Chapter 4
DANTE
? The next day. Twenty-two years old. ?
What in the hell am I thinking?
She’s eighteen for fuck’s sake.
She’s my boss’s daughter.
The risk of even associating with her in that way can cost me my life. Gabriel trusts me to safeguard her while he’s away, but here I am trying to flirt my way into winning her compliance.
Wait. She leaned in too, right? Or did I imagine it?
No. It doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter.
I gotta get my fucking shit together.
I know better than this.
My job is to watch her.
Protect her even.
My job is to monitor the drugs that come in and out of the warehouses.
This can’t be personal.
It can’t be.
Gabriel is sending me to monitor her at some party she’s attending.
She’s not aware that I’ll be there, so I’m going to be sure to keep my distance. Only make myself known whenever she’s in danger.
It’s a Senior class party. What can be the worst that happens?
After about an hour of driving south outside of the city, I pull up to a two-story brick home in a suburban area.
The house looks ordinary. The kind of place people assume nothing bad ever happens. That’s usually where the worst shit does.
I don’t linger in the car for long and step out, shutting the door quietly behind me.
The front door is wide open, with laughter, music and drunken chatter echoing off of one another as I walk through it.
Teenagers are the worst.
Inside smells like beer and sweat mixed together.
It’s not pleasant.
Bodies are everywhere. Lounged on couches. On the stairs. Sitting on countertops like they live here.
No one looks twice at me. They’re too drunk and too busy seeking attention elsewhere.
Then I see her.
She’s standing near the back of the living room with a red solo cup in hand, half-turned toward Mira, her best friend.
I watch her as she laughs.
This is the first time I’ve seen her completely carefree.
She’s always so guarded around Gabriel and other people close to him. But here, she genuinely seems happy.
Mira is rambling on about something, hands waving around her as she does.
Leigh tilts her head, lips curved in amusement as she listens to her.
A few seconds pass and two guys saunter up to them.
I know who they are instantly.
Scott Kline and Jensen Harding.
Scott is the son of one of the board members of Leigh’s school and Jensen’s father is a renown criminal defense attorney.
Scott steps close to Leigh, hovering in her personal space. He leans in and whispers something, causing her to giggle while shaking her head side-to-side.
Mira laughs at whatever Jensen tells her, but her eyes flash to Scott, then back to Leigh.
She doesn’t seem to like this.
Neither do I.
Scott shifts his stance, angling his body more into Leigh. This time he leans down toward her, closer than before, whispering into her ear.
My shoulders stiffen and my jaw locks tight.
She tilts her head just enough to be able to fully hear him.
Mira nods along to Jensen, eyes drifting past his shoulder as if she’s listening, when she’s really keeping watch over Leigh.
Scott says something longer this time. Leigh’s lips twist into an unimpressed smile as she listens to whatever nonsense he’s spouting off.
I know that look. It’s the one she uses when she’s humoring someone, hoping they will eventually give up and walk off.
The idiot grins to himself like he’s winning her over.
He definitely isn’t.
I watch his hands to make sure he doesn’t touch her.
I’m still standing in the corner of the foyer area, keeping my distance until I’m otherwise needed.
Leigh takes a small sip from her cup as she listens to him ramble on.
She laughs again and this time, it irritates me to the core. Not because she shouldn’t be laughing. But because I don’t want anyone else to be the reason.
I shake my head in disbelief.
What in the actual fuck am I thinking?
She’s allowed to flirt. She’s allowed to drink. She’s allowed to be a normal eighteen-year-old girl.
But the thought of her entertaining anything with someone else pisses me off.
That cocky fuck leans in again, clearly asking something this time, and Leigh answers with a quick nod.
I let out a deep exhale, trying my hardest not to walk over to them.
Today, my job is to watch and protect her. Not to interfere with her friendships and.. relationships.
But all I can think about is what her mouth tastes like when she’s laughing like that.
Every rational thought in my head tells me to stay away as they walk toward the dark hallway, leaving Mira and Jensen in the living room.
Do I listen?
No. Absolutely the fuck not.