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My eyes lingeredon Duke as he walked to the door with Constance. The man he’d become was even more magnetic than the boy had been. I rubbed my hand, still feeling the echo of his touch.
After they left to visit with Lucas, the large man who’d been sitting across the hall stepped out a moment and then returned with a huge first aid bag. He set it on the table and opened it up. “Hi. Like Cobra said, I’m Winston.”
“Serena.” I left off my last name, as I usually did. “Is it a job requirement that you guys all be six-three and two-twenty or something?”
“Sometimes it helps, but Constance stands five-three, and she can sometimes kick my ass. I don’t dare ask her weight.”
Appropriately chastised for making generalizations, I nodded and stayed quiet.
He retrieved glasses with a magnifier and flipped on the attached bright light. I relaxed as he took his time examiningmy injuries. I was safe here. He sat back after finishing. “Car accident?”
I nodded. “Is it that obvious?”
He tapped the bridge of his nose. “A cut from glasses being hit by the airbag is not uncommon. You should’ve gone to the emergency room.”
I didn’t appreciate the lecture.Serena, you should have…I tried truth for a change. “I did, but was too scared to stay.”
“Ahhhhh,” he drew out the sound. “Cobra and Constance will keep you safe.”
“Is he that good? I mean, are they?”
“Yup. The best.” Winston nodded and pulled out tweezers. “Just don’t tell Cobra I said that,” he whispered.
I liked this guy’s easygoing approach. “Deal.”
He brought the tweezers up to my face. “Close your eyes and hold still. You have some debris I want to remove.”
I did as I was told and only felt two light pricks.
“This will sting a little,” Winston said.
When I opened my eyes, an antiseptic pad hovered near the cut on the bridge of my nose. I nodded and closed my eyes.
It did sting, but not as much as all the accusing eyes and questions had today.Serena, that doesn’t make sense. Are you sure, Serena?I’d heard every variation of the comments and questions. You’d think I had something tattooed on my forehead that saidbelieve at own risk.
After my nose had been addressed, I opened my eyes to watch. “That’s a pretty big kit.”
Winston wiped my next cut. “In this line of work, we need more than the usual office does.” He carefully applied antiseptic ointment and a bandage. “Shirt off.” The next cut was on my side.
I heard the worddeercome from Lucas’s office and tensed up. I knew what I had to do. They still didn’t believe me. “I think I’d rather have a nurse?—”
He backed away and raised his hands. “If you’d prefer a woman, that’s okay.”
I improvised. “Cobra said to go home, but I don’t have any money on me. He said you could get me an Uber?”
Winston zipped up his bag. “I’ll set up the Uber to take you by the emergency room first and wait to take you home. That wound needs to be treated.”
“Thank you.” Anything to speed up my escape.
A minute later,outside the Hawk Security building, I climbed into the back of the Uber Winston had called and closed the door. It had been a mistake to tell them about the deer. Now, if Bill Covington was right, I needed to start over again and find a replacement bodyguard service.
As the car pulled away from the curb, my heart raced. I couldn’t help but look behind us for the black SUV. It might not be rational, but fear gripped me.
The driver checked me out in the mirror. It only took her two blocks to ask, “What happened to you?”
Why was my life like Groundhog Day, everybody asking me the same questions over and over? “Car accident.” It sounded more believable thanescaped a murder attempt. That’s what it was, though, right? I discarded that thought. I couldn’t let Lucas’s skepticism cloud my judgment.
“Ah. That’s why the hospital first.”
