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“You want me to guard rock stars?”
“I want you to leave your old life behind and stop being a miserable asshole. Go explore the world, meet new people, fall in love.”
“Richie,” I let out in a warning growl.
“What? I’m old and I believe in happy ever afters.”
“You’re fifty. That’s not old.”
“Tell that to my knees,” he laughed.
“Seriously though, what am I going to do in England? It’s cold and wet and they talk funny.”
He snorted. “But they have seasons… proper seasons. They have manners, tea, the King, castles, history… Marshall, they have a place where you can rebuild your life. You’re only thirty. Your past doesn’t have to define you, son.”
I pressed my fingers to where my brows furrowed, wondering if he was right. I’d started working with Richie to outrun my past, but it wasn’t far enough, and it still haunted me every day.
“How long is the contract for?”
“For as long as you want it. This is a fresh start, Marshall.”
“Fine.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ll take it. Email me the NDA and then you can tell me the rest of the details.”
“Come into the office. You know I hate computers.”
I watched my new client on the beach as she walked along, unaware of my presence. Once I’d agreed to take the job and signed the paperwork, Richie filled me in and then I’d chatted with Archer as well.
Ionee’s story was heartbreaking and put my sorry excuse for a past into perspective; she’d found her soul mate, helped him heal, and then she vanished to protect him from her memory loss. They found each other again by chance and he’d brought me in to protect her whether she wanted to be with him again or not. That was true love. It almost thawed my cynical heart… almost.
The beach was crowded, which was nothing unusual for a sunny Miami day, but when I saw a camera flash, I knew we had company. A crowd gathered quickly, shouting questions as they closed in on Ionee. The look of panic on her face as she quickened her steps was hard to watch. I wrapped my arm around her waist, making her scream and struggle to break free.
“Ionee, I’m a friend of Archer’s,” I murmured close to her ear, not wanting any of the press surrounding us to hear. “We all are.” I pointed to the three other bodyguards dressed in black, now moving the photographers and journalists back from where we stood. “My name is Marshall and I’m going to help you get home safe, okay?”
“How do I know you’re not trying to kidnap me and sell me to the highest bidder?” she replied, staring up at me.
I laughed. “We should have come up with a safe word, so you knew Archer sent us.” “What word would you have chosen?” I asked, feeling in awe at how well he seemed to know her.
Without a pause, she replied, “Aardvark.”
I pressed the note that Archer had dictated to me earlier into her hand, listening to the gasp as she read it.
You’ll pick Aardvark. Trust that I sent them. Arch x
I escorted Ionee back to her waterfront house as my team made sure we weren’t followed. She was silent the entire way, glancing down at the note now and then. When we got inside, she poured us both a glass of water, pointing at me to take a seat on the sofa. I sat, gazing around at the art on the wall. “Nice pictures.”
She sat next to me, staring up at them. “Apparently I don’t remember my fiancé, but despite everything, I’ve been drawing him since I arrived here.”
“Wow. The brain is a powerful thing, right?”
She took a sip of her drink before letting out a sigh, keeping her gaze fixed on them. “Have you ever been in love, Marshall?”
I swallowed down the past before it found a way to take hold and choke me yet again. “I thought I was, but it can’t have been love.”
She turned, tucking her long hair behind her ear, letting me catch sight of the scar that I knew ran along the side of her head. “What makes you say that?”
“Love can’t hurt that much, can it? It can’t break you into a million tiny pieces and leave you for the world to pick apart. That can’t be what love is.”
“I hurt Archer.”
