"I wasn’t trying to cause any trouble," I mumbled, looking up to see the man glaring…at the door Hodge had walked through. "Did that man do something wrong?”
"No! Nothing!” Masterson’s large mouth dropped opened and I worried about flies or small birds flying in there as he worked through a response. “Damn, Hodge surprised me. I tried not to react, but I totally reacted, didn’t I? Do you think he noticed?”
Huh… This was new.
"…You’re a lot less scary now," I blurted out.
"I was scary before?” His eyebrows rose, honestly surprised anyone would find an angry giant scary. Then it clicked. “The agent I’ve been learning from, I used her interview style…I told Stone that her technique was too hostile for me.” He sent me a sheepish smile, looking more like a (giant) teddy bear than a threat. “I only agreed to learn from her because if she’s my mentor there’s no need to be intimidatedby heranymore."
"Is that working?"
"Not entirely. You saw her in there." Oh, the stern silent woman. Maybe I was lucky she hadn’t talked.
My mind drifted to the man I spoke to, Hodge. Therehadbeen a weird tension in the air. Was his friendly demeanor an act, playing the innocent man? Who had I really been sitting next to?
“Seriously,” Masterson said. “There’s nothing to worry about. You’re in good hands with Chase.”
Great. Another person assuming a fictional tie to Chase, assuming he was my protector. Too bad I had none.
~
Lucas
Chase exited the conference room guns blazing. Metaphorically. Did he even need a gun or were his claws registered weapons? At any rate, he was ready to go.
“There’s a safehouse nearby where you can stay. This guy can’t take matters into his own hands again if he can’t find you.”
He began striding down to the elevators located in the middle of the floor, not realizing I still sat in my chair. Halfway there, he glanced back and saw I wasn’t following and frowned.
“This is serious, Lucas.” Oh, we were back to first names again? “We need to relocate you as soon as possible."
That got me up, and I marched towards him. "You can’t expect me to drop everything and follow you blindly. I can’t leave without saying goodbye to my father.”
"We can relay a message," Chase offered.
"That’s not good enough."
"Sorry, we have to do what’s best for you."
"Why doyouget to decide that? I don’t even want you onanycase involving me." I had enough trouble thinking without him confusing me.
"Come on, I never pegged you as a brat."
"What?"
Chase had the nerve to smirk. "Firing me when you don’t get your way. Should I spank you?"
"Stop!" I didn’t mean to shout, but I startled a few people down at the other end of the hall.
He finally dropped his teasing demeanor and realized I wasn’t playing along. Chase raised a hand, pausing the conversation and leading us to an empty conference room where we could speak—or argue—somewhere private.
We had privacy yet neither of us spoke immediately. I wasn’t sure where to begin. While never on bad terms, my father and I grew especially close since my mother’s death five years ago. Disappearing without a word? Not an option.
Giving Chase this explanation felt too intimate. The sudden danger and mind-melting kiss distracted me for a while, but they didn’t change what I overheard.
“This is your job,” I said. “But it’s my life. The detective in charge of protecting me shouldn’t find it such a huge chore.”
"What?” Chase had the nerve to act confused. “I don’t—"
