Page 101 of Unexpected Heroine

If James—fucking shitass Tomer—has been so dead set on protecting me for so long, why didn’t he have tags on me?

He said he needed Mia’s help to find me, so that would imply I wasn’t tagged. If I had been, he could have found me sooner. Maybe before I was...

Stop it, Lettie. Don’t go there.

If I was tagged without my knowledge, would that be a good thing? It seems like an invasion of privacy. However, after what happened to me, I don’t know that I deserve privacy.

Kri continues her story, yanking my attention away from what could’ve been. “For example, Shep and I were protecting a teenage girl after her parents were murdered.” She shakes her head as if she’s trying to focus. Relatable. “Anyhow, we put trackers on her shoes, jewelry, purse, book bag, and that sort of thing without her knowledge. She was stubborn and insisted she didn’t need protection, which is ironic, considering she was eventually abducted by the people who killed her mother and father.”

Both of my hands fly to cup my mouth. “Oh my god. Is she okay? She must have been so scared.”

“At least I was with her when it happened. I was taken as well, but we got out safely. Shep and I are her foster parents now, and we’re trying to make it permanent.”

“Wait. You were both abducted?”

“Yeah.” She widens her eyes at me knowingly. “By the Russians.”

My heart jumps around like gangbusters. Everything this woman says piles on to my blooming panic.

I glance at the scar on her head. “Is that how you got hurt?”

“No. I was already on the mend by then. The head was from something else.”

“Dang. You’ve had some bad luck.”

She looks contemplative, slanting her neck to the side and searching the ceiling. “On the contrary, I’m very lucky.”

“How do you figure?” I scoff. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad you have a positive outlook. Yet I’m struggling to see how you got there. You were severely injured on the job. After you healed, you and the girl you were protecting got abducted by the Russian mafia. That seems like a lot of bad luck.”

“The people who wanted her were going to come after her regardless. As awful as it was to be captured, we’re lucky I was with Val. And since it was during a time when I had a lot of doubts about my ability to ever return to full duty, it helped me realize that, while I’m not perfect by any means, I’m still capable and strong. And I’ll never give up on someone I’m protecting, someone I love, or myself.”

My eyes threaten to mist over, but I take a deep breath to stave off the tears. “And the brain injury? What’s the silver lining in that?”

Her response is only one word.

“Shep.”

And then she smiles.

So much for holding back those damn tears. Before tonight, I would have figured I had no more fluid in my body left to cry. But she poured so much friggin’ water down my throat, the faucets are flowing again.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad. I was hoping my misfortune could maybe help you cope. And I wanted you to know you’re not alone. Admittedly, I am not so great at bonding with other females. But I’m trying.”

I put my head down and wipe my tears. “Thank you. You’re doing fine. I appreciate you trying to help me. It did.”

It’ll take a while to sort through my thoughts about all that, but yeah... I see why she wanted me to hear her story.

“You’re welcome.” She looks back at her phone. “Now, let’s see where they are so you can rest easier.”

My pulse quickens as she swipes across the screen. Leaning over her shoulder, I look on as if I understand what I’m seeing.

Although I can tell it’s a map, I don’t know the street names around town all that well yet. I’ve only been here a year and mostly pay attention to landmarks.

She selects two names from the drop-down menu—Shepherd and Tomer.

When she clicks the find button, my heart and stomach swirl like the little locating icon, spinning in the center of the screen.

And there they are. Red blips on the map. They don’t appear to be side-by-side. Looks like a few blocks between them.

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