“You are safe, fiore mio,” I whispered. She was shaking from the cold. Someone had let her leave the house without a jacket. I took off my wool coat and wrapped her in it. “There is coffee in the car for you. Let me talk to them while you warm up.”
“No, I want to stay with you,” she said firmly. I tucked her under my arm. Jason was watching us with a bemused expression.
“Who is this?” I asked Bridget, nodding towards the scowling stowaway.
“It’s Soren. Maggie’s bonded Beta. He wanted to come with us to make sure Jason wasn’t going to try to kill me.”
“You really trust these guys?” The man asked Bridget.
“I do,” Bridget said and I squeezed her shoulders.
“No tails,” Jason said. His blond hair was cropped close to his scalp as usual; his blue eyes were sharp. He was ex-military, an Alpha who now turned his skills to protection. We’d worked closely together at the agency before I left. His toasted almond scent was stronger than usual, probably because of his annoyance.
“With all due respect,” Soren started, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “I don’t like this. What makes you qualified to protect her, or anyone for that matter?”
“Clearlyyouare not qualified to do anything for her if she is being followed to your house. I have a decade of experience in private security and I do not need to explain myself to you.” I exhaled. “Where are your things, carissima?”
“Trunk,” Jason said before Bridget could respond, and popped it. There was a scuffed duffle bag and backpack inside.
“This is my decision, not yours. Not Maggie’s,” Bridget said to Soren after she had ducked from under my arm.
“We will buy a phone for Bridget to speak with you and your pack whenever she likes,” I said to Soren. I didn’t want her friends to think she was being held prisoner.
“No need,” he said and handed Bridget a flip phone — a burner. “Maggie wants to hear from you every day, okay?”
Bridget rolled her eyes but nodded.
“Where are you taking her?” Soren asked, still bullish.
“To the apartment I share with my bonded partner,” I said, and gave him the address in good faith. “It is registered in a shell company for his privacy. If you are being watched, it is not safe for you to come.”
Soren studied me closely. “My Omega just wants to make sure she’s safe. If I hear any different, I will come for you.”
“I understand,” I said and shook his hand.
“Put this back on,” Soren said, picking up the red wig from where she’d dropped it. “And be safe. We’ll talk soon.”
The car was almost uncomfortably warm, but Bridget still wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “Thank you again for all of this. I promise it won’t be for long.”
“You should drink something to warm yourself. And you are welcome for as long as you like.”
Her wide blue eyes were shadowed by dark circles. I touched her shoulder, so delicate under the wool of my coat. She selected a cup of tea from the drink carrier and took a dutiful sip.
I helped her put on the wig again, annoyed I hadn’t thought of it myself.
“We will go home and you can rest,” I said before reversing carefully out of the parking space.
Jason and Soren watched us go. They would remain in the garage for at least an hour to throw off any tails they may have missed. I drove out through a secondary exit. There were other cars driving past, but no one parked on the street. I would still take a circuitous route home.
Bridget closed her eyes and dozed as we drove through the city. I didn’t spot anyone following us as I weaved through the early-morning traffic.
When I parked in the garage beneath our building, I shook Bridget’s shoulder gently. She startled awake, gasping for breath.
“It is alright, fiore mio. Just me. We are home.”
She blinked. “I fell asleep.”
“Yes,” I said, trying out a smile. “You can sleep more when we get upstairs.”
