My eyes burned with unshed tears as I kept my gaze fixed on my plate. “That’s okay, I can call an Uber.”
I slipped out of bed when Marilee was still sleeping, getting ready as quietly as I could before carrying my bag out to herdriveway. I had my phone in my hand, ready to order an Uber, when a familiar vehicle pulled up in the driveway. It was Wanda.
“What are you doing here, Wanda?”
“Get in, I’m giving you a ride to the airport.”
I dropped my bag in the back seat then buckled into the passenger seat.
“How did you know when I was leaving?” I asked.
I hadn’t given Marilee the specifics, and she hadn’t asked. As far as I could tell, she didn’t mind that I was leaving, and that hurt more than I knew was possible.
“Marilee said you were on an early flight to Ottawa, so I hacked into the airline system and found you.”
Her tone was so matter of fact I had to shake my head.
“You really do things differently here.”
“We’re not that different from your parents’ organization,” she said. “Except we’re on the right side of the law.”
“Well, I appreciate the ride.”
“Do you know who my mate is?” she asked suddenly.
“Tasha Blue, right? The singer?”
Wanda nodded, her eyes on the road. “People like me and Marilee – all of us at Sapphic Security really – we’re protectors. It was ingrained in us during our time in the military and it’s reinforced in our work as bodyguards. The hardest thing about being a protector is when the person you want to protect the most doesn’t need you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When I realized that Tasha was my mate, there was a small part of me that thought, she can buy anything she wants or needs, what does she need with a bodyguard who grew up in a trailer park? But then I realized that she didn’t need me to take care of her. She needed me to love her.”
When I didn’t respond she continued, “It killed Marilee to let you go up against Murphy alone, even with us there ready to help. You’re strong and independent and can kick ass on your own, so maybe she’s wondering why you would need her.”
“So you think I should make myself smaller for her? Act helpless?”
Wanda laughed. “God no, what I’m saying is that if you love Marilee, she needs you to tell her. You’re her mate, but more than that, she’s head over heels in love with you. But she’s not good at picking up social cues, and she would never want to keep you from your career or clip your wings. She’s the kind of person who never asks for anything for herself. So you have a choice.Leave and never see her again, or stay and force her to talk like she needs to.”
Marilee
“So you’re just going to let your mate leave?” Wanda asked when I picked up the phone.
I’d texted her the news about Hazel’s departure a few minutes ago.
“Hold on, let me go outside.”
Hazel was already in bed, but I headed out the back door anyway, wanting privacy.
“She says she has to go back to her real life,” I told Wanda as I stepped outside. “Who am I to stop her?”
“You’re her mate, that’s who you are. Did you even ask her to stay? Or consider going with her back to Canada?”
I shook my head, then realized my friend couldn’t see me. “What’s the point? She doesn’t need me.”
“What are you talking about?” Wanda demanded.
“You saw her, she’s got good skills to protect herself, and she was clear that she didn’t need me going with her to see Donny. She took that asshole down without anyone’s help.”
