“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to meet with him.”
“Excellent. I’m texting you the address. Do you have a dress?”
I’d been about to hang up and almost stuttered at the last question. “A dress?”
Amber had flopped down dramatically on the pickleball court, but she lifted her head at this mention of her favorite article of clothing.
“What would I need a dress for?” I asked.
Amber rolled her eyes and shook her head. I was questioning needing a dress for a mission, not specifically owning one, though as it happened, I didn’t own one either.
“Mr. Weber doesn’t want people to know he’s hiring a bodyguard. You’ll act as his date at events and in public venues.”
Ugh, Zav wasn’t going to like this. Well, he could get over it. I needed him to figure out that I didn’t want a jealous boyfriend looming at my side whenever I spoke to a man. Maybe this would give me an opportunity to work on that with him. Or maybe I’d tell him I’d heard some of his criminals were in China and that he should clear out of the state for two weeks. That seemed simpler.
“As long as I can pack my gun,” I said.
That earned another eye roll from Amber.
“So long as it’s hidden,” was all Tanya said.
She hung up and sent the address.
“Laurelhurst. Right on the water. That’s about what I figured.”
At least it wasn’t that far from where I lived. Just separated by a few socioeconomic strata.
Amber sat up, her brows perking. “So, you’re going dress shopping?”
“I’ll see how the meeting goes first.” I wasn’t buying anything unless I was positive I would take the job and had money in my hand. Mr. Weber had better be prepared to give me a retainer.
“Do you even know where to go?”
“To buy a dress?” I shrugged and thought of the closest shopping center. “Alderwood Mall?”
“Oh, Val.” She said it like I was the kid in math class who couldn’t figure out how to carry the one. “To go work for some guy in Laurelhurst? You’ve got to go to The Shops at the Bravern.” At my blank look, she added, “In Bellevue.”
“Great. I not only need a dress, but I have to fight traffic to get one.” And why did I have visions of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman waltzing through my mind? There was another classic that Amber probably hadn’t seen.
“If the job is ongoing for a rich client, you’ll need a few. Black tie, cocktail, business casual, country club casual… Do you have a simple skater dress?”
I envisioned kids at a skate park rolling down the ramps and doing jumps in dresses.
I was positive Amber didn’t have enough magical blood to read minds, but my facial expression prompted another eye roll.
“You need help, Val.”
“I have an appointment with my therapist later this week.”
“With your wardrobe.”
“Are you offering?” I tried not to make my smile too hopeful so she wouldn’t read it as desperate. Even if the idea of dress-shopping horrified me, I wouldn’t mind spending time with Amber. Maybe she would be less lippy if sweat weren’t streaming down her face.
“Uh, will you buy me something?”
This seemed a tad manipulative, but one couldn’t expect altruism from a teenager, right? Besides, taking me dress-shopping would probably be a lot of work. People deserved to be paid for work.
“A skater dress?” I offered.
“You don’t know what that is, do you?”
“I’m hoping it’s an item of clothing that doesn’t cost more than fifty dollars.”
“At Goodwill, maybe.”
“Is Goodwill an option?”
“No.”
As I headed back to the Jeep, I decided to ask this guy for three thousand a day. Only an amateur didn’t negotiate on salary. An amateur who didn’t have a teenage daughter with expensive tastes.
6
I hope you have called me forth to do battle, not simply to ride around in your cramped conveyance, Sindari said from the back of the Jeep.
“I thought you could fit back there okay with the seats down.” I glanced over my shoulder. “I even rolled down the windows. It’s August. There are laws about making sure your pets don’t overheat in the car.”
His big silver head had been pressed up against the ceiling, but he lowered it to more effectively glare at me with his green eyes. We have discussed the danger of having your limbs gnawed off if you refer to me as a pet.
“I thought it was only my feet that were in danger from that. I was only letting you know about our laws referring to dogs and such, not Del’nothian tiger ambassadors.”
I care little about Earth pets.
“But I bet you’re appreciating the air flow back there.” The sun was low over the Olympics now, so it wasn’t that warm, but I assumed someone covered in fur would prefer it be as cool as possible.
I am sitting on lumpy metal and canvas.
“Sorry.” I turned off Sand Point Way and into Weber’s neighborhood. “I forgot to take my camping gear out. Dimitri’s psychic neighbor decided to break in this morning and rummage through everything.”
Perhaps you could have returned the items to their containers to ensure the relative comfort of your passengers.
“You’re in a grouchy mood this evening. Did I interrupt a hunt?”
No, but there is a stick trying to insert itself in a tender area.
“I think that’s one of my ice axes.”
Is its proper place not in a glacier?
“Hanging in my closet next to the vacuum cleaner, actually.”
Your vehicle smells more offensive than usual, even with the windows down.
“That’s because I took it through the car wash, and they gave me an air freshener.” I waved at the cardboard pine tree hanging from the rear-view mirror. It was strong, but maybe the scent would keep strangers from snooping in my Jeep.
It’s loathsome. It’s wilting my whiskers and searing my nostril hair.
“We’re almost there. I may have a new gig as a bodyguard for the next couple of weeks.”
What will my gig be?
“Helping me if bad guys try to assassinate my charge—some guy who’s apparently having problems with magical beings.”
Apparently? You did not research him?
“I did, but there wasn’t anything about him having ties to the magical community one way or another. He’s a tech guy. He sold a cybernetics company a few years ago for a hundred million dollars. Since then, he’s dabbled in a couple of start-ups, and he just invested in an online dating platform, but that may be due to personal rather than business interests. He’s single and looking, according to his recent appearance on Seattle’s Most Eligible Bachelors list.”
I made another turn. The houses were getting progressively larger and nicer, so I knew I was heading in the right direction.
Why does he need a bodyguard?
“We’re about to find out. I thought you’d like to come to the meeting. Tigers are classy, and you can help me look like an exotic professional instead of a schlub with a gun.”
Sindari lowered his head to gaze at me again, and I expected an indignant comment about him being rolled out as my arm candy. Or would it be hip candy for a tiger?
I am classy, he said.
I snorted. “Yes, you are. I also would like your senses when we meet him. Let me know if there’s anything magical or strange about his house or the grounds. I’m not sure how this guy got my number or why he’s being targeted by someone from the community. His assistant spoke of magical corporate espionage.”
As the street curved and dipped down a hill, Lake Washington came into view, sailboats and kayaks dotting the water on the lazy summer evening. There was something odd about my life that my day off involved an interview for a bodyguard assignment rather than hanging out at the lake. My therapist, I was sure, would agree.
I turned onto the final street, a dead end paralleling the shoreline, with houses along the water and trees and a slope full of ivy above it, the foliage barely restrained by a retaining wall. Several signs informed me that parking was for specific addresses only, and I spotted more than one security camera mounted on brick walls separating houses from the street. Weber’s place was the last one at the end, blocked off by a closed gate with a speaker mounted next to it.
Will you seek to court this new client? Sindari asked.
“What?”
You pointed out that he is an eligible bachelor.
No. I saw his picture, and he’s not my type. I switched to telepathic communication, since I was pulling up to the speaker, and I didn’t want anyone to hear me explain why I wasn’t interested in their boss. Besides, it’s never a good idea to get involved with your boss.
It is also not a good idea to get involved with dragons.
I’m not going to argue against that.
And yet, you are spending a great deal of time with Lord Zavryd.
We’re just working together to catch criminals. That reminds me, have you sniffed out any vampires in the neighborhood where Dimitri’s thus-far-unnamed coffee shop is?
I have not, but you have not had me out there often.
We may change that later tonight. If this meeting didn’t take too long, I could head back to the shop and stake it out for a few hours after dark.
The woman in the shop next to Dimitri’s does have some magical artifacts that I have sensed.
The psychic? I think she’s half gnome. I didn’t see a button to press, so I waved at the speaker. “Hello? Val Thorvald here. Assassin and, for the right pay, potentially a bodyguard.”
I concur.
If she has something valuable, that might explain an attack that otherwise seems random. Maybe we’ll pay her a visit. Too bad she won’t want to see me.
Why is that? Sindari asked.
I chased her onto a rooftop. It was her fault. She was the one rooting around in my car.
Perhaps she will allow you in if you have me with you. As you observed, I am classy.