Page 7 of Booked for Kidnapping

Interesting. It’d only take a few weeks in a wheelchair to understand many people shied away from what they didn’t understand, and for some reason I couldn’t fathom, often believed handicaps were contagious. “Mine folds.”

“I’d be more than happy to drive you around if you’d like, although we’ll have to wait until this crowd clears out. I bet that’s what you were doing before Kennedys came and made a mess of your afternoon.”

That was one way to put it. “It was. I really appreciate the ride.”

“And I really appreciate what you did. Samantha was a lot of things, but she would have been happy to know she gave life to someone else when there was no hope for her salvation.”

I disagreed, although I refused to speak ill of the dead. Maybe Senator Maybelle would have felt that way, but the legal battle involving her family told a different story. “There was no hope,” I confirmed, the only safe response I could think of, all things considered. “She didn’t suffer.”

“I’m glad for that. I truly am. I hope you won’t think too poorly of Representative Kennedys. He’s fairly set in his ways, and he doesn’t handle being caught by surprise all that well. I can say this much, you are not what he expected. You’re not what I expected, either, but unlike him, when a storm cloud shows its silver lining, I’m grateful. Still, I don’t know what Kennedys was thinking even approaching you. He has a reputation for disliking exsanguinators.”

I shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to. But if anyone does ask me what I think about him, I know how I’m going to reply.”

“I hope that keeps him up at night,” Senator Hanson admitted. “May I ask a personal question?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you choose to become a librarian?”

“I like helping people, and as I told Representative Kennedys, people like him prevented people like me from becoming nurses. It’s the closest I can get.” I’d keep the recommendation I go to medical school close to my chest, as the last thing I needed was a bunch of politicians gossiping about my future career options.

“I’ll see what I can do about that,” the woman promised. “And in the future, I hope one day, I can say it’s all because of you we turned exsanguinators into a blessing to society rather than an enemy.”

One could only hope.

TWO

Somehow, you’ve become even more stubborn.

Bradley Hampton, my ex-boss who’d somehow wormed his way into becoming my fiancé, leaned against my apartment building and observed the battle between a senator, her SUV, and my wheelchair with a raised brow. As I hadn’t brought a cane or crutches, I hopped around on one foot, strategizing how to get up the steps without having to ask for help.

I recognized I took the stubborn pride thing too far, but I lacked anything else to do. I refused to apologize for attending the memorial service. I also refused to apologize for wanting to find justice for the fallen, even when the victims planned to enslave a frighteningly large portion of Americans, myself included.

Senator Hanson departed after a few pleasantries and my insistence I could handle everything without additional help. Managing my wheelchair while hopping around on one foot would challenge me, but I’d overcome the challenge numerous times before. The steps up to my apartment wouldn’t defeat me.

“Somehow, you’ve become even more stubborn. I thought you’d been pretty damned stubborn before, but now? Now you’re a wonder to behold,” Bradley stated, and he pushed off from the building, stole my wheelchair, and hauled it towards the steps leading up to my apartment. “I figured you’d do this, but I thought everyone else needed a chance to see you in your full glory.”

“Glory?”

“Glory sounded better than stupidity,” he admitted. “And having an afternoon with a bunch of blood-thirsty sharks when you can’t be armed is the height of general stupidity.”

I considered his words, and I nodded, as when framed that way, attending the memorial solo counted as an act of general stupidity. “You could have gone with me.”

Bradley stopped and turned to face me. “That was ruthless even for you.”

“They’re just some politicians. At events like that, they’re all bark with no bite.” They’d done a lot of barking, but I’d survived unscathed and with minimal damage to my sanity.

He narrowed his eyes. “I should verify you weren’t bitten by any politicians.”

While I lacked any relevant experience with having a boyfriend or a fiancé, even I could recognize when someone flirted with me. Or wanted to get me out of my clothes. Did wanting to get me out of my clothes count as flirtation?

I needed more time than I had to think about it.

“I wasn’t bitten by any politicians, but I got to talk with President Castillo.”

Bradley’s eyes widened. “President Castillo was in attendance?”

“He sure was. Guess who I also got to talk with?”