Page 64 of Shielding Aubree

As they pulled away from the curb, Aubree frowned as her skin heated to the point of sweat. "Hey," she leaned forward toward the separator between them, "sorry to bother. Is there something wrong with the air?"

The driver leaned forward and as they pulled through the intersection, he fiddled with some of the controls. "Is it a little too hot back there?"

A LITTLE?

If she wasn't already off kilter by her friend leaving, she might only have been mildly upset by his bland humor.

"If you can up the air back here, I'd appreciate it.”

He twisted a few nobs and shrugged. "Sorry. I would have loved to fix it, but I-"

Aubree sighed. "It's okay. It's not that far to the office."

"You're right!" The driver laughed a little. "Sorry about all of this, Aubree, It's an older car. I picked up a bottle of water and left it in the back for you. It's cool and might help until I get you to Mister Kepler's office. I know they have a top-notch AC system in their building."

The promise of cool air and water went a long way and Aubree sagged back against the hard shell of the seat.

"Thanks again." She picked up the bottom that had been left on the back seat.

She picked up the bottle and settled it into her lap before she gave the bottle top a quick twist.

The bottle was cool against her palms and she barely resisted the urge to touch it to her face and feel how cold it was.

The important thing, she reasoned, was drinking it. The rest could come later.

Holding the bottle in one hand and the cap in the other she took a long, satisfying sip of the water and tried to relax.

As the car moved, bumping down the road, Aubree felt the world around her start to twist and turn, tipping one way and then another.

The car turned onto the highway which confused Aubree even more.

There were half a dozen ways to get from the NMPD building to the prosecutor’s office. She knew that for certain as they'd used each and every one from time to time depending on traffic.

None of them involved the highway.

"'scuse m-me..."

She swallowed and her tongue felt a little thick.

"Exs-cuuse m-me..."

Even working to enunciate her words, she couldn't manage to say what she wanted to.

The driver in the front seat looked up into the rear-view mirror and she could tell that he was smiling by the way his eyes crinkled up at the outside corners. "Hey there..."

Her own mouth turned down in a frown, partially from her own confusion but also because her face seemed heavy and slipping out of her own control.

"...it looks like I've finally got you all to myself."

16

It was the early evening before Ruben was finishing up with the maintenance around the pool.

No, he didn't have to do it on his own, but he liked the busy work.

It kept him from rushing off and following Aubree around like a shadow.

He'd felt better when Alara was in town because he knew that the FBI Special Agent believed that Aubree was in danger, so she'd been all the more motivated to take care of her.

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