Chapter 33
“Tyler, why are you following me?” Caren demanded, turning to look at him as he peered over his shoulder at the cakes and slices in the cabinet. She was standing in line at the small café around the corner from her apartment building.
“Yum. Peanut butter brownie? I’ll take one of those and a caramel latte with an extra shot of vanilla.”
“Why can’t you get them yourself? Why are you here?” she asked.
He pouted. “Here I am, guarding you and you can’t even buy me a caramel latte? That’s harsh.”
“Guarding me from what?” she asked.
“All the bad guys out there.”
She huffed, shaking her head at him. “Bad guys my ass.”
“It’s a cute ass,” he allowed. “But I better not stare at it too much or my brother is likely to kick my ass.”
“So Travis sent you.” She should have known. There was no one else that would have sent him.
But why?
“Big brother is protective,” Tyler told her.
They reached the front of the line and she ordered for both of them, paying.
“Aww, thanks sister-in-law-to-be.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” she warned. “We’ve only just got together.”
“It won’t take long for the two of you to take it further. You’ve known each other for years. You’re good for him and he’s . . . well, I actually have no idea what you see in him. He’s bossy, grouchy, and not nearly as good looking as I am.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “What’s going on, Tyler? Why is Travis getting you to follow me around?”
“And here I thought I was being so discreet.”
“No, you didn’t. You waved at me twice when I spotted you and then when I got here, you didn’t even pretend to try and hide.”
“I needed a coffee. You can’t expect a person to walk into a café and not get a coffee, can you? That’s just cruel.”
“You’re a nutter just like your brother.”
“Now, that’s just mean.”
“What is? Calling you a nutter?” she asked.
“No, likening me to Travis. We are nothing alike.” He shuddered.
“Why does he think I need protection?”
“He’s worried about this ex of yours.”
“I told him that he’s no longer a threat. He had his men take me to the airport. And I’ve never heard anything from him since.”
They picked up their coffees and headed back along the street to her apartment. She needed to meet with Oliver this week and go through the plan for her next trip.
Urgh. She really didn’t want to go.
“Then why won’t you tell Travis his name?” he asked as they reached her apartment.
“Because he’s a nutter who won’t leave things alone. It’s best just to stay out of A . . . his business. And if Travis knows his name, he’ll have to look into him. And if he looks into him . . . well . . .”
“Well what?” Tyler asked as he finished up his brownie. “He might discover that this guy is scary as fuck and needs to be eliminated before he harms you?”
“Jesus, no.” Aadan wasn’t a good man, though. And if Travis went after him, he could get hurt.
So she just wanted to leave things as they were. It was safer that way.
Unlocking her apartment door, she pushed it open. She was about to step into her apartment when Tyler suddenly grabbed her arm, drawing her away from the door. “Don’t you know the first rule of bodyguard school?”
“There’s a bodyguard school?” she asked.
“Sure is. I was top of the class. What’s important to remember is that the bodyguard always goes in first.” He walked in first. “Then, he does a sweep.”
To his credit, he did seem to be taking this seriously. Although she still didn’t understand why.
Had something changed?
“Has something happened?” she asked as he came back.
“Happened?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why is Travis putting a bodyguard on me now?”
“I don’t know . . . could be because he loves you . . . because he wants you. Because you’re his. Because there’s a risk against you that he can’t assess, so he’s gone to nuclear level of protection in order to cover all bases? Yeah, probably something like that.”
Shit.
That made sense, actually.
She guessed that by not telling Travis Aadan’s name, he had no way of assessing the risk. And his protective instincts wouldn’t let him just let this go.
So now she had a bodyguard.
“Bloody hell. I don’t like when you Andrews brothers make sense.”
Tyler just grinned. Then he grew serious.
“Tell him the name of your ex, sweetheart. Let him protect you properly. This is who Travis is. He takes care of the people that belong to him. After our dad died, he stepped up and became the man of the house. It wasn’t easy, we were all wild and crazy.
But I also know that Travis will always be there for me.
No matter what. And he can do the same for you. ”
She chewed her lip. “I told him I would. I just have to think on it a bit longer.”
“What’s to think about? He needs to know everything about your background to protect you. That includes the names of your exes.”
“All of them?” she asked, starting to feel agitated.
Maybe she should go . . . no! She didn’t need a shower. She wasn’t dirty.
And she had to learn to deal with stress without falling back on bad habits.
“How many have there been?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Not that many,” she grumbled as she sat on her sofa and sighed.
“This guy is the reason you haven’t left the states since you returned, isn’t he? Which means you’re nervous about him. Which means you think there could be a threat. Are you planning on staying here forever?”
She shook her head. “I’m meant to be leaving for the Kazbrekistan in a week or so.”
“Oh hell no. Does Travis know that?” he asked.
“Well, I did tell him. He didn’t react well, though. I think he thinks I’ll change my mind.”
“Sweetheart, you are in so much trouble.” He tut-tutted. “Do you even know what’s going on in Kazbrekistan?”
“I was going to do some research today,” she told him.
“All right, let’s look together. Have you got any food?”
“You just ate,” she pointed out.
“When? What? That brownie? That was nothing. It was like eating air.”
She didn’t see how. But when he got up and started walking toward her kitchen, she suddenly realized that he was going to see her pantry.
Jumping up, she raced after him. “Wait!”
However, she was too late. He had the pantry door open and was staring into it.
Great.
He was going to think she was a crazy person.
“Good. This is good.”
“It’s good?”
“Yeah, you just might have enough food to last me a few days.”
“A few days?” she repeated. There was enough food in there that she’d be good for months. A few days? “Just how much do you eat?”
“Now, don’t you know that it’s rude to point out how much someone eats?” he said while shaking a finger at her. “Then he rubbed his stomach. “So, what’s your favorite meal? Spaghetti? Chili?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not hungry.”
“Nonsense. I make a mean chili. I’ll get it going while you start doing the research.” He grabbed a few things from the pantry and turned around.
Caren was standing there, staring at him. “You don’t think it’s . . . that it’s weird to have so much food for one person?”
Most people would. They’d be looking at her strangely, wondering what was wrong with her.
“No, but I do think that you need to eat some of it.” He gave her a pointed look.
Right. She bit her lip. Eating wasn’t always her first priority, but it needed to be. She really couldn’t afford to lose any weight. Grabbing her laptop, she settled at the kitchen island and watched him cook. He was acting like all of the food she had wasn’t strange at all.
Of course he hadn’t seen the food that she also had in the other drawers and cupboards.
Then he’d likely realize she was a loon.
But she wasn’t going to tell him.
“Bollocks,” she said, leaning back against the sofa. “I’m in so much trouble.”
“Yep.”
“I’m never going to convince Travis to let me go, am I?” She sighed.
“Nope.”
“Even if I take bodyguards?” Travis had mentioned that she wouldn’t go anywhere without him, but was that really feasible with his job?
“Nope.”
“What about if he comes?” she asked.
“You want him to go with you?”
“Part of me does. The other part of me doesn’t want him in a warzone. Which, yes, I realize is completely hypocritical of me.” She got up to pace. “This is my job, though.”
“I get it,” he said. “You can’t give up something you love.”
Caren sighed. Sometimes she wondered if she did love everything she did, though.
She loved taking photos, getting that shot that would make people talk and think .
. . but did she want to put herself in danger to get those photos?
Did she want to put other people in risky situations? That seemed selfish and wrong.
“I do love it. But perhaps I can change the sort of images I’m taking. I don’t necessarily have to put myself at risk to get amazing photos.”
“Then maybe you should think about what that looks like.”
Yeah.
Maybe she should.