Page 29 of Protecting Vera

She sent the address for her hotel once she was in the back of the car. The ride to the hotel wasn’t too long, and she checked in, glad to be in her room and safe.

Frizz sent back a text, telling her they would be there close to six. She was looking forward to seeing her friend. Vera spent the next few hours checking her email and catching up on work she’d missed while flying. When Frizz texted that she and Justin had just pulled into the lot, Vera let out a yelp of excitement and headed down to the lobby.

They picked one of the restaurants they could walk to. The weather wasn’t too hot since it wasn’t the middle of summer, and Vera welcomed the exercise after sitting on a plane.

“Your brother looks nothing like you,” Vera said as they sat down.

Frizz rolled her eyes. “We have the same nose, but no, he doesn’t look like me.”

“How have you been?” Justin asked.

She shrugged. “I honestly like living there. It’s not bad.”

Justin chuckled. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with Hop being close. I mean, that guy makes me think about switching teams.”

Frizz gasped. “It’s my brother.”

Heat ran up Vera’s neck to her face. Frizz had no idea she was sleeping in Ben’s bed. What would she think? Would she be mad about them getting together? They weren’t hooking up. The relationship was serious. It wasn’t just something she was playing at.

Frizz’s laughter died, and she grew serious. “Wait. Why is your face red, and why won’t you look me in the eye?”

Vera shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Frizz’s mouth hung open as she stared. Justin laughed more.

Justin held out a flat palm. “I called it.”

Vera pointed between them as Frizz pulled money from her purse. “What’s this about?”

Frizz’s lips pressed together. “He bet me you’d hook up with Ben, and I said that Ben wasn’t your type.”

Vera bit her lower lip, not sure how much she wanted to tell her friend what had gone on between them. Justin seemed to be enjoying himself, though. Frizz didn’t seem mad about her being with Ben.

Frizz rolled her eyes again. “Let me guess. You two aren’t just hooking up.”

Vera shook her head. “Not hooking up.”

“Jesus. I’m going to kill you both if you break each other’s hearts.”

Now, it was Vera’s turn to laugh. “You are too much. You know I won’t break his heart.”

“I need a drink.”

The waiter came over just then, and they placed their orders for food and drink before turning back to their discussion. They talked about California and the differences from living in Texas. Frizz and Justin were looking forward to their visit, and Vera was glad they were coming.

Living with Frizz in college had made them lifelong friends. She was sad that life had gotten in the way, and they hadn’t dined together as much as they should have. Now that she was living in California, she would need to spend more time nurturing their friendship. Frizz was too good of a person to stay on the periphery.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hop thought they had a good handle on the actions they would take. Still, because he was watching Kevlar’s team, he wanted to make sure everything happened on schedule. The last thing he wanted was for something to go wrong.

“You ready?” Rider asked.

“Yes. Just making sure I know everything.”

Rider nodded. “I get it. Stay in the zone.”

They moved out about ten minutes later. After they set up and watched for a few hours, he kept his eyes on Kevlar and Safe as they entered the building. He could see Smiley and Preacher to his left. The other two were being watched by Bud and Zip.

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