Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2) by P. S. Power

pretty, but not as good looking at Robert was that way.
    Tilting his head, he hazarded a
guess.
    "Um, Kaitlyn? Is that you?"
He was afraid for a moment that he was wrong, but the guy just reached out and
took the top two boxes.
    "Kyle, obviously. This is my
guy form, which most wouldn't have gotten, so good job! I'm pulling guard duty
today, just in case that Bear isn't done with the attacks. So I decided on
getting some extra muscle going. Mom was going to go alone, with just
you, but this will look better. Like we aren't wimps all the time.
That's the theory anyway."
    The young man said this as Rupert,
Calley, and Ang all came in, two of them smiling. Ang just looked stoic, but
not unfriendly. That's how he always was.
    Calley moved in and gave Kyle a
hug.
    "Ohhh... We should get
together later? You're my favorite Alede. Anyway, you do look more like
a pretty team of lumberjacks than a guard detail, but I bet that will be
enough. There's food too? Awesome! I was going to beg for a trip past a donut
shop. We should head out. Do you need anything first? Anyone?" She looked
around at all of them, but it was Val who snapped her fingers, and ran to get a
Pretty Plus bag.
    "Clothes for Vivian. I think these will work. I hope I got the right colors for her." There was a
moment of indecision, like they should stop and discuss that kind of thing.
    Ty nearly giggled over it.
    "We should go. I'm sure they'll
be fine. You mentioned a van?" He glanced at Rupert, who brushed at his
beard, then scratched under his own chin, answering slowly.
    "Yeah. We should get going.
Calley's driving."
    The van was white, and new
seeming, or at least very well cared for. It had the air of something official,
though the plates were just regular ones. The kind that anyone might have, not
just government officials. The inside was sparkling however, as if it had been
spiffed up and polished that morning for them. It had a very slight scent of
something orange and clean. There was enough room inside for several more
people, even after he loaded three of the light purple boxes in there, next to
the bags of clothing that Valerie had brought along. That was all in the far
back, though thankfully there was also coffee and water up front.
    It was, he didn't doubt, because
the Alede Ambassador was coming along with them. She was a VIP, so doing that
was the right thing to do. It was the kind of thing that pretty much had to be
done, if you didn't want to give insult in a case like that. Really, they
probably should have had one of the others driving so that the woman could be
cuddled and reassured by Calley while they rode. If they stopped anywhere Ty
decided to take her aside and see if that was possible.
    Not that Val seemed that worked
up, or like she needed to get laid instantly. All three of the Alede seemed
really locked on and focused, actually. Sitting side by side in the front seat.
Close together, since it was really made for two people, but it had enough
belts for them to do it, so he hadn't insist on anything else happening that
way.
    He ended up on the right hand
side, next to Rupert, since Ang was up front, holding a handgun in his lap. In
case they were attacked, obviously. Since, again, letting the Alede Ambassador
die was a poor plan for the day. Rupert had a weapon too, and looked at him
with a slow grin that made his large and bushy brown beard shift. It was kind
of cute, actually. He had really nice and warm eyes. Brown, and a bit
entrancing.
    The man also had a wonderfully
deep voice. Bass, and a bit rumbling.
    "I'm supposed to guard you
for the trip. So if anything happens, stay behind me."
    Ty nodded, then thought for a
moment, and shook his head.
    "Honestly... That doesn't
make sense, does it? You should guard the others and stay behind me. I..."
It was so new to him that it kind of shook him inside to say the words out
loud. In the end he didn't really. "I pretty much can't die, I guess. So
that seems right. I'm also not bullet proof, so