AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m here for the girl.”
“That’s too fucking bad because so am I.”
I really hated to pull the trigger with her face so close to his. She’d have blood all over her, but sometimes you just had to get a little messy to get the job done. A sense of calm washed over me right before I pulled the trigger, then rushed forward to catch Francesca as she fell with her assailant.
“Who were they?” I snapped. “And where are your guards?”
A slow clap filled the silence as a man in a suit walked down the stairs. Shoving Francesca behind me, I trained my gun on the newest threat. Her cleaning bill was going to be outrageous.
When the man came into focus, I thought I recognized him, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before. “It’s not very often that someone gets the drop on my men. Especially not when he’s in his underwear in my daughter’s bed.”
“Your—” I almost lowered my weapon.Almost. Just because he said he was her father didn’t mean that he was a good guy or someone to trust. Quite the opposite, in fact. “What do you want?”
He hit the bottom steps and kept walking toward me, stopping in front of the guard I’d just shot. He kicked him lightly with his foot, then looked up at me. “I heard about your little rendezvous, Francesca. I thought we talked about this.”
“I love him,” she said from behind me.
I would choose to be shocked later. For now, I had to focus on the problem at hand, like the fact that because she just told her father she loved me, I might end up back in the ocean. I didn’t relish the thought.
“You love every man that sleeps with you.”
Ouch. Okay, that hurt a little.
“He’s different. I swear it.”
“And what makes him different?” her father asked.
The question was directed at his daughter, but his eyes were on me. I wasn’t backing down, no matter what he threatened.
“He’s standing in front of me, protecting me. No one has ever done that for me.”
“I’ve done that for you,” the man said angrily.
Something in his voice triggered a memory I thought I’d forgotten a long time ago. The hint of danger that laced every word and the scowl on his face. Suddenly, it hit me. The man in the vineyard that slit my boss’s throat—this was the guy. Now I knew why his daughter needed protection. She was probably in constant danger because of his business dealings.
“Step away from my daughter,” he commanded.
That was probably the worst thing he could do. I was shit at following orders, and even worse when it was from someone I didn’t trust. “I don’t think so. If you want me to stand down, you’re going to have to take my gun from me. And trust me when I tell you it won’t be easy.”
His lips turned up at the corners as he snapped his fingers. Boots pounded on the stairs as he stepped aside and let them through. I shoved Francesca back another step until we reached the bathroom. It wasn’t any safer in there than it was out here. Bullets could easily penetrate the door, but at least it might slow them down. I swung the door open and pushed her inside, then stood my ground in front of it.
“If you want her, you’ll have to go through me. And I can guarantee that won’t end well for you.”
“You’re outnumbered,” the suit smirked. “You don’t stand a chance.”
“I’ve seen worse odds.”
The man snapped his fingers and the goons charged me. Two humongous dudes just waiting to kill me, and the only thing they had going for them was brute force, but I had skills and brains on my side. Okay, I fired two shots and took them both down in a matter of seconds. It was really kind of anticlimactic as they fell to the ground, staring up at the ceiling sightlessly. Each was a kill shot, which I’m assuming they hadn’t expected, but I wasn’t just the average guy holding a gun.
“Anything else you want to throw at me?”
The man walked forward and examined their bodies. “Perfect shots,” he muttered. His eyes drifted up to mine, assessing me carefully. “So, Mr. Helmer, it seems you can take care of yourself.”
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“I’ve had men on this yacht with my daughter. Did you think they wouldn’t report back to me? Your fingerprints are everywhere, including on my daughter’s body,” he said, his voice suddenly strained.
“And what was this? A test?”
