The Hybrid's Hope

Chapter 18: Tested

Hope

When we get downstairs, there’s a limousine waiting for us. Four security men surround us on either side, blocking people from passing on the sidewalk as we make our way to the car.

Tanya gets in first, then me, then her father. I hear one of the security guys say that it’s all clear before getting into the passenger seat.

“Is that typical?” I ask as the limo pulls away from the curb.

“Yes. Tanya has a security team that makes sure that her fans don’t bombard her or rush her,” Maxwell says.

“Most of my fans are very respectful and really just want me to wave, get my autograph, or take a picture. But some can be aggressive,” Tanya says.

“Aggressive how?” I ask.

“Pushing past security, trying to get on stage when I’m performing, I’ve nearly been tackled to the ground by some overzealous fans,” she says.

“It’s assault and I always press charges when someone touches my daughter, just like I plan to press charges when we figure who this man is who entered my daughter’s bedroom.”

“You don’t have any idea who it is?” I ask.

“No,” Tanya says, looking at her father.

“He’s sent cards, flowers, gifts, all sorts of things. We didn’t used to monitor everything Tanya got, but ever since this guy has started stalking her, we’ve become much more diligent,” Maxwell says.

“Do you have any of those cards or gifts still?” I ask, thinking I might be able to get an idea of this guy’s scent.

“A couple of them. Do you think you’d be able to smell his scent, even a couple weeks or months later?” Tanya asks.

“Probably. The harder part will be deciphering between his scent and the scents of everyone else who has touched the item before or after him.”

“There were no fingerprints, I had it checked. So there’s probably no scent on them either.”

“Well, unless he’s a witch or knows one, and knows to hide his scent, fingerprints and scents aren’t left in the same way. Gloves hide fingerprints. Only a scent mask can hide a scent,” I tell him. “Plus, if any of it was in his home, place of business, or anywhere he spends a lot of time, he’d have to scent mask the entire area so his scent didn’t linger on the object.”

“Dad, I thought we were going shopping,” Tanya says, as we pull up to an electric gate that has a security team and security cameras monitoring from the inside.

“Before we go out in public, I want to test Hope’s abilities,” he says.

“Dad!” Tanya complains.

“I will not take risks where you are concerned, Tanya. And no offense, Hope, but you’re awfully young to know much about fighting.”

“I take it you’ve never spent any time with shifters, have you, Mr. Russell?”

“My contact with Mr. Holstin was the first interaction I’ve ever had with a shifter. Why would that matter?” he asks. He obviously doesn’t believe I can protect his daughter. He’s a bit of an asshole about it, but I’m used to assholes. I also think that he’s acting this way out of fear, or maybe he’s just an asshole. Time will tell.

“All shifters, regardless of rank, train from an early age, usually two to three years old. Once we get our animal at the age of ten, that training intensifies because our senses become more heightened, our ability to heal increases significantly, and we become more powerful. I’m happy for you to test me in any way you see fit to ensure that I can keep your daughter safe. But I assure you, I can keep her safer than any human.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” he murmurs as we pull up to the front of an enormous house. It’s nearly the size of the packhouse.

“How many people live here?” I ask.

“Just me and Dad, and our security teams,” Tanya says.

As we step out of the car, I sniff the air, acclimating myself to the area. I close my eyes, turning in a slow circle and sniffing the number of security guards around what I’m assuming is the perimeter of the large estate.

“Twenty-two security guards monitoring the perimeter?” I ask, looking at Maxwell.

I see the surprise flash in his eyes before he schools his features again. “That’s correct.”

“That’s so cool. Can you tell how many people are inside?” Tanya asks excitedly.

I lift my nose again, letting Qadira come forward. “In the kitchen, you have six. In the east wing, you have four. In the west wing, you have three, and there are five about to come outside,” I say, just as five human men in security uniforms walk out and stand at attention in front of us.

“Gentlemen, this is Hope. She is the shifter I told you about. She is going to be working with Tanya if I agree that she is strong enough and skilled enough to protect my daughter.”

“Dad, I already told you I want HER.”

“And my job is to make sure you’re protected, Tanya. Mr. Holstin said we wouldn’t need seven days to know that Hope is worth the money I’m paying for her. I agree. I won’t need seven hours to prove she is or isn’t worthy,” he says, then turns to me. “These are my five strongest fighters. If you can defeat them, you stay. If not, you’re out.”

I turn and look at the men, sizing them up. “Level of force?”

“Excuse me?” he asks.

I turn and look at him. “What level of force do you want me to use? I’m assuming you don’t want me to kill them,” I say, hearing the snorts of two of the men. I’ll be sure to take them out first. “Would you like me to break a bone or dislocate a joint, or merely knock them out or injure them enough that they can’t continue to fight?”

He blinks, staring at me.

“Let’s NOT injure the security team, Dad. No breaks or dislocations and definitely no killing,” Tanya says.

“Okay,” I say, nodding and facing the group. “You might want to step back Tanya.”

She does and I nod at the men. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Did you have a preference as to which one of us you take on first?” one of the snarky men asks.

“I thought I was taking on all five of you at once,” I say.

Now all five of them chuckle.

“Look ... Hope, is it? We are trained, experienced fighters. We’ve been providing security and taking down bad guys longer than you’ve been alive. If you really want to keep this job, just pick one of us to take on first,” one of the less snarky men says. He’s still too arrogant for my liking, but perhaps that comes with the territory.

I walk over to the line of them, looking at them as if sizing them up. Then, using shifter speed, I grab a knife out of one snarky guy’s holsters and spin back to where Tanya is standing. I wrap her hand around the knife then put the dull side against her throat, holding her against me with my free arm.

“Hope, what are you doing?” she says, the scent of her fear spiking as the guards rush toward me.

“WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!” Guns are drawn and they begin to surround me.

“Hold this for me,” I say softly to Tanya, then lift her out of the way, before spinning to take out the first guy. Since they all come at me at once, I slide to the ground, swinging my leg out and knocking the legs out from under the first guard. I let the momentum of my spin swing me around and I land a punch to the stomach of the second one, one of the snarky men.

I smile to myself as a hear the breath wheeze out of his lungs and he drops to his knees. I ignore him, focusing on the real snarky, sending an uppercut to his chin and knocking him out cold. Then I spin again, swinging my leg at the head of guard number four. He ducks, but my momentum brings me back around and I backhand him with a fist, sending him flying to the ground. When I turn to face the last guard, it’s the guy who is arrogant, but was trying to be kind.

“Come on, Cutie. Let’s see what you’ve got,” he says, gesturing me forward.

He’s got good skills, but he’s no match for a shifter. With my speed, I have him on the ground in less than a minute.

Then I turn and look at Maxwell. “Did I pass your test?”

“What the f**k was that? You put a knife to my daughter’s throat.”

“Your security team, just like you, wasn’t taking me seriously. You look at me and you see a young woman, which is probably why Alpha Liam chose me. I look too young to be a threat. And you’ll notice that I put the dull edge of the knife against your daughter’s throat so I wouldn’t cut her. I also left her with a weapon, so that, in the event that an attacker did get past me, she wouldn’t be defenseless,” I say, looking at Tanya.

She looks down at the knife in her hand, then up at her father. “She’s right, Dad. The knife scared me more than anything.”

I turn and look at the security team slowly getting to their feet.

The nice guy looks at me, wiping the blood from the edge of his mouth where I punched him. “I’m Matthew. I’m the leader of this group. Is there a reason you knocked Bobby unconscious but left the rest of us conscious?”

“He’s an asshole,” I say shrugging.

Matthew grins. “I don’t think he’ll make the mistake of underestimating you again. None of us will.” He looks at Maxwell. “You’d be a fool not to keep her.”

Maxwell continues to stare at his men on the ground, but Tanya squeals happily and throws her arms around me. “That was FIRE!”

“Thanks, but your father hasn’t agreed that I passed his test yet,” I say, still watching him.

“Yeah. Yeah, you passed,” he nods, looking stunned. “I guess it’s time for us to go shopping.”

Tanya squeals again, then drags me back to the car. “I LOVE shopping.”

That’s good, because I hate it.