“That’s understandable,” the guy murmurs. He reaches over and strokes her head. “Are you sure they didn’t hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine,” Teagan replies. “Just shook up, really shook up.”
“You will be okay,” the guy assures. “We need to get you home.”
“My friend brought me. Oh my gosh! My friends are waiting for me to get the car!” Teagan actually wonders where they are for the first time since she walked out of the bar.
The gentleman laughs. “Once they hear the sirens, they will know something is up.” Almost on cue, the faint sound of sirens is heard in the distance.
Teagan starts to slip off the jacket. “Here is your jacket.”
“Keep it on for now,” the guy instructs. “You can get chilled easily after an incident like this.”
“Okay,” Teagan replies. She puts her arms through the sleeves and realizes how big the jacket is compared to her. Her eyes drift to the guy and notices he is built, incredibly built. She can’t help but stare at him. Teagan’s gaze turns up to his face. He stares at her gently. His eyes are so dark that they are almost black, but their warmth catches her off guard. His hair is just as dark. It falls into his eyes a little. Teagan can’t get over him. She also can’t stop looking at him. Even in the faint lamp light from the road, she can see more than enough to know she wants to see more. His chiseled features seem so familiar. “What’s your name?”
“Ummm,” the guys starts.
Two figures push through the brush. They are police officers. Both of them have their guns drawn. “Hands up!”
Her savior puts his hands up. “NO!” Teagan yells. “He helped me! He isn’t the bad guy.” She turns and points to the two crumpled bodies. “Those are the assailants.”
One of the officers holsters his gun. “Come with me.”
“Let me help you up,” her savior murmurs, sticking out his hand. Teagan takes it, and he pulls her to her feet. She is only as tall as his chest.
“Wow, you are really fricking tall,” Teagan laughs.
The guy gives her a peculiar look. “Yeah, I’m 6’ 5”.”
“Holy cow,” Teagan exhales. She swears she has met him before, but her memory refuses to cooperate.
“Come on,” he chuckles. Teagan follows him out to the sidewalk. There are two police cars in the street with lights flashing.
The officer ushers them to the squad car. “Now, would one of you like to explain what happened?”
“Well,” Teagan starts, “The one guy approached me in the bar.” Taking a deep breath, she explains everything that occurred. Finally, she says, “And then he appeared.”
“And your name sir?” The officer inquires.
The guy looks at Teagan. “I would like to talk to the officer alone.”
“Oh,” Teagan says, completely surprised. “Okay, I’ll go sit on the bench.” She turns and walks over to it. When she sits down, Teagan wraps her arms around herself. Then it’s like a wall crashing down as the tears fall and she can’t stop crying. She puts her face in her hands and sobs.
A minute later, she hears, “Teagan! Oh my god, Teagan!”
She looks up to see Victoria rushing over to her. “What happened!?”
“I was attacked!” Teagan cries. “It was horrible. It was that guy from the bar. He had a knife and everything!”
Victoria quickly sits down and hugs Teagan. “I’m so sorry!! I got sick and wasn’t even thinking you weren’t with us. I realized it after I almost puked all over Isaac. Are you okay?”
“Nothing happened,” Teagan sniffles. “That guy saved me.”
“What guy?” Victoria asks.
“That one,” Teagan retorts, pointing over to the police officer, and then she realizes her rescuer is gone. “Where did he go?”
“Where did who go?” Isaac asks, coming over to her.
“This guy…he totally saved me,” Teagan whispers, looking all around. “He practically destroyed Harry and the other guy.” The ambulance shows up and two EMT’s run into the bushes. “I mean, he saved me. Those guys were going to assault me, and he broke one guy’s arm and nearly knocked Harry unconscious.”
“Wow,” Victoria exhales. “Did you find out who he was?”
“No, but I am going to find out now.” She stands up and walks over to the police officer. “Excuse me, where did that guy go?”
“He said he would go down to the police station and give his statement,” the officer replies.
Teagan frowns. “Do you know his name?”
“Yes, but he didn’t want to divulge that,” the officer states. “Once this becomes public, you can get his name.”
“Oh, okay,” Teagan murmurs.
“Are you sure you are uninjured?” The officer asks. “It looks like you have some bruising on your face.”
Teagan brings her hand up and winces. “That is where he backhanded me.”
“I would like you to get checked out by the EMTs,” the officer states, not giving her the chance to refuse.
Victoria comes up next to Teagan, holding her stomach. “Teagan, I don’t feel good.”
“You are going to puke again aren’t you?”
Grimacing, Victoria says, “I think I need to go home. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Teagan replies.
“I would rather stay here with Teagan,” Isaac interjects. He puts his hand on Teagan’s shoulder, and she’s too tired from the events of the evening to even try to remove it.
“I need to go home,” Victoria whines. She looks green, and she grabs her stomach.
Isaac’s face doesn’t bother hiding his anger, and he starts to grumble. Teagan sighs. “I’ll be fine. I will catch a cab home.”
“After you were just attacked!” Isaac yells. I don’t think so!”
“We will give her a ride,” the police officer says. She won’t have to worry.”
“I don’t know,” Isaac starts. “This isn’t a small thing.” He presses his lips together.
“Isaac, I’m a big girl. The guys are being arrested. They won’t get near me again. It’s okay.”
He pulls his hand off her shoulder and crosses his arms, scowling, “Fine. I will call you in the morning.” He looks weakly at Teagan, and she knows that leaving her here hurts him.
“I’ll be all right. I promise,” Teagan reassures him. “Just take Victoria home before she hurls all over the place.”
“Come on Victoria,” Isaac sighs.
“Are you sure you are okay?” Emily’s wind chime voice wisps past Teagan’s ears.
Teagan turns to Emily. “Yeah, I promise. Nothing happened to me. They are the only ones injured.”
“Okay,” Emily replies. “I will call you tomorrow, too. I’ll bring Panera for lunch after I finish my last cello lesson.”
“Thanks sweetie,” Teagan says, reaching over to hug her. “I’m going to go home and pass out. I am suddenly very exhausted.”
“I need to go,” Victoria burps.
“Let’s go,” Isaac groans, putting his left arm under Victoria for support.
She watches her friends walk away and realizes that she is all alone. The officer startles her when he taps her on the shoulder. “The EMT would like to look at you.”
“Alright,” Teagan sighs. She walks over to the ambulance. While she is sitting with the EMT, Harry and the other guy are brought out of the brush on stretchers.
“That bitch is lying!” Harry howls.
“Excuse me!” Teagan yells back. “You were the one holding the knife at me!”
The officer steps in front of Teagan. “You, sir, need to keep your mouth shut. Anything you say can be held against you in a court of law.”
“Come on ma’am,” one of the other officers says. “I want to get your information, and then we can take you home.”
“Okay,” Teagan replies. She quickly looks at Harry. “Maybe you will think twice before trying to put another woman in her PLACE.”
“Ma’am,” t
he officer sternly says. “Come on.”
With a huff, Teagan follows the officer to the squad car. She gives the officer her ID. After he writes everything down, they get into the car and he takes her home. He rolls down the window and Teagan enjoys the warm, night air breeze past her face. It calms her.
“Are you going to be okay Miss?” The officer asks, before Teagan leaves the car.
“Yeah, thanks to that random guy, I’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride home.”
“No problem,” the officer replies. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” Teagan says, with a small smile. She gets out and walks to her apartment complex’s door. Teagan takes a deep breath and whispers, “You’re going to be fine,” as she opens the door.
When she gets into her apartment, she takes the jacket off and puts it on a hook. Staring at it, she says, “How am I supposed to get this back to you?” Getting an idea, she searches the pockets. There is a packet of gum in one pocket. In the other pocket, Teagan feels a piece of paper. “Probably some chick’s phone number,” she snorts.
Taking it out, she looks at it. It’s a business card. The initials on it are written in bold type. It says: TPS. The address is on a street on the south side. There is no phone number.
“TPS?” Teagan whispers. “I wonder what that stands for. Maybe he works there. I will find out tomorrow. I want to say thank you and return his jacket.”
She looks at the card one more time before tacking it up on her bulletin board. It hangs next to her concert ticket stubs and all her pictures of her friends. “Okay, Mr. Hero Man, I will start tracking you down tomorrow.” She nods and turns around to go to her bedroom.
Chapter 2
“Are you sure you are okay!?”
“Yes, I’m fine Isaac,” Teagan sighs as she pours her second cup of coffee. “I got a good night’s sleep and feel a lot better. I didn’t get hurt. The bad guys are in jail. There isn’t anything else to do.” She catches herself rolling her eyes a bit at how short his memory seems to be when it comes to her.
“Do you want me to come over there?” Isaac asks.
Ummm, no. “I’m all right. I have errands to run today. I’m leaving after I take a shower.” She looks at the clock and notes the time. The dishes are piled up in the sink, but they can just wait. She has things to do.
“All right, well, I am here if you need to talk,” Isaac sighs.
“Thanks Isaac, but I should get going. I have stuff I need to do today. I will talk to you later.” Stepping over the laundry basket in the hall between the bathroom and her bedroom, she remembers she needs to grab quarters for the laundromat while she is out.
“Okay, have a good day.”
“You too,” Teagan hangs up. She exhales. “I hope he gets a clue soon, not to be mean or anything.” Teagan lifts up her cup of coffee and takes a sip. She walks over to her bulletin board and looks at the business card pinned between takeout menus and next month’s water bill. “First things first, I need to go there.”
With a nod, she turns and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. When she is finished, Teagan stands in front of her closet, staring at her wardrobe. “What do I wear? I want to look good at least.” She takes one look at the small pile of jeans and t-shirts on her closet floor and shakes her head. She needs to look presentable, attractive even, not thrown together. She settles on a pair of black pants and a cashmere turtleneck. Biting her lip, she decides on her stiletto boots and then finishes her hair and make-up. “Alright,” she exhales. “I look good, but not overly sexy. I don’t want to make the wrong impression. Let’s go find my hero.”
On her way out the door, she grabs the jacket. It’s a nice, heavier jacket by a top designer. “Wow, the guy has taste,” she whispers. With a chuckle, Teagan leaves her apartment. She knows it’s now or never in figuring out who this guy is. On the way over to the mysterious address, Teagan comes up with a million different ways that this conversation could go. “Of course, he may not even have any affiliation with this place,” she admits to herself, laughing at how absurd she would feel if that would be the case.
When she pulls up to the building, it isn’t what she expected. It’s a small brick building with one large window in front that has “TPS” printed on the glass. Teagan looks around a little to see if she can get a clue to what this place is. She sees nothing else distinct about her surroundings, and only a handful of cars in the lot. “Why would there be clues here? That would be easy,” she scoffs. Taking one last glance around she exhales. “No time like the present.” She grabs the jacket and gets out of the car. Her heart beats a little louder in her chest as she makes her way to the front door. When she opens it, a small bell rings.
Teagan steps inside and into a reception room. It is very new and classy. The overhead lights hum. A small blonde girl is sitting behind a desk. “Oh, hello, welcome to TPS. What can I help you with?”
“Umm, this is going to sound weird,” Teagan starts as she approaches the desk. “But I am looking for someone.”
“Oh, okay,” the girl shifts in her seat. “Who?”
“I’m not sure of his name,” Teagan replies. “He helped me last night, and I wanted to return his jacket.”
“You don’t know his name?” The girl asks, concealing a small chuckle. “We have a lot of guys who work here.”
Teagan shakes her head. “No name, he never told me it. He’s 6’ 5”, built like a brick house, black hair and really dark brown eyes, almost black.”
“And gorgeous?” The girl giggles.
“Well….yeah,” Teagan laughs.
“That’s my boss. He runs TPS. He’s in back if you want me to get him.”
“Oh, I just wanted to return his jacket, but yes, I would like to talk to him.”
The girl nods. “Hold on a second.” She picks up the phone and presses a button. “Yeah hey, umm, there is a girl up here looking for you. I don’t know. Hold on.” She looks at Teagan. “What’s your name?”
“Teagan Murphy.”
“Her name is Teagan Murphy. What? Okay, thanks.” The receptionist hangs up the phone. “If you want to take a seat, he will be right out.”
“Oh okay,” Teagan replies. She walks over and sits on one of the black leather chairs that line the wall adjacent to the window. She folds the jacket onto her lap and waits. A few minutes go by before she asks the receptionist. “Excuse me, I have a question.”
“Sure,” the receptionist says.
“What does TPS stand for?”
“Trent Personal Security,” the receptionist states proudly, nodding at the sign on the window.
“Security?” Teagan asks, eyebrows raised. This has now gotten slightly more interesting.
“Yes, personal security services,” the receptionist nods again.
“Well then, that’s not a surprise,” Teagan murmurs. Suddenly, the door to the right opens. Teagan looks up and the guy from last night walks out. Teagan has to pause. He is even better looking than she remembered. He is dressed in black suit pants and a vest, with a red shirt and tie. He looks at Teagan and raises an eyebrow. “Hey,” Teagan nervously gulps. “I wanted to return your jacket.”
“Umm, thanks,” the guy replies. “How did you find me?”
Teagan pulls the business card out of her back pocket. “I found this in your jacket.”
“Oh, well, okay,” the guy shrugs. “You didn’t have to return the jacket.”
“I don’t think it fits me,” Teagan laughs. “It’s not really my size.”
The corner of the guy’s mouth twitches, but then he gets serious again. “I see you did get hurt last night.” His eyes stop on her cheek.
“What?” Teagan asks. “Oh.” She brings her hand up to her face. “I thought the make-up covered the bruise.”
“This is what I do for a living,” he states seriously. “I notice the small stuff.”
“I see,” Teagan says softly. She steps forward and hands him the jacket. “Here.”
“Tha
nks,” the guy replies.
“So anyway,” Teagan whispers. “Thank you for saving me last night.”
“I’m just glad that I was there.”
“Yeah, I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t shown up.”
“You should always walk with someone that late at night. It’s not smart to be out alone.”
“I never really thought about it before. I’m definitely going to think about it every night now.”
“You should also carry pepper spray.”
Teagan raises her eyebrows, “I’ll go buy some today.” She makes a mental note, adding that to her to-do list.
“Come with me,” he instructs, opening the door behind him. Teagan looks at him and then walks through the door. “I have some I can give you.”
“Thanks,” Teagan whispers. She notices her heart hasn’t stopped pounding in her chest, and suddenly, she is feeling very warm. She isn’t nervous; this is a feeling she can’t quite place.
She follows him down a hallway to an office. Teagan enters it. The white walls of the office glow in the light that streams in from the large windows. The ebony wood floor shines as if recently polished. A large black desk sits against one wall. The only color in the whole room comes from the pieces of art hung on the walls. She can’t contain her gasp. “Wow.”
“What?” The guy inquires as he turns around.
“The art, it’s beautiful,” Teagan whispers, as she walks around looking at the paintings, totally forgetting she is in an office with a man whose name she still doesn’t know.
He points to the one in front of her. “It’s my sister’s work. She’s really talented.”
“You can definitely say that,” Teagan agrees. This office is so clean that it feels more like a medical office than someone’s workspace. “How do you ever get work done with all of this clutter?” She hopes he catches the humor in her voice.
He laughs. “I know, right? I’m a little anal about things being clean. I like order. Precision. It keeps me focused on what is important: my work. Clutter bothers me.” The guy walks over to his desk and opens a large bottom drawer. He pulls out two containers of pepper spray. “Keep one in your purse and one in your car.”