Earth Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Thirty-Six - Martie

Having a bodyguard took a lot of getting used to. Since when was she important enough to have one in the first place? Gage, yes, since he was the son of a future Great Lord. Her? Not so much. Or was the extra protection more for Gus, than her? Either way, who was she to complain? She felt safe with Xio, and was coming to really like his company in general.

Not like he looked like much of a bodyguard. He was shorter and thinner in frame. His declaration that he could kill a man with his pinky, however, had been so confident she knew he wasn't lying.

"And that's why I don't eat brownies anymore," Xio finished. "So I'm going to be honest with you, this is probably the last walk we'll be able to take at the park for a while."

"What? No! I love being outside." Martie frowned, hating the idea of being trapped indoors. She thrived on sunshine and fresh air.

Xio gave her a sympathetic smile. "Totally understand, but with Sir Garrison's campaign announcement, it's going to make things all kinds of crazy for Gage. There are going to be press all over you because you work for him. They'll want his life story."

"I don't have his life story," she said.

"I know, but they're good at tricking you into telling things anyway." Xio waved his hands around. He liked to talk with his hands, she noticed. There was always so much enthusiasm in everything he did. "When it comes to dealing with the press, I'm an expert. I gotta do it all the time with my clients. Basically, you say nothing. You act like they're not there. If they get really aggressive, all you have to say is: no comment."

"No comment," she repeated.

"Yeah! See, easy? Even if it seems like a harmless question, just say nothing. They're going to ask you all kinds of stupid things, and then when you're comfortable, they'll trick you into saying something else." He tapped his forehead. "Sneaky, but stick to my plan, and you'll be just fine. Just be ready for them to say some mean things to you too."

She gasped. "Why would they be mean to me? I didn't do anything to anyone!"

"They're going to think you're dating and they might go digging for stuff about your past," he said.

Slowly, her stomach started to turn into a knot. "Why?"

"A story is a story." He shrugged. "Is there anything bad in your past we need to look out for? Like this ex of yours who's stalking you?"

"He's not an ex," she whispered. That meant she and Frank dated once. "Finding anything about him will be hard to do. I doubt anyone would connect the dots between me and him either." A fact that gave her a small bit of comfort. No reporter would be outing her true purpose for working at Gage's place. Every note she sent to Frank made her want to puke—she'd almost come clean a number of times already—unable to hold the guilt any longer.

Xio gazed down at the ground. "You're right. I should say the guy who attacked you. Which, you still need to tell me what he looks like so I can make sure he's not around." He gave her a pointed look.

"I don't remember much," she said quickly. "He'd gotten me drunk and the whole night was a blur. When I woke up the next morning, he wasn't around."

"Yet he still scares you."

She still regretted going to the kitchen for the knife. How stupid was that? "He's in my head still. Sometimes he says things like how he's going to find me again and..." She bit back tears, hating all of the lying so much. "His eyes are blue. Not the pretty blue of the sky, but the kind that makes you feel cold."

"Icy? Grayish?" Xio asked.

Reluctantly, Martie nodded. "His hair was short and well-trimmed. He's Terran, and he's taller than I am. That's all I know."