6. Hazel
Hazel
There was something about this woman. She was staring at me like she’d seen a ghost, but that wasn’t it.
There was this thing between us… I couldn’t say what it was.
Attraction maybe? But more than that. It was like I’d just run into a long-lost friend that I’d been searching for.
As weird as it sounded, I felt like I somehow knew her, even though I’d never met her before today.
I’d expected my bodyguard to be a big burly guy with a thick neck, not a super hot woman.
Marilee was stunning. She looked like she was older than me, maybe late thirties.
Several inches taller than me, she was leanly muscled but with just enough curves to make my mouth water.
Her skin was somehow even more pale than mine, but her bright brown eyes and dark brown eyebrows stood out in sharp contrast to her creamy skin.
Her long brown hair was wavy and full of golden highlights that appeared to be natural.
She was wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a blazer, but somehow still looked like a total badass.
Just then I felt the hair rise on the back of my neck, my spidey senses telling me that someone was watching me.
Damn it. I’d been so careful on my way to the airport.
I’d even picked up new clothes at a shop rather than stopping at my apartment in Ottawa.
Did they have a tracker on me or something?
Hopefully my pretty bodyguard could handle herself, because I had a sinking feeling that I was going to need her for more than following me in and out of meetings.
“Can we go now?” I asked. “I’d like to get to my hotel.”
The woman seemed to snap out of whatever daze she’d been in. Not that I blamed her. If she felt that attraction between us no wonder she was discombobulated.
“Sure. This way.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and followed her. She walked about a step ahead of me, but I could tell she was aware of where I was at all times. We walked across the terminal and into the hourly parking garage, taking the elevator up a floor.
“I’m back here,” Marilee said, leading me to a black SUV parked at the far end of the garage.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I slipped into the car. Marilee walked around, her eyes searching the area before getting into the car and heading out of the garage.
“You’re at the Aegis Hotel downtown, right?”
“Yes.”
She drove with a quiet confidence, not really speaking, which was fine with me.
My mind was racing right now. I thought I’d be safe here in Seattle, but now I had my doubts.
Or maybe I was just being paranoid. There was no way my parents could have known I’d be asked to come to the conference – unless they had someone inside GAC.
That seemed unlikely, but not impossible.
We left the SUV in the hotel’s underground parking garage and headed up to the lobby to check in. I thought we’d have two adjoining rooms, but when we got there, Marilee informed me that we were bunking together for safety.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing a hotel room with a total stranger, especially one that I was incredibly attracted to but if I wanted protection, I didn’t really have a choice.
After getting our keycards, we headed up to our room on the tenth floor.
It was your standard hotel room, with two queen sized beds separated by a table with a lamp.
There was a loveseat on one side, a reading lamp behind it, and a small desk built into the wall right next to the TV.
“I’ll take the bed by the door,” Marilee said, dropping her duffle on the bed. “Do you mind if I put some stuff in the fridge?”
“No, go ahead,” I said, gesturing to the mini fridge set up next to the desk.
She moved efficiently, stowing her bag in the corner and sliding several beverages into the mini fridge. I just stood there watching her, unsure what I should do.
“Let’s talk about how we’re going to work together,” Marilee said, sitting on the loveseat and facing me. “Starting with who’s following you and why.”
My mouth dropped open like a cartoon character. “How did you…?”
“You were on high alert as we moved through the airport, scanning the crowd and subtly looking over your shoulder several times,” she said calmly. “And you sagged in relief once we got into the car. It’s pretty obvious you’re nervous about someone following you.”
I was silent for a few long minutes, trying to decide what to say. I didn’t know this woman. Didn’t know if I could trust her. So I lied.
“I’m just nervous. Your government isn’t very welcoming to foreigners right now.”
“Aren’t you a dual US and Canadian citizen?” she asked.
“Uh. Yeah.” How did she know that?
“Then it’s technically your government too.”
“You’re right,” I said lamely.
I was usually a pretty confident person, and if there was one thing I’d learned from my parents, it was how to lie effectively. Well, that and how to relieve people of their money and valuables in any way possible. But I was off my game today.
Marilee studied me for a few seconds, and I thought she’d push me about what was going on, but instead she retrieved her laptop and opened it up on the little table in front of the loveseat.
“Let’s review your schedule for this week.”
We spent the next few minutes looking at the event schedule. Tomorrow there was a group tour of the Seattle landmarks starting at ten a.m. We had some free time then until the conference’s opening sessions started at three. This was followed by a cocktail reception and dinner in the hotel ballroom.
Then Marilee went over her rules which included not going anyplace without her, staying in her line of vision at all times, and letting her go through doors first.
“The most important thing is if I give you an order, I need you to follow it without question.”
“Are you this bossy in bed?” I asked, then I immediately slapped my hand over my mouth in horror.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, that was so inappropriate,” I mumbled against my palm.
Marilee gave me a smirk. “The answer to that question is yes.”
I felt heat rising in my cheeks. I was always easy to blush thanks to my fair Irish complexion.
“But the reason I need you to obey me without question is because I’m here to keep you safe. If I see, hear, or even suspect you are in danger, my top priority will be to get you to safety. Anything I tell you to do will be with that goal in mind.”
“Got it,” I said.
Just then my stomach growled loudly.
“Do you want to get dinner?” Marilee asked. “It’s after six. There’s a pretty good brewpub down the street, they serve a hell of a burger, and their beer is good too if you like that kind of thing.”
I laughed. “I’m Irish. We put beer in baby bottles,” I joked. “And a burger sounds good.”
Twenty minutes later we were ensconced in a booth at the back of the restaurant, food on the way. I ordered a lager, because of course I did, but Marilee stuck with Coke, telling me that she wasn’t allowed to drink on duty.
“You girls know what you want to order for food?” The middle-aged server had brassy red hair and the air of someone who’d already been on her feet for way too long.
“I’ll take the cheeseburger please,” I said. “Medium well.”
The server turned to Marilee.
“I’ll have a double cheeseburger with fries and a salad,” she said. “Ranch dressing.”
“How do you want your meat?”
“Very rare. Seared on the outside but still bleeding inside.”
The server laughed. “Got it. I’ll let the cook know.”
“What do you have against cooking your food?”
“I need the blood,” she said solemnly.
“What are you? A vampire?” I joked, taking a sip of my beer.
“That’s exactly what I am.”
I choked on my beer, only barely managing not to spill it all over the table.
“Haha.”
“I’m not joking,” she said.
When I looked up, I saw fangs somehow growing out of her mouth, white and gleaming even in the dim light of the restaurant.
“Vampires are real?” I asked, blinking in shock.
She had to be fucking with me, right? But there was no mistaking those long fangs that weren’t there a few seconds ago, or the way her lips had darkened into a blood red color. Her eyes were glowing too.
“Oh my God, I’m sharing a room with a vampire?”