15. Anna
ANNA
We had just pulled into the TV station for my shift— we being Axel and me, since Archer had a prior commitment today. Axel drove us in the Ranger Shield Security company car, which was a fully decked-out black SUV with all the bells and whistles, Archer had informed me.
Axel appeared quite giddy for most of the ride. “ I have never been to an American TV station before,” he commented as we parked. “ This excites me very much.”
Axel was a very polite and kind person from what little I had learned about him, but he was also funny.
This was mostly because his English , while quite good, occasionally had words or phrases that got lost in translation.
And he often sounded way more proper than he needed to be because of how stuff translated.
We made our way into the station. Just like Archer , Axel had been impressed by the extra security measures that were put in place.
My first stop was my desk to drop off my things and check in with Adam .
He gave me the basic rundown of our shows tonight, and then I made my way over to the hair and makeup room to let Valentino and Maggie work their magic.
As soon as we walked into the room, I introduced Axel to Maggie and Valentino .
“Ooh! I think I like this bodyguard better than the first one,” Maggie commented to me while smiling at Axel , who just smiled back.
“Hello. My name is Valentino Luján Fierce , and I am Puerto Rican and single,” Valentino said, sticking his hand out to Axel .
“Hello. I am Axel , and I am from Sweden , and I am not a twin if that is what you mean,” Axel responded, clearly unsure of what Valentino’s use of the word single meant.
“Leave him alone, you two, so he can do his job,” I told them, taking a seat in the chair.
Valentino gasped as he stared with huge eyes at my neck.
“ Girl you better start talking and I mean all the juicy details about how you got a hickey on your neck.” He turned to Maggie and snapped his fingers.
“ Quick , Maggie , grab our extra-good concealer and color corrector to cover this hickey up.”
Fwhip —the snappy flutter of the salon cape as the fabric caught the air. “ Spill . The . Tea ,” Valentino demanded as he draped the cape around me.
I chuckled, trying to brush off the embarrassment.
“First, he’s not kidding,” Maggie chimed in. “ Second , even if he was, I’m not. Girl , I haven’t seen a hickey that big since I was sixteen. Get to talking.”
Realizing I had an escort behind me, and since I didn’t want this conversation to get back to Archer , I tried to explain. “ Guys , we have an audience, and I don’t think he wants to hear about this.”
Valentino turned to Axel . “ Swedish Stud …earmuffs,” he said, putting his hands up to cover his ears, as though that would be enough to convince Axel to not listen to this conversation.
Axel just smirked, not covering his ears. “ That request is unnecessary, as I do not need to hear the details of how my boss has sex.”
Exaggerated gasps came from both Maggie and Valentino as they both turned to me.
“You had sex with the boss?” Valentino practically shrieked.
“Anna, I am going on the other side of the door so I do not hear this, but I will be right outside if you need me,” Axel said as he walked out of the small room.
I doubted my face could be any redder than it was now.
“Okay, Swedish hottie is out of the room, so talk fast,” Valentino said.
“We didn’t have sex,” I explained bluntly, hoping there was no room for confusion with my response. “ We just made out a little last night. That’s all.”
“Honey, I’m guessing it was more than just a little if you ended up with that hickey,” Maggie said conspiratorially.
I sighed and then ended up telling them everything that happened last night.
* * *
After my shift was over, Axel drove me back to Ranger Shield Security , to meet Archer . He had just gotten back from whatever task he was working on for the day.
Just as Axel and I walked back into the building, Archer came around the corner to greet us.
“Thanks for dropping her off here, man,” he said to Axel .
“No problem,” he responded. “ You need me to stay, or are you good to take over?”
“I’m good. I’m ready to head out myself,” Archer informed him.
Axel said goodnight to both of us and made his way out.
“Do you mind if we stop and get gas on the way home?” Archer asked me. “ I know it’s late, but I’d rather do it now than in the morning.”
“Not a problem. I got a text from Ruthie saying she and Jack let Percy out for me a few hours ago, so he should be good for a little longer.”
It was nice having Archer’s friends nearby so that on nights like tonight, when it was busy at work, I didn’t have to rush home to let Percy out and feed him, only to turn back around and come back to work.
It was easier at my apartment because it was only an eight-minute drive from my work, but Archer’s house was easily a thirty-minute drive, which made it very hard to get back in time.
We walked out to his black SUV and got inside.
“How was work?” Archer asked as we drove down the street.
“Good,” I responded. I knew it wasn’t much, but this whole “making casual conversation” thing was still awkward for me.
The part of me that hated him for breaking my heart and leaving had started to soften after everything I had learned the last few days, but he was still my ex-husband, and simple chatter as though we didn’t have a tumultuous history was still uncomfortable at times.
“Axel okay?” he asked, clearly trying to prod more information out of me.
“Yes,” I replied. This was at least safer territory. “ He was quite enthusiastic about seeing an American TV station. He talked to every cameraman, floor director, and producer about their role.”
I chuckled thinking about what a kick he’d gotten out of watching Jeremy show him how our assignment desk worked.
“Jeremy gave him a crash course in police scanner lingo 101, and I swear I saw his face light up like a kid,” I told him with a small smile on my face.
“Axel or Jeremy ?”
I let out a small laugh. “ Probably both.”
We pulled up to the gas station, and Archer turned to me. “ I’m going to get the pump going, and then I need to run in to grab a couple drinks for Vince .”
My confusion must have been written all over my face, because he looked at me, sighed, and spoke again. “ I lost a bet to him, and he wants some weird-ass flavor of Coke that you can only get at these gas stations. But I need you to come with me.”
“How many of these are you planning to buy that you need two people to carry them?” I teased him, though I loved the bond he and his cousin had.
He sighed before looking into the rearview mirror. “ It could be a complete coincidence, but that gray sedan over at pump two has been following us since we left the office.”
All joking went away as that grabbed my full attention. How the hell had I missed that? I tried to be subtle about looking over at pump station two, but could only see the vehicle and not a person.
“Just to be safe, I want you to come inside with me. Please .”
I wasn’t an idiot. I’d like to stay alive, so I agreed without question. Plus , I’d like to see if I could get a better look at who was next to that mystery vehicle.
We walked inside, him holding my hand. To anyone near us, we looked like just a couple enjoying some physical contact, but I knew he was doing it to have a grip on me. I let him have that while choosing to ignore how good it felt.
We walked into the store, and the person behind the counter greeted us.
Archer nodded at him as we made our way to the back of the store, where the rows of refrigerated drinks were.
He scanned for what he needed, pointed it out to me, but then walked on by.
Confused , I tried tugging at his hand before he pulled me closer and whispered, “ Keep walking to that back hallway where the restrooms are.”
I listened and followed. As we entered the hallway, Archer turned to face me, and I realized he was doing it to look behind me. His eyes flared for only a moment, but I saw them. “ Go . Out the back door. Now .”
His voice was low but urgent.
He picked up the pace, and we jogged to the back door, popping out onto an alleyway. I looked both ways, realizing there wasn’t much out there, before he tugged my arm and we began running. He held my hand the entire time as we sprinted down another side street.
It was another alley, but this one dead-ended into a large garage bay.
Archer pulled me down the alley, and I thought we’d be ducking into the garage, but instead, he pulled me behind three dumpsters that lined the side wall.
There was barely enough room to squeeze through, but we did—and just in time.
Once he squeezed in behind me, we heard footsteps running down the alley.
“Hey Tony !” a man yelled out. “ Keep searching and try to find them before the boss gets here. You two…head into that garage and find them.”
“You sure it’s them?” another voice shouted, who I assumed was Tony , from close by.
“Yeah, that was definitely the cop and the bitch from the picture,” the original man replied. “ I’m going back to stand by their car in case they make their way back.”
Archer nudged me and jerked his head slightly, quietly telling me to squeeze farther behind the dumpsters to a slightly better-hidden position.
From this position, there was no way to see the door anymore or the alleyway without sticking our heads out, which would effectively defeat the point of hiding.
My right fist was clenched tight near my hip, while the other hand was on the ground to balance me.
I felt before I saw Archer’s hand grab my clenched fist and slowly start stroking over my thumb.
It didn’t necessarily return my heart rate to normal, but it did ease my anxiety enough to become a bit more clear-headed about how to get out of this mess.
I knew what I needed to do, but I also knew this was about to open a whole giant can of worms. One that could change everything between Archer and me for good.
I turned back to Archer and pointed at my crossbody purse that he had in his hands. I silently mouthed, Give me that.
Instead of doing it, he mouthed back, Why ?
God, this man was so stubborn.
Keeping my voice low, I told him to open it and hand me my lipstick tube.
“Your what?” he whispered, his face full of shock.
“There’s a red tube of lipstick. I need it now! Hand it to me!”
“What the hell? You want to put lipstick on now?” He looked and sounded exasperated. “ Let me text the guys first, and then you can pretty up your face.”
I rolled my eyes as I responded, keeping my voice low. “ For God’s sake. It’s not really lipstick. It’s our best chance of rescue. Now hand it to me before they hear us and kill us!”
Finally listening to me, he reached into my bag, grabbed the red tube, and handed it to me. I popped off the cap, pulled off the chunk of lipstick at the top, and pushed down on a button inside the tube.
The look on his face was priceless. “ Tracker ?” he mostly mouthed, though I heard him as well.
I nodded in return before he spoke again. “ Who ?”
Here went nothing.
“Sara,” I whispered back, only to see a confused look on his face. He was no doubt wondering why I would be calling my personal trainer at a moment like this.
“I push that button, and it alerts her to my exact location so she can send in a rescue team.” I paused before giving him the information that would change everything. “ Sara is my trainer…but she’s also my FBI handler.”