“Because she thinks it’s unprofessional?” I asked.
“No, because it’s distracting. A distracted bodyguard can make mistakes,” Bella explained. “Plus people in relationships ask for more time off, which annoys her. And because so many of us have found mates, Lois’s peers at the other offices are giving her shit about it, asking her if she’s running a vampire dating service or something.”
I took a bite of my burrito as Bella continued her story about her sister and her mate.
“Darla spent her whole adult life in the military and she’s basically clueless about modern culture. But then Kathryn brings her to Target, and my weirdo sister is more excited than that little boy that went to the chocolate factory.”
“Charlie,” Martha supplied, her mouth full of food.
“Yeah him. So they’re hungry from their Target trip so Kathryn suggests Chipotle and that’s it, Darla becomes completely obsessed with this place the first time she came here,” Bella explained. “Every time one of us is going to meet her for lunch or something she’s always like,‘Can we go to Chipotle?’It’s literally the only place she ever wants to go. Poor Kathryn is so sick of Chipotle now she refuses to go anymore.”
We all laughed.
“You know what? I’ll send her a picture.”
Bella moved sideways, turning her phone to get a shot of the five of us.
“Hold up your cups so she can see the logo,” she instructed.
A few seconds later her phone pinged. “Told you,” she said, turning the phone to show us the response.
I’m so jealous. Why didn’t you invite me?
The text was accompanied by a crying face emoji.
“I’m telling her traitors who quit the agency don’t get to come to Chipotle with us,” Bella laughed.
“Traitor?”
“She quit Sapphic Security to keep her job at the hospital with her mate,” Marilee explained.
“It sounds like you guys are all pretty tight,” I noted.
“Sapphic Security is like a big family,” Marilee said. “We’re all good friends, us and the bears. They’re honorary Sapphic Security team members.”
“That’s nice.”
If they picked up on the wistful tone of my voice they didn’t say anything.
Being on the run all these years, I hadn’t formed any serious attachments. I had casual friends, the kind you might grab a beer with after work or go to lunch with, but no one who really knew me. No one I had inside jokes with like this group did. I hadn’t realized what I was missing until tonight.
Now Darla wasn’t the only one feeling a little jealous.
Marilee
Iwas happy to get back to our hotel room. It had been a long day for both of us and my mate and I needed to sleep.
We said goodbye to Martha and Allie as they stopped at the room next door to ours, then headed into our own room. I made Hazel wait while I scanned the room for listening devices, and when everything was cleared, Hazel dropped to her bed with a sigh.
“Oh, we have a message,” she said, nodding towards the landline phone on the table between our beds. “Maybe it’s my boss.”
She picked up the receiver, pressing the button to get the message. I happened to be looking in her direction, so I saw the way her already pale face turned even whiter. Her green eyesflew to mine, and for just a second I saw a flash of panic before she schooled her expression.
“What is it?” I asked.
She handed me the phone, pressing the button to replay the message.
“Moira,mo stóirín, it’sDa.” Colm O’Brian’s voice was deep and slightly accented. “I hope you’re enjoying your little conference. You’re a hard person to track down. Listen, yourmamand I need to talk to you about a few things. You’ve put us in a bit of a bind. We’ll be popping by as soon as we can get there. We expect you to still be in Seattle, or there will be hell to pay. Watch your back until then, okay? Talk to you soon.”
