Page 33 of Protect Your Queen

“You can’t rely on other people, Baby.” My sister was repeating a lecture I had heard many times. “You are the most visible of us. People are crazy. They will come after you.”

“Yes, but I had people around me…”

She sat down on the bed beside me, and stared into my eyes.

“And while the pretty bodyguard might be good at his job, what happens if he gets shot and another bullet comes flying, hmm?” She tapped on my forehead. “Think, Baby.”

She wasn’t always like this. I remember a time she had been my playmate. But it changed when I was 12 years old. When my father vanished, she turned into a mother hen, always worrying about me. She followed me around as if I couldn’t take care of myself.

“Baby.” Jazz took both my hands in hers. “That pretty boy might be good. He might even be agreatbodyguard. But remember, the only person who can take care of you… is you. That’s why I taught you how to shoot.”

I looked at the drawer that held a Ruger LCP II.

I didn’t like guns, but I was an okay shot. Not at first, but after a while, I was pretty accurate.

“Keep it in your purse,” Jazz continued, oblivious to my thoughts.

She came forward, and planted a kiss on my forehead as she cupped my face.

“You’re the most important one of us,” she said, placing her forehead against mine. “Remember that, Baby.”

If I was the most important, then why did they always leave me? Why did no one see me? Why did it always feel like I was dying in the street, and everyone was walking by?

She walked to the door but stopped with her hand on the knob.

“Promise me, Baby,” she said looking back at me, “promise me you’ll keep yourself safe.”

I nodded, because I had no choice. One did not disobey their elders.

“Go to sleep,” she said, closing the door behind her. She left me alone in the darkness. The moonlight slanted in through the large windows, spreading across my empty, California King bed.

I knew that the last thing I was going to do right now was sleep.

Not when the closed door brought the pounding back into my ears.Thump. Thump. Thump.A rhythm without a melody. A silence, without end. A waking nightmare that had been eating me alive since my thirteenth birthday, and the man who bore my face disappeared.

Chapter twelve

A Hunting Mission

Chris

“Chris,” Brian said, leaning out of the office where he slept, his hand out to wave me down. “Can I get a moment of your time?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, striding over to him, still naked from the torso up, holding my clothes like a waiter’s napkin over my arm. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, nothing,” he said, his feet shuffling a little. “I’ve already talked to Mr. Jareth and all, but I just wanted to ask you to please keep an eye out for the little Miss.”

“Why? You going on vacation or something?” I asked, puzzled.

“Something like that,” he said, his hands clasped in front of him as he sighed. “Actually, I’m retiring.”

“Oh shit!” It came out harsher than I meant it, and I immediately smacked my forehead. “I’m sorry. I meant to say ‘good for you’. But…”

He chuckled, shrugging. “Mr. Jareth has offered me a good pension, especially since I only worked for them for such a short time. He just asked that I stick around until I felt like she had adequate security and, well… after seeing you with the Detectives, I think it’s time.”

“Does she know?” That’s what I was really scared of. Then I chuckled, “I feel like she doesn’t know.”

I was pretty sure Diva Difficult would have a word or two to say about that.

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