Page 78 of Shockproof

“Yes!”

“Nahhh,” he brushes off and checks his parking job, neon green wording roaming around the vehicle. “That’s just cooking show magic shit.”

I almost wanna make him the cake just to smush his face in it.

Voicing my rebuttal is unexpectedly interrupted by a vibrating sound that immediately catches my bodyguard’s attention. “Is that Wahl already?” He adjusts the rearview to inspect the traffic behind us. “Forfucksake, it’s only 12:01!”

More snickers are conjured as I swipe open to see who the message is from.

Melissa: Here!!! Gonna get in line and order our usual Christmasy faves!

“It’s just Melissa,” I inform prior to tucking my phone back into my Jingle Bells workbag. “Slater really doesn’t check on you that often. He trusts you.”

“That’s what you think,” Reynolds gripes, uneven lettering catching me off guard. “The number of demands he sends for a status report every day paints a very different picture, Carmichael.”

“Yeah, but that’s not aboutyou, that’s about me.”

He stops adjusting his shirt to conceal his weapon in order to shoot me a curious eyebrow lift.

“It doesn’t matterwhoI’m with. If he’s not the one there to do the protecting, he’s stressing about it. His biggest fear right now is something happening to me again and him not being there to stop it, especially since it’s happened twice already.”

“There’s not gonna be a third, Carmichael. At least, not on my fucking watch.”

“And see,” my fingers hook the door handle for opening, “that’s why webothtrust you.”

Reynolds smiles, finishes hiding his holstered weapon, and gets out of the vehicle right after me.

The two of us stroll inside the building with him constantly checking our surroundings, further demonstrating the reasons that work in his benefit when running a risk analysis assessment.

Which I’ve begun to do a littlelessin my day-to-day life.

Once upon a time, I’d bring out all the analytical tools for “easy” things like picking out a birthday gift for my nieces and nephews, or giving my opinion about where they should go on family vacations based on consumer patterns as much as scientific studies that state certain activities evoke better emotions depending on age, or to give Morris advice on which suit to wear on a date based solely on his past patterns and behaviors yet nowadays, I’ve started to justtrustan instinct. Yes, sometimes I will then go and scramble together information to confirm that instinct was of course right; however, those are few and far between. It’s like steadily being around Slater has honed a skill I wasn’t aware was so underdeveloped due to others being so overly developed. I like that I now have an ability to sort of do that.

I like learning something new.

And I like that Slater’s the one leading the lessons.

Even if he doesn’t know it.

“Ahhhhhh!” Melissa squeaks at the sight of me, frame wiggling back and forth in excitement, bouncing pink letters following the same pattern. “I miss you!”

Hugging her in return is cordial and short.

“I swear it feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“We video conference on a secure line once a week.”

“Face to face,” she argues with a playful hand toss. “You wouldn’t believe how much I miss bringing you coffee. And telling you about who is hooking up with who. And even hearing Paramount when I walk in to bring you your deliveries.”

“You listen to TV in the office?” Reynolds cautiously questions over my shoulder. “Is that allowed?”

“She meansParamore,” I correct without making eye contact. “And hopefully, we’ll be back to that routine soon enough.”

“Hopefully!” Our turn at the counter has her ordering all three of us toasted white chocolate mochas. After paying – she overly insists – we move to the side to wait for our drinks, which is when Melissa points out, “I totally expected to see Wahl today.” Her attention falls to her own bag where she’s retrieving the sealed documents. “I bet Britt next week’s lunch that you two were gonna come in here holding hands and wearing adorable matching sweaters becausethat’show in love you are.”

Hmmm.

I wonder if Icouldget him to wear a matching sweater with me to his stepmom’s annual cookie baking event.

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