Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
"We're interviewing a new intake officer for the women's shelter," Kincaid says as I turn back to face them and inch a little closer. "We'd like you to sit in on the interview."
"Okay," I tell him simply. "Where should I sit?"
I move toward the chair Kincaid points to, body as cool as a cucumber, but inside I'm almost to the point of challenging both the president and vice president.
I have no idea why they keep including me in shit like this. Are they trying to humanize me? Do they honestly believe that I'm not well aware of how victimization works? Are they gearing up to make me some sort of victim coordinator or something? Am I looking too deep into all of this?
It's very possible they seek out all the other guys for involvement in stuff like this, and I'm just tinkering away in the shop, trying to pass the time, and don't see it happening.
"We know you're good at reading people," Shadow says as if he has a clear shot into my mind and can read all the questions I have for them. "There are some things that aren't lining up with her."
I watch as Kincaid walks toward the door, opens it, and sticks his head out. "Juliet? We're ready for you."
Kincaid takes a step aside, and in a few seconds, the woman I noticed earlier steps into the room, jolting slightly when Kincaid closes the conference room door, despite it not being closed very hard.
Her eyes track everyone in the room, going from left to right before sweeping back in the opposite direction to look at each of us a second time. She scans the walls, appearing to check for alternate exits.
She seems nervous, but that might not be out of character for someone heading into a job interview.
Surprisingly, Kincaid doesn't introduce himself or any of the rest of us, and he doesn't tell anyone who she is before taking a seat at the head of the table.
"Please have a seat," Kincaid says, indicating a chair to his left.
"Thank you," she says, taking a different seat, one that gives her a better view of the entire room and doesn't position her with her back to Max.
It's prey behavior, and I recognize it immediately.
"Comfortable?" Kincaid asks as she takes a seat, rolling the chair closer to the table, but leaving enough room to get out of it with very little effort if a situation comes up that would require it.
"Yes, thank you," she says.
Her words don't match the dart of her eyes over everyone in the room.
She's nervous, and from what I can tell, more nervous than anyone should be at a simple job interview.
She straightens, her spine locking into place as she sits taller at the table. She's scared, possibly even terrified, and she's trying to hide it.
She doesn't trust us, and I would wager that she may not trust anyone.
We've done nothing to instill any fear in her short of being four big guys closed in a room with her, but she acts as if we could just pounce on her without warning.
She's been hurt before, or at a minimum, put in a situation where she could've been hurt.
The idea that we might be intimidating her doesn't sit right with me.
"Would you like Emmalyn to join us?" Kincaid offers as if he's noticing the same things about her.
"Is it—" she begins, her voice weak and strained.
She clears her throat before speaking again.
"Is it normal for someone else to be in the room during a job interview?"
Kincaid doesn't answer as she sits up even straighter.
"Better yet. Is it normal to interview someone for a job at a women's shelter position at a secure facility with guns and commandos at the front gate?"
I feel the smile in Kincaid's voice when he speaks.
"The women's shelter is independent of Cerberus, but we provide the funds, security, and logistics for their everyday operations."
"Doesn't sound very independent," she says, a challenge in her voice.
"Emmalyn is my wife," Kincaid explains. "The shelter has a special place in her heart. Since she goes there often, and we've tasked ourselves with making sure she and other women connected to Cerberus are as safe as they can be while they're there."
"We protect the staff and residents," Shadow adds.
I watch as her cheek twitches, the information he just provided hitting her in a way that just confirmed everything I suspected.
The woman is a victim of some kind. It may not be domestic abuse, but someone in her life, or even a stranger, has hurt her, and it has made her extremely cautious of anyone she comes into contact with.
"Specifically," Kincaid says. "We provide external security, transportation support, property maintenance, emergency response if something happens at the shelter, fundraising, off-site protection, and security consultation."
"That's an awful lot just to make sure your wife is protected," she mutters, but I don't feel any level of disrespect in her voice. There's a sense of yearning in her statement, as if this were something she either wants or something that every woman should be provided by the man who claims to love them.