my signal to leave. As I grabbed the folder she whipped her head around and gave me a glare that would make most people piss themselves.
“Whatever you do, don’t fall for the damned client, got it?”
