Page 54 of Shield and Savior

I don’t let go until her toes are on the ground. “Jesus! Is this the sort of shit you were doing while I wasn’t around?”

“No, it’s the sort of shit I’ve been doing all my life.” It should be noted that without shoes, Honey Badger clocks in at five foot one and a hundred fifteen pounds. She’s been scaling her cabinets for years. Hell, I’d seen her do it myself. But since watching the kids, I see threats in places that I never did before.

I grab the bowl, and it clangs on the counter. “Be careful, Alana’s already pissed at me. I don’t know what she’ll do if you get hurt on my watch.”

Honey Badger smirks and crosses her arms, pushing her hip to one side. “No, I think she’d be more pissed if you try to fuck me.”

It would almost be funny, except it isn’t at all. “I’d be dead, and no one would find the body.” I have no doubt Alana has ways to inflict a painful demise and destroy the corpse.

She brushes past me to peruse the fridge. She basically sticks her whole body in there but emerges with arms full of vegetables. Honey Badger flutters around her kitchen, getting a cutting board and knife. “Go wash the vegetables.”

“Not in my job description.” But I do as I’m told because I guess food safety does fall under the umbrella of protection. I start off with the lettuce.

She waves the knife in my direction. “Seems like you’re doing a lot of things not in your job description.” Grabbing the leafy greens from me, she starts chopping. “So, tell me about this girl you’re willing to risk your life, career, and only stable relationship for.”

Yikes, I hadn’t really thought of it that way. Is Izzy worth losing all that? I figured my career could be over, and sure messing around with a Mafia princess has its own sets of dangers. And I figured Alana would be pissed, but she’d get over it.

But maybe not. We haven’t spoken except through company emails, and she’s given me the silent treatment at home.

My mind flashes on images of both Drew and Izzy. “Well, she’s smart, albeit a little obsessed with Bigfoot. She loves cake,The Knights of the Night,and her kid. Her favorite dinosaur is a flamingo, and when I’m around her, I feel lighter. Like I’m constantly worried something will happen to her—more than the usual—but for the first time, I see my future, and I want it with her.”

Honey Badger has moved on to chopping peppers, and she puts a pathetic amount in the bowl. One pepper does not make a salad. “I’ve never heard you say that before. Although I have my concerns that she doesn’t know what a dinosaur is.” She moves on to the avocado, pausing for a second. “Oh, dinosaurs evolved into birds, got it.” She stabs the pitwith the knife and gives me a heart attack…images of her slicing her hand and an emergency room visit flash through my head. How is it that this tiny singer is more stressful than a woman and her ten-year-old son who’ve got a literal psychopath after them? “Do you have any pictures of her?”

I’m about to argue that taking pictures of clients would be highly unprofessional, but I have like ten on my phone. I show her a picture I took of us at the wedding, five hours before I changed our relationship forever. Honey Badger glances down, pinches the screen to zoom in on Izzy, and her face softens. “Yeah, I can see why you like her.” There’s a moment of silence as she finishes making the salad. “I get why Alana says Izzy is ‘okay.’”

“Just ‘okay?’” I huff.

She hands me a fork before dumping an unhealthy amount of dressing into the bowl. Stabbing a piece of lettuce she says, “That’s the highest endorsement I’ve ever heard Alana say. She loves me, and she quote ‘finds me mildly amusing.’ She loves you too and thinks you’re ‘not a complete bag of shit.’”

Sinking my fork into the lackluster salad, I say, “You know, ‘not a bag a shit’ leaves a lot of room. I’m everything above a bag of shit.”

“And everything below it.” Her shoulders shake in a little victory dance. Not sure when she picked that up, but it seems to be a recent addition to her personality. She takes a big bite of salad and covers her mouth with her hand. “Did you think about me while you were away?”

“Sure.”

“As much as you think about the Roman Empire?”

I push the salad away and jolt back. “The Romans changed human history…of course I think about them more. You sing songs about guys going down on you in a limo. There’s no freaking comparison.”

She smirks and grabs the bowl as she heads out to the patio. “Welcome home, Lance.”

Home. Three months ago this was my home. Now it feels like a place to stay.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Lance

The room is loud and crowded. I don’t like either. Around the walls, doors, and hallways, personal protection agents watch their principals and everyone else who could be a threat. But the threat level is low. It’s a private retirement party for a music icon who launched at least half of the Grammy winners’ careers in the past fifty years, including several of our clients. I give a head nod at Delta on the far side of the room. He’s on Phoenix’s detail. No matter how mad Alana is at me, she didn’t curse me with that.

It’s a basic party, lavish decorations, swag complete with custom-etched wine glasses and a personalized drink tailored to the guest’s personality. Each table has black and gold flowers and plates. Bet none of them have flamingos on them. The guests were all told to wear white, black, or gold, which makes all the men blend in their black suits. At times I struggle to distinguish between the guests and the guards.

I keep a constant eye on Honey Badger. She’s reached for her drink four times now, but keeps getting interrupted between selfies with friends or new networking opportunities. The room is also getting stupid hot. Sweat builds on my neck and my jacket. Protocol be damned, I take it off and throw it on the back of a chair.

Phoenix is making his rounds from the tables. He spots Honey Badger and pauses. My hackles go up as soon as he approaches her. Years ago, they used to be friends—it was four of them, Honey Badger and her very long-term boyfriend Chupacabra, Siren, and Phoenix. Inseparable cogs in the music industry machine. But when Honey Badger and Chupacabra broke up, the whole group shattered. Or at least that’s what was supposed to happen. Phoenix and Chupacabra started dating, and since Siren was loyal to Phoenix, Honey Badger was on her own.

I wasn’t shocked it happened. Well, I was a little stunned about Chupacabra and Phoenix. Everyone knew Phoenix was bi, but Chup was the surprise. And they didn’t even last all that long either. Between Chup’s drug addiction and Phoenix’s work schedule, they called it quits after merely six months. Honey Badger lost everything—her love, her home, and her friends—so Phoenix could have a fling.

Of course, that’s not how the publicist spun it. Phoenix was the hero, helping his best friend out during a hard time. Isn’t it lovely they fell in love? Oh well, fame and pressure killed another relationship, but they still remain friends. Blah blah blah.

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