A State of Grace Pt. 05

"You'll never know what I felt when I heard about the fire," she said, quietly, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. "Kayla and I were complete, total wrecks!"

She paused to wipe her eyes, before continuing.

"Then Gracie called me, right out of the blue, and I was so relieved...that is until I heard what she had to say. I had another really bad moment, but I didn't totally lose it until I got the SIRT team out to you! I called the Director over at Edwards and Edwards that very evening and arranged for a detail for you and Kevin. Free of charge to you guys! The FBI agents I work with are good, don't get me wrong, but I trust my own people more. Besides, when I told them about what had been happening here, there were people actually volunteering for the job!"

"You're joking!" Kevin exclaimed.

"No, actually, she isn't!" Mr. Andrews said, lightly. "I'd do it in a split second if I wasn't already committed to protecting Miss Edwards."

"You see?" Crystal said. "These people are quite simply some of the best in the world at what they do! Everyone wins! The clients receive the peace of mind of knowing they're protected, my employees get the security of steady work with benefits and excellent compensation, along with the knowledge that the boss is one of them!"

"I thought you were the boss?" I said.

Crystal laughed and smiled.

"Oh no! I don't know the first thing about running that kind of business!" she said. "I'm just the majority shareholder. The boss is the former head of the Secret Service Presidential Detail under President Bush (41). He runs the day to day operations. I do, however, personally make sure the people who work for me are taken care of. Happy employees are dedicated employees. Besides, it's the right thing to do!"

Kevin looked at her with profound respect.

"Yes, it most certainly is the right thing to do," Kevin said, quietly. "Crystal, I don't know how we can ever repay you for all-"

"Don't," she said, laying a finger across his lips. "You two are my family! I have no one else, other than my daughter. When I thought the two of you were dead, it was..."

Her voice trailed off and she turned her face away from us for a long moment. She composed herself quickly though and continued.

"I should have made arrangements for you the second I learned just how deep the rot went, but I was complacent. Well, not this time! This time, I'm taking the same precautions with you two that I take with Kayla and me," she said, firmly.

She turned to her bodyguard.

"Mr. Andrews, would you please ask Mr. Bradshaw and Miss Oreza to step in for a moment?"

"Of course, Ma'am," he replied with a smile and a respectful nod.

He spoke briefly into a radio mic hidden beneath his lapel, and a moment later, two people stepped into the room. One was a very fit-looking man, with salt-and-pepper hair and a neatly-trimmed beard. He looked to be in his late 40's, or possibly early 50's. He was around 5'10" or so, and one could tell he had a well-muscled physique under the charcoal grey business suit he wore.

The other person was a lovely Hispanic-looking woman. I guessed her to be around Hannah's age (mid 30's). She was also very fit-looking, with short dark hair and the most expressive pair of eyes I've ever seen. She was roughly the same height as me and had a very toned, athletic figure, which was accentuated by the beige pants suit she wore.

Both of them looked cool, professional, competent, and absolutely deadly! That sense of lethal intent wasn't in the way they dressed. It wasn't in the way they groomed themselves, either. Rather, it was something implied in their stance and carriage. They both projected an unmistakable air of 'do not fuck with,' that would make Mike Tyson take a respectful step back!

"Grace, Miss Oreza will be your primary Protective Officer," Crystal began. "Kevin, Mr. Bradshaw will be yours."

Crystal opened her briefcase and took out a pair of matching heart-shaped pendants. They were nicely made, but fairly ordinary at first glance.

"Wear these around your necks," Crystal said. "If you need help, squeeze them until the back plate lights up. Help will come running!"

Kevin and I took them and put them on.

"Excuse me, Miss Edwards," Mr. Andrews interjected. "Your daughter's dentist appointment is in less than 30 minutes."

"Thank you," she said. "Speaking of my daughter, she's really anxious to come up and see you. Would that be okay with you both?"

"Oh yes!" Kevin said, grinning. "Just be sure she knows to be easy with me. I've had enough soft tissue damage to last me the rest of my life, okay?"

"Of course!" Crystal said, smiling warmly down at him.

She came around the bed and wrapped me up in a firm embrace. I felt her shoulders quaking just a little bit. I tenderly stroked her hair and squeezed her tightly in return.

"Ssshhh, it's okay, Crystal! We're fine! We're a family, and we're fine!" I said, soothingly.

I have known for a while now that Crystal, for all her strength and intelligence, still has some deep vulnerabilities. I was seeing one now - perhaps her greatest one! Her fear of finally being completely on her own, without any connections to anyone else. Kevin too sensed her suffering.

"Hey," he said, gently.

He took her hand again and squeezed it strongly.

"Gracie and I are alive, and we are all going to work together to make sure we all stay that way! Alright?"

Crystal pushed back from me and gave Kevin a watery smile.

"I know we will," she said, softly.

She shrugged and wiped her eyes.

"But you guys have to promise me you won't get into any situations like this again!"

"Don't worry, Ma'am," Miss Oreza piped up. "We will make sure they don't!"

Crystal smiled and thanked the two of them. Then she returned her attention to us.

"I love you both, very, very much!" she said, quietly.

"We love you too, Crystal," I said quietly.

Kevin nodded and smiled his agreement. Crystal then took her leave, with Mr. Andrews quietly accompanying her.

"We'll give you folks some privacy," Mr. Bradshaw said, in a mild tenor voice.

"Thank you, both, so very much, for keeping watch for us!" I said, sincerely. "I'll sleep so much better tonight, knowing you're there."

Both of them offered us genuine smiles.

"That's what we do, Ma'am," Miss Oreza answered for the both of them. "That's what we do!"

*****

Author's Note:

After reading a ton of emails and comments both public and private, I have decided that there are far too many loose ends to tie off in a single chapter...unless I wanted to make it 30 or 40 pages long! I figured most readers are unlikely to sit through a story that long, so I decided to space things out some. Besides, doing it that way will give me the time and the space to resolve some of the 'side issues,' as one commenter referred to them.

There was another email (unfortunately, I accidentally deleted it, so I can't reply privately) that I wanted to address in particular: When this story arc ends, I fully intend to keep writing about Kevin and Grace! As long as you readers keep telling me you want to hear more, I'll write more! I just feel like I wrote at the end of "My Saving Grace," that the different stages of their lives together should be broken up into their own sort of thematically self-contained units, for want of a better term. I think it keeps things organized if nothing else. Plus as an added bonus, picking titles for new story arcs lets me indulge in a little wordplay, which by now is something you all know I enjoy!

So, enjoy this chapter! I wish all of you the very best!

- Carbinemaster