Marilee looked around, subtly making sure we were alone before answering. “We’ll set you up at one of our safe houses. We have a few of them scattered around the region.”
The elevator door opened and we both stepped inside. No one else was in the car, so we continued the conversation.
“Are the safe houses really safe?” I asked, pressing the button for the mezzanine level where the conference was being held.
I knew without asking that Allie and Martha would be down there running subtle security sweeps, like they did every morning. One thing I hadn’t realized until Lois mentioned it in the car last night was that there were multiple security teams on site protecting attendees. I didn’t know who was protecting which delegates, but the Sapphic Security team assured me that they were there.
“They’re, uh, mostly safe,” Marilee hedged. “I mean, we’ve had a couple of incidents, but those were unusual situations.”
“Well I guess they’ll have to be safer than a hotel. And it’ll be harder for my parents to find me at a safe house.”
Or not, I added silently. I’d forgotten until last night what excellent trackers they were. All these years, I assumed I’d given them the slip, but now I was wondering if I’d only escaped because they’d allowed me to. That thought was a huge blow to both my ego and my sense of safety.
Not that I thought my parents would hurt me. Well, not much. Neither of them was above using violence to get their way, even with family. The difference was that I was no longer a scared kid who’d cower as one of them landed a punch or a slap. Now I was a self-assured adult who’d had extensive training in self-defense. I could give them a run for their money, I was certain of it. I’d gotten away from Greta by myself, hadn’t I?
When we reached the mezzanine we walked over to where Martha and Allie were standing in the corner pretending to have coffee while they watched everyone in the room.
“We’re going to transfer to a safe house tonight,” Marilee told them so quietly I could scarcely hear her.
With their supernatural hearing, her coworkers didn’t seem to have the same problem.
“I’ll send a message to the boss and let you know what’s open,” Allie said.
“How many houses do you have?” I asked.
Allie shrugged. “At least four. Well, three now. One of them blew up.”
I blinked in surprise. “Was someone inside?” I asked.
“Nah, Darla and her mate were in the car on the way to work when it happened.”
“Is this the same Darla who likes Chipotle?” I asked.
One corner of Allie’s mouth turned up. “Yeah, she’s a little nutty.”
Drawing on years of practice, I pushed everything out of my mind so I could focus on what I was here for. I had a job to do, and even if there were multiple people trying to kidnap me, I owed it to my boss to work.
I moved to a group of diplomatic staff from Sweden, Marilee trailing behind me, engaging them in conversation before we all headed into the morning’s first session. There were fewer people here now, travel schedules making some folks miss the last day, and it gave the event a more intimate feel.
There was no sign of Greta or Ulrich, which didn’t surprise me. Wanda had done some checks after what went down at the bar and determined that they were actually employed by the German government as they’d claimed. What we didn’t know was if those jobs were just a cover, or if they did some freelance criminal work on the side. Either way, it didn’t matter. They’d failed, but someone else would come in their place. I had no doubt about that.
I just didn’t expect it to come so soon. Or so publicly.
We were heading into the ballroom for our final lunch when we heard someone scream. All eyes turned in the direction of six hulking men, dressed all in black and marching through the crowd, their attention focused one hundred percent on me.
“Everyone freeze!” one of them yelled in an Italian accent.
“Where did these assholes come from?” Marilee muttered, pushing me behind her.
The men fanned out in a line in front of us, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Boris, Martha, and Allie easing their way towards us.
“Give us the girl,” one of the men ordered Marilee.
“That’s super sexist,” she said, her tone completely calm. “We don’t call grown women girls in this country.”
“You’re gonna be callin’ her dead if you don’t move your ass,” the man shot back, pointing his huge gun directly at my bodyguard’s head.
His words unleashed a panic. People took off running, but the men ignored them. In the space of about a minute the mezzanine cleared, leaving only the Italians and the Sapphic Security crew in a standoff.
