Zero fox given, p.6
Zero Fox Given, page 6
There was no way he was bad at watching people. It was literally his job. Zelda did feel hyper aware of him, however. She wanted to be as close to him as possible. She wanted to know what it felt like to have him sitting next to her like this often.
Zelda swished her drink around a little before swallowing, desperately demanding her brain think up something to say.
“It’s kind of nice having you actually sit next to me.”
Victor smirked. “Sometimes I sit with clients.”
He did? “Oh yeah?”
The idea that this wasn’t something unusual or special got her in a way she didn’t think was possible.
“On occasion. It works well to make the client feel comfortable, after all.”
“Right.” Zelda took another drink from her glass. “Any luck on finding a replacement for yourself? Seeing as how it’s unprofessional to want to touch me while you’re watching over me?”
Victor got the cap twisted off his water bottle, but Zelda’s words seemed to catch him off guard.
“Look, this isn’t to hurt you. It’s not to punish you either.”
“Is it because you don’t like what you see?”
He grinned at her. Not one of his little held back smiles either. He looked at her as though he could eat her right up.
“Trust me, there’s nothing wrong with how you look.”
A little shiver passed through her tail and ears.
“Really?”
“Of course. Haven’t you taken a look at yourself lately?”
He sounded so sincere. As if the idea that she could ever not realize how she looked had never occurred to her.
“You really don’t know how beautiful you are, do you?”
Zelda’s heart flipped. Her breath stuck in her throat for a long second before she let it out. Then she couldn’t stop smiling.
“That wasn’t very professional, was it?”
Victor brought his water to his lips. “Nope.”
Zelda grinned.
“I think I can forget about everything else just for that.”
Victor nodded. “Still not entirely sure why you were mad at me, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.”
Zelda wet her lips. She tried to hide the heat in her face behind her Sangria glass, but she wasn’t sure it was working.
“So, when you’re not my bodyguard anymore—”
“Even if it’s Steve who takes over, you’re still a client.”
“Well, either way, when your agency isn’t in charge of my safety anymore, are you free?”
He looked at her. Zelda was such a coward that she couldn’t look back at him.
“I am.”
This was good. This was going well.
“I’m not so used to doing this, but do you think that, since Harry was picked up, when your services aren’t needed anymore, you might want to give me a call?”
That smile continued to melt everything in her gut. Zelda had never seen a smile so perfect.
Victor rubbed the scruff on his jaw. “I guess you’re more accustomed to the guys pursuing you, aren’t you?”
Zelda opened her mouth to deny that. To tell him that she wasn’t used to either. To men asking for her number, or for her to do the asking.
She said nothing instead.
“Sorry,” Victor said, apparently taking her silence to mean something else. “Didn’t mean to get too personal.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
Zelda was smiling again. He hadn’t said no, but she reminded herself that, since he was on the job, he couldn’t come out and say yes either.
So, not saying no was sort of like a yes, wasn’t it?
“Wanna dance?”
Zelda was suddenly overcome with energy and the drive to move her body. There still weren’t a whole lot of people on the dance floor, but she wanted to be there. She wanted Victor to be there with her more than anything.
But since he wasn’t going to join her for a dance, maybe she could show him what she could do instead.
That seemed like the better idea.
“No,” he said predictably. “Sorry, I can’t.”
“Yeah, I figured, but if you want, you can stay here and watch my drink.”
“I have to watch you, too.”
She got up from her stool. “That’s something of the point.”
Chapter 9
Even though there weren’t as many bodies on the dance floor as she was used to, and even though she couldn’t lose herself in the crowd, Zelda realized that was exactly what she liked about this.
Victor was up by the bar, looking down on her as the music thumped and the lights flashed.
Zelda felt only a brief moment of self-consciousness about being there, knowing Victor was watching her.
Then she started to move her hips, and it didn’t matter. All her fears and doubts melted away from her as she lost herself in the swing of the pulsing music.
Even when she wasn’t watching him, dipping down low before twisting back up again, she could feel his eyes on her as her fingers threaded through her dark curls.
Up high and then down low, bouncing around her shoulders.
She glanced his way, then smiled at the sight of his dark gaze.
Never had anyone’s eyes smoldered as they looked at her before.
Well, that wasn’t true; she’d experienced a few looks like that from the men she’d danced with ever since freeing herself from her marriage, her own constraints, and her limits, but this was different.
The way Victor looked at her was nothing at all like the way those other men had looked at her.
For one thing, Victor wasn’t some random stranger she needed to kill some time with. He was important.
So she danced. She danced and lost herself in it as though there was the usual sea of people surrounding her.
Someone came to dance with her. Zelda felt the heat of his body. A man’s body. She pretended it was Victor and let him. His hands came to rest on her hips.
They were strong hands, not entirely like Victor’s. She felt some rings there. Victor wore no rings. Let alone on every finger.
Still, it worked out well.
She glanced Victor’s way. That smoldering gaze was hard on her, but not angry.
No, it was more of a burning kind of hard.
Zelda smiled.
He wanted to be down here with here. She could tell that much as she danced with her mystery partner.
Part of her felt a little bad for teasing Victor like this, but she couldn’t help herself. This was too much fun.
The music, the dancing, seeing a man’s eyes while she was the only one he focused on.
Victor frowned, yanking Zelda out of the hazy dream she’d fallen into.
Frowning usually wasn’t good.
Victor reached into his pocket and stood. He put his phone to his ear.
“Hey, what’s the matter, baby?”
She’d stopped dancing and had barely noticed.
“Sorry. I think I need to go and see—”
The man grabbed her wrist. “Come on, that was fun.”
Zelda’s heart flew into her throat. She yanked her wrist away, but the man she’d been dancing with hadn’t been holding on so tight.
He backed away, grinning with his hands raised. “Okay, okay.”
His eyes wandered over to someone else. Zelda didn’t care if he let her go because he really did just want a dance partner, or because he didn’t want trouble from the bouncers if he got a little too handsy.
She cared about that look on Victor’s face, and what he was saying on the phone.
Zelda left the dance floor. Her heart still jumped.
Apparently, she was affected a little more by the possibility of someone being after her than she’d thought. All that guy did was grab her and she’d almost felt herself jolted back into that dark alley. That wet cloth soaked with chloroform pressing hard against her mouth.
Zelda ducked and weaved around the patrons in the bar, the waitresses, and people who weren’t paying attention. It was a little busier now. She hadn’t noticed when all these people had come into the club, but she still had Victor in her sights at all times, and that meant he had her in sight as well. He waved for her to come on over.
Harry. This was something to do with Harry. She felt it.
Zelda made it to Victor’s side, much more out of breath than she should have felt considering she hadn’t been on the dance floor all that long.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?”
Victor glanced at her, though he kept his free hand to his ear to block out the music while his other hand held the phone tightly to his other ear.
He jerked his head to the door. Zelda followed him when he moved outside.
The shadows were long as the orange light of the sun sank deeper into the distance. It could barely be seen with all the buildings around, and there weren’t even that many tall buildings on this side of town.
It was probably so much easier to hear what was being said to him now that he was outside.
“I hear you. She’s with me now.” Victor hesitated. Zelda put her hand to his arm.
“What is it? What’s happening?”
Victor pressed his lips together.
“Right. I’ll tell her. Do you want her to come over? Answer some questions?”
Zelda’s stomach twisted and the fox ears on top of her head straightened right out.
She’d known this was going to happen. Zelda had already answered some questions by the police, and it had been too much. She didn’t want to answer anymore, but she knew better than to think this wasn’t going to happen. If they wanted more details, and if she wanted to help keep Harry away from her, then she was going to have to come in.
Victor hung up the phone, pocketing it.
“Harry’s talking.”
“Small relief that is,” Zelda said, crossing her arms, though it was still true. “What’s he saying? He’s denying it, isn’t he? Asshole.”
“Actually, he confessed to everything.”
Zelda blinked. “He what?”
“Yeah.”
Her brain still wasn’t processing that. “You could have punched me in the gut and it wouldn’t have shocked me as much. Are you sure?”
“It’s what the detective in charge of the case said.” Victor didn’t look like he was joking. Zelda hadn’t known Victor long enough to be sure what his joking face was, but she was pretty sure this wasn’t it.
“So, he confessed to killing Maxwell? That’s great. This means you’re not my bodyguard anymore.”
Victor’s smile was apologetic. “Maybe not. Harry’s admitting to poisoning your alpha so he could take his place, but he’s denying having anything to do with sending people after you.”
“What?” A chill suddenly hit. Zelda rubbed her arms. “That can’t be right. It’s him. I know it is.”
“Well, he’s saying it’s not. Gerard and Ben are still out there. Ben was the one who called in the tip to the police, but he hasn’t turned himself in either.”
“Why would he call the police just to send someone after me?”
Victor pushed back his suit jacket and planted his hands on his hips. A few people gave him an odd stare when his holster was exposed, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Could be a number of reasons. Could be to throw suspicion off his trail. Or it could be nothing and he might not have anything to do with it. We don’t know because he hasn’t turned himself in.”
“Okay, but Ben was always nice. I don’t think it’s him.”
“Right. Well, the detective heading the case will be going back out to question some more people at your pack.”
“Which one?”
“Both. The wolf and the fox pack. These guys are thorough.”
“Like on TV?”
“Like better than TV,” Victor said. He lifted his hand and reached out, as though to touch her shoulder.
He pulled back at the last second.
The disappointment building inside her didn’t get the chance to spring before Victor took her by the hand. “You’ll be okay. I won’t let anyone come near you.”
Victor’s thumb stroked once across her hand before he let go. The touch was so brief that to have it and then lose it so suddenly brought a beautiful ache in her chest.
She wasn’t going to be ungrateful for that touch, however. It was by and large the greatest feeling she’d ever had, to feel him touch her like that, no matter how fleeting.
“So, should I go into the station? Do they want to talk to me? Or do they want me to talk to him?”
“They might want to talk to you a little. It’s a good idea if we go to them. The sooner we get this done, the better. Honestly, I know you’re enjoying the single life and everything, being free from pack and responsibilities, but with your brother and uncle really is the safest place for you to be right now.”
Zelda sucked back a heavy breath, letting it out slowly.
“I know you don’t want to see your family hurt, but they can handle themselves.”
“I doubt they can pay for your services forever.”
Victor smiled. “Well, to be honest, they’re not paying for my services.”
Zelda frowned. “What?”
Victor crossed his arms. “I can’t exactly ask Steve to work for free, he’s got his own bills to pay, but whenever I’m on the clock, you don’t have to worry about the cost. I already called Link and let him know.”
Zelda blinked. She shook her head. “No, I mean, you can’t do that.”
“I already did.”
She laughed, stunned to hear such a thing. “You can’t just work for free!”
“I can and I am.”
Zelda pressed her lips together. “If this is because of me, you don’t have to do it.”
“It’s not because of you. It’s for you.” Victor wet his lips. He took one step closer, getting into her personal space. She felt the heat of his body. “I know you already know the reason why, but when it’s not so unprofessional to talk about it, I can go into the details why I’m doing this when we get this resolved.”
The fire in his dark blue eyes told her everything she needed to know. It made her stomach swirl with monster butterflies and her heart pound uncomfortably against her ribs. As though it was trying to break free from a prison.
“I think…I like the idea of that. Of talking.”
Victor nodded. His face was such a mask, but she detected the signs of relief in those eyes. “Good. Would you mind if we took my car to the station?”
Zelda grinned. Her heart wouldn’t stop beating and the adrenaline was getting to her. “You want me to steal your car again?”
“Actually, no. I want to drive you.”
Zelda laughed. Victor grinned and shook his head.
“Sure. I wouldn’t mind being in the passenger seat of your car this time around.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
It wasn’t exactly a date, and Victor was still keeping his distance from her, but at the same time, walking next to him to the parking lot, Zelda felt so much lighter on her feet. She would have reached out to hold his hand if she’d thought he would let her.
No. Just having her bodyguard walking beside her was enough.
Their cars were parked next to each other not too far from the sidewalk. Not quite halfway in. Victor had grumbled a little about wanting to park closer to the doors when they pulled up, but they were the closest spots that were together and nearest to the door.
“Hey!”
Victor’s angry shout, then when he started running, startled Zelda at first.
Until she spotted the man running away from her car. Running as though his life depended on it.
Victor gave chase, not wasting one minute as he went after the guy.
Zelda tried to run with him, unsure if she should even bother, or stay right where she was.
She didn’t have the choice. Her shoes made the decision for her.
It was impossible to run in heels. She didn’t care what the movies said. There was no way in hell she was doing any running with the high heels she wore.
Zelda watched Victor vanish from sight as he chased that kid down. He had to be a kid. There had been a hood pulled up, but the shape of his body and height couldn’t have made him much older than a teenager.
Zelda waited for Victor to turn around and come back, to reappear around the corner so she wouldn’t be alone anymore, but he didn’t.
He was gone. He’d gone after that kid who was…what? What was he doing?
She glanced towards her car. The heavy smell of oil suddenly caught her right in her nose. She went to have a look.
Victor had taken a look beneath her car before they’d left for the club. He’d put himself right down onto the floor and said something about her brake fluids. Zelda did that same thing, already with an idea in mind of what she was going to see before she saw it.
Dark dripping. With the shade of her car, it could have been black blood.
That guy, whoever he was, had just cut the wire for her breaks.
He’d tried to kill her.
Chapter 10
That had been two days ago. Two days, and nothing had happened since.
Not that it mattered. Zelda had been strung higher than a Goddamned kite after finding out someone tried to cut her brakes.
Someone Victor hadn’t been able to catch when he’d returned to her.
He’d been gone for no more than three minutes. Four at the absolute most. Yet, it felt as though he’d been gone for ten thousand years as Zelda stayed there, by her car that was tampered with because someone wanted her to drive into a building, or another car, or a person.
And get killed.
She’d been so cold, and frozen. Zelda could hardly move. She’d thought about going back into the club, but her feet had been frozen. She wanted to run for someplace safe, but she couldn’t.
So she waited with bated breath for Victor to come back to her.
When he did come back, his eyes wide and his face flushed, he ran to her, grabbed her shoulders and looked at her as though she was on the verge of vanishing right before his eyes.
