Page 34 of Close Protection

‘Would you mind if I take a picture of it, just so I remember what I’m looking for when I’m searching online later?’

‘Oh, um… ‘ She hesitates for a moment. ‘Sure, okay.’

As the sales associate smiles and bends down to retrieve her phone from under the till, I notice the beginning of a tattoo just below her collarbone.

Is that…?

Then it hits me. It hits me like a ton of bricks.

‘You don’t need a picture, all you need is the name,’ I state, looking down at Daphne who’s now sporting a confused expression. ‘Do you remember what it’s called, baby?’ I continue the conversation, trying not to arouse suspicion as I look around discreetly at all the exits again, planning our route out.

‘Um, yeah, it’s the illustration buttoned mini,’ she says slowly, still confused but following my lead anyway.

‘There you go,’ I tell the sales associate. ‘Write that down and you won’t need a picture.’ Her face falls, morphing into a scowl for a split second before she pulls a strained smile into place.

‘Thank you, that’s super helpful. Have a great day.’

‘That was odd, right?’ Daphne asks as we move towards the door but I’m not paying attention to her, I’m watchingthe sales associate out of the corner of my eye. As soon as we checked out she left the till, even though there was a large queue behind us.

Now she has her phone to her ear and her back turned to us. I slow my steps, straining to see if I can hear anything.

‘Yeah, I just saw her, I swear… yeah… pink floral dress and pink sandals… hair in a ponytail… I know, I know.’ Then the girl starts giggling like a crazed teenager. ‘But be careful, she’s with her boyfriend… all black… yeah, it could be, I don’t know.’

‘Milosh?’ Daphne’s voice brings me back and I quickly devise a plan.

‘Yep, sorry, got side-tracked,’ I say, when the sales assistant turns around and spots us. ‘Let’s go.’ I guide Daphne out of the store and start to devise a plan.

‘Milosh, what was that?’ Daphne says, increasing her speed to match mine.

‘You know the guy who broke into your house the other night?’

‘Yeah?’

‘He has a friend. And she’s the one who just tried to take a picture of you.’

‘Wait, what?’ Daphne looks at me in shock, momentarily slowing her pace before almost instantly picking it back up. I guide her down the escalator as I scan around for anyonewho looks a little too interested in us.

‘We need to change our clothes,’ I state, noticing a group of kids gathered around the entrance to a store on the ground floor.

‘Milosh, wait, how do you know that she and that guy are working together?’

‘They both have the same tattoo with their organization’s insignia.’ We reach the bottom of the escalator just as I spot the sales associate with a burly guy on the floor above. ‘I’ll explain all of this later, but for now you need to trust me, okay?’

‘Yeah, o-okay.’

I guide her through the group of kids and into the shop, grabbing a white shirt off the racks swiftly, looking for some pants. Daphne beats me to it and grabs a pair of grey slacks, pointing to a sign:Women’s Clothing, Bottom Floor. I nod, slightly taken aback by how quickly she’s adjusted to all of this, and bring her downstairs. I find a green top as she seizes some black joggers and looks up at me. ‘What now?’ I look around and spot changing cubicles on the other side of the room.

‘Keep your head down and leave your bags here.’ We walk over to the changing room and I grab two pairs of reading glasses and a tote bag as we head in. Luckily for us, it’s unstaffed so we walk straight through and into a stall.I close the curtain and turn to look at Daphne who’s now visibly shaking.

‘What languages do you know?’ I ask, taking all the clothes off the hangers, trying to distract her.

‘What?’

‘Languages, do you speak any fluently?’

‘Uh, French, BSL, Mandarin and Russian.’

‘Okay, from here on out we’re only to speak to each other in Russian. Don’t use my real name, use a pet name or a fake name. I don’t care, just not my real name.Khorosho?’

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