Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I press my fingers into the hollow of my cheeks. The under eye bags are darker today. But the hollowness in my gaze is what stands out the most.
Something inside me broke.
I glance down at the clean bandage on my thigh, bright white against my tanned skin. There’s hardly any pain today.
At least in my leg.
Inside my chest? That’s a totally different story. Only it doesn’t stop there. There’s an ache in my throat. A pain in my head. Stinging behind my eyes. A fuzzy nervousness in my belly, too.
All tangled with a dark emptiness.
Two days haven't done a single thing for these feelings. If anything, they’re worse.
I pull on a dress. Yes, another one. I didn’t even know I owned so many, but it feels like the smart thing to do given the bandage. Anything else would rub it.
With one last look in the mirror, I shake my head, wondering if I should put on some make-up. Mellie would be squealing right now. But I decide swiftly, this is as good as it gets.
That hollow look can’t be covered up. It’s only going to get better when I get over Walt… Evan.
Freaking A . I don’t even know what name to call him.
A terrible thought draws me up short. I reach for the frame of the door, with a pain lancing through my chest. What if neither of those names are real?
A cold sensation crawls up my spine.
Not going to think about that.
I can’t question everything. By the time I cross the room, I’ve run the loop inside my head again. Everything the man ever said to me is on slow motion replay.
It’s maddening. With a huff, I jerk open my bedroom door. It bangs loudly, bouncing off the wall, making me cringe.
Stop, Marianna. You’re driving yourself crazy.
Ha. I’m already there.
The tile is cool below my feet, but my temper is hot, as I pad into my kitchen.
The smell of aftershave is the first thing that hits me.
It’s weird to have someone in the house.
Since my grandfather died, it’s just been me.
Today, just like yesterday, Vik, the barbarian bodyguard, is at the kitchen counter, his head ducked, looking at something on his laptop.
Okay, not so barbarian. He even uses spreadsheets. Go figure.
I could more easily picture him sharpening a sword than clicking a trackpad.
“You sleep all day.” He jabs—not so elegantly—at a button on the keyboard with his oversized pointer finger.
“Not all day. But you’re going to kill that thing.”
“No, it’s the tactical model.”
I frown as he continues to hammer on some innocent key. “Whatever that is.”
“Good morning to you too, sunshine.”
I stop moving and my breath hitches. Sunshine. That’s what Mellie says.
I need to call her. I just… haven’t had the energy.
How do you explain the disaster that’s my life?
Yeah. That’s gonna take a minute. And a lot of alcohol.
I round the counter and stare at Vik till he looks up, so I can say the same thing I did last night. “You don’t have to stay.”
“If you don’t want to talk to the SEAL, then I need to stay right here.”
My hands tremble at the mention of the man that gouged my heart out with his cock.
Lifting my chin, I let some of the anger simmer through me.
Vik leans back, making my kitchen stool creak from his size, and studies me. It’s uncomfortable.
He takes his time. Looking at every angle of my face.
His unwavering stare is unnerving.
Vik would be a killer interrogator. Yikes. I shudder at that thought. The man would scare me to death. He’d have me peeing my pants in seconds. I’d give up every secret known to womankind.
“Who are you, Vik?”
He shrugs, his face remaining emotionally opaque. “Nobody important.”
“Right. Did you ever torture people for a living?”
His face was stone before. Now it almost excited. He sits forward. “Do you want to hear stories?”
Leaping back, I make an ‘ack’ sound. “No. God, no. Please do not ever tell me about torture. I can’t even watch mafia shows.”
He grins.
It’s a menacing retraction of his lips.
I shudder.
I don’t really need to know what the man did before working for my father. But he’s mean. He knows how to use weapons, and he has no problem keeping people in line.
Which is why I called him.
I knew he wouldn’t let Evan and the guys he works with get to me.
It was a gamble, calling him. I hoped he wasn’t a hotline to my father. And thankfully, up until now, he promises he hasn’t told him anything.
I shake myself mentally and find Vik still looking at me.
“Vik, you can’t keep taking off from work to stay over here.”
His right eyebrow gets a kink in it.
I blow out a breath. “I’m sure that Evan’s not a problem anymore.”
His scowl deepens and the stool groans again.
“They should call you Tank.”
“Good name. So is The Assassin.”
Gulp. There’s a race going on inside my veins from the rate of my heart. “Is that your code name?”
One side of his mouth tucks in. “You’re so easy. You should see your face.”
The devil.
I shake my head and lean against the counter, the cool tile pressing my cotton dress against my hip. While I want him to leave, Vik does make me feel safe. There’s an arsenal of weaponry on every surface of my house.
Two arctic blue eyes are still on me when I swing my gaze back his way. “He’s already forgotten about me. I’m sure. I was… it was nothing.”
“Spoken like a woman.”
I’m affronted. Straightening, I cross my arms. “What does that mean, exactly?
“You can’t understand a man’s obsession. It is… how do you say this in English?” He thinks for a second, then nods. “Next level.”
“You’re wrong. I do know what obsession is. Maybe I’d call it greed. Because that’s what Sylvester is about. And my father too. They only care about getting this farm. None of it is about me.”
“I wasn’t talking about them. Or greed. I was talking about love.”
Screech.
He said the L word.
I snort in a very unladylike way. Maybe I should rub my eyes too, because the word love and the big, hulking bodyguard seem to be from two different planets.
Shaking my head, I reach for the handle on the fridge door. “Love. That’s ridiculous. There is no way that man loves me. He only knew me for a couple of days. I was a…conquest.”
Ick. I shudder as my stomach flip-flops. “Conquest is such a gross word.”
I try to ignore the weird sensation and pour a glass of juice even though I’m not sure I want to drink it now.
I turn and find Vik scowling at me with his beefy arms crossed over his equally beefy chest.
“Conquest is a good word. Especially in battle.”
See. Different planets.
“I don’t even want to think about that. But related to this situation. I mean we had sex. That’s all it was. I was a willing participant.”
Vik clears his throat as his face tenses for a nanosecond.
Oops. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe I just said that. Or that I said anything about my sex life. I might be losing my mind.”
The man rises, walks around the counter and pushes me down on the kitchen stool. “When was the last time you ate?”
It’s hard to recall. A gazillion and one things have been on my mind. I shrug and make a vague sound. “Last night when you made me eat that sandwich.”
“It’s ten, Marianna. Your brain needs to break fast.”
“I am breaking my fast.” I hold up my cup of juice.
His scoff is loud. “Don’t be ridiculous. The body needs protein.”
Spoken like a man that spends a lot of time under a barbell.
He sticks his head in the fridge. I’m staring into my mango juice when he cracks eggs into a pan. I’m still staring at my cup when he drops bread into the toaster.
When Vik slides the plate in front of me a few minutes later it’s loaded with enough food for a bear.
“Vik, I’m not an army. You didn’t have to make this much.”
“Eat.” A one-word rumbled reply.
I push around the eggs, take a bite and chew, tasting nothing. Not that it isn’t good. He even put my favorite salsa on the eggs and butter on the toast. The eggs are even fluffy and perfect. Chalk up another surprising thing about the man to the growing list.
Only, he’s still staring a hole in me.
“What?”
“He’s been outside the whole time. He also brought your truck back here.”
My fork falls on the plate with a loud whack as I snap my eyes to his.
I’m scared to ask him to repeat what he said. Or who he is talking about.
The air crackles. We stare at each other until I break. “Who?”
“The SEAL. Evan Walker. Alias, Walt Goodlove. His team calls him Storm.”
I leap off the stool and stumble backward. “No, you must have seen Hector. He’s the man that works on the farm.”
Vik frowns at me and makes an incredulous sound. “I’m not blind, Marianna . This is the man that sat in your house guarding you all night after the bomb at the party.” He makes an exploding motion by closing his fingers then snapping them open.
Now my heart is thumping so hard I wonder how my sternum doesn’t crack. Words fire out of my mouth. “Where is he?”
“Today he’s sitting on the ridge watching the house.”
He tips his head to the East. “That man’s one stubborn fuck. I told him to get off your property. Vhat does he do? He goes just to the other zide of the line and plants his ass like a tree.”
I rub the heel of my hand over my chest. “What does he want?”
Vik stands up, resting both his hands on the counter top, not moving his direct gaze from me. “You.”
Gulp.
I start to panic. “No, seriously, Vik. What does he want?”
Now Vik stares like I have a flower sprouting out of my head. “What do all men want with a beautiful, smart woman?”
Eeek.
I swallow a few dozen times. Fidgeting madly with the napkin in my hand, I fight the urge to run. “I’m not. I’m not beautiful or smart. I’m an idiot actually.”
“You are wrong.”
This conversation is maddening.
“I’m not sleeping with him again. He’s a damned tourist… no wait! He’s not even a tourist. I don’t know what he is, but I know one thing—the man is not sticking around. He’s going to blow out of Karma like a plastic bag in the wind.”
Vik shakes his head, almost smirking.
“I’m serious, Vik. I’m not going to talk to him again. He hurt me once. I won’t let it happen again.”
God, this man could stare down a statue and win.
Sagging tiredly, I lean a hand on the counter. “Do not look at me like that. I’m not interested in him. I have a job. My sole purpose is to keep this farm running… to see my grandfather’s dream continue on.”
“I know men like him.The SEAL knows that something dangerous is going on vith your father. And that man is not going to stop until he’s gotten to the bottom of the problem. He will protect you with his life.”
Like a smack in the face, this makes me shut up.
Because I can think of nothing else to do and my stomach is now gnawing at my lungs, I grab the fork. It clinks loudly when I stab the eggs.
“Are you happy now? I’m eating!”
“Good, you need your strength.”
I swallow something too fast and it goes down the wrong hole. Vik slaps me on the back. I almost fly over the island.
When I can breathe, I rasp, “F-for what?”
“The battle vith your father.”
Oh god. That sounds bad. “What do you know?”
“He hates this man.”
After a few more minutes of holes being bored in me by Vik’s unwavering eye warfare, I blow out a breath. “My father needs to stay out of this.”
He kicks the stool aside, snaps his laptop closed and walks toward the door. “Come on, Marianna. You know that is not going to happen.”
A flurry of angry, weird nerves tighten my stomach.
I don’t know what I’m feeling inside. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to him.”
Wheeze. A spell of dizziness hits me as I rasp, “Evan?”
A flick of his icy glare makes me flinch. “Yes.”
“About me?”
“Yes. The bomb problem is my business. His business too. Both of us now.”
I groan and push the plate of food away. “What was I thinking when I called you to come pick me up at the hospital?”
He slings the door open, laughing darkly as he strides out into the sunlight.
This situation is impossible. Dammit.
They can do what they’re going to do. I have business to take care of.