Page 8 of Betrayed

Blake

At breakfast, I tried arguing again. I didn’t want or need a bodyguard. Once again, I lost the argument. When I tried to get out of going to the meeting, using my morning class as an excuse, dad put his foot down, saying, “Blake, you’re going, it’s not up for debate.”

Dad’s harsh tone put an end to my argument.

“Yes, Daddy.” I told myself he wasn't mad at me.He's just worried.

I texted Paige, asking her to take notes for me. Not wanting to explain why, I gave the ‘something came up’ excuse whenshe asked. I assured I was okay when she said she was worried because I never miss class. A few minutes later, while I was packing my backpack, I got a text from Danny asking if I was still meeting him for lunch.

I hope so. I accepted that I’d most likely miss my first class, but didn’t want to miss anything else because of this stupid meeting.

I used the long drive to study. It was a better use of my time than worrying if the threat was a joke, or listening to my step-mother prattle on about whatever stupid celebrity she was talking about.

Ninety minutes later, I read the sign out loud as our driver parked. “Sheppard & Sons Investigations. Why did we come all the way to Weatherford when there are a ton of security companies in Dallas?” It made no sense. What could a small-town company offer that a big city one couldn’t?

“They have a good reputation. And I’d rather not use someone in Dallas, since I don’t know who’s behind the threat.”

“Why does that matter?” I asked. My dad’s anxiety putting me on edge. Why’d we have to come so far away? Was he actually worried a local PI could be bribed by whoever sent the note? And why aren’t we going to the police?

None of this makes any sense!

Priscilla tapped her fingers on her Prada purse while she waited for Dad to open her door. I rolled my eyes as I opened my door, once again thankful my mom raised me to be an independent woman. I wasn't completely anti-chivalry, I'd let a date open the door if I was wearing a fancy dress.

A man greeted us as soon as we walked in the door, introducing himself as John Sheppard. Given he looked older than my dad, I guessed he wasn’t one of the sons. He had short wavy brown hair peppered with silver, and friendly amber eyes.

Paige would call him a silver fox. I held back my smile at the thought.

John was the same height as my dad, but he had a lot more muscle. It was obvious he didn’t sit at a desk all day. The corners of John’s kind eyes crinkled as he shook my hand.

“You must be Blake. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Sheppard.”

“Feel free to call me John,” he said with a friendly smile.

I nodded. When I looked down, I noticed his gun. Surely, he didn’t need to be wearing a gun in the office. What did he think we were going to do, attack him?

A part of my brain recognized this was an investigation and security company, which meant they were probably all armed all the time, but it still made me nervous. I looked out the vaulted ceiling skylight to distract myself.

“The team is waiting upstairs in the conference room.” John indicated the stairs to the right of the spacious, comfortably furnished lobby. “This way, please.”

“It’s not what I expected,” Priscilla said. “It’s nothing like the PI offices in movies.”

I had to agree; the plants were a nice touch.

John chuckled. “We have my wife and daughter-in-law to thank for that.” He looked around, pausing at one of the large trees near the stairs. “Our old office was pretty bare bones.”

I glanced at the receptionist, who looked about my age, and returned her smile when we made eye contact. It was impossible not to notice her striking emerald green eyes and friendly smile.

My father ushered Priscilla ahead of us, then put his arm around my shoulder and led me to the stairs. “It’ll be okay, Princess. You’ll see.”

John led us to a large, crowded conference room. The glass walls lining the hall allowed me to see inside.

“Why are there so many people?” I whispered to my dad.

“I’m sure it’s normal,” he answered.

I was sure it wasn’t, not to investigate a prank. I was still telling myself this whole thing was a stupid joke made in poor taste.

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