Chapter 101

One of the two young men, an individual with light brown curls and brown eyes, held his hand out for me to shake.

“You must be Ms. Laurentia,” he said. “I’m Theo. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve been assigned to be your bodyguard.”

The other young man, who was about two inches taller than Theo and looked slightly older, with a hint of an evening shadow on his face thanks to his dark, nearly black hair, met Charles’s eyes. He also held out a hand in greeting.

“Mr. Rafe, it’s nice to meet you. I’m David. I’ve been assigned to be your new bodyguard.”

Charles looked suspiciously at David and then at Theo. “What?” he snapped. “No title of Agent or whatever not?”

The two guards looked at each other.

“I’m not entirely sure what you mean,” said Theo. “Neither one of us or agents or officers of any sort. We’re simply hired muscle.”

I looked them over. They certainly didn’t look much like hired muscle. Although, they looked lean, trim, and fit for sure. But they hardly had that bulky movie persona bodyguard vibe about them.

Charles made a displeased noise noise through his nose. “I suppose we have to go straight to see the governor?”

Theo and David both shook their heads.

“Not a chance,” David said. “The governor’s definitely home for the night, even though he tends to work long hours. We’ll take you to your new apartment. Along the way, if you want, we can stop and get something to eat. Did you get a meal on the plane?”

I nodded. “Yes, but it wasn’t very good.”

Charles chuckled and said, “Actually, for plane food, that was excellent. You’ve just been spoiled by me taking you out to eat at all those fancy restaurants.”

Charles again gave our bodyguards a narrow-eyed look. “I suppose there are restrictions and whatnot on where we stop?”

Theo shrugged. “I don’t think David or myself would appreciate it if you insisted on stopping in the red-light district at a strip club on the way to the apartment. Otherwise, I can’t think of anywhere that you’re not allowed to go.”

“Huh.” Charles crossed his arms and cocked his head. The stern expression left his face and was replaced by a look of confusion.

“Is there a problem?” David asked.

I looked between David and Charles and answered for him. “It’s just that the air marshals and our last guards didn’t treat us very kindly. And we had a lot of restrictions on what we were and were not allowed to do. Governor Kruck was actually quite rude to us on multiple occasions.”

Theo and David shared a glance.

“Well, I don’t think you’re gonna find that’s the case here,” Theo said. “David and I have worked together for a couple of years now, and the only time I think I’ve ever seen him be rude was to a man who tried to scam a lady.

“He threw his bike in front of her car and then pretended that she hit him. We happen to be on the sidewalk and see the whole thing. I’ve never seen David that upset. I can tell you he did not treat that man kindly. But our orders are to treat you like guests. And we’ve been assigned to be your bodyguards for the long term. So I assume it will be much more pleasant for all of us if we’re friends.”

Charles narrowed his eyes again. “Will you two be switching out?”

This time, Theo had the good graces to bite his lip, looking hesitant. “Not exactly,” he admitted. “The apartment that they’ve gotten you is kind of specialized.”m

“What do you mean kind of specialized?” Charles demanded.

“I mean, it has what would normally be an in-law suit, a kind of a second apartment attached to the main apartment. There’s a small kitchenette, one bedroom, and a pull-out couch. David and I have spent the day getting the place ready for you and for ourselves. He and I will be living in the smaller suite attached.”

“Then I suppose we have to check in with you every time we wanna go to the bathroom,” Charles snarked.

David put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, I don’t know what went down in Lupinton, but things are pretty straightforward here. We have a monitor on the front door and the windows. They’re there as much for letting us know when you leave as they are for letting us know if somebody tries to get in.

“If you try leaving the apartment without taking your bodyguard, I’ll be alerted, and we’re going to catch up with you. But aside from that, what you do in your apartment is your own business. Where you go is up to you. We’re just along for the ride.”

Theo smiled at them both and added, “But we’re right there in case anybody tries anything like breaking in and getting to you.”

I frowned. “That reminds me. We took the weekend off for a vacation, kind of. We took a trip to Charles’ parents’ house.”

“I know. We heard,” said Theo.

“I didn’t look at all this weekend,” I continued, “but how are things going with the Culpepper trial? He’s not out on bail or something horrible like that, is he?”

Theo shook his head. “The moment I got assigned to assign to you, I did my research to find out about your history. Keeping track of the Culpepper trial will be very important to me as we move forward. So naturally, you would want to know what’s going on with it. But you can rest easy with me looking out for you Ms. Laurentia.”

He gave me a reassuring smile. “As of Friday night, he is not out on bail. The judge set no bail in his case since he escaped from prison the last time. Culpepper is appealing this verdict. But for now, not only am I watching out for you, but he’s not coming for you. He’s locked away.”

“Yeah, but he got out once already,” Charles said.

“We looked into that,” David replied. “It definitely looks like he had help from the inside. Now that Ms. Laurentia has aired some of the corruption in Lustrum, it’s highly unlikely that such a break could happen again. All of the public officials are being watched very closely.”

Now Theo gave me a bright-eyed look. “I hear that’s what you’re planning to do in Parkhaven, as well. But I need to tell you. I think you’re going to find your job boring.”

By this time, we had gotten our baggage from the baggage claim, and our bodyguards were leading us out to a parking lot.

“Why do you think my job will be boring?” I asked.“Because I’ve never caught wind of anything like that going down in Parkhaven. Parkhaven might just be the best city in all of Orlune.”

“Yeah, that’s what they said when we were in Lupinton,” Charles added, still obviously skeptical. “So forgive me if I don’t believe the propaganda right away.”

“Oh, it’s not propaganda,” David added. “Since this is where the king’s year-round residence is, it stands to reason that this city would need to be kept as crime-free as possible, simply to preserve the stability of the king and his family.”

“I didn’t think he had a family,” I said.

“He doesn’t have any children. That’s not the same thing,” David pointed out.

He loaded our bags into the trunk of a gray sedan and then opened the backseat door for me.

“I’d let you sit up front while I drive,” David said. “To be chivalrous. But I think that might be a little weird, especially for your significant other. You guys can sit in the back together.”

Charles and I climbed in the backseat beside one another, a little taken aback by the kind treatment. It was so unlike what we had dealt with up to this point; it was hard to tell whether or not we should trust it. But it was certainly refreshing to be allowed to be together without question or strings attached.

I couldn’t help but wonder when we’d have to pay for our good fortune. And judging by the look on Charles’ face, he was waiting to get the bill, as well.