Spencer left her bedroom after dressing up and talking to Hanna on the phone. She headed towards Toby's office, searching for him. Seeing him sitting comfortably on the couch reading a book made her feel fuzzy inside as she remembered a lot of their old quirks.
-'Toby? We need to go out. Hanna made me promise I would go help her pick out a new dress for the charity ball that Caleb is taking her to next week and she's already on her way to the mall. Caleb and Jason are with her.'
Toby gave her a small nod before putting his book down on his desk. He then headed towards the door and they both walked out of the house. Once inside the car Spencer turned the radio to a classical music station, unwilling to say a word to Toby unless it was absolutely necessary.
Making their way inside the mall the pair soon found Hanna and Caleb standing near a fountain while Jason kept his distance from them, his eyes constantly scanning the building. Spencer gave her brother a small hug before joining Hanna and Caleb while Toby went to Jason's side, focused on his job as well.
The girls walked inside the first dress shop they could find, dragging Caleb with them, while both Toby and Jason sighed in relief at not having to actually be a part of the decision process. They both burst out laughing as they watched Caleb hold more than 20 dresses. Laughter soon stopped as they realized Hanna was planning on trying them all on.
-'Well, Han, we have picked some options for you. Just go try them on and let's see how they fit.' Spencer motioned for Hanna to enter the changing room, while she and Caleb took a seat right outside the room and waited for her. Caleb soon felt a headache coming his way. All the dresses fit Hanna's skinny body perfectly, but none of them had that special something.
Caleb chewed his lower lip in annoyance as he saw that most of the dresses fit Hanna, but they weren't her style. Suddenly his eyes fell on a black dress that had red roses sewn on it in the back of the shop. Nudging Spencer he showed her the dress. Spencer's eyes gleamed as she saw the dress.
-'Just for the record, I doubt she'll agree to try it on, but this dress is perfect.' Spencer whispered to him. Hanna walked out of the dressing room once more; the dress she was currently wearing was too short for her taste. Caleb went over to the black dress, took it off the rack, and after he checked for the size he now knew Hanna wore, he returned to the dressing room area.
-'Hanna there's only one more dress that you should try. If it doesn't fit, we'll just go to another store and search okay?' Caleb moved the curtain slightly and handed the dress to Hanna. Taking his seat next to Spencer once more, he slowly mouthed to her.
-'Do all of your shopping sprees always end up like this? Trying on 20 outfits and picking only one?' Spencer grinned at him. She could see how bored he was at the idea of going through an entire day like this.
-'You're forgetting that she needs more than a dress. There's also shoes and purses and make-up and... Oh, Hanna. This dress looks just...' Spencer and Caleb turned their head once more to Hanna as she opened the dressing room curtain.
-'Perfect.' Caleb felt air leave his lungs as he watched Hanna shyly walk out of the dressing room. She held the dress up some so that she would not trip over it, as it was clear it reached the floor and that Hanna would need high heels to wear it. But she looked amazing. The dress had thin straps, a plunging V neckline, and zipped in the back, baring her shoulders. A pattern of roses started beneath her left breast, encircling her waist and going further down towards the bottom of the dress. .
-'I really like the way it makes me look taller, but also skinnier.' Hanna twirled in front of them carefully so that they'd get a better look. Spencer nodded her head in approval as Caleb stared at her, completely in awe of her beauty.
-'Ok. Then we're buying it. Go change and then we can go get some gorgeous shoes to match the dress. What do you say? Ah you should also thank Caleb. He was the one that picked out the dress for you.' Hanna's cheeks flushed red as Caleb shifted his feet.
-'I'll go tell Toby and Jason we found the dress and that we're going to the shoe department next.' Spencer nodded her head while Hanna returned inside the dressing room and changed back into her regular clothes.
The two women made their way to the counter and tried to pay for the dress only to learn that Caleb did so already. Spencer gave Hanna an intrigued look as they made their way to the three men waiting for them outside the shop. Glancing around, Spencer noticed Olivia sitting in a small cafe booth across the mall. She turned on her heels and mentioned it to Jason.
-'So did you and Olivia get into a fight about something? Why is she sitting all alone at the table instead of being here with us?' Jason turned his head, surprised to hear that Olivia was there. She was supposed to head back to the office headquarters once she was done meeting their mothers. Caleb noticed Olivia's presence as well, his eyebrow furrowed while Hanna motioned for them to go join Olivia.
Olivia was barely paying attention to her surrounding as she typed something on her laptop. Sometimes when they brought in new clients she would create 'coincidence' timelines. She made a hobby of paying attention to people 'popping up' into her clients' lives or and the potential targets. Usually if something made her feel uneasy it meant trouble.
As she raised her head from her laptop she noticed the five people heading her way. Smiling, she made a gesture signaling Jason to get her another cup of coffee. As they entered the small cafe she rose from her seat and waited for them to come over to her table. Closing her laptop and putting it in her bag, she walked over to Jason, who absentmindedly held onto her coffee.
Grabbing her coffee from his hand, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek before she turned to say hello to the other people in the cafe. Hanna, who had just ordered herself a latte, turned to face Olivia a little too suddenly, knocking her cup of coffee from her hand.
-'Olivia, oh God. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to.' Hanna flustered while Olivia literally pulled her shirt away from her body to avoid any burns. 'Here let me help you.' Hanna dragged Olivia away from the group into the first clothing store she came to and picked out a shirt for her. Jason followed them, his eyes surveying the two women's surroundings, while the store sales clerk watched the two women in interest.
-'Hanna, it's ok. It was just an accident. I didn't get hurt. Stop freaking out, ok?' Olivia clearly felt out of place seeing Hanna fuss over her. Realizing that she wouldn't stop acting that way until she changed her clothes, Olivia sighed and followed Hanna to the bathroom.
Jason followed the two women, his own coffee in hand, clearly amused by the small turn of events. As the pair emerged from the restroom he motioned for Olivia to take his coffee. Olivia grabbed it and managed to say thank you before someone else exited the bathroom, knocking Hanna into Olivia, resulting in a second coffee-ruined shirt.
Seeing Hanna's horrified expression, Olivia sighed and motioned for them to head to the store a second time. Jason had turned his head away, a small grin appearing on his face. The girls made their way inside the store where the store clerk watched them with unhidden interest as they bought another shirt for Olivia.
After changing once again, the trio headed back to the small cafe shop where their friends were waiting. To everyone's great amusement and Olivia's chagrin, as she made her way inside to grab a bottle of water, the barista working there lost her footing and spilled an iced coffee on Olivia, resulting in her third ruined shirt. .
-'Not one word from any of you or I swear to God, heads are gonna roll. Jason, give me your coat so I can cover up this stain. Lord knows I am not buying another shirt. Are you guys done shopping? Yes? Good. Then I suggest we return to the house. I need to talk to the three of you'. Olivia used her 'don't argue with me' voice, and the three men understood something was up. .
They made their way to their cars and Hanna stopped as Caleb opened the car door for her. Her nose stiffened as she sneezed several times. Spencer noticed this and made everyone step away from the cars. Placing herself on the ground, she noticed a package had been set right beneath Caleb's car.
-'Guys? I think there's a bomb under the car. Someone get the police to handle it'. Jason and Olivia turned to stare at her while Hanna continued sneezing. Toby used his phone to call the police and Caleb studied the two women in front of him. .
-'Can either of you explain what's going on to me? Why did Toby need to call the cops? Why are you so sure that's a bomb?' Hanna turned her head to face Caleb and gave him a weak smile.
-'I hardly ever sneeze and when I do, usually TNT is involved. I'm allergic to the stuff, something Spencer and I learned when we were in high school together.' As the police arrived at the scene, they were all asked to evacuate the area. The package was removed and to Caleb's surprise, it was indeed a bomb that had been planted beneath the car while they had been shopping inside the mall.
-'So my guess is that you're going to be one of those cases where we will all have to go to sleep armed? This guy really wants you dead.' Olivia put her arm around Hanna's back in a comforting gesture. 'Don't worry. We'll get you to safety. This guy has people who know what they're doing but so do we. We don't let our clients die, Hanna. So breathe.'
Olivia pursed her lips together, her mind going over the notes she had taken on her laptop earlier that day. If nothing else the bomb that had been placed under Caleb's car had further proved the theory that she had started to have inside her head.
Olivia shook her head as her eyes passed the people in her group that were now being questioned by the police. If her suspicions were right, then the person behind this particular attack was closer to them than they'd thought, carefully covering their steps. That person was smart but Olivia knew she had several smart people on her side working to sort this out as well.
For now, getting Hanna back to safety seemed like the best idea and then she would tell Caleb her theory. She hoped she was wrong for his sake and everyone else involved in this equation, but if she were right then Olivia would finally have a legit reason to go after that person.
Hello everyone. I managed to update Protection today as well.
Anon sorry for the delay into updating. I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.
Liss I hope you like the shopping scene. ;)
So I'm about to give you guys an inside scoop. When I first started this story I was planning for it to have 10 chapters at most. But all of your support and reviews have made me decide to continue developing it to the point where I don't know how many chapters it will have.
Also when I reached chapter 6 I got such a huge writer's block I nearly stopped writing this story down and wanted to delete it. You can thank my wonderful beta Katie and Serene Calamity's stories for helping me get my mojo back. Well i hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well so read and tell me what you think.
Nico