by N P Hector
She was shocked. Usually that line caused a few laughs and people would move on. She didn’t like talking about her selection because it just felt so personal. She squirmed in her seat.
“I just wanted the ability to change what some people believed to be set in stone. A lot of people think that it’s over when hostages are taken. That there’s nothing they can do to change it. I like the challenge of taking something set in fate and changing it so it goes in the direction I want it to. I take a situation that could mean death and I bring life to it.”
There it was. Out on the table. She hadn’t even told her mom that much. But here she was, spilling her guts to Rom. Frederik must have served them some very strong wine.
He cocked his head and offered her a strawberry from the plate of desserts Frederik had brought in. “Is that why you’re so resistant to the idea that we’re soulmates? Because you like to spurn fate?”
Well, that’s a good way to ruffle my feathers.
She clenched her fork tighter and shot him a stern look. “No, I don’t like the idea because I don’t know you and it’s absolutely insane.”
He shook his head and the flames in the fireplace jumped to life. “We can easily fix that. Have you not enjoyed dinner tonight?”
There he was, putting her on the spot again. And she couldn’t lie. Not to him.
Vomit. Just get it out.
She spoke reluctantly, “I did. I am. But…”
“You don’t have to get to know me. I won’t force you to. But if you are going to shun our connection, it should be out of merit, not stubbornness.”
Her anger flared. “I don’t owe you anything.”
He agreed. “No, you don’t. But I really do believe that we are meant to be. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”
She was. “Well, just so we’re clear, I do not owe you anything. Not my love, not my attention, and not my time.”
She expected him to storm out in response to the acidity of her tone.
But he just smiled “you don’t owe me anything. I hope that you’ll meet me in the library each night for a tour of the library, or a game of chess.” At the mention of chess she lifted her eyebrow. “I ran into Joan after your game with her. I’ve never seen her so flustered at a game of chess.”
“I’ll think about it. But if I come it’s because I want to, not because you asked.”
She expected him to wither under the weight of her glare just like other men did. But instead he let out a booming laugh. “Selene, you are a treasure.” He stopped laughing long enough to gesture between them. “I know that we’re soulmates. But you think we aren’t. Do you know what that sounds like?”
She shook her head. “Lunacy?”
“That, my love, sounds like a negotiation. One I intend to win. And this time, fate has stacked the cards in my favor.”
Chapter Nine
What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined to strengthen each other, to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.
-George Eliot
Selene finished dressing with the clothes retrieved from her apartment. Adjusting her watch, she also grabbed her work bag and cell phone. A call had come in in the West End of the city and she needed to be on site ASAP. It was a bank robbery. Police had managed to secure the area and clear it out, but there were still five hostages left in the building.
A knock sounded at the door. Selene straightened and brushed her hair back out of her face. Grabbing her purse, she strode to open the door “I’m coming, I just--.” She stopped talking when she saw the person in the hall, “oh.”
Romulus stood there, hands in pockets, his large frame taking up the doorway. “Good morning.” His eyes moved from the top of her sleeked bob to her practical but stylish ballet flats. “You look lovely.”
Selene blushed, “oh, thanks. Where’s Joan? I thought she could take me to work?”
Romulus ushered her into the hall before closing the door behind her. “Joan’s still healing, and with Kem getting more daring, I can’t afford to leave you so open and vulnerable.”
Does this guy ever have a bad day? She thought. She could have sworn that she had never seen him ruffled. Today his silver hair was secured in its customary tie at the back of his head, his dark black eyes were even darker against the charcoal of his turtleneck. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows to reveal his forearms. She had never thought that forearms could be so.... delicious looking until she saw the corded muscles of his arms.
He put a hand on her waist and guided her down the corridor, “so I’m taking you to work today.”
She shot him a quick look. “Don’t you have an organization to run?”
He stopped walking and took her chin between his forefinger and thumb. Tilting her head up so he could look into her eyes, he told her very seriously, “there is nothing more important to me than keeping you safe.”
He spoke so sincerely that she felt herself melting into the planes of her chest. “My work is...intense. We might have to be there for quite some time.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and linked them at her back. In this position, they were so close she could feel his heartbeat. He responded, “so the sooner we get there the better. Hold on tight, love” and it was through the waterslide once more.
They materialized in an alley just outside of the police perimeter. Her legs were still shaky, but his firm grip kept her from faceplanting completely. Once she was steady, she pushed away from him and straightened her blouse and hair. Gripping her leather satchel, she peeked around the corner of the alley and turned back to him, “ok, here’s the deal. We’re about to head into a group of police officers who know me very well.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the damp brick alleyway. She continued, “so when they ask who you are, just say you’re my privately hired bodyguard. So just, you know, do that dark brooding thing you like to do.” When he glared at her she smiled, “there! That’s it! Just like that and we’ll be fine. Now, follow me.”
She nudged him with her arm and pulled her ID out of her satchel. He stared disbelieving at the spot where she had nudged him and watched her stride into the sunlight.
What a commander she’s turning out to be. What a pleasant surprise.
He followed at a respectable distance and watched as she approached the human barricade. He assumed that the bright police lights and uniformed officers would frighten the average human. But his Selene marched right up and flashed her ID. In a quick second the two police officers respectfully lifted the tape so she could go through. When he came to the barrier he was met with a stern command to turn back around. He was just about to respond with a harsh command of his own when Selene returned and smiled at one of the officers. “Marty! That’s my new bodyguard. He’s with me.”
The officer she called Marty gave him a once over, “if you say so, Dr. Ashford.”
Romulus was floored. He’d never been denied entry to a restricted area before. Nevertheless one that was contained by a mere plastic rope.
He was accustomed to sentries opening doors so he could enter. But here in this human world his authority meant nothing. Usually he was the one with the entourage. It irked him, but he did his best to contain his frustration. Nodding to the man, “Marty”, he ambled through the plastic barrier and scanned the crowd.
It was a mess. There were multiple police cars blocking the roads and a crowd had gathered around the tape to watch. Officers shooed them away but the onlookers always flocked back. Officers lined the cars with their sidearms drawn and spoke into radios clipped to their shoulder. An erratic man was pulling down the blinds on the bank windows. Before he could pull down the blinds on the remaining two windows Romulus could see five individuals sitting against the window’s glass. Some were in business wear and other wore jeans and casual wear. All were terrified. Even from this distance he could sense their fear.
He could sense anxiety buzzing from the police office
rs around them. Their movements were jerky and they scuttled around like nervous ants.
There didn’t seem to be any logic to how they communicated. One officer would dart nervously to another one, who would then yell at another group before being reminder to use their radio. A young man rushed past him with more police tape. What the hell were they planning on doing with that?
Everyone on the scene buzzed with barely contained nervousness. Everyone except for Selene. When he looked at her he just sensed a patient demeanor. While most of the responding crew hovered at the edge of the police tape, as far away from the bank as possible, Selene practically swaggered into the very thick of it. Calm. Patient. Efficient.
She held an aura of authority as she cut through the crowd of uniforms right to the front of the bank’s facade. She embraced a man carrying a megaphone in one hand and a cell in the other, “Adam, what are we looking at?”
He clenched his fists and thought about ripping this “Adam” away from Selene. The man was entirely too friendly and his hands lingered on her narrowed waist. They chatted that way until she moved away to a table nearby hosting all sorts of response equipment.
Adam followed like a lovesick puppy and Romulus reminded himself that he was here as Selene’s bodyguard, not her fated.
He watched as she tilted her head to put an earpiece in as the rogue danced around her, eager to demonstrate his prowess. “We’ve got one aggressor and five other hostages-- all employees at the bank.” He frowned when Selene discarded one vest in favor of another instead of fawning over his attempt to display his knowledge.
Instead, she nodded thoughtfully and continued to shuffle through the vests. Adam puffed his chest out again and switched to the other side of the table so he could make better eye contact with Selene. “Suspect is armed with one automatic rifle.”
Without hesitating, Selene shrugged her slender shoulders into a bullet proof vest. He stepped forward quickly.
Was she going to put herself into a situation where she’d need a vest?
Selene’s head shot up at his movement. While she had barely acknowledge the police officer buzzing about her, one movement from him and she was alert. At his protective stance she frowned at him and adjusted the vest around her shoulders. She looked up at him with a look that said “go ahead and tell me that I can’t be here. I dare you.” She angled her chin upward as if to dare him to protest. Adam stepped forward to help her with the buckles, and his desire to fell the man grew.
She tossed a bullet proof vest his way. He noticed that the ever helpful Adam made himself busy with the megaphone. Romulus tossed the vest on the table and he smirked and gestured briefly with his hand to remind her of the weapon he yielded.
If bullets came flying he’d shield her. That caught Adam’s attention. He turned sharply and chided Romulus, “brother, you need to wear protective gear if you’re gonna be on the front lines.”
He clenched his jaw and took a step forward. Selene promptly stepped between the two men and assured Adam, “Romulus is from a private company and they provide very lightweight kevlar. He’s wearing some now.”
Adam looked suspiciously at Romulus. Romulus crossed his arms and dared the male to say anything else.
Adam’s eyes flicked over Romulus’s large shoulders and packed abdomen and nodded. Selene thought that this was a great time to move closer towards the bank and to get started, “what are his demands?”
Adam slipped on some glasses and chewed his gum. “He wants a getaway car for all the cash he has in duffels.”
Selene regarded the file containing the perp’s details. No arrest record. Divorced parents. How on earth did a good kid end up taking bank hostages?
There was more to this story than what was shown on the surface. She figured that whatever it was would be the key to safely extracting those hostages. “So what else do we know about this kid? Why this bank?”
It was gutsy for a kid without any hostage taking history to rob a bank first. Usually they started out with petty theft from grocery stores and built their way up to break and enters.
Adam shot her a sympathetic look and rubbed the back of his neck, “Sel, he was fired from the bank three days ago.”
Romulus followed this interaction closely, wondering why Selene seemed so alarmed at that admission. She groaned and pulled on some sunglasses and tested her earpiece. “Dammit, it’s going to be a rough one.”
Releasing a deep breath, she addressed Adam and his team “alright people, this is going to be a long one. Now, I know that it’s usual protocol to turn off the sirens and lights, but we want to keep this as surreal looking as possible in order to ground him in his ordinary life and make him realize how this is so different from who he normally is. It’s going to be a long day, but before we add any more units on this scene, or before we bring in a helo or a car it needs to go through me first. Okay?”
Romulus was impressed as several of the men and women in uniform nodded along. His Selene was a tiny little thing, but her command presence was… unparalleled.
Selene looked over the files before her, “so this is going to be a long day, and here’s what everyone needs to do….”
Six hours later he watched as Selene hung up the phone. It had taken time, but she had been able to establish contact.
One hostage had already been released. Selene addressed Adam and informed him that one more hostage would be coming out.
She shuffled through a few more documents about the assailant and paused. Stretching her hands over her head, she leaned slightly to one side and then the next. She had been on her own feet for six hours straight without complaint. Although the police officers came and went in shifts, Selene remained.
He scooped up a water bottle and pulled over a chair. “Selene, you need to drink and rest for a moment.”
She mumbled her thanks and sat down in the chair. She sat staring at the bank. He moved behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. Kneading softly, he whispered “say the word, and I’ll orchestrate a convenient collapse of the wall the hostage taker’s standing beside.”
Selene groaned, “if only it was that easy. But there’s going to be a lot of eyes on this, a big investigation, so we do things the good old-fashioned way.”
She rubbed her eyes and took a swig from the water bottle. He crouched down beside her, this giant of a man, and took her chin gently and turned her so she looked at him, “Selene, you seem uneasy.” He encouraged her gently “what’s wrong?”
Her face was stony and her eyes seemed haunted, “I have a bad feeling about this, Rom.” She looked over his shoulder and noticed that Adam was watching them with keen interest.
Realizing that Rom looked more like a lover than a bodyguard, she turned her face away from him. His hand dropped from her face and he stood, a formidable statue of muscle and steel.
She finished the water bottle and then pushed up from the chair and re-inserted the earpiece. He watched as she raised her hand and circled it in the air to signify a round up. It had been a long day and he could tell that the group’s energy was flagging. Despite this, moments after giving the hand signal Selene was immediately surrounded by blue uniforms.
“Ok guys, she should be coming out any second now. No one yells, no one shouts a command, and most importantly, no one draws their weapon.”
Sure enough, a scared young blonde woman emerged from the bank doors. She was sobbing relentlessly. Selene started to walk forward to meet the woman. He didn’t want to interfere with her work, but there was no way in hell she’d be rushing towards a madman. Luckily, Adam had the same thought and put a hand on Selene’s shoulder. Adam glanced up and met Romulus’s eyes. Romulus lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Maybe the guy wasn’t so useless, after all.
He had to admit that he was in awe of this beautiful, smart woman. She was calm in a crisis and the police officers all deferred to her. She wasn’t in uniform, but they rallied around her. They circled her protectively and always made sure that she ha
d something to nibble on, that she was comfortable, that the vest wasn’t biting into her shoulders. Although the mood was somber, she still asked about their children, their husbands, their new assignments.
But the calm presence she had so carefully crafted was shattered abruptly when a balding, portly man broke through the line of police officers.
He was wearing a camel colored suit that was too long in the legs and too tight around the shoulders. He was sweating profusely after his run and ducked under the police tape and ran right to the bank. Selene immediately dropped what she was doing and ran to intercept the man. “Sir! Sir! You cannot be here right now.”
Selene had stood in front and blocked him with her arms. A few seconds later Adam arrived to stand beside Selene. Sweat was dribbling down his forehead as he huffed to catch his breath. He leaned forward on his knees and spoke between gasps, “the hell I can’t! That’s my bank! I just got back from vacation and rushed right from the airport when I got the calls from my lawyer.” He tried to duck around Selene but she shuffled deftly to block him. Romulus watched the man’s movements closely. If he so much as disturbed a hair on her dark head he’d take care of it.
She signaled a few other officers over and gave Romulus a warning glance. She could yell at him with her eyes all she wanted, but if she got hurt he’d be pulling her out of there. “Look, I know that this is your bank. But we still have hostages in there, and you’re jeopardizing the entire situation by being here so visibly.”
The man had caught his breath and was preoccupied with straightening his suit. He noticed the tv crew on the other side of the tape and then swiped what was left of his hair back. He preened like a peacock. “Nonsense, let me sort this out. I was head of the regional banking committee for five years straight, and I’ve led this institution since my father gave it to me. I know how to handle idiots like this.”
The man’s attitude made Romulus seriously doubt how well this man could handle the situation. It seemed like Selene agreed, because she went nose to nose with the man. “That may be so, but this is my operation right now, and you can watch from a place where you’re not visible to the subject.”
