two
Alanna ran tired fingers through her shoulder length copper hair, pulling bangs back from her face and surveying the man sitting opposite her.
"Numair, I can't let you put yourself at risk like that. We need your testimony against Sinthya and Ozorne – both of us know they're not shy about simply eliminating any threats."
"I'm not about to go into hiding like a scared little puppy, Alanna!" Numair argued.
"So you'll let yourself be slaughtered like a little lamb instead! For goodness sake, Numair, use that supposedly brilliant brain for a change and think about what you're saying."
She recognised the stubborn set of Numair's chin. "I can look after myself, Alanna. I've been doing it for the last ten years, haven't I?"
"Do you want to stop them or not?" Alanna asked.
"Of course I do! Do you honestly think I'd risk life and limb for something I wasn't interested in?"
Alanna, despite her anger, felt a smile tugging at her lips. "No, I don't suppose you would."
"Exactly."
"Wouldn't you rather not risk your life, or your limbs?"
Numair scowled. "I'm not one of your officers or detectives, Alanna, you can't technically order me around."
"I can't," she said finally, trying very hard to keep control of her temper. "I'm asking you as a friend, Numair. Ozorne is dangerous; the last attack on you should have proven that to you."
"What about you?" Numair asked, and she knew she was starting to win the argument.
"For a start, I'm not the one who has the testimony or the evidence – that's you, as the eye witness. I'm only the one who'd go charging in there with my badge and my gun and make the arrest, and Ozorne knows that. Without you, Numair, we have almost nothing concrete on him."
There was a pregnant pause, and Alanna watched Numair's face carefully as he considered his options. "What do you want me to do, and where do you plan on hiding me?" Numair asked finally.
Alanna grinned. "I know just the place."
---
"Are you trying to kill me?" Numair enquired blandly.
Alanna smiled as she shifted gears, her small car straining up the steep slope.
"If I was trying to kill you I wouldn't insist on you going into witness protection," Alanna pointed out.
"Alanna, this is the middle of nowhere!" Numair exclaimed, all pretence of resignation disappearing in his outburst.
"Exactly," Alanna said smugly. "And because Ozorne knows you so well, this is the last place on the face of the planet that he'd think to look for you."
"This is the last place on the planet," Numair muttered darkly.
"Come on, Numair, it's not that bad," Alanna said cheerily. "Fresh air, gorgeous views, nothing but the sound of the birds and the breeze in the trees."
"You are trying to kill me," Numair said flatly.
"Rich people pay a lot of money for this sort of retreat," Alanna scolded. She was, she knew, taking far too much enjoyment in Numair's apparent dismay, but considering the man's ability to make her want to break his neck, she figured he deserve her mirth.
"Yes, but rich people are insane," Numair said loftily.
Alanna eyed him as she pulled the car to a stop in front of a white picket fence. "Numair, I hate to break it to you, but you are rich."
He scowled darkly at her, and Alanna smiled sweetly in return.
"Come along, Numair, and smell that fresh mountain air."
"You masochist," he accused as he climbed out the car. "Where are we, Alanna?"
Alanna grinned broadly. "Your new home for the next two months."
She watched Numair as he studied the surroundings. His face, already wrinkled with distaste, seemed to grow more and more disheartened as he observed the small whitewashed cottage complete with a neat wooden deck. To the side was a classic red barn, and to top it all off there were several chickens wandering around the yard, pecking happily at grubs.
"Let's just go back now and let Ozorne kill me where I stand. It's got to be a quicker death than spending two months…here."
Alanna smiled. "It's not that bad, Numair, you're just not used to the country."
"I'm not used to the country because I like the city," he pointed out.
Ignoring his griping, Alanna unlatched the gate and shooed him inside the small garden. She'd only managed to shut the gate and take two steps up the garden path behind his lanky frame when all hell broke loose.
A large grey dog with curling fur and very big teeth appeared from around the side of the house, moving like a missile. Chickens, moments before happily finding their lunch, scattered in a flurry of feathers and disgruntled cries. The dog, meanwhile, barking alarm, launched itself at Numair and knocked him flat to the ground. Numair, not used to dogs let alone a dog the size of a small pony, was screaming and squawking and flailing with his arms.
"No! Tahoi, no! Leave him be, Tahoi!"
A girl with brown hair came flying around the corner Tahoi had appeared around mere seconds before. She grabbed the large dog by his collar, tried to pull him back, dragging against him with all her weight. "Tahoi, NO!"
The dog relented and took several steps backward. The girl, not expecting his sudden obedience, stumbled and landed hard on her rump. Tahoi whined and licked her cheek in apology, before turning back to Numair and growling low in his throat.
"I knew you were trying to kill me!" Numair gasped, pulling himself into a sitting position. "For crying out loud, Alanna, Ozorne is definitely quicker."
Alanna looked down at Numair who normally towered over her by head and shoulders, sitting in the dirt with slobber on his grey sweater, grass in his hair and dust on his cheeks. And then she started laughing; laughing until her belly ached and Tahoi howled in accompaniment.
"What in the blazes is going on here?" a familiar voice demanded.
"Onua!" Alanna managed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, Onua, you should have seen it."
Numair had by this stage climbed back to his feet and was glaring balefully at the dog who was returning his stare equally warily.
"You should have told me you were coming for a visit, Alanna," Onua scolded, and Alanna was gratified to see a small smile touching her lips. "I'd have kept Tahoi out back instead of letting him knock your friend off his feet."
"That animal should be locked up," Numair said with disgust, trying to dust his hands on his equally dusty chinos, but only succeeding in raising small puffs of dust.
"I need a favour, Onua," Alanna interrupted, before the woman could insult Numair with her sharp tongue.
Onua glared at Numair for a minute before looking at Alanna. "This better be good."
Alanna glanced at the girl, now petting Tahoi but obviously listening with interest. "It is, but it's sort of personal."
Onua frowned in confusion, and shrugged. "Daine, would you mind seeing to the roan by yourself?"
"No, I'll be fine." The girl smiled and nodded, disappearing around the back of the house with Tahoi following happily in her tracks.
"Let's go inside," Onua said, jerking her head toward the house. "It's almost time for lunch anyway."
---
"Two months, Onua," Alanna begged. "That's all, two months. He'll be gone before your season starts, and he'll probably lock himself in his room and attach himself to his laptop the entire time anyway, so you'll hardly know he's here."
Onua sighed, and Alanna bit her lip.
"Please, Onua?"
"What am I going to tell Daine?" Onua asked finally. "I hired her this morning; I can hardly turn her out now without an explanation."
"You don't need to turn her out," Alanna said smoothly. "Just tell her Numair is… a friend who's going through a rough patch. She shouldn't find that hard to believe."
"What is that supposed to mean, Alanna?"
"Shut up, Numair, I'm trying to save your life here."
"You're trying to get me eaten by a pack of wild animals."
"They wouldn't want to eat you," Onua retorted. "You'd be all gristle and tough meat. No flavour at all."
"I don't appreciate being talked about as though I'm a lamb chop," Numair said smartly.
"I'm desperate, Onua, we don't know how far into the force the mob has spread – Ozorne has his fingers in everything. I need Numair out of the way until the trial – without him I don't like our chances of putting Ozorne away from good."
"As long as he stays out of the way," Onua agreed reluctantly. "I'm busy enough as it is; I don't need to baby sit as well."
"I can look after myself," Numair inserted.
Alanna raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it, Numair, I've seen you. You can't even cook a slice of toast in a toaster."
Numair scowled. "That's why tinned spaghetti and baked beans exist."
"Do you even know what a can opener looks like?"
"They come with pull-tabs now, Alanna."
Alanna turned to Onua. "Don't let him fool you – his IQ is through the roof, and when he gets his head out of his ass he is actually bearable."
"If he can't cook, I'll have other chores he can do," Onua said, nodding.
"Hey!" Numair protested.
"I'm agreeing to house you here out of the goodness of my heart," Onua said sharply. "The least you could do is help out; there's lots of work to be done."
"Doesn't she get reimbursed for all the costs I'll incur?" Numair demanded.
"Yes, but personal time and disruption don't get covered with money, so if I were you I'd behave and help out," Alanna said easily. She finished her juice and stood up.
"You're not staying for lunch?" Onua asked.
"No, I have to get back to work. Come on, Numair, let's get your things out of my trunk so I can leave."
---
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