Chapter 2
Connor
“Rules are rules, Connor,” Mr. G says, nodding in that way that makes it very clear to me that the conversation is over. “You might be one of our finest, but you’re no different to any other Guard.”
I grunt and nod.
I’m not happy. Far from it.
But I’m also not a total asshole. I respect Mr. G—and he is the public face of the Night Ops Guard.
Well about as public a face as anyone in the Night Ops Guard will ever be.
He’s the go-to guy when it comes to missions, details, any kind of equipment or tech we might need.
To put it another way, Mr. G is the Fixer.
And when Mr. G gives you the nod, you know that there’s pretty much nothing left to say. It’s game over, do your job, come back when you’re all done. He might be based out of an office most of the time, but every Guard will tell you it’s best not to fuck with Mr. G…
“Got it,” I grumble, nodding as respectfully as I can muster as I turn and leave Mr. G’s nondescript office downtown.
The sign on the door might read Lawton Accounts & Financials, but the reality is that not one single tax return has ever been filed for a client in this room.
I walk out of the office and feel the city’s midday heat hit me as soon as I step out onto the sidewalk. I’ve got time to grab my overnight bag, a coffee, and maybe even a protein smoothie for the road. But other than that, I need to move.
Another day, another op.
And I’m totally cool with being busy. In fact, that’s how I like to live.
Give me 365 days of Guard missions a year and I’ll be rocking and rolling my way through all of them.
I’ve been a Guard now for over a decade and truly love the thrill of each mission—and it also helps that I know my bank balance is being suitably rewarded too, not that I ever have any time to spend my money.
There’s something so intense, rewarding, and balls-out exhilarating about going on a mission with the guys. It might be a duo, trio, or even a full squad—whatever number of us, I know that when the Night Ops Guard get to work, there’s going to be some stories made that’ll last a lifetime.
But my new mission.
Fuck. I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.
Not only is it a solo op—my least favorite kind—but my reluctance is more down to the fact that the client who I’ll be guarding is none other than Luke Modine.
Luke, Luke, Luke…
I almost can’t believe that I’m even saying his name again. We dated a couple of years ago. It was nothing big, nothing serious. He was a great boy, very smart, funny, and sexy as hell too. Oh, and he was a Little.
For our first couple of dates we got along well, but me being me I wanted to take my time, not dive in too fast. I take being a Daddy seriously and I’ve seen far too many Daddies jump in and get all intense and possessive right from the jump.
Call me old fashioned, but I like to get to know my boys properly before we get into the deeper, realer stuff.
However on our third date, we kissed.
That single kiss was something else. It was like all the sparks between us that hadn’t shone before were now out in full force, crackling and shooting like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Well, that’s what I thought anyway.
Because little did I know, but that would be the last I saw of Luke. I got a couple of brief texts from him in the following days, but then everything went quiet.
Yup, the damn boy ghosted me.
“This ain’t real,” I laugh to myself, a grown-ass man who’s seen some of the worst acts human beings are capable of… and yet here I am, sweating the fact that a boy ghosted me. “Whatever.”
With that, I take my phone out of my pocket and fire off a rapid-fire message to my Guard buddy Cole…
CONNOR: Looks like padel is off tonight. Mission. 48 hours. So I guess I’ll see you on the court next week.
We’ve been trying to organize a game of padel for months. It’s almost like an in-joke now where we know that this match will never take place, but we keep trying to arrange it anyway.
Cole’s a good guy. But he’s got his own Little now.
Just like Henry too. If I’m not careful I’m going to be the one Guard left riding solo.
It’s not that I mind my own company, but I’m definitely a pack animal at heart—which is probably why I’m always so keen to bend the unspoken no socializing outside of mission time rule.
Anyway.
I haven’t got time to stand around and watch the city move on around me.
I need to get my shit together, drive on down to West Quay, and get ready to guard this ghosty-boy for the next 48 hours. And when I’m done and Luke is safely back home… I’ll never need to think about him again.
The drive down to West Quay was actually pretty damn nice. If it wasn’t for the fact that my mind was whirring with thoughts about my apparent client, I might even have said that I enjoyed the winding coastal path and incredible views.
But being a Guard ain’t a holiday.
It’s about getting shit done and making sure that each and every objective is met to the damned best of your ability. The work we do isn’t the kind of thing you can half-ass. Any kind of drop off in focus or lack of detail can have potentially catastrophic consequences.
My point?
Ghosted or not, I’m going to give Luke the true Night Ops Guard experience.
Sure, we kissed. And sure, I thought it was potentially the start of something special. But that’s in the past. It’s ancient history as far as I’m concerned. There will be no repeat of the kiss, that’s for sure. And I’m pretty certain that a boy like Luke will have found his Daddy by now anyway.
There’s no doubting he’s an interesting boy though. And it looks like his career has taken quite the turn since I briefly knew him…
“Espresso tonic, sir,” the waiter says, placing my iced drink down on the table. “Will there be anything else?”
“No, thank you,” I reply, casting my eye around the hotel lobby.
I might be keen to blend in, but I also know that I have to keep my surveillance game on point too. As I was saying, Luke’s had an interesting change of direction in his career.
With this in mind, and keen to find out more, I tap my earpiece and listen as Mr. G’s audio overview plays in my ear…
Luke left his network news job, was head-hunted by Justice Heart News.
That’s where this gets interesting—and Night Ops Guard specific too.
The founder of Justice Heart News is Robert Treach, a former Guard of distinction who was with us for a long time and never let us down.
But, life being life, Robert decided that he needed to seek out a different path, one where he felt like he could reach more people and help in another way.
Enter Justice Heart News. Robert has used our services before, but his name has only ever been on a need to know basis.
And it goes without saying that the client is not to be informed of our connection to him. But moving on…
Mr. G was right, this is interesting. And isn’t it just my luck that ghost boy now actually works for a former Guard? Except, he doesn’t know that. That’s one thing I’ve got over him at least.
“Damn,” I chuckle, sipping on the espresso tonic and enjoying the fact that this whippersnapper of an investigative journalist didn’t even truly know who his employer was. “Better luck on the scoop next time…”
But before I can allow myself to get overly smug, I notice him.
It’s Luke, over by the hotel entrance, looking every bit as damned cute as the last time I saw him.
“It’s go time,” I mutter, sipping on my cool drink, watching and waiting for the boy to notice me. “Come on… look over here… in three… two… one… gotcha.”
I can immediately tell by the look on Luke’s face that I’m probably the last person he was expecting to see. Hell, I don’t blame him. But the way he’s standing and staring…
“Over here,” I beckon, standing and waving Luke over.
I can sense a hesitancy in him, but soon enough he’s walking over—flustered, yes, but he’s at least following his bodyguard’s commands, which is a good start.
“So,” I say, smiling as I sit, Luke taking a seat opposite me. “Of all the clients in the world…”
“Yup, you got that right,” Luke answers, evidently a little bit flustered but his smarts about him too—another good sign.
“Two days, two night,” I say, wasting no time. “I’ll be your bodyguard. But I’ll be subtle, keep my distance when and where possible. I’ll intervene when I deem a heightened risk, and that’s that. This ain’t a negotiation. That’s just the way it plays.”
Luke doesn’t respond, just stares back at me.
His eyes glisten under the light from the lobby chandelier, the green and blue as intoxicating as it was all that time ago. But this is professional—charming eyes or not, I need to know that Luke understands how this game gets played.
“Are we understood?” I ask, an added gruffness in my voice, just to emphasize my point.
“Oh, I get it,” Luke answers, now seemingly ready to tell me what he really feels. “But I think you’re forgetting that I’m the client. You work for me.”
“I work for your boss,” I correct him—but Luke isn’t finished yet.
“Same thing,” Luke says, a smirk on his face.
“We dated, Connor. It was a long time ago. It was… barely anything. So don’t think that you can use this as an excuse to go all Daddy on me.
I’ll be going about my very important work and you will absolutely stay away as far as you can at all times.
I’ve put months into this assignment, and I’m not about to have it all blow up because some Daddy wants to play bossypants. ”
I clench my jaw.
A part of me simply cannot and will not accept being spoken to like this—and by a damn client no less. The fact that it’s a still sassy as hell boy only makes matters worse.
And yet…
But the truth is that it’s kind of funny. Luke always had a sharp turn of phrase and a fun-loving wit that I found irresistible. So, bossypants or not, I need to make sure one last time that the boy understands that I very much will be calling the shots when it comes to his protection.
“Okay, okay,” I say, using some classic negotiation tactics to set us on the right path.
“I’ll keep my distance. The last thing I want is to screw your investigation up.
I know how much you love being a journalist. But.
And it’s a big but. I am here to protect you, guard you, and do everything in my power to maintain your safety. Now, is that understood?”
“I guess so,” Luke replies, evidently not overly happy with my presence but seemingly willing to go along with things as they are for now at least. “So…”
“Well I’ve checked your room out already, and it’s clear,” I say. “I’d suggest you simply go about your business and pretend like I wasn’t here.”
“With pleasure, bossy…” Luke says, but pulls back before he goes all the way with the whole bossypants thing again.
As I watch him get up and walk over toward the elevator, I finish off my tonic and make my way toward the stairwell.
Being a Guard you learn to love the stairwell.
But something tells me—call it a gut feeling I’ve developed over my years as a Guard—that the next couple of days are going to be far from as straightforward as navigating myself up and down flights of hotel stairs.
However if the worst of my troubles is going to be a sassy boy with a distinct lack of respect for protocol, then I’ll consider myself lucky.
West Quay might present itself as a high-life destination filled with yachts, clubs, and fast cars… but I can sense its underbelly already.
And with a single flick of my finger, I allow Mr. G to take over once more and provide me with some much needed further background info on precisely what Luke is investigating here—or more pertinently, who…