CheckMate

Chapter 8

The paramedics coming looking for him but he waves them off stating he isn’t injured.  The few scrapes and bruises he had from falling, his wolf Drake has already taken care of.   He walks around to the back of the ambulance to check on his men and Tabitha.  His men are being loaded into a second ambulance and taken to the nearest hospital for x-rays and scans.  Philip runs his hands agitatedly over the back of his neck as he watches it drive off.   Damn hospitals!  How do I explain two men that don't have symptoms the next day after scans from the day before? He needs to stop these attacks before they are discovered!

He finds Tabitha sitting on the edge of the door, wrapped in a blanket.  As he approaches, she pulls her glasses back down and stands up to greet him.

“Thank you Mr. Lycan, you saved me.”

He stares down at her for a moment, then nods.  “Same as I would anyone.”

She steps back and looks down.  “I know that you don’t like me sir, but I am grateful.  Once Sandra returns you won’t have to put up with me anymore.  I believe that’s just another five weeks.”

“I never said…” he stops.  No, he has never said but his actions have been obvious towards her from the start.  He’s never been good at hiding his reactions.  His face tells everything.

He let’s out a breath and tries again.  “You confuse me Ms. Faeleen."  

She looks up at him in shock, he never explains himself to anyone.  "I have what some may call a heightened sense of smell; I’ve had it my whole life.  I can detect individual smells relating to specific people no matter where I am.  But you... I can’t smell you.  It’s like you don’t exist but you’re standing right here in front of me.  I don’t understand it and I don’t like it.  So, it isn’t really YOU that I don’t like, it’s your lack of scent.”

She doesn’t seem surprised by what he’s just said which makes him even more curious.  Perhaps she’s a witch?  They can mask their scents, disguise their looks.  We haven’t had a witch in our area for over a quarter of a century.  Why would one be here now and why work for my company?

The last paramedic walks over and gives her the green light.  She's good to head home, no serious injuries.  She gives him back the blanket, collects her items and turns back towards Philip.

“I’ll see you at the office tomorrow Mr. Lycan.”

He nods but then grabs her arm as she passes.  “I’ll give you a ride home.”

“But me car, it’s just right here.”

“Yes, and you’re only here because someone tricked you into it.  I’ll not have you running off the road or causing an accident due to something that happened on one of my sites.  You may have been cleared by the paramedic but you’re still shaking like a leaf.  Keys…now.”

She knows there is no arguing with him.  Handing her keys over to  him, he takes her arm and guides her over to the car.   After opening the car door for her, he takes a minute to secure the seatbelt on her hips.  She sits still as a statue, hardly breathing the entire time.  As he straightens, his eyes connect with hers, they are less than two inches apart.  She smells of fire, oil, and dirt but there's still no scent that is her.  She may emit no scent for his nose but she's emitting an energy that is buzzing through his body.

He shuts the car door and pulls out his phone, calling his regular car service to pick up his car.  Before he sits down, he looks down at the drivers seat...it's pulled all the way forward and as high as it can go.  There is no way in hell he’s going to fit in there unless he moves the chair back first.  He still isn't sure he'll fit, it's going to be a tight fit.  She silently watches him adjust the driver’s seat and when he folds himself into her car, she turns away with a little smile.

“Was that a smile on your face?”  He asks with his knees almost to his chest.  “Are you laughing at me by any chance?”

She shakes her head and says in a demur voice, “No sir.  Not at all.”

When she turns back to look at him, she can’t help that a small laugh escapes her.  He raises an eyebrow and tries to look stern.  It’s impossible.

“You’re right, I look like a circus clown.  Very well, laugh it up.”  

Instead of a reprimand at her next escaped giggle, he joins her in laughter.  The stress of the afternoon begins melting away with the release of their emotions.

He pulls out of the construction site, glancing towards her.  “Where am I going?  I don’t access the personnel files so I have no idea where you live.  Do you live close to the office or in a suburb somewhere?”

“I live just a couple of miles from the office.  You can just drive there and I can drive home the rest of the way.”

“No, my car is being driven to my home.  I am taking you home…all the way home.”  He pulls out onto the street and begins the hour drive back to the office.  “Once we get closer, let me know the directions please.”

She nods in response and within fifteen minutes of the drive, she has fallen sound asleep.  He has the remaining forty five minutes to observe, analyze, and figure out what he can about her.  Being this close to her while she is resting is actually, relaxing.  

He reaches over and carefully removes her glasses while trying to keep his eyes on the road.  Out of curiosity he holds them up to his eyes.  He can still see just fine.  Her glasses are just that, thick glass.  He shakes his head and puts them in the cup holder.  Why does she wear such obnoxious, heavy things if they aren’t helping her?  A disguise?  His thoughts flash back to when he tackled her and the terror that lowered her defenses just enough for her eyes to flash their natural color.  

He casually rests his arm on the back of her chair and picks up a piece of her hair.  It’s red.  It’s brown.  It’s black.  It’s blonde.  And…is that white? Well, that definitely didn’t come out of a bottle.  Perhaps her hair is the only real thing about her.  He moves his arm back to the console between them and looks out at the day turning to night.

As they enter the city limits he moves his hand to her shoulder to try and rouse her.  She stirs but doesn’t awaken.  She begins talking but too quietly to hear, even for him.  He tries again, thinking perhaps she’s having a nightmare.  As he shakes her shoulder, she grabs his hand in a tight desperate hold between both of hers.

“NO!  PHILIP!”  She screeches in desperation and it scares the hell out of him.  He quickly pulls the car to the curb and places it in park.  Unbuckling he turns in his seat to shake her with both hands.

“MS. FAELEEN WAKE UP,” he yells.

Her head falls to her chest and she begins to cry uncontrollably.  When she mumbles through her cries he can only make out a few phrases. 

“Don’t leave me.  Please don’t leave me.  Why can’t he stay?  He’s done nothing wrong!” 

Her crying is quickly becoming hysterical and he grabs ahold of her, trying again.

“MS. FAELEEN!”  No response.

“TABITHA!”

Her crying stops instantly.  He lets out a pent up breath but when her head turns towards him he can only see the whites of her eyes and a pair of grey contacts floating around in them.  Instead of pulling back he moves in closer.

“Tabitha?”  He asks again, no longer sure what he is seeing or who he is addressing.

Tabitha’s head falls back and a loud cackle fills the interior of the car.  Just as quickly her head swings back down and over to him .  An eerie old voice states, “She's NOT Tabitha”.