8. Hazel
Hazel
“Ithought there’d be more to the Space Needle,” I told Marilee as we boarded the tour bus. “It’s just a building with a viewing platform and a park.”
“And a gift shop,” she reminded me with a smirk.
“I’m not one to buy souvenirs. I don’t like to have too much stuff in my house.”
“You’re a minimalist, huh?”
I made a non-committal sound, not wanting to tell her that when you grow up as part of a crime family, you spend a lot of time moving.
Keeping ahead of the cops, moving to the next job, avoiding enemies, it all meant that we moved pretty much every few months.
I’d kept up the pattern after I broke away from my parents, trying to avoid detection.
But I guess I’d run out of time. I’d seen the guy at the airport following us.
He hadn’t approached, which meant he was just reporting back to someone.
Who, I had no idea. It could be my parents, or it could be some of their enemies thinking that they’d get whatever they wanted from Colm and Elizabeth through me.
I didn’t really care. I just wanted to live my life without having any criminals in it.
The bus started moving, and the tour guide announced that we were heading to Pike Place Market.
“Is that where they have those guys who throw fish?” I asked Marilee.
“Yeah. I think they still put on a show for the tourists.”
“Don’t locals shop at the Pike Place Market?” I asked.
She shrugged, and the movement made her shoulder brush against mine.
“Not really, unless they happen to live nearby. For the most part, we can get similar products at our neighborhood farmer’s market without fighting for parking spots and dodging tourists.”
Despite the market being mostly a tourist attraction, I enjoyed exploring the various booths.
A small group of us stopped by the fish monger’s booth, watching the men toss fish around and put on a show.
It was both disgusting and fascinating, and I found myself wondering how they managed to keep a hold of the slimy fish and not drop them.
Other people in our group wandered off, but I lingered by the fish booth, knowing without looking that Marilee was right next to me.
I trusted her implicitly, which was weird because I’d learned early on that the only person in this world I could trust was myself.
But something about my bodyguard called to me, as strange as it sounded.
It felt like I’d known her my entire life even though I didn’t really know anything about her other than the fact that she was a vampire, ex-military, and not a fan of tourist attractions.
“Moira. Moira O’Brian.”
Shit, I hadn’t heard that name in years. I stiffened slightly when I heard the deep, accented voice using my real name from just behind us. It took everything in me not to turn around or react to whoever had found me. Blowing out a careful breath, I continued to watch the fish guys.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy come around to my side. He was a bruiser, tall and wide, built like a tank. He was dressed all in black, his thick hair mussed like he couldn’t tame it.
“Moira.”
He touched my arm and I jerked away towards Marilee.
“I think you have me mixed up with someone else,” I said, affecting the French accent I’d picked up during a couple of stints living in Quebec.
“Nice try, sweetheart, but I think I recognize my old friend Moira.”
I’d never seen this guy in my life, I was sure of it. I had no idea if he was working with my parents or against them. But before I could respond Marilee pushed her way between us, making a growling sound deep in her throat. If I didn’t know it was her, I would have sworn there was a wolf nearby.
“Back off, buddy,” she said firmly. “You’ve got the wrong woman.”
She had one arm behind her, fingers wrapped tightly around my hip, and her other hand was in a fist. Her posture was aggressive and she was vibrating with menace. Somehow she looked bigger, even though I knew that was impossible.
A hand came around from behind me, clamping down over my mouth. I kicked back, hitting him in the shin, and while it wasn’t enough to break his hold, it got Marilee’s attention. She spun around, standing to the side so she could keep both men in her sights.
Across the market I could see more men approaching, also in black, and I knew instinctively that they were here for me. I gestured in the direction with my eyes, and Marilee immediately caught on.
Without warning, she spun towards the first guy, her fist connecting with his face. Despite the fact he had six inches and probably at least fifty pounds on her, the guy dropped like a bag of rocks.
I took advantage of the distraction to reach behind me and grab the guy holding me between the legs.
I was at the wrong angle to get the balls, but he was surprised enough that he dropped his hand, releasing me.
I stomped as hard as I could on his instep and moved away from him.
He was still cussing me out when Marilee grabbed my hand.
“Come on, we need to get out of here.”
We took off at a dead run, and behind us I could hear the goons calling at us to stop. Instead we picked up speed.
Marilee pulled me out of the market and onto the sidewalk, weaving around tourists on the busy street. We were running too fast for me to risk looking behind me, but I sensed they were in pursuit.
“How many guys?” Marilee asked. “Did you see?”
“At least four.”
“Shit.”
She pulled me across the street, narrowly avoiding getting us hit by a car, and up a street that seemed to go right uphill. She led us into an alley, then shoved me behind a dumpster, pressing on my head to compel me to squat down.
“Stay here no matter what happens,” she ordered. “If something happens to me, run as fast as you can and get to Sapphic Security.”
While she spoke, she pressed a button on her phone.
“Yeah Lois? It’s Marilee.” Her voice was low and calm, but I could sense the urgency beneath the words. “We’ve got trouble. I need back-up. Someone tried to snatch the client, and now they’re in pursuit. I’m a couple of blocks away from Pike. Can you get a lock on me?”
There was a pause, then she said, “Okay, yeah, see you soon.”
We waited in the alley long enough that I thought we’d lost the guys, but then two of them came marching into the alley. Marilee waited until they were almost to where we were hiding, then she leapt up with another one of those growls.
She kicked out, sending the gun in the closest guy’s hand flying. He rushed towards her, and she kicked out again, this time getting him in the stomach. The blow was enough to knock him down, gasping for breath.
The second guy grabbed her from behind, lifting her off her feet.
Marilee reared back, head butting him hard enough to break his nose, if the sickening crunch of bone was anything to go by.
He screamed and dropped her, blood gushing from his nose, then she spun around, landing a punch on his jaw.
He staggered backwards and dropped to the ground.
Meanwhile the first guy was up on his hands and knees, ready to tap back in.
I didn’t hesitate. I leapt on his back like he was a horse and locked my arm around his throat.
He bucked against me, trying to knock me off, but I’d locked my legs around his waist and hung on until he passed out from lack of oxygen.
When I looked up, Marilee was watching me, a speculative look on her face.
“Who are you?” she asked. “What do these guys want with you?”
“I don’t really know what they want,” I said, answering honestly.
Next to her, the guy whose nose she’d broken was regaining consciousness. She landed a hard kick to his ribs, then another to the side of the knee, making the guy howl. Then he went quiet.
Marilee and I stared at each other for a long, heated minute, then there was a commotion at the entrance to the alley. She pulled me to my feet, shoving me behind her as four women came charging into the alley.
“Christ on a cracker, Martin, what kind of mess do you have here?” one of the women shouted.
Clearly in charge, she had a short crewcut and a menacing scowl. The woman was dressed way too light for the weather, although that didn’t seem to bother her.
“Lois, this is our client, Hazel Bryant.”
She emphasized my name and then paused, shooting me a look. I couldn’t help but wince.
“We don’t want any trouble,” the guy I’d choked out called from the ground.
I hadn’t noticed that he’d come to already, but based on the way he stayed on the ground, he knew he was outnumbered here. “We just want to talk to Moira for a little while.”
“Who the hell is Moira?” Lois asked.
“It seems there’s more we need to know about Hazel’s situation,” Marilee told her boss.
The woman sighed deeply, like everything that was happening was a personal affront to her.
“Fine. You three,” she gestured towards the other agents, “zip tie these assholes and get them back to the office for questioning.”
Her attention turned back to me. “You’ll need to come with us too, Ms. Bryant. Clearly we have a lot to talk about, and I’m not going to do it in a goddamned alley surrounded by trash. Let’s go.”
As I followed the Sapphic Security team to their vehicles I debated how much I should tell them.
How much information they would need to keep me safe.
Then I thought about dinner last night. How Marilee and I had talked for hours, getting to know each other, talking about politics, sharing our interests.
There was no artifice to her and despite the fact that she was practically a stranger, I somehow knew I could trust her.
That’s why I decided to do something that went against everything I’d been taught in life: tell the truth.