Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
I got that Mark cared, like my family did, but enough was enough.
He and my brother had both become bodyguards right out of high school, which had led them to opening a security business.
My brother’s last job had been to protect his now fiancée, Sarah.
It had been his last assignment as a bodyguard.
Now he ran the business from a nice office instead of being in the field.
I didn’t know all the details of the jobs they worked on, but I knew Mark wasn’t currently assigned to one.
It wouldn’t be long before he was. I hated to think of him putting his life on the line to protect a stranger.
I struggled with that, for both him and my brother.
It was the part of their job I hated. I would never forget when Matthew had been shot while he had been protecting Sarah.
When my mom had called to tell me, sobbing, it had felt like my whole world had tilted on its axis.
Thankfully he had made a speedy recovery and, once he’d become serious about Sarah, he’d given up being a bodyguard in order to manage the company.
But Mark was still risking his life on each assignment. It was something I tried not to think about for fear it would drive me crazy. So far he had never been injured but I knew it would only be a matter of time before something like that happened, and I waited with dread.
“Is that headache making you extra grumpy?” he asked with a smirk.
“No, it’s the annoying bodyguard,” I couldn’t help snapping back. The alcohol had loosened my tongue and I wasn’t going to back down like I would have before.
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.
I see bad things happen to people every day.
” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
There was a darkness in his eyes and it made me wonder what he had witnessed in his job.
I couldn’t imagine dealing with life and death on a daily basis.
My most extreme day-to-day stress was meeting deadlines.
It made me look at him differently. He looked so effortlessly smart with a white button-up shirt open at the collar. His hair was a little longer than usual, and I liked it. It made him look younger.
“Your job has made you neurotic. I’m fine, just a little absent-minded.” I didn’t want to argue with him.
I dropped my arms and leaned against the back of the elevator. It felt like it was taking forever, or was it just my need to escape that was making it feel longer.
“Besides, your job entails putting you in the way of people doing bad things,” I reminded him.
He studied me silently. “If anyone in this elevator has a reason to worry, it would be me.” Suddenly, my mouth felt dry as he continued to watch me—possibly taking in the telltale signs of how I truly felt about him.
“Do you spend a lot of time worrying about that?” he asked softly. All smiles were gone. I had walked into that without thinking about it and I wished I had just kept quiet. I would never admit how much time I spent fretting over him .
The elevator pinged and the doors opened, giving me a temporary reprieve from answering his question.
He led the way to my room and opened the door for me. He surprised me by entering my room and closing the door behind us.
“You’ve seen me to my room, I can take it from here,” I threw over my shoulder as I slipped my high heels off and sighed at the relief. “It's not like I can get lost in the shower.”
“Do you have painkillers?”
Then I remembered my headache. My imaginary headache.
“I'm sure I do.” I headed to my luggage that I had abandoned beside the bed.
“I'll wait while you check.”
It was almost impossible not to get more irritated by his continued presence when all I wanted was for him to leave. I knew very well that I didn't have anything, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
I slowly unzipped my luggage and pulled out my toiletry bag. Under the pretense of another lie, I looked through the bag before looking at him across the room where he stood.
“I have painkillers.”
I expected him to turn and leave now that he was finished with seeing me safely to my room, but he didn't.
“I was sorry to hear about you and Jack.”
I hadn't expected that. “It's fine.” I held his gaze, unwavering.
“You looked upset earlier.” He had been watching me?
I shrugged, not wanting to discuss Jack or anything that had to do with him. I still felt raw over it and just wanted to forget about it. Constantly talking about it would just keep it fresh in my mind and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Does this mean I get to interrogate you about your personal life?” I raised my chin defiantly as I folded my arms. “Who are you dating? How long have you been together? Is she nice? Is she treating you well? ”
I fired one question after the other, trying to make a point. I didn’t want any answers. Hearing about the women in his life would hurt too much and I was too wrung out to handle any more.
“It’s not the same.”
“How so?” I questioned with my arms crossed. “Explain it so I can understand why you can meddle in my life and I can’t in yours?” I tapped my finger against my chin. “Come to think of it, I have never met any of your girlfriends. Maybe I should so I can give them my seal of approval?”
“I can handle mine.” His confident statement made my mouth drop open.
“Implying I can’t?” I felt winded and hurt.
He shook his head. “It’s not like that.” He stepped forward.
“Then explain it to me.”
“Your absent-mindedness makes you vulnerable and I don’t want someone to take advantage of that.”
I frowned at him. “I’m not vulnerable and no one has taken advantage of me,” I stated, suppressing the feeling that I was fibbing a bit.
So I didn’t have a handle on everything. Jack was something that hadn’t gone to plan and I was still trying to sort the mess out, but that didn’t put any truth to his words.
“Fine,” he conceded with an inclination of his head. “I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Then don’t.”
He openly studied me. “Just promise me that if you need any help with anything, you’ll call me?” His expression was earnest.
“Like if I need things nailed into walls and stuff like that?” I raised an eyebrow at him.
He smiled. “Yes, even stuff like that.”
Luckily I had a handyman in my building who helped me out when I needed guy-things done around my apartment.
It was something I would have normally called Matthew for, but when he was gone for long periods of time, I’d found an alternative.
Jack had been useless with that type of stuff.
Thinking about it now, there wasn’t much he had been good at.
“Let’s be honest, Mark.” I rubbed the back of my neck. My muscles were stiff and tired. “You work all over the country, so chances are you aren’t going to be around to help me with anything.”
“If I’m around, I’ll help, and if I’m not, I’ll get someone to do it for me.”
He had an answer for everything. He already had it all figured out.
I wanted to argue with him but he would persevere and I just wanted him out of my room before I let something else slip.
I wasn’t good at keeping secrets and I knew it was only a matter of time before I revealed something I shouldn’t.
Like worrying about him. I hadn’t meant for him to know I thought about him and his safety every time he took a job.
“Fine.” It was the only way I was going to get him out of my room. I had spent enough time squabbling with him and I was tired.
He nodded. “Good night.” He turned and walked out while I watched him leave. The door closed quietly behind him and I sighed as I sank down to sit on the bed.
Telling one lie had led to many more and it was becoming more difficult to keep track of what had or hadn’t been said.
One thing was for sure: I wasn’t built for a criminal career.
I was so mad, I wanted to hit something. That asshole. I curled my hand tightly around my phone and resisted the urge to throw it. I should have known he would make things more difficult.
A call to my landlord had informed me that Jack hadn’t returned the keys to my apartment. Before I had left, he’d promised he would, and I had naively believed him. I was such an idiot.
Mark’s words from the previous night echoed in my thoughts. Damn it!
“Is everything all right?” my mom asked, jolting me back to reality.
I smiled. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” My voice was breathless and unconvincing. It didn’t help that I caught Mark’s curious look from across the other side of the bar where he was talking to my father.
“Are you sure?” my mom persisted. She could tell something was up.
I nodded. “As right as rain.” I attempted another strained smile. My mother frowned slightly before she let it go.
A day at the spa while the men had played golf should have relaxed me but I was so tightly wound I felt like I was going to explode.
My aunt distracted my mom while Sophie pulled me to the side, away from the main group.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
I put my hand to my temple. “He didn’t return the keys.”
“I knew it. I told you not to trust that weasel!” Her voice rose slightly, drawing attention.
“Shh!” I angrily whispered to her, aware we had caught some people’s attention. Mark was watching as well. Just what I needed. At least my brother was too preoccupied with Sarah to have noticed.
“Sorry. He just makes me mad.”
I let out a heavy breath. “Me too.”
“What are you going to do now?” She looked at me expectantly.
“I don’t know.” I chewed my bottom lip as I tried to think of a plan of action.
“Call him and tell him if he doesn’t return the key, you’ll tell Matty,” Sophie suggested, but I shook my head. “Come on, maybe it’s time to call in the big guns.”