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Elsie nibbles on her bottom lip, twisting her fingers together in front of her, seemingly considering her words before she answers. “Because of Wade.”
My eyes are fixed on my client, his eyes widening as pain washes over his face, tightening his jaw and twitching his nose.
“Wade is harmless. It’s all empty threats with him.” Waving his hand dismissively, he fools no one as he turns away from us for a moment.
I take the opportunity to step further into the room, the smell of sweet goodness luring me closer, a hint of the man before me contributing too, but I’m in no position to admit that right now.
“They’re not empty anymore, Nate, that’s why I’m here. And I’m a security expert, not a bodyguard,” I state, tucking my hands into my pockets, trying to at least appear calm and relaxed.
Nate spins on his heels to glare at me, confusion knitting his eyebrows together as his mouth hangs wide open. “He knows my name?” His voice is little more than a whisper as shock radiates from him, and I try not to make a snarky comment about him stating the obvious. I have a feeling that’s not going to help at the moment.
“I also know that this is serious, and your friend here has arranged for a full lockdown scenario. Which means you need to grab your things and come with me for the foreseeable future. Preferably with a couple of cakes or ten,” I explain, attempting to lighten the mood as if it’s totally normal to be in this situation. I mean, it is for me, just not for him.
Nate lifts his fingertips to his temples, squeezing them until his knuckles turn white. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t need protecting. Not from you or anyone else,” he grunts, not able to meet my gaze.
“Nate, it’s gotten worse. I haven’t let you into the front of the shop today because he trashed the inside, spray painted the walls and fucked up the entire store,” Elsie admits, the shock taking hold of Nate as he stands frozen in place.
“When?” he whispers.
“Last night. He had a gun, Nate. Waving it around, threatening you, threatening me, threatening everything. You’ve been through enough, and that man has taken more than enough along with him too. I refuse to let anything else happen. This stops now.” Elsie’s voice grows more firm, stronger with every word.
I watch as Nate glances between the two of us once more before he shakes his head. “I understand the concern, and I’ll help fix everything, Elsie, but I don’t need protection,” he replies, cutting the distance between him and his friend as he wraps her in his arms.
Giving them a moment to hug it out or whatever it is they’re doing, I edge closer. When they part, Elsie looks at me over Nate’s shoulder and nods, confirming that this is the all-or-nothing deal that was discussed last night.
Nate doesn’t catch it when he turns to face me, hands clenched at his sides as he tries to take a deep breath, failing at the confidence he attempts to project. “Thank you for coming all the way out here, but it wasn’t necessary.” His tight smile never falters as I continue to stare at him blankly.
“I hear you, but your life is at risk. More than you probably realize. So my order is to take you away whether you like it or not.” I keep my voice calm and my eyes fixed on his.
“Take me where?” He takes a step toward me, unconsciously done, I’m sure, as I spy Elsie gathering a few bits from around the room and stuffing them into a bag.
“To a secure location.”
My answer doesn’t seem to please him as he scoffs. “And I’m just supposed to trust some random guy who…” His words trail off as I flash him my identification from my pocket.
“I wouldn’t be asking so nicely, on no sleep and an empty stomach, if I wasn’t the good guy in all of this,” I grumble, my tone biting slightly as my stomach squeezes in hunger.
Edging closer, there’s not a huge amount of height difference between us, which is surprising since I’m six foot four. He must be at least six foot, maybe six foot two, but where I’m bulky, he’s lean.
“I’m. Not. Going.” He says the words slowly, like I wouldn’t understand them any other way, and I shrug.
“Have it your way,” I murmur before taking the final step between us, my body gently colliding with his stomach as I grab him and throw him over my shoulder.
“Oh my fucking God,” he growls, surprise getting the better of him as I effortlessly turn for the door with my target acquired. “What are you fucking doing?” he spits out, thrashing slightly in my hold, but I band my arm behind his thighs, keeping him in place, only to find Elsie holding out a bag of goodies for me to take. I wink in response, thankful for the treats. “I said what are you fucking doing?” Nate yells again, anger now getting the better of him as I chuckle, watching as Elsie offers him a book, keeping her mouth shut.
“My fucking job.”
THREE
Nate
What the ever-lovingfuck is happening right now?
There are so many questions swarming in my mind, it’s like a fucking beehive in there.
When my anxiety and stress heightens, so does my use of the f-bomb, both out loud and in my mind, and I can’t switch the damn thing off. As coping mechanisms go, it’s probably the least effective, but here we are.
Well, hereIam. In a fucking blacked out SUV with some hot security guy that I don’t even know. Why does he have to be so hot? So broody? So… quiet?
