22. Savannah
When I get up at 6:00 am, Aiden is already gone. He had to leave early this morning to catch the private jet the team uses for their away games. Roger, Scott, Jeremy, and Jack went with him. All of them, including Aiden, were outfitted with undetectable lightweight body armor. The three bodyguards who are not part of Shining Knight were temporarily issued our standard equipment issue of modified weapons that use non-lethal rounds, communication devices, and now the rings.
Jerry and Jessie stayed behind to help me guard Penny, who still hasn’t figured out that I’m much more than her nanny.
Jerry is the first to enter the kitchen, which amazes me since he went to bed well after midnight. He’s wearing black-framed glasses, draw-string flannel pajama bottoms, and a wrinkled black T-shirt with his white hair sticking out wildly in all directions. I finish setting up a buffet-style breakfast with Georgia Peach Pancakes and homemade whipped cream for people to serve themselves as they trickle in.
“You’re up awfully early. Coffee?” I don’t wait for him to answer. I pour him a mug and place it in front of him, along with a plate of pancakes in appreciation for his late-night efforts.
“Awful is right. Thanks,” he grunts out. “When is someone going to invent a portable IV to mainline caffeine? These late nights are rough, and a machine like that would come in really handy right about now.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze gently, “Thank you for staying up and getting the extra cameras installed. I also appreciate you guys for including Scott, Jeremy, and Jack by bringing them up to speed. I know they’re grateful for all the extra goodies. I’m thinking about introducing them to Ethan and Ben. You haven’t met David yet, but they’re all really good guys and would fit right in at Shining Knight.”
Jerry pats my hand, “Someone is in an exceptionally good mood.”
“That’s because she’s in luh-uv,” Jessie sing-songs as she enters the room, heading straight for the coffee pot and buffet.
I refill my mug and follow her to the table, remaining silent. Jerry arches an eyebrow in my direction when I don’t refute Jessie’s comment.
Jessie smacks her hands against the table, “Oh. My. Goodness! Our little girl has finally grown up and met the man of her dreams!”
Jerry takes another sip and glances at Jessie, “Don’t worry, Dear. I’ve got my shotgun primed for any man not good enough for Savannah.”
I giggle. “I’m in love, but not with who you think.”
Jessie frowns, “It better not be that Swank character!”
“Please, Girl, I have better taste than that! Give me a little credit! No, I had a long talk with Jesus last night. While I still don’t understand some of the things that He has allowed to happen to me or why, I have a sense of peace about it now. I know that all things will be revealed in time.”
Jerry sets his cup down and looks me in the eye, “Explain.”
“Yesterday, at church, the Pastor preached about the sacrifice Jesus made so we could be forgiven and have a relationship with Him. The pain and suffering that He endured was beyond my comprehension and made my pain pale in comparison. It’s not insignificant to Him by any means, but if He can conquer death, He can conquer anything—my problems included.”
Jessie leans forward, “Go on.”
“I realized the pain I carry around is of my own making. I thought I walked away from my terrible childhood when I joined the FBI, but I didn’t. Not really. I’ve been carrying around the baggage, and it’s been weighing me down. Do you know that I had a chance to forgive my mother yesterday, and instead, I chose to walk away? But when I asked God to forgive me, He didn’t walk away. How would I have felt if he turned His back on me the way I did to my mother?”
“Thankfully, you’ll never have to know,” Martha says, leaning against the entrance to the kitchen with a ginormous smile on her face. “Do you mind if I join you?”
I gesture to the open seat, “By all means.” She pours herself a cup of coffee and then sits down.
“Please don’t let my arrival stop you from sharing, Anna. I think it’s wonderful,” she says.
“Martha, what you said the other day about God preparing me was hard for me to stomach. I didn’t want to believe that God would allow so much bad to happen when I tried to be such a good person. But you were right. All of that led me to who I am today. I have wonderful and supportive friends. I love what I do. Countless lives have been spared from some of the worst of humanity, and our team was an integral part of that. We were all brought together to serve a greater purpose.”
Martha gets up and hugs me, then looks at Jessie and Jerry, addressing us all, “I don’t know your stories, but I do know that God will use the bad and turn it into something good. We don’t see the silver lining in the moment, but only when we step back and reflect.”
Jerry remains skeptical, but Jessie is definitely interested in learning more. I get up to pour myself another cup of coffee while Jessie peppers Martha with a bunch of questions. Jerry leaves to go get ready for the day, and by the time he returns, Reggie and Penny have entered the mix.
Penny tugs on Jerry’s shirt to get his undivided attention, “Mr. Jerry, how come your hair is white? You don’t look very old.”
Jerry bends down, “It’s not polite to comment or ask about a person’s physical traits.”
I’m about to scold Jerry for being rude, but Martha puts an arm across my chest to stop me from getting involved. She whispers, “Penny can hold her own.”
“Well, I’m six, so I can get away with it,” Penny says sweetly.
“I’m sure you get away with a lot,” he mutters.
“You’re avoiding the question. You know that it’s okay to say, ‘I don’t know.’”
“I do know. I’m just choosing to keep it to myself,” he retorts.
Penny holds her right elbow and uses her free hand to pinch her chin. “Hmm. I don’t think you do. You seem like the kind of guy who likes to be the smartest person in the room.”
Falling into her trap, he says, “I am the smartest person in the room. But if you must know, my hair is white because of genetics. Believe it or not, I didn’t always have white hair. It used to be black, like Jessie’s. My dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa all had white hair by the time they turned twenty.”
“I thought it might be because of stress. That’s what Google listed as a reason, and since I haven’t seen you smile…” she shrugs.
“I smile!”
“Prove it!” she taunts.
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
Penny smirks and crosses her arms. “That’s what I thought!”
Jerry lifts the corner of his mouth and bends down to pick up Penny, tossing her over his shoulder. She giggles and pleads for help, but no one comes to her rescue. Jerry might be a grump, but he’s a softy at his core.
Jessie and Jerry stay with Penny while Martha and I make a quick trip to the grocery store. Erring on the side of caution, Jerry outfits me with a necklace that has a recording device.
I hold up my hair as he fastens the clasp. “Be careful, Anna. You never know who you might run into. Roger filed the restraining order against Amy Potslawski last night after the party, but it only states she can’t get within 100 yards of any of the Shaw family. You aren’t included in that.”
“Got it. At least Martha will be with me, so if she shows up, she’ll be in violation of the restraining order. However, she seems to be fixated on Aiden and Penny more than anyone else. It’s Patricia that I’m most concerned with. She’s going to be looking for any dirt she can find on me, and if she digs deep enough, she’ll discover it.”
Jerry runs a hand through his hair. “Savannah, if you tell us what you think she’ll find, then we can get ahead of it and spin it in your favor.”
“It’s not me that’s the problem. It’s my mother. It’s what she’s done and if anyone finds out the truth of things, I’ll be guilty by association. I’ll be the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree,” I tell him.
He sighs. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
I grab his hand and hold it. “Just be there for me if things go south. If my dirty laundry gets aired, so be it. It’s part of who I am, and I accept that now. If others can’t, that’s their issue, not mine. I’m not Savannah Jones, the beauty queen. I’m Savannah Jones, a prior FBI agent and now Shining Knight protector. I’m strong, capable, and worthy!”
“You’re the whole shebang!” Jessie shouts from the other room.
Martha walks in and winks, slinging her purse over her shoulder, “Are you ready to go, Anna?”
“Yep.”
Ten minutes later, we’re pulling into the local Piggly Wiggly. “I haven’t been to a Piggly Wiggly in years. I didn’t know they were still around.”
Martha grabs a cart and starts pushing her way down the aisle. “There are still a few scattered about, but they’re becoming more obsolete with every passing year.”
“That’s a shame. It’s just so fun to say ‘Piggly Wiggly,’” I giggle.
Martha pulls out a list, and we add the items to the cart. She’s picking out vine-ripened tomatoes when she requests that I grab a package of chicken breasts from the meat section in order to speed things up.
The moment I leave the produce department, the hairs on my arms rise, and chills ripple through my body. I look around me, but the only people I see are a woman pushing a child down the cereal aisle and an elderly gentleman trying to read the label on a canned good. Cautiously, I continue to the meat section and scan the area one more time. I whisper into my communication device, “Jerry, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear. What’s happening?”
“I can’t be certain, but I think I’m being watched. Do you have video?” I ask him.
“Confirmed. I have an uplink. Stay vigilant, Savannah.”
As a precaution, I turn the ring on my finger clockwise, charging the taser hidden inside. I scan the different packages of chicken, hoping that having my back turned will draw out the threat. It works like a charm.
I feel the presence of two people behind me, and I stiffen in response. As I turn around slowly, the same two men from the hockey game are leering at me. “Oh, do you need to get to the chicken? It’s on special for $2.99 a pound. It’s a pretty good deal in today’s economy. Here, let me get out of your way.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Ms. Jones. We need you to pass on a message to your fiancé,” Goon One says.
“I think you have me mistaken for someone else. It’s Ms. Blackwood.”
Goon Two hands me a tabloid that he most likely picked up from one of the registers at the front of the store. I take it from him and see my picture splashed across the front page. This time, the picture is a side-by-side of the one from the hockey game and the one from when I was 18 and crowned Miss Georgia. Underneath is a caption, “The King of Hockey is Engaged to the Long Lost Queen of Georgia.”
“Guys, you can’t believe everything you read in the paper,” I hedge.
“Ms. Jones, we don’t care about your engagement. We don’t care if you’re the nanny or the prom queen. We don’t care about anything other than your ability to pass on a message from us,” Goon One tells me.
“And who exactly is ‘us?’” If they believe I’m nothing more than a peon, they might divulge some information.
Goon Two narrows his eyes, “Nice try. Tell Aiden Shaw that if he doesn’t comply with our demands, then he’ll have to pay the price.”
“And what are those demands? What’s the price?” I ask.
Neither answers my question. “Aiden knows what we want. All you need to do is give Aiden the message, or our next encounter will be far less pleasant.” Goon One demands.
Goon Two gives me a two-finger salute, “Good day, Ms. Jones.”
The two men leave at the same time Martha’s voice rings out, “Anna, what’s taking so long? I was getting worried.”
I talk into my communication device on my way to meet Martha as she comes down the aisle toward me. “Jerry, tell me you got all of that?”
“Every word. I’ll run their faces through our image recognition software and see if we get any hits. Watch your back.”
Martha’s concern is unmistakable when she reads the expression on my face, “Honey, who were those men you were talking to? Did they hurt you?”
“We’ll talk in the car. Forget the cart. We need to go.” Martha doesn’t argue, and we leave everything behind. I scan the parking lot as we make our way to the vehicle.
I ask Martha to remote start the car and sigh in relief when nothing unexpected occurs. I do a once-over and under to ensure that no one has tampered with it. It’s not until we’re through the gate and parked at the estate that I finally breathe and relax.
When Aiden gets home tomorrow morning, he will have a lot of explaining to do.