Chapter 49 Obsession. A Fragrance by Lila Kent
FORTY-NINE
Obsession. A fragrance by Lila Kent
LILA
Can you fangirl over someone who isn’t famous? If not, then what would you call this? In-her-face stalking, perhaps? Plain old creeping?
I’m officially obsessed with Kri. Before Reed left me alone with her, I’d already lost my chill. From here on out, we’ll be in the balmy swamp of awkward tension.
Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism for the state of my life, but I can’t stop wondering what she’ll say or do once she settles in.
Will she whip out some nunchucks? Sharpen her knives? Start shadowboxing? Set a timer to see how fast she can unload and reload her gun? Who knows! The sky’s the limit when you’re an elite female bodyguard.
Whatever she does next, one thing is for sure—I’ll be the first one to know since I can’t stop staring.
Thus far, she’s paced the condo, studying her surroundings carefully. According to my overactive and sleep-deprived imagination, she’s visualizing how everything in here could be used as a weapon.
I pity the fool who dares enter when Kri is on guard.
After biffing my three prior conversation starters, I’m nervous about attempting to impersonate a stable human again. But I do it anyway because the silence is the only thing more awkward than I am.
“Kri, I apologize for my obnoxious behavior. This is an unusual situation to begin with, and my anxiety is getting the better of me.”
She tries to wave me off with a placid smile and flick of her wrist.
Unfortunately, the apology train has left the station on an express, nonstop route to eternal mortification.
I nervously chug along in the caboose. “When Reed told me his partner convinced him to get a bodyguard from your firm, I wasn’t expecting someone so impressive to arrive.
” I bite my lip, then blurt, “And I’m super sorry for touching your biceps without your consent.
I don’t usually do that, but I had to know if they felt as firm as they look. They do. Congrats.”
Shockingly, Kri’s returning laughter seems genuine. “Lila, you aren’t bothering me, and I’m certainly not offended. I spent years in the Army, so it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. Just try to relax.”
“Ha! Aren’t you precious.” I roll my eyes in jest. “Relax? Not easy to execute, given my current life-or-death situation. Throw in hanging out all day with the female version of Jack Reacher, and it’s impossible.”
Her smile is sweet and appropriately dripping with pity. “I’m just a regular person who happens to be employed in a typically male profession. Just do whatever you’d normally do, and I’ll fade into the background.”
What I’d normally do?
I’ve only been at Reed’s condo for a few days. I haven’t had time to develop routine habits for when I’m left alone. So far, my downtime here has been spent talking to ghosts, masturbating from drug-induced horniness, and snooping around his office.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think she’d be cool with those activities.
I nonchalantly lower to the couch, hoping she’ll join me instead of standing sentry near the wall of windows.
After making a few laps around the living room, she’s been parked over there for about ten minutes.
Her intensity makes her look like she’s searching for snipers in the adjacent high-rise buildings and ready to take a bullet for me.
Crap. Why did I have to think that? My inner thoughts are the true villain of my story.
“It’s a nice view, isn’t it?” I ask, hoping she’s simply there for the scenery.
“Yeah. It’s beautiful.” She squints, staring into the distance. “I can see my daughter’s company from here.”
I blink repeatedly, doing mental calculations. Kri looks to be near my age. The math ain’t mathing.
“Please tell me your skincare regimen. Be as detailed as possible. I’d like to take notes.”
She catches my meaning and huffs out a two-note chuckle. “Allow me to clarify. Val is my adopted daughter.”
“Oh, that makes more sense. How old is she?”
“She’s eighteen. My husband and I adopted her two years ago.” Kri’s chin lifts, hoisted with maternal pride. “And she was just installed as the CEO of Franco Financial.”
“Wow. Seriously? Isn’t that some big financial empire? It sounds familiar.”
“Yep. And she’s gonna rule it with an iron fist.” Her head bobbles like she’s hemming and hawing.
“In fairness, it’s nepotism at its finest, since her parents passed the company on to her.
However, I have no doubt she’d have earned the position the old-fashioned way in a few years.
That company or one like it. If you think I’m a badass, you’d shit yourself if you met Val. ”
Rising from the couch, I lazily inch closer to Kri, despite her proximity to the window of death. “Ah. So she’s tough like you, even if you don’t share blood.”
Must be nice.
“Tough doesn’t even begin to describe her. Especially after all she’s gone through in her short life. Not to get overly personal, but Shep and I were protecting her after her parents were killed. We fell in love with her and pursued adoption.”
“That’s sweet. She’s a lucky girl to have you. I bet she adores you.”
Her expression shifts into a mask of facetious self-deprecation. “She tolerates us.”
“Shep is your husband, I take it?”
Her eyes sparkle at the mention of him. “Yeah. He’s also a bodyguard.”
I ease the rest of the way to the window, daring myself to take a peek from the dizzying height. “Where is your daughter’s company?”
Kri points at one of the skyscrapers. “See it?”
I follow her finger’s path, spotting the building instantly. “Duh. Sorry for asking a dumb question.” I palm my forehead. “Now I know why it sounded so familiar. Kind of hard to miss the giant Franco Financial sign on the top. I’ve driven by it for years.”
While I’m here, I allow my eyes to peruse the skyline.
Interestingly enough, I’m not compelled to slink to the other side of the room to escape the reality of being in a high-rise.
Granted, it’s only the fifth floor, which most people wouldn’t bat an eye at. However, I think we’ve established that I’m an odd bird.
I hope I don’t jinx it with this thought, but I’m quickly getting comfortable being at this height.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no plans for brunch on the balcony anytime soon. For now, though, I’m content from the safety of the interior.
Reed caught me peeking through the slit in the curtains yesterday morning in his bedroom, watching the sunrise. Since I wasn’t panicking about the height, I told him we could try his exposure therapy technique.
He’s been increasing the width of the opening between the drapes steadily ever since. Today, they’re about a third of the way open, which is enough to brighten the entire living room with mood-boosting natural light.
Lingering at the window, I get lost in the view. Too bad there aren’t many birds visible from here. Downtown isn’t exactly a wildlife refuge.
As I stare aimlessly among the buildings, thoughts about the last few days unfold in the recesses of my mind.
From the moment Reed kissed me at the emotional end of our birding date, my already chaotic life has been flipped on its head.
First, there’s the instant committed relationship I’ve found myself in with Reed. It’s a lone bright spot in an otherwise depressing list of changes.
Unless the casino or the FBI needs me to help bust more cheaters, I’m jobless. So that’s fun for me.
Future career ambitions? I have none.
Fired from a casino for stealing isn’t a shiny footnote on a resume. And what if my eventual plea deal involves prison time?
Everyone loves hiring felons. Cosmo says an ankle monitor is the perfect accessory for job interviews.
Eye roll.
If only my woes ended there.
In a roundabout way, I’m homeless or soon will be. Aside from being unable to go home because someone might kill me, I can’t face Kenzie. Hence, I’m potentially friendless.
Jobless, homeless, and friendless. The loser trifecta.
You know what? It isn’t that I can’t face Kenzie. It’s that I don’t want to yet.
I’d much rather stay here with Reed so we can commiserate about her betrayal. I need time to figure out if this was a friendship-destroying act or if I’m capable of the forgiveness needed to salvage it.
My heart tells me I’ll never be able to trust her. And what type of friendship would that be? If she was able to do something so cruel and then lie about it for years, what else is she capable of?
While I’m concerned my codependency has leaped from her to Reed, I can’t find it in me to care much right now. I need to prioritize. Once this mess is behind me, I’m dragging him to therapy. Our love is too important to let our emotional baggage destroy it.
If I didn’t already know how strong and deep my feelings were for Reed, I’d be weirded out by how quickly we’ve fallen into this relationship. Saying I love you rolls off my tongue like the most natural thing in the world. Seems to be the same for him.
Movement beside me distracts me from my existential crisis.
Kri crosses her arms and twists at the waist to face me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“When I got the call about this assignment, I wasn’t awake enough to question the impetus. I was told the FBI has a witness in need of urgent protection. Pretty straightforward. More details followed to prep me, but I’m still left pondering something.”
I crick my head to the side, encouraging her to continue with my questioning eyes.
“You don’t need to answer. I’m merely curious why the FBI didn’t send someone to guard you. We’ve done gigs like this in the past, but it’s rare.”
I tell her what I was able to string together. “Reed didn’t trust a random agent to protect me. Apparently, one of the criminals was able to ditch the agent watching him the other night and ended up killing someone.”
She cringes, flashing her teeth. “Sheesh.”
“Reed’s partner plays poker with the owner of your firm. He said he’d trust you all with his family’s lives. Here we are.”