Page 22 of Stealing Iris

Okay, so this is something I never thought I’d ever experience. “And if I’d been walking and refused to go with you?” I ask, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“I would drive alongside you.” He tilts his head slightly. “Any other time I’d walk with you then come back, but I’m not sure about leaving the car here unattended at night.”

Okay, so he has a sharp eye. I heave a sigh, knowing I can’t involve Carol in anything that might become a problem. “I’ll go with him, Carol.”

She looks over at me, exasperated, then gives him one last glance before she juts out a hip. “Are you sure?” She studies my face, worry lines forming around her eyes.

“I’ll be okay.” My voice holds more assurance than I feel.

I pull my book bag over my shoulder as I walk to the car. It shouldn’t surprise me Dante would find a loophole to exploit in order to get his way.

“I’m going to follow you,” Carol announces, clutching her keys and waving them for all she’s worth. “And I’m not afraid to call the police if I need to.”

“Fine by me. In fact,” he says eying her car, “why don’t you lead so we don’t get lost?” Clearly, he’s playing to her spirit. Because if Carol has anything in spades, it’s tenacity.

“I will.” Carol sends him a hard glare before she approaches her little Ford. The alarm chirps, and she tosses her backpack onto the seat, following it in.

Tino opens the back door and steps aside in one fluid motion, just as I arrive.

I search the interior, making sure Dante isn’t sitting there, a smug grin on his handsome face. But true to his word, he didn’t show up, so I settle into the leather seat.

The door closes, and I sit here alone, at least for the few seconds it takes Tino to get around the car and into the driver’s seat. How can this feel so familiar? I was only in here a few minutes, days ago. The whole situation is weird, but I’m not sure how, exactly. Is it having a driver— more likely a bodyguard—picking me up? Is having gone from nobody caring if I’m alive to having three people concerned over my safety at the same time? I don’t know, but, as I inhale the familiar scent in the car, I feel special for the first time in way too long, and I like it.

*****

IRIS

In the next few minutes, I need to make sure of two things. We stay behind Carol, or she’ll whip her little Ford around in a heartbeat. And we stop a block or so before the house. I don’t need anyone seeing me get out of this car again and getting the wrong idea.

Tino backs out of the parking space. As I remember, the drive is so smooth you’d think we’re riding on air. It’s unlike any vehicle I’ve ever ridden in. I adjust, studying Tino’s profile through the gap between the leather seats. “So how did you end up roped into this?” I ask, folding the strap on my book bag over my hand.

“No roping,” he says, pulling into traffic behind Carol’s Ford Focus. “Dante asked me to make sure you made it home safe.”

“You don’t find this odd?” I ask, though I’m not sure what I’m hoping for in an answer. If he’s a bodyguard, like I think he is, then this is just another day.

“What in particular?” He glances back through the rearview mirror. “Escorting someone home to make sure she’s safe or having Dante request it?”

His manner of putting it all together leaves me wondering if I really want to know the answer. “Both?” Lightning cut through me as soon as the word left my mouth. I’m not ready to hear Dante has a habit of doing this for every woman he’s run around with.

“I’ve been known to escort a lady home before.”

Silence stretches out for another block then another. We’re getting closer to home, and part of me wants to know more. Have they done this before? When did my life turn into such a soap opera? “And the other?” I ask with a churning stomach.

“Dante being involved, and especially asking me to escort anyone, is definitely odd.” The whirlpool in my stomach slows down. “In fact, I would have come just to satisfy my curiosity about you.”

My eyes widen in surprise. I sit forward, stretching as far as the seat belt will go. “About me?” I clutch my bag, just to do something with my hands. “Why? What exactly did he say?”

It’s another heart-pounding few seconds before Tino chooses to answer. “Only that I was to see you home safely, and you’d be attending the party on Saturday.”

I’m torn about the whole thing, about his high-handedness and the assumption I’ll give in to whatever he wants.

“Is there a problem?” He tilts his head in question.

I couldn’t help but fidget, pulling the strap around my fingers and twisting until it’s as tight as my insides. “Actually, I told him I can’t go, and I said not to come tonight.”

A smile plays along his lips. “Dante does have a way of getting what he wants.” That’s not the affirmation I hoped to hear. “Yet, in a way, he still conceded.” And that’s no better.

“By not showing up himself?” I scoff.

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