30. Chapter Thirty
CHAPTER THIRTY
EZRA
I t had been a tough week being away from his girl. Everything in him wanted to go back to Deadwood to be with Maylee. Even though his focus was supposed to be on work and keeping this client safe, he was having a hard time. Any free moment he had was spent thinking about Maylee and how he wanted her in his arms.
Justin was taking care of her, but he still worried. She didn’t do well whenever he was away and couldn’t have any contact with her. This was the exact same scenario.
Was she having a hard time? Was she eating? Sleeping?
So many things were running through his head, and he needed to stop. He was on a job, a job that was so important that if he wasn’t performing at his peak, he could get all of them killed.
“He’s doing it again,” someone said as he returned to the present.
“Sorry. I’ll have Justin take the money I’m earning and give it back to you,” he said. There was no doubt he wasn’t fully there, when he should be. It was his job to protect this person, and he didn’t need to be thinking about Maylee right now.
“Who is she?” the woman asked. “She’s someone important to you since you keep zoning out. So, who is she?”
Ezra didn’t really want to answer the question, but if she really wanted to know, she could find out. She was the head of a family. Ezra only knew a little bit, but from what he’d heard, she had killed her dad and taken over.
He knew better than to mess with her. If she wanted information, she could easily find it about anyone in the world. She had that many connections. But at the same time, he didn’t want to give her all the information. Even though he was protecting her from whoever was coming after her, that didn’t mean he was safe from her wrath. One wrong move, and he could be on her bad side and end up getting everyone he cared for killed.
This was something he did not want to risk.
She could make everything look like an accident so no one would suspect a thing.
“Please, tell me about her,” she said. “Come sit next to me.”
That was the last thing Ezra wanted to do, but he needed to get back in her good graces since he had been zoning out some.
So, Ezra went to the couch and sat down. Furthest away from her because he wanted to give no indication he was interested .
Yeah, he had heard rumors about her getting close to men and killing them once she found out they had a significant other. She didn’t like cheating men, but she didn’t like anyone. He was not going to be on the list of people she murdered, cheaters or not.
“Go on. Tell me about her. When did you meet? Does she like your demanding side? Is she a Little?” she asked.
He kept his face neutral as she asked all those questions. He should’ve known she would do a background check on him beforehand. He should’ve known she would figure out he was a Daddy Dom.
“Yes, I do know about you being a Daddy. I don’t just hire anybody.”
That sparked his interest. Was she a Little? He didn’t know her well at all. Maybe behind her walls she was a Little or maybe she was a Domme. He didn’t know, and he couldn’t make an accurate guess.
Some of the people he swore were Doms were actually Littles and vice versa. He’d learned a long time ago to never judge somebody by how they presented themselves.
“I’m getting impatient here. Tell me or I’ll have people go figure it out.”
He didn’t want that. No doubt Maylee would be spooked, but then she would be on their radar.
“No need to do that,” he said, calmly, as his phone went off. It was his secure phone, one that couldn’t be traced and they were okay with him having. Only a few people had the number.
“I’ve known Maylee since we were kids. We grew up together. We dated for a while and then broke up for a time period. You know I was in the military. I got deployed for several years, and now I’ve been back for several. It was just recently when we talked and got back together.”
Ezra was trying to be as vague as possible with his answer—give her enough to satisfy her but not overindulge with unnecessary information.
His phone went off again, but he didn’t pay any attention to it. Right now, he was having a conversation with her and he didn’t want to be rude by answering.
“Why did you guys break up?” she asked.
But before he could answer, his phone went off for a third time. Maybe he should check it, but he didn’t want to get on her bad side. She hated when people got on their phones while she was talking to them. Ezra had witnessed her yelling at people when they did that.
“You may answer it,” she said. “It could be something important, and I would hate for you to miss it.”
“Thank you.” Ezra stood up, grabbed his phone out of his pocket, and took several steps away from the living room to have more privacy.
Justin was calling him and had done so three times. What could be wrong? Why was he calling? Justin knew this was a high-profile case and that he couldn’t talk on the phone much. Whatever he was calling about must be important. He hoped it was work related and nothing to do with Maylee.
Deep down, he had a feeling it was about her.
“Hello?” he answered.
“No time to talk. Someone is coming in an hour to take your place. Hassan. You’re coming back home,” Justin said .
Ezra went on alert as he spoke those words. Something was wrong with Maylee.
“What’s wrong with her?” Ezra asked. “I need to know what was wrong. You wouldn’t call me and tell me I’m coming home unless it was really wrong with her.”
“Don’t worry. I have everything under control, but she needs you. I came to check on her in the afternoon like I normally did and found her sitting on the kitchen floor in her own piss drinking chocolate milk.”
Ezra cursed. That was not good. How had it reached that point? Was she okay? Had he left too early?
“Where is she now?” Ezra asked. “Is she okay? You helped her, right?”
“I did help her, and she’s better. I got her into a bath, fed her, and put her to sleep. She desperately needed a nap as well, but she’s better.”
Ezra could breathe easier knowing she was being taken care of. He should have never left her. He should have told Justin he was only going to take low-profile cases, but he hadn’t. They honestly didn’t get many high-profile cases like this, so it hadn’t crossed his mind.
“Hassan will be there in an hour. Once he arrives, you immediately head to the airport and get on the private plane. It’ll take you home,” Justin said. “I’m going to stay here with her until you get back. Make sure she’s okay.”
“Thank you for doing that. I appreciate it.”
Was it the right time to tell his boss he didn’t want to do anymore high-profile cases? Ezra didn’t know when he would be able to talk to him next once he returned to South Dakota. He would be so consumed with Maylee and ensuring she was okay that he might forget.
“Listen, when I get back, I only want low-profile cases. She’ll be fine if I can stay in contact with her, but having no contact with me is bringing out bad memories. Sorry if that makes it tougher on you, but it’s what I have to do. It’s what I need to do,” Ezra said.
“Already on it.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know when I’ve landed back into South Dakota.”
Ezra hung up and turned back to the lady he was guarding. Now to tell her about it. Hopefully, she would be okay with it.
“What’s going on? If I may ask?” she asked.
Her concern was obvious, but he didn’t know if it was just to get him to share the details or if she was worried.
“Somebody else will be guarding you from now on. I am needed back in South Dakota right now. Sorry about any of the inconvenience. The new guard, Hassan, will be here in an hour. I’ll brief him on things, and then I will leave,” Ezra explained.
The woman waved her hands. “It’s perfectly fine. I completely understand. I’m assuming it has something to do with your girl. She’s important to you.”
“She’s my world.”
She nodded in agreement. “I’m glad she’s that important to you and has somebody like you. She’s one lucky girl.”
“She is. Thank you, Genevieve, for understanding. I’m going to go pack now. ”
Ezra turned and started to head to his room but stopped when she started to talk again.
“If you ever need anything, let me know. I’ve got a soft spot for you since you clearly take care of your girl so well. It’s admirable. Not a lot of men do it anymore. So, if you need anything, and I mean anything, you call me.”
“Thank you.”