Secret Bodyguard

by Lori Crawford

  Erica ended the number in the usual fashion by swimming up the tower at the back of the stage. She struck her normal pose and the lights went out. Much calmer, Erica continued the swim to the top for her portable oxygen tank before diving back to the bottom and out. When she came back down, she saw Trevor was waiting for her to get out. She turned right side up and faced him through the glass.

  He crooked a finger signaling for her to come to him. Erica lifted an eyebrow and folded her arms in challenge. She mouthed, “I’m right here.” She signaled for him to come to her.

  Trevor’s glower got even darker if it were possible. He puffed out his cheeks then folded his arms like he was going to settle in and wait for her to run out of air.

  Erica smirked and took a puff from the oxygen tank. She shrugged. “What?”

  She could tell he was on the verge of stamping his foot when Megan caught him by his arm and thrust a towel at him. She pulled him away to get changed and threw an amused smile and a wink over her shoulder at Erica where she was still floating in the tank.

  Erica made it a point to be in the tank every time Trevor came offstage. For the finale, Erica swam the routine like it was written. She noticed Trevor flinched when she first swam out. But while the number progressed, they’d become a solid team again. Although, she was still pretty mad at him for talking to the crew. And she could tell all wasn’t forgiven on his side either. They were in for a fun conversation later.

  Not willing to put it off any longer, Erica made her way out of the tank and waited for Trevor to come offstage. Like she’d figured, he attacked first.

  “What was that?”

  “You wanna have this out here or in semi-private?” she asked. She inclined her head, indicating the crew breaking down the stage and pretending not to listen around them.

  Trevor grabbed her arm and led her to a corner that was secluded for the time being.

  “You wanna tell me what’s going on with you?”

  “Why don’t we start with what’s going on with you?” Erica countered. “You’ve been snarling at everybody all day.”

  “I haven’t.”

  “Kara was almost in tears and JimDawg had to pull a punch. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Wait a minute. You didn’t stop him did you?”

  “It’s not in my job description to stop people who love you from reacting when you’re being an ass! You owe them an apology.”

  “An ass? That’s rich. Coming from the chick who just spit on the star onstage.” He stepped closer, like he thought he could intimidate her with his height.

  Erica leaned in to whisper angrily, “The way you were running your mouth about our supposed hot and heavy romance, I thought you could use a little cooling off.”

  “Running my mouth? I haven’t …”

  “Save it, Trevor. I didn’t think I could be more clear. All anyone was supposed to know was that I’m a good swimmer.” She poked him hard in the chest. “Imagine my surprise when your current mood is blamed on me and our lovers’ spat.” She poked him again. He caught her hand stopping her from doing any more damage to his torso.

  “I just wanted to know what they thought of you and if you fit in.” Trevor softened his stare. “Is that so wrong?”

  “When it interferes in my keeping you alive, yes!” Erica blew out a breath of anger. “You can’t go and change my cover behind my back. What if the guy we’re looking for was one of them?”

  Trevor jerked away from her. “He’s not.”

  “What if he were? Do you understand what kind of danger you just put me in? If the person figured you and I were close, they’d be smart to use me to get to you. Then I’m out of commission and can no longer protect you. Did you even bother to think of that?”

  “That would never happen,” Trevor protested, but Erica could see that he was giving her words some serious weight.

  “It happens …” Erica’s breath whooshed out of her like someone opened a valve and let all the air escape. Trevor frowned and took her hand. She squeezed it in a painful grip.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “They said you were back here,” a super sweet voice said from behind him. Still, with all that syrup, Trevor could hear the sharp edge of bitterness running through it. He turned around to see three women heading toward them. The one in the middle seemed to be leading the way followed by a younger lady on each side. All three wore press passes from the local media.

  It took him a moment, but he recognized Dani, Erica’s old duet partner. Time had not been kind to the woman. She couldn’t have been much older than Erica, yet she looked like she had at least a decade on her. He eyed their passes, but there were no recorders, no cameras, no notebooks, no other sign that they were there on professional business. He was positive Erica hadn’t invited her to watch the show. Even if he didn’t know Erica better than that, the way she was clinging to his hand told him just how surprised she was to see her.

  Trevor turned on his rock star smile until he could figure out what was going on. “Ladies. Did you enjoy the show?”

  The young one to Dani’s right hurried forward and gushed, “It was amazing! I loved watching you swim. I wish I could do that hybrid you did toward the end of the second number. It was wonderful.”

  Erica gathered her wits enough to smile a little and say, “Thank you.”

  Dani pulled the girl back, and their third comrade glared at her. She looked cowed enough and turned her attention to the floor. Dani leveled a narrow look at Erica.

  “Back in the pool, I see.” She looked up at the impressive tank Trevor had built for her. “Sort of.”

  “Dani. How are you?” Trevor had never heard Erica so quiet and timid. What he would give to know what had gone down between these two at the Olympics.

  The third woman piped up. “She’s been amazing. She led our team to the National Championship last year. I don’t expect we’ll have any trouble defending our title this year.” She looked at Dani, her case of hero worship clear in her eyes. “I’ve never seen a swimmer as good as Dani.”

  Erica flinched when the woman’s intended barb that even though they’d seen the show she still hadn’t seen a swimmer as good hit home. He was decidedly sick of them.

  “Dani is very good,” the woman continued.

  “But you. You just have raw nerve. I can’t believe you’d actually wear the costume I made for you to try to make your pathetic little comeback.” Dani got in Erica’s face. Trevor’s heart ached when Erica backed away. “What? Do you finally regret not wearing it in the Games? Or were you upset to learn that you hadn’t destroyed me like you intended so you went for public embarrassment?”

  “I didn’t try to destroy you. I just …”

  “Save it, Erica. Your little diva episode is well-documented.”

  “I’m sorry, Dani. I don’t know what else to tell you.” Erica stopped cowering. “It looks like you’ve done well for yourself. National champion and all. You’re still swimming. Isn’t that what it’s about?”

  Erica never saw it coming. Or if she did, she didn’t bother to move when Dani swung.

  Chapter Ten

  Trevor flinched when Dani’s open palm connected with Erica’s cheek. Erica just stood there looking like she was somewhere between stunned and believing she deserved it. When the woman swung again, Trevor grabbed her hand in a pain inducing grasp before it could connect with Erica’s face.

  Pandemonium broke out when the crew beat security over to protect one of their own. Megan and Lindsay pulled Erica back, and JimDawg helped Trevor restrain Dani. The women with her just stared at everybody in shock.

  “Get her out of here!’ Trevor bellowed when the security guards arrived to subdue the woman.

  “I’m so sorry, Dani. I’m so sorry,” Erica repeated.

  “Stop apologizing to her,” Trevor ordered. He nailed Dani with a harsh look. “I’m going to press charges.”

  Dani’s eyes widened indicating that the seriousness of her actions
penetrated her head. She went on the offensive. “It was self-defense.”

  Erica broke free of Megan and Lindsay. “Trevor, just let it go,” she pleaded with him. Erica squeezed his shoulder. “Let it go.”

  Dani’s anger rekindled when Erica went to bat for her. “I want my crystals back, too.” She ripped free of the guard’s grip and yanked the crystals from Erica’s costume tearing the suit in the process. Trevor stepped between the women again, stopping the onslaught when Erica couldn’t pull away from Dani’s grasp.

  “Take her now!” The security guards dragged a screaming Dani away. Trevor shrugged out of his shirt and wrapped it around Erica since the suit was almost in shreds. He handed her over to Megan.

  Erica looked at the other woman with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry about your costume.”

  “Nonsense. It was pretty amateurish anyway.” She looked over her shoulder at Trevor. “I’ll have her ready to go in about ten minutes.”

  Trevor nodded and watched Lindsay and Megan escort Erica away. JimDawg clapped Trevor on the shoulder. “What was that about?”

  He shrugged. “Erica says I owe you an apology.” Trevor looked at JimDawg. “I’m sorry I was an idiot all day.”

  JimDawg smiled. “You’re in new territory, my man. When JamieDee and I first got together she could throw me in a pretty good spin, too. It’ll pass.”

  Trevor smiled and chose not to correct him like he knew Erica would have insisted. Hey, he apologized. She’d gotten one of two. She’d have to be content with that. He thought about what had just happened. He needed to find out what went down at the Olympics. Without the information, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect her. In light of their role reversal, he hoped she wouldn’t be as stubborn as he had been.

  Erica hurried to dress and left the remains of her costume with Megan who promised to have a new one for her by the time they arrived at their next stop. Erica thanked her and rushed out to find Trevor. She had to get him back to the safe house. No matter how much of a loop she’d been thrown for, she still had a job to do.

  She was grateful when she saw Trevor waiting for her. She got him in their car and zoomed back to the safe house. She tried to put off all the questions she figured he had by keeping a steady stream of chatter flowing. She decided to skip her normal nightly swim in favor of a hot shower and bed.

  Once she stepped under the spray, all the emotions she’d tried to keep at bay rushed over her. Even though Erica had been the darling of their duet, Dani had the bigger mouth. Erica was always the more no nonsense hard worker while Dani took the time to chat people up at practice. The result had been that when things went down, people just believed what they’d been told. Not being a big talker, Erica hadn’t been surprised when they’d taken her silence for an admission of guilt. Seeing how mad Dani still was, there was no way their mutual acquaintances hadn’t taken Dani’s side. With self-pity weighing her down, Erica shut off the water and got out of the shower.

  Trevor knew the exact moment Erica entered her bedroom. The sweet scent of her shampoo heralded her arrival better than any fanfare ever could. He opened one eye in time to see the surprise on her face when she found him lounging on her bed. Still rubbing her hair dry, Erica crept in and looked around.

  “Wanna tell me what happened between you and Dani?”

  Erica tore her gaze from her bag in the corner and stared at him. Trevor crossed his long legs making himself comfortable.

  “No.” She gave him a defiant look.

  Trevor quirked an eyebrow when she turned off the light and climbed into the bed. He turned on the lamp on his side table. “I think you owe me an explanation.”

  Erica pulled the pillow over her head. “I can’t help what you think.”

  Trevor regarded her for a long moment. He turned out the light and stretched out beside her. “Does this help? Something revealed in the dark won’t seem quite as bad.”

  “Don’t do this, Trevor,” she pleaded.

  “Don’t do what? Care about you? Whatever you’re holding back is eating you alive. You almost went catatonic when you saw Dani.”

  “Can’t we just forget about her?”

  “I can. But can you?” Trevor waited for Erica’s response. When none came he rolled over and gathered her in his arms. “What really happened, Erica? I know you too well to believe you became a diva all of a sudden.”

  Erica sucked in a breath. “You looked it up? How long’ve you known?”

  “Since before we left.”

  Erica took a moment to let that sink in. All this time he had to have been wondering. And then tonight … tonight was her every nightmare come true. She remembered how Trevor hadn’t hesitated to jump into the fray for her. Maybe she did owe him an explanation.

  “It was a bomb.” She heard Trevor’s sharp intake of breath at her quiet admission.

  “I stumbled upon it just before we were supposed to swim. Interpol diffused it, but it took too long. I’d missed the competitions.” Erica tried to shrug it off like she didn’t care. She’d done the right thing, but that didn’t stave off her own bitter disappointment. She’d missed the opportunity to swim in the Olympics. Dani wasn’t the only one hurt by the incident. To have gotten so close just to have it ripped away.

  Like she’d expected, Trevor wasn’t about to let her off that easy. Along with the friendship that had developed between them, she knew he also could read her the same way she could him. She didn’t need him to say anything to confirm that he knew she’d left a whole lot out.

  “When you say stumbled upon it, what does that mean exactly?”

  Erica sighed and remained silent for so long that Trevor started to think she wasn’t going to answer him. But he knew she just needed a moment. He was going to give it to her. “Dani wanted a fourth nose clip. Since I was going to the bathroom anyway, I offered to get it for her. The floor was wet. When I opened her locker, I slipped. I caught myself on this thing that had all kinds of wires sticking out and a timer started counting down.”

  Trevor felt her tremble at the memory. He could relate. He tightened his embrace around her, trying to reassure her that she was safe.

  “They had given us these little panic buttons. I was too scared to move anything else, but my thumb sure got a workout. Security came to check on me. One happened to be with Interpol. He concocted the story that I was having a diva episode and cleared the locker room. They didn’t want to start a panic while they diffused it.

  “Four hours later, I was free. But my entire team, especially Dani, hated me—correction—hate me. Judging by tonight, they all still do.” Trevor’s heart was breaking at the pain he heard in Erica’s voice. He decided to put the blame right where it belonged.

  “Wait a minute, you found a bomb in Dani’s bag. And Dani hates you? Did you put it there?”

  Erica snorted. “I might as well have. She was dating this loser. I always encouraged her to cut him loose. Right before we left for the games, she did.

  “During those four long hours, I made friends with the Interpol guys. When the evidence started pointing back toward synchro people, they asked for my perspective. I helped them learn it was loser boyfriend who’d tried to kill Dani.”

  Trevor stroked her hair. “What an ungrateful …”

  “She has no idea, Trevor.” Erica shrugged. “I can’t blame her for something she doesn’t know.”

  Trevor’s arms tightened around her again. “I can.” He leaned over to kiss her temple then sat up preparing to leave.

  “Trevor.” Erica looked at him. Indecisiveness all over her face. Even in the darkened room Trevor could see her vulnerable expression. He wasn’t used to that. “Thanks.”

  He nodded, still watching her. He could feel that wasn’t all. She dropped his gaze. Not like her, either, he thought. Then she shocked him to his core.

  “Stay.” He had to strain to hear her quiet whisper. Still, he was sure he’d misunderstood. “I mean. If you think you can behave yourself.”r />
  His heart swelled at the notion that she might be letting him in at last. “I think that can be arranged.” He kicked off his shoes and climbed back into the bed next to her. This was an extraordinarily bad idea. But he wasn’t about to toss back the bone she’d offered him. He wrapped his arms around her and held on until she drifted off to sleep. Trevor was thankful that the next day was a travel day because he knew he wasn’t going to be getting much sleep that night.

  Trevor was startled awake the next morning when something smacked across him. He stretched and pried one eye open.

  “Morning, sunshine!” Erica, all dressed, was standing over him with a towel dangling from her hand.

  “It’s too early for this,” he complained and rolled over.

  “You don’t even know what time it is.” She snapped his backside with the towel and opened the curtains. Sunlight streamed in.

  Trevor rolled to his back and followed her movements when she headed back toward the door. He noticed that her bags were packed.

  “I’ll bite. What time is it?” He sat up a little and rubbed his eyes. He was surprised to note that he was well rested. And far too comfy to get up.

  “Time for you to hit the shower if you don’t want to miss the second flight.”

  “Second flight? What happened to the first one?”

  “We kinda slept through it.” She snapped him again with the towel. “Get moving. I wanna strip the bed.”

  Trevor let her propel him to the bathroom. He grimaced when he noted his wrinkled clothes. He looked at her. “Want any help? I can get my room.”

  “I got those first. But thanks for offering.” He nodded and headed to the bathroom.

  Glad he was gone, Erica sat on the edge of the bed. She was relieved he hadn’t brought up her embarrassing meltdown the night before. Then again, she hadn’t exactly given him time. Erica pushed herself up to get the sheets off the bed and remake it with fresh ones. Since this was a safe house they didn’t have the luxury of maid service.