ten

CHAPTER - 10

"1 feel safe" she lied with another forced-on smile

Jenn witnessed a hundred times before.

He bit his lip, not wanting to argue with her over something so trivial. "Good. You should."

Seconds passed in silence as they held each other's hands gently, velvety soft skin intertwined together.

"Do you want to go inside and talk?" Prerna asked, her

eyes tired.

"You sure you're up for it?" Jenn asked, rubbing his thumb along the outside of her hand.

She responded with a yawn.

"How about I get your bedroom ready and we can talk in the morning?"

"Are you sure? I want to tell you about what happened," she said, another yawn interrupting her.

"I could use the rest, too."

She smiled at him and he released her hand,

unbuckled himself, and got out of the car. He went to her side and opened the door, letting her and Ricah

out.

"Give me a second to grab your things."

He ran around to the trunk, grabbed her suitcase, backpack. and the cat food. After shutting the trunk,

he gestured for her to follow him to the door. He

he gestured for her to follow him to the door. He pushed buttons on a keypad once more and unlocked the door. They entered and proceeded towards the center of his large home, the automatic lights hanging overhead preceding them down the long hall and each one they left behind turned off once they passed it.

It had been a long while since Prerna had stayed with him, longer than Jenn would've liked. However, convincing Prerna to do something was like arguing with your reflection in a mirror. You just ended up looking

like a frustrated idiot.

"Okay, stay here." Jenn pointed to the seating in front of them in the living room. "Tl be right back."

Jenn turned to leave and Prerna reached out for his arm, tugging him back like a small child. "Where are you going?" Prerna asked as she let out another small, sweet yawn. Jenn faced her.

I have to get your room ready. I'll be right back.``

You don't have to," she said, holding onto him tightly.

"Prerna, just sit down, relax. It'll only take a minute. I promise."

"But..." she began, however, Jenn stared at her, his face enough to convince her he didn't want to argue.

She frowned, sleep heavy in her eyes. "Fine," she said, stepping closer to him and leaning her cheek on his shoulder. "Be quick. Please."

Jenn led her to a chair. "I will," he said, pulling Ricah from her arms and placing him on the floor as she sat down. Jenn grabbed a nearby fleece blanket.

"Okay." Prerna yawned with her arms stretched in the air. Ricah hopped back into her lap, his eyes on Jenn as if he dared him to move him again. Jenn glared back at the cat, pulling him from her lap once more.

Ricah let out a small cry and scurried out of Jenn's hands before he had a chance to set him on the floor.

Jenn shook his head.

He sighed, draping the blanket across Prerna's lap. "Wait here and I'll come get you in a minute."

Jenn went down the opposite corridor from which they came, in the direction of his bedroom. He passed his bedroom on the right and stopped at the next door on the left. Jenn didn't spend enough time in the dozens of rooms throughout his multi-story mansion, so he wanted to make sure it was prepared for a guest.

Joseph placed Prerna's bags beside the bed, then folded down the comforter, using the sheet as a lip so Prerna could easily and comfortably slip between the sheets and go to sleep.

Next, he grabbed the cat food bag and shook it, hearing inside the dishes Prerna packed. He retrieved them and set one on the floor, promptly filing it with

the hard bits. He took the other into the bathroom and

returned with water nearly overflowing. What would the cat do in place of a cat box for the night? Joseph sincerely hoped Ricah was well-enough behaved to make good choices regarding his bathroom needs. As in, hopefully, he could wait until the morning when

Joseph could get him a proper toilet.

Lady Joseph went to the window and peered out the thick glass, gazing into his backyard. He didn't have the time to enjoy it, though he paid the groundskeeper handsomely to maintain it nonetheless. The view was pleasant as it overlooked the rectangular garden spanning hundreds of feet, and in the middle stood a statue of an angel - he wasn't sure which one. His mother had bought it for him as a centerpiece for the garden, but Joseph couldn't have cared either way about it. He wasn't religious, and the garden wasn't a place he spent much time in anyway.

Joseph unlocked, then opened the double casement

windows and reached outward. His hand touched

something solid, but invisible and he nodded. The force field, while not entirely impenetrable, was strong enough that someone would have to work incredibly hard to break through it. Explosives only began to put a dent in it after repeated explosions.

He invented it years back, and it was a major component that led to his contractual agreements with the military. While there were many things out there to keep people safe, and many things to break through those things, nothing compared to this. It remained top secret to most, and only the United States and those countries closely allied to them had the force fields. Even then, they were rarely used as they were expensive to make and seldom needed at this moment in history.

Joseph glanced at his watch and switched it from the time to the security system link in his home. He put Prerna's room as a top place to watch and made it easily accessible from the home screen. Cameras

were installed in most corners of the house, and

microphones, too. Usually, he would only be notified of movement and sound caught on the devices in rooms that were not in use by Prerna, himself, or his workers. His maids, cooks, and garden staff wore badges they received once onsite. Those badges permitted them into most areas of the house but kept