Page 28 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
“Sam and I are both fine,” I said.
“But you didn’t come home,” she noted. “I was watching for you.”
“A friend looked after me.” Not as much as I’d have liked, I thought.
Mrs S had turned towards the kitchen. “That’s good,” she said. She busied herself putting on the kettle and laying out cups for tea. “Maybe you should stay longer with your friend, until the damage in your place is fixed.”
“I’ll be all right, Mrs S,” I said, ignoring the way my nipples tightened and heat pooled in my core at the idea of staying at Luc’s place. I sat down at her table, as she brought over the cups of tea, knowing that she wouldn’t let me help and tried to convince myself that I’d be able to sleep in my ruined apartment. The thought of having a big strong Alpha to protect me was very tempting. I pushed it away. I am a strong capable independent woman. I can do this. I don’t need the big Alpha to look after me. But he’s very sexy, part of my mind argued back. Gah. No. The man was not for me. I pushed my hair out of my eyes and straightened my spine. “Pompy and I can camp out inthe bedroom. We’ll be fine. I have lots of blankets.” And that was true. I had a lot of blankets, mostly handmade, bright scrappy ones. “And the building security is being improved.”
As I took my first sip there was a noise in the corridor and Pompy barked sharply from her spot at my feet.
“Are you expecting anyone?” My elderly neighbour’s face was pinched with concern.
“I don’t think so,” I stammered. My heart sped up. I put the teacup down and it clattered against the saucer in time with the trembling in my fingers. Could it be the intruders coming back? The tea threatened to return. I hated how anxious I was feeling. I didn’t want to be afraid. I scooped Pompy onto my lap. “Quiet,” I whispered. Her tail thumped and she leaned in to lick my ear.
The apartment was silent save for our breathing. Then, loud knocking on a door. I jumped. My door. Someone was at my door. My chest hurt. In my peripheral vision I watched as Mrs S carefully pushed her chair back, avoiding any noise and tiptoed into the kitchen.
“Ms Ferrera, it’s Palace security. You weren’t at the advised location. Please let us know that you are safe or we will have to break down your door.”
I almost melted into a puddle of relief. Luc had told me to wait for an escort but I hadn’t waited for them. He had sent guards. In the kitchen, Mrs S had pulled a carving knife out of the drawer and held it low, by her side. My eyebrows rose. It looked like she knew what she was doing. I shook my head slightly.
Still carrying Pompy, I walked to Mrs S’s front door and peered out the peephole. I could just make out two women in the same black uniform that Billy and Sam had worn yesterday. I almost opened the door but then I hesitated. While it was possible that the people at my door were pretending to be Palacesecurity, it didn’t seem likely. Still, I needed to start being smart. Leaving without waiting for my guards had been impulsive and stupid. I had to do better.
Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through my contacts. Knowing how Alphas (and this Alpha in particular) liked control it was no surprise when I saw that “Sexy Alpha” had been added as a new contact. I rolled my eyes. That wouldn’t do. My fingers tapped a new sequence of letters before I sent him a text.
Me: Did you send me two female bodyguards?
The reply was almost immediate.
Annoying Alpha: Their names are Akira and Leylani. Get them to show you their ID.
Me: Understood. Later we’ll have a conversation about boundaries and privacy.
Annoying Alpha: Your safety is more important than your privacy.
His high-handedness shouldn’t have warmed my insides, but it did. Something about his over-the-top protectiveness made me feel special, even though I knew I wasn’t. I couldn’t be.
I opened the door. “I’m here,” I said quietly. The black-clad figures whirled around.
The woman on the right gave me a small bow. “Ma’am let me show you our ID. Luc said you should have two guards today, after what happened to Sam. I’m sorry we were late, we got a bit held up.”
Their ID’s checked out, as did their familiarity with Sam. Shame tugged at my chest. I’d stormed out of Luc’s apartment, not caring that I was making life difficult for these two officers, who were just trying to do their jobs.
“Don’t apologise,” I said. “It’s my fault. I left in a hurry and didn’t tell you what I was doing.”
“Caly, is everything okay?” My neighbour must have come up behind me without me noticing, because her voice was right at my ear.
I turned to see that she still held the knife at her side. Her expression was grim. Nothing at all like the cheerful, slightly eccentric neighbour I was used to. Whoa. Remind me never to get on the wrong side of Mrs S. “It’s safe, Mrs S. You can relax. The Palace is taking an interest in the situation and I’ve been assigned personal security until the threat is over.” Mrs S knew that my sister worked at the Palace. She gave me a nod, probably assuming that my sister was behind the security, and moved silently back through her living room to the kitchen. “Thanks for looking after Pompy, Mrs S. I’ll be off now.”
***
The two bodyguards insisted on letting themselves into my apartment first, checking every room before they let me in. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I’d already been inside. I could tell that they would take it as a personal failure that I’d been out of their sight.
“You think they’ll be back.” It wasn’t a question.
“Can’t say for sure,” said the guard whose ID had identified her as Akira. “But they are throwing around a lot of magic and they obviously want something.”
Akira was dark-skinned Shifter and looked dangerous in a lithe, cat-like way. Her partner Leylani was blonde and human, as far as I could tell. She studied me, tilting her head to one side. Her eyes were an unusual amber and her stare was unnerving. “You’re very powerful,” she said, eventually. “I wouldn’t have thought you needed protection. What’s your skill? Is your magic not suitable for self-defence?”
