Protected by Shelley Michaels Page B

be suffering, you love
your tea,’ she comments, ‘breakfast?’
    ‘Just a piece of toast, please El,’ I
groan.
    On return, Ellie brings a cup of coffee
for herself and sits opposite me, an expectant glow to her face.
    ‘What?’ I ask, slowly.
    ‘Nate?’ She wiggles her eyebrows.
    I groan, ‘don’t even go there,’ I put my
head in my hands as embarrassment hits me, full force.
    ‘Give!’ She demands, before frowning,
‘well, not all of the details, of course, that would just be plain gross.’
    ‘Nothing to give,’ I shrug, sipping at
the scalding coffee.
    ‘Come on Soph,’ she urges.  ‘I know
my brother, and he doesn’t lose his shit over a woman, they naturally throw
themselves at him. No, he is staking his claim.  Actually, that goes for
both of my brothers,’ her lips twist at the irony. ‘Personally, I don’t see the
attraction,’ she leans forwards, her elbows on the table in front of her, ‘did
you get down and dirty?’ She whispers the final sentence.
    ‘No!’ I scold her, a little too loudly. I
glance around to see if anyone was listening, it seems not.
    ‘So, you don’t find him attractive?’ She
presses, tipping her head to one side to contemplate this. ‘That’s a sure way
of gaining his attention.’
    ‘Yes,’ I sigh, ‘no!’
    ‘Use your words, girl,’ she watches the conflicting
emotions cross my face with blatant interest.
    ‘He,’ I glance around the room again to
ensure no one overhears me, ‘rejected me,’ I murmured, quietly.
    ‘Rejected you,’ Ellie repeats, seemingly
perplexed by my confession.  ‘Girl, I was their last night and witnessed
how he looked at you,’ she shakes her head.  ‘Maybe you misunderstood.’
    ‘Ellie, he told me that getting involved
with me would be a conflict of interest,’ I state, clearly.
    ‘Say what?’ She frowns as bewilderment
etches her expression.
    ‘He’s in charge of Ollie’s homicide
investigation, he can’t get involved with me, in case it’s seen as a conflict
of interest,’ I explain, logically. 
    A young redheaded girl places a plate of
toast beside me, ‘thank you,’ I mutter up, gratefully.  My stomach is
churning with hunger, but at the same time feels incredibly delicate.
    ‘So, he does want you, but wants you to
wait until he cracks the case?’ Ellie recaps.
    ‘When the case is closed, I’ll be going
home, my friend,’ I notify her, nibbling on the piece of dry toast.  I
ignore the plunging of my gut at the prospect of leaving Krystal, without
sampling the delights of a certain hot detective.
    She regards me pensively for a few
moments, ‘such a shame,’ she mutters, under her breath, ‘what’s at home?’
    ‘What’s at home?’ I repeat, dumbly.
    ‘Who’s waiting for you at home?’ She
elaborates. ‘What are you going home for?’ I stare blankly over to her,
speechless as my mind computes her questions.
    ‘I have friends, clients,’ I defend.
    She nods, ‘no family?’ She murmurs,
softly.
    ‘I have some family,’ I shrug.  ‘An
aunt and a few cousins. My best friend is in London, my goddaughter.’
    Ellie nods, as if my admission has
confirmed something within her mind.
    ********
    Looking around my brother’s home, that
sits above his salon; I allow the tears to fall silently. It’s hard to believe
that he is gone for good, after suffering such a brutal death.  The truth
of the matter is that I never knew Ollie at all, not really and now I will
never get the chance.
    I had walked into the Sheriff’s office to
check up on whether there were any developments, to be told by a Detective
Johnson, that Ollie’s laptop, mobile phone, and bank accounts had been seized,
due to the fact narcotics were involved.
    I still struggled to comprehend that
Ollie was involved in drugs.  We spoke weekly, via the internet, where he
looked both happy and healthy, a sure sign, in my mind, that he was living a
clean life.  Plainly, I was wrong.  It seems it is possible to take
drugs