The Closet Librarian's Bookshelf.

Kingswood Saga 1. Possessive - Their Target

Chapter One - The Accident - Theodora

Damn it I was going to be late, Lucy was going to make my life miserable or kill me.I weave in and out of the almost stationary traffic, stealing glances up at the clock tower, as I rushed through the town centre, thank god for cycle lanes, as I bypassed the queues and crossed the roundabout, only to come to an abrupt halt as a car cut in front of me and I hit the rear wing, flying over my handlebars and landing hard on the pavement, cursing loudly.

I heard the slam of multiple car doors before feet appeared in front of me and a shadowed arm reached down to pull me upright.
"Hey, I'm sorry, you okay" his tall shadow fell over me, putting his features into darkness as I squinted up at him against the early evening sunlight. "No, you knocked me off my bike you maniac, what the hell" I growled.
His hand round my arm, felt warm and gentle as he helped me to stand, "I'm sorry, the bus cut me up and I swerved to avoid hitting him but forgot to check the other side in my haste, please are you okay?"
I could feel his eyes running all over my body and shivered slightly, pulling away from his hold.
"I'm fine, I'm in a hurry" I say backing away from him and glancing at the others who had gotten out of the car, all men, all much bigger that my short size. Watching us in silence. One of them leaned down to pick up my bike and I felt relief it looked to be in one piece. I reached out and took it from him, using it as a barrier between me and them. "I have to go" I said turning away.

"Wait, you're bleeding!" the driver exclaimed reaching for me again but finally my flight instinct kicked in and I jumped back onto my bike and rushed off.

I could hear a shout and felt their eyes on me but knew they would forget about me as soon as I was out of sight, people usually did.

I made my way finally into the hotel where my best friend Lucy was hosting a charity auction to raise funds for disabled sportspeople to enable them to compete at all levels, a cause that I felt was worth the horror of having to dress up and encourage people to donate.  I hated being in the public eye, something I had to do as a recognised sportswoman but I didn't enjoy it.

Lucy was waiting for me as I pushed through the doors into the ballroom "you're late!" she scolded before gasping at my arm "What happened?" she pulled me into a seat and started peeling back my jacket.

"Hey, stop that hurts" I moaned at her "I got knocked off my bike on my way here".

"Hell Teddy, are you okay" she asks poking at the grazed skin.

"I will be, if I can go home?" I ask carefully, maybe this was my way out of this evening.

Lucy laughed, "Nice try, but no, I need you, in fact..." she trails off and I look at her guilty face.

"What?" I query carefully.

"imayhaveputyouintheauction" Lucy mumbled.

"What?"

"imayhaveputyouintheauction" Lucy repeated a little faster this time.

"Maybe I did hit my head, because I'm hearing things, I know my best friend would never do that to me" I growl glaring at her, the pain in my arm all forgotten with her statement.

"One of my female athletes, pulled out this week and I needed to find a replacement quickly,  Its for a brilliant cause and you're an Olympian, having you in the auction has given us much more publicity for the event and we've had some huge pledges.  Please Teddy, i'll make sure its all okay, I promise"

"Where am I in the programme?" I groan, knowing it was all for a great charity.

Lucy fidgets again and I glare at her "you may as well tell me everything"

"Oh shit..okay" and she tells me more.