“Enough,” snapped Vector. “Collect Signorina Toure’s luggage and bring the car to the back. We’ll meet you there once she is processed through customs.”
Fury nodded stiffly, turned, and stalked away, followed by a silent Frost.
“Signorina, we are running short on time. Please follow me.” Vector didn’t wait for her response, simply turned on his heel and began walking toward a set of doors she hadn’t even noticed before.
Katy had no choice but to follow. Whatever was going on, she had a role to play. Emily wanted her to sign papers, so that’s what she was going to do.
Her heels tapped on the tile floor as she made an effort to keep up with Vector’s much longer legs and purposeful strides.
Mist easily kept pace on her left, while Blade took up a position on her right. The other female of the group, Ash, followed silently behind. Katy was surrounded on all four sides. She would bet even the queen of England had never felt so well protected.
The VIP treatment didn’t stop with bodyguards and luggage retrieval. Whisked through the door on the side, they walked a short distance to an elevator, down to a private suite complete with a very comfortable looking couch and refreshments.
“Signorina Toure,” Vector said with a satisfied grin, “a customs agent will arrive shortly to stamp your passport. In the meantime, please make yourself comfortable. This is a private suite. No one will disturb you here.”
“Terrific. Thank you.” Katy helped herself to a chilled bottle of water, then sat and pulled out her phone. She quickly switched off the airplane mode to send Emily a message. Her fingers flew across the keys as she typed:
Katy: Just landed. What’s with bodyguards? Sure about this deal? Not mafia, right? Did you pack my one-piece?
Katy sipped at her water as she waited for a reply. She longed to take off her stiletto heels and rub her aching feet before curling up on the overstuffed couch but resisted the temptation. She was hoping she wouldn’t be here that long. A quick buzz in her hand drew her eyes to the phone.
Emily: Hey. Lots of guards at the estate, too. Don’t worry. Pretty sure not mafia. Real estate $$$. No one piece. Sorry. Bikinis all the way. Also did a little shopping.
Katy frowned in confusion as a winky face emoji popped up on her screen. Before she could text a reply, a uniformed customs agent rushed through the door, his face tense. He stamped her passport without more than a glance her way, then left again.
From the suite they sped through the airport on an electric cart, Katy again in the center. Her four ‘Guardians’ surrounded her, facing outward with Vector driving at a determined, almost dangerous pace.
She was more than a little surprised when he drove the cart out of the terminal. He stopped alongside a super stretch Mercedes limousine; half of her sister’s luggage stacked on the luggage cart as Fury loaded the second bag. Wrapped haphazardly around each large bag was black and yellow security tape. If it weren’t for the luggage tags, it would be nearly impossible to identify the bags at all. They’d been nearly destroyed. She could see slash marks all up and down the bags exposing clothes, toiletries, and one of her favorite heels.
Damn it, she knew her sister was still ‘borrowing' all her best shoes.
“What the hell happened to my bags?” Shocked and horrified, she turned and looked to the right, then left. No one seemed fazed by the dilapidated condition of her bags, least of all Vector.
“Do not worry, Signorina Toure. We will protect you,” Vector said offhandedly as he stepped out of the cart to address Fury. “Any other problems? I expected you to be here long before us.”
Fury scowled. “They inspected every bag by hand. Twice. Slashed through the top rather than break the locks. They all passed inspection, though, so whatever they were looking for wasn’t in there. He will need to hear about this.”
“Agreed.” Vector scanned the area, well aware the ‘he’ Fury referenced was none other than their king. “Anything else I need to know about?”
“The usual.” Fury’s lips tightened. “Frost is handling it.”
Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, Katy held her breath and listened with growing concern. Vector had said they would protect her. Protect her from whom? Was she actually in danger? Who were they talking about? An icy finger of fear crept up from her stomach to wrap around her chest. Was Emily in trouble? Was she in danger here? What the hell was she, no, what were THEY, now involved in?
Vector nodded grimly. “Very well. Finish loading the bags and let’s get out of here.”
Katy stepped from the electric cart and walked toward the limousine door Vector opened for her. About to step into the cooling comfort of the air-conditioned vehicle, a loud scraping noise made her pause with one foot inside, her hand balanced on the door.
There on the ground lay her sister’s torn up bag, the tape holding the fabric together broken clean through. A dozen or so bra and panty sets lay strewn haphazardly on the ground. Some lacy, some thong, all matching along with a few satin baby-doll nighties and silk camisoles. Katy groaned, her face flaming with embarrassment. She squeezed her eyes shut as she removed her foot from the car, practically running toward the spilled items as her guards bent to help her retrieve them.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ve got it,” Katy mumbled as she stuffed items back into the bag as quickly as possible. She grabbed the red baby-doll nightie from the ground, realizing too late her sister had used the soft material to wrap something else. A long slender box rolled out, landing atop Vector’s foot. There, in big bold letters, were the words “Extreme Turbo Power Bullet with Remote Control.”
Katy gasped, frozen in place as one by one their gazes trailed from the bullet back to her. Mortified, face flaming, ears burning, she couldn’t get a single word out. Emily had packed a sex toy, and they all thought it was Katy’s! She wanted to sink under the ground and stay there for the rest of the week. Finally, without thinking, she squeaked out, “That’s…that’s not…”
“Yours?” Mist laughed and gave Katy a wink as she picked up the box and casually stuffed it back into Katy’s bag. Returning to help Katy with the rest of the clothes, she whispered conspiratorially, “Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend didn’t have a bullet.”
Katy only nodded, still too embarrassed to say anything rational as the limousine was loaded with the rest of her bags. Although it seemed like hours, only a few minutes passed before the entourage was comfortably settled in and the limousine sped out of a small side gate and into traffic. Dear God, what’s next? Can this day get any worse?
She shouldn’t have asked.