Page 11 of Anger

“Ranson’s right outside the door, Miss Cross. Stay behind me until I’ve checked that it’s all clear. I think we’ve had enough of lunatics today,” he said.

To Lanie’s amusement, he strode to the door and opened it before waving her out. She grabbed her purse and briefcase and followed. Lanie couldn’t help but note his firm butt as she walked behind him.

McIntyre was what someone would call the entire package. Tall, broad-shouldered, leading to a trim waist. A firm ass, long legs with thick muscle thighs. In his black tee and combats, with his green eyes and long black hair tied back, he could be a book cover model. He certainly did look like the wrestler Drew McIntyre, and it was even funnier to her that they had the same name.

Now she needed to go home and binge-watch some wrestling. Amused at her thoughts, Lanie rolled her eyes and stepped into the lift.

“Do you think he sent the package?” she asked.

“Possibly. I mean, what was that crap about you being a snake woman? The man is clearly delusional. But that makes him dangerous and hard to predict.”

“He’s going to come at me again, isn’t he?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so, Miss Cross. His kind of crazy needs help. Mr Clare was literally frothing at the mouth. Hopefully, the police will put him in a psychiatric hold, but it’s not definite. We need to swap our routines daily for a few weeks,” Mc Intyre replied.

“How tedious.” Lanie sighed.

They never kept to the same route, anyway. And it was never planned. Ranson has several routes from her house to work and back again and never informed anyone which he was taking. He just followed a whim each morning and evening. McIntyre was indicating further adjustments were necessary.

“Possibly, but your safety is paramount,” McIntyre stated. The elevator doors opened, and she saw her car parked directly outside. McIntyre held up a hand and checked before letting her out.

She climbed into the car, and, to her surprise, McIntyre jumped in beside her. There was another member of Ranson’s team in the passenger seat up front.

“We’re increasing security for a few days, Miss Cross, and from tomorrow, we’ll have an extra car behind us,” Ranson said.

Lanie’s mouth opened and shut. Ranson’s expertise made arguing pointless.

“That’s fine,” she replied.

“The police have taken Mr Clare to the station, but he’s ranting about you still being a snake woman, and they have to believe him. It does appear they’ll take him to the psychiatric ward,” Ranson continued.

“Good. I hope he gets help. Although his imagination was rather vivid,” Lanie said.

McIntyre sent her a sharp look, but he nodded. Lanie wondered what that was all about, but her phone rang. Looking down, she saw it was Dale.

“Hey,” she mumbled.

“Hey, Lanie. I’m visiting for a few nights and wondered if I could stay at yours,” he asked.

“Of course. Are you here now?”

“Not yet, but I’ll be arriving shortly,” Dale said.

“Just text when you’re near, and I’ll buzz you in,” she responded. Dale made a noise and cut the line.

Lanie snickered. “Bye, rude dude! Ranson, a friend will be staying with me. His name is Dale Cunning, I believe you’ve met before.”

“Yes. I’m aware of Mr Cunning. I shall inform the teams,” Ranson replied.

Silence fell for the rest of the journey home. There wasn’t much else to say. Lanie’s mind turned to Dale. He must be here for a couple of jobs. Like most of them, Dale travelled all over the world for his Sin. But if he was requesting to stay at Lanie’s, there was a big job on. Dale’s Sin wasCovetousness. Dale used his unique ability to enter homes and steal back items which had been stolen, such as artwork, etc and return them to their original owners.

As Dale was also the Invisible Man, he was uniquely suited to this task. He’d waltz in and didn’t care if there were security features or not. Grab the item and head out was Dale’s motto. His actions left many people scratching their heads in bewilderment. But some families had had their treasures returned and that meant everything.

Lanie exited the car and headed inside to her house. It was a huge mansion expected of her status, but she rarely used all of it. She did hold office parties here for events such as Christmas and a summer ball. Heading towards her bedroom because that was the mirror Dale would come through, Lanie showered before lying on her bed.

While security monitored the rest of the house, cameras were not allowed in her room. There was one outside on her balcony and one on her bedroom door, and they even covered her window. But not in here. Lanie hit her special button and curled up. Hugging a pillow to her, she finally let her emotions out.

Alainen. She wished she could say it was a name she’d not heard for thousands of years. But that would be a lie. After her escape from him when he’d first tried to kill her, Alainen had made it his mission to hunt her down. Sadly, Alainen was as long-lived as her being a God’s Warrior, and Lanie had often wondered if he led the Hunters.

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