Page 1 of Fateful Reunion

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Scanguards employees were relaxing in the V lounge when Roxanne entered after her tremendously boring patrol through Russian Hill, where absolutely nothing had happened. She hated patrols like that because they made her feel as if she’d missed something.

She’d much rather take care of a few criminals and set them straight. At least then she felt she had a purpose. That’s why she’d signed up to be a bodyguard with Scanguards many years ago.

If only Gabriel Giles, her boss and second-in-command at Scanguards, would give her a decent assignment, but apparently it was slow right now. No conventions in town, no VIP visits, no threats. And therefore no extra clients to protect, which meant every bodyguard who was not on client detail was patrolling.

And she’d drawn the short straw and been assigned to one of the safest neighborhoods, while younger, less experienced bodyguards had gotten the juicy neighborhoods like SOMA or the Bayview, neighborhoods where action was guaranteed. But no, Amaury’s twins, both still in training, had been assigned to those neighborhoods, chaperoned by fully-fledged bodyguards like John and Haven. If that wasn’t nepotism at work, then she didn’t know what was.

Still grumbling to herself, she ordered a glass of O-Neg at the bar and looked around, when she saw Thomas gesturing her to join him in the comfortable sitting area in front of the fireplace. Oliver, who was sitting opposite him in an armchair, looked over his shoulder.

“Hey, Roxanne,” Oliver greeted her.

Nodding thanks to the bartender, she snatched the glass of blood from the bar and walked over to the two men. She liked Thomas, the passionate biker and IT genius, who ran the IT operations of the company together with his mate Eddie.

“Hey guys,” she said, stepping close to the armchairs. “What’s new?”

“We were just talking about Wesley,” Thomas said with a smile.

“Hmm.” Wesley wasn’t exactly her favorite Scanguards employee. And the fact that he was gone suited her just fine.

Seemingly oblivious to her disinterest in the subject, Oliver said, “I hope he’s alright. Honestly, I wish Samson had insisted that he take one of us with him for protection. We have no idea what we’re dealing with when it comes to these Stealth Guardians. Nobody knows who they are.”

“Haven and Wesley did as much research on them as they could. But there wasn’t much,” Thomas admitted. “All we know is that they are preternatural creatures, and that they can somehow travel through portals.”

“Like wormholes?” Oliver asked.

Thomas nodded. “Kind of. And who knows what other skills they have.”

“If they mean us well, they could be of use. After all, the guy Wesley chased after didn’t interfere when we took out those rogue vampires, nor did he attack us,” Oliver said. “Still, I wish he would have taken one of us with him for protection.”

Roxanne scoffed. “I’m with Samson. Why waste a perfectly good vampire to protect a witch?”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “I had no idea you didn’t like Wes. He sure likes you.”

She’d noticed that, too, but had kept him at arm’s length. “I’ve got nothing against him personally.”

“Personally?” Thomas asked. “I mean, I know that vampires and witches are sworn enemies. Old feuds and all that. But it’s different at Scanguards, and I thought you knew that. In the end it was just prejudice that started those feuds. It’s history. We’re above all that.”

Roxanne swallowed. Her dislike of witches didn’t stem from prejudice. She wished it did. Then her heart wouldn’t bleed anew every time she was confronted with one and reminded of her past. However, this was nobody’s business, but her own.

“Well, I’m not gonna miss him if he doesn’t come back.”

Oliver gave a light shake of his head. “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?” He exchanged a look with Thomas, before he continued, “Don’t get me wrong, Wes rubbed me the wrong way more than once, and we’ve had our fights, but he’s a good guy. When it comes down to it, he’ll have your back.”

An icy hand clamped around her heart and squeezed it to the point of pain. “You can never trust a witch, no matter what he promises.” No matter how much he claims he loves you.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Roxanne,” Thomas said, a contemplative expression on his face. He ran a hand through his blond hair. “If you want to—”

The beeping of her cell phone saved her. “Excuse me.” She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at it, sighing in relief when she read the text message. “Gabriel needs me. See you guys later.”

She practically raced out of the V lounge, leaving her untouched glass of blood on a table near the exit. Once in the hallway, she took the elevator to the third floor where new clients were welcomed. When she stepped out of it, she nearly collided with Gabriel who was coming from the other end of the corridor where the stairs were located.

“Oh, there you are,” he said, nodding.

“You made it sound important.”

“I think it is.” The large scar that graced his face from ear to chin seemed to throb. His ponytail of thick dark-brown hair was tied low at his nape. He motioned to the door of one of the small conference rooms. “I need a woman’s intuition.”