Free Protect Me by Selma Wolfe Page A

last night. But she pushed herself out of bed
anyway and stumbled to the door, working off the instincts of a kid who went
looking for the monsters under her bed instead of hiding under the covers.
    In the
middle of another hard knock she yanked open the door. And blinked.
    “Oh,”
she said in confusion.
    “Good
morning to you too, Princess,” Trinity said with a smirk. She swept right past
Hope and deposited a tray of what looked like breakfast on what appeared to be
a coffee table. Hope wasn’t really sure what the purpose of a coffee table in a
bedroom was. She suspected it was to take up space; the room was about five
times larger than necessary.
    “Breakfast?”
Hope asked as she trailed Trinity over to the table. The other woman looked
rested and together. She’d clearly been up and doing for a while. Whereas Hope…
she stole a glance at the clock and winced. Well, she only really needed to
keep her client’s hours. Rising at dawn wasn’t a necessity.
    Clinging
to false routine was a dangerous way to live, Hope reminded herself, shoving
back at the uneasy feeling that clung to her shoulders.
    Since
Trinity hadn’t bothered to answer an admittedly stupid question, Hope moved to
the sink and asked, “Are you staying to share?”
    “Why
not?” Hope caught a glimpse of a pleased smile before Trinity dropped into one
of the chairs and started picking at bacon.
    Her
morning routine was simple, just the basics and the short amount of time it
took to braid her hair. In the mirror Hope saw Trinity peeking over curiously
and hid a smile. She was just like any other woman, no more or less capable,
only more trained. But she’d found there was no easy way to tell people that.
    “So did
you decide on this yourself, or…”
    Trinity
shook her head. “No, Rick asked me to bring you some breakfast. Said he was
busy.” She shrugged, clearly unconcerned.
    Hope’s
reflection paused in her movements for the tiniest fraction of a second before
resuming braiding. She glared at the mirror and instructed her shoulders not to
slump.
    No
matter how casually Trinity took it, this was a message, not breakfast. Rick was
saying this is the new normal . And maybe Hope could push back if she
wanted, but…
    Absolutely
not, she tamped that thought down immediately. That wasn’t her goal. It wasn’t
her place. Wasn’t her life.
    She
finished with her hair and wandered back over to sit across from Trinity. Hope
grabbed the only thing on the tray she wanted, the coffee.
    “Breakfast
is the most important meal of the day,” Trinity admonished her.
    “So
I’ve heard.” Hope sipped. The roast tasted like good Turkish coffee; strong
enough to take the roof off your mouth. Lovely. One of the men she’d worked
with in Africa would have loved it. It was astonishing to Hope how far away
that time suddenly seemed.
    Across
the table Trinity poured herself a cup of tea and then fiddled with it. She
added milk, and then a packet of sugar, and then more milk. She stirred it.
Sipped it. Set it down. Picked it up.
    Hope
raised her eyebrows. “Something on your mind?” she asked mildly.
    Trinity
whipped her head up, too quickly for her to have been really taken off-guard.
She looked abashed, almost guilty.
    “I…
no?” The other woman stared at her for a second and then set the cup down
firmly. She folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “Well, yes, actually. A
bit.”
    Hope
tried the silent thing out for a while until it became clear that she’d have to
use her words. She suppressed a sigh. She hated it when that happened.
    “Want
to talk about it?” she offered.
    “Well,
it’s just, I…” Trinity glanced up from beneath long eyelashes, her expression a
little desperate. “Seeing you here, it worries me. No offense, honey, I think
you’re wonderful, but, you’re so together and professional, like you’re really
going to fight off somebody, and it… scares me.”
    She
didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it