Page 1 of Shielded

Chapter One

Siren

“Why does it smell like blueberries in here?” I sit in a folding chair behind Ox’s desk. He’s a large man with a salt and pepper beard and tattoos covering both his arms and neck. We used to date, but now he’s married to my sister. I don’t feel bad about it. He and I were not compatible in any way, shape, or form. I love to run my mouth. Ox likes to run his, too. It just didn’t work. That said, he does owe me help.

“Your sister dropped off muffins. What can I help you with?”

I grin widely. “You know…”

“Do I?” His face stays flat.

I roll my eyes. “You’re getting me a date to Mom’s wedding.”

He laughs under his breath and leans his giant frame back in the much more comfortable chair on his side of the desk. “I told you this isn’t a dating agency. It’s a security firm.”

“And I told you, I’m going to need security if I don’t show up to this wedding with a date.”

He lowers his brows. “Why? I know some ex is coming to town, but really… what do you care? You’ll mow him over like you do everyone else.”

I pull back a dramatic gasp and land my hand over my heart. “I don’t mow people over, sir!”

Ox shakes his head. “Okay. Well, either way, this is a security firm.”

“And you and my sister are fucking, so… by way of the code of the sister's handbook, you owe me.”

I already know he’s going to bend. I talked to my sister this morning. She said it took some work on her end, but he agreed to help. I’m guessing all this right here is him saving his ego. I can go along with it because I know how fragile men can be.

He rolls his eyes to the side and leans forward. “This is the one and only favor I do like this. You tell anyone I did this for you, and I’ll call you a liar.”

I smirk. “Wow, aren’t you the best brother-in-law ever?” My tone is sarcastic and flat.

“Save it.” He shuffles a few files around on his desk and looks toward me. “I’m sending you with my brother, Perry. He’s retired military. Served nearly twenty years. His background is in hostage negotiations, so he should be able to diffuse you in difficult situations.” He laughs at his own joke.

“Okay,” I snark playfully. “You’re a riot. When can I meet this brother of yours? We need to go over some details beforehand.”

“No, you don’t. You can have him the day of the wedding. That’s it. He has real work to do this week.”

“I’m real work, Ox.”

“Oh, I know you are,” he laughs again, “but Perry’s busy doing real work until the wedding.”

I roll my eyes. “What’s his number?”

“No. I’ll give him your information and he’ll reach out to you.”

“Well, what does he look like? I don’t want to show up with someone gross. My mom will know this is fake if he’s ugly.”

“Wow.” Ox stands from his desk and pulls open a filing cabinet, fingering through the manilla envelopes until he finds the file he’s looking for. I’m hoping it’s a picture of Perry, but it looks like another client's information. He lowers back down into the chair. “Perry is a great guy. He’s straight forward, to the point, doesn’t take shit, and he’s good at talking his way out of things. I think you two will have a nice evening.” There’s irritation in his tone as he talks and I get the feeling that at this point, he’s ready for this conversation to be over.

I stand from the chair. “What’s his number?”

“Not giving it to you.”

“We need to go over details, like about me and our fake relationship before we get there, or everyone will know it’s a lie. If they find out this is fake, then I’m not paying.”

He scoffs. “You’re not paying regardless.”

This is true. “Well, I am withholding anger and frustration about you fucking my sister.” I’m not, but this is a handy dandy tool to use in this situation.

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