My Fiancé’s Bodyguard by Ivy Wild

Theme Song

Tearing Me Up by Bob Moses

Risk by Metric

Desireby Meg Myers

Animalby AURORA

Heat Wavesby Glass Animals

Lofticries by Purity Ring

Disparate Youthby Santigold

Hostageby Danrell x Smaland

Nightlightby Illenium

Paspatouby Parra for Cuva

“Fucking rich people,”I thought as I slammed the door to the Cadillac Escalade and surveyed the perfectly manicured gardens that surrounded us.

“This way,” my boss, Johnny Maldonado, said to me as he rounded the back of the vehicle. I flexed my shoulders and safety checked the gun in my holster before following. I climbed the marble steps and looked up at intricate stone columns that rose three stories high into towering peaks above us. My attention was drawn away when Johnny reached up and grasped the large brass rings on the door.

As soon as the first click sounded, the grand oak door swung open revealing an exceedingly well-dressed man. “Welcome to the Dimes Estate,” he said, bowing slightly before motioning for us to enter.

I rolled my eyes at the formality of everything. Ever since Johnny had made me his de facto bodyguard, I’d been forced to accompany him to more and more uncomfortable business meetings. It grated on my nerves, but I was learning to keep my mouth shut. That didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Mr. Dimes will receive you in his study,” the butler said, once again motioning for us to follow him. I watched our surroundings carefully as we walked through the foyer. Rich silk cloth lined the walls on our path to the study. The whole place was overdone. Fucking rich bastards hoarded all their money just so they could put clothes on their goddamn walls. It made me sick.

“Mr. Dimes is just through here,” the butler indicated as we arrived into yet another foyer.

“Thank you,” Johnny replied with a nod. “My attendant will wait out here.”

I fucking hated the way Johnny referred to me as his attendant. I was no one’s fucking attendant. Maybe some guys would consider it an honor, but not me.

I signed my name on my DD214 five years ago and never looked back. I rose within the ranks of the Maldonado Family faster than most. But, being a former Army Ranger sort of gives you the one-up on scrawny teenagers who dreamed of becoming mobsters. I had a reason for being here, and it’s what drove me every damn day. After five years, I may not have been on the straight and narrow anymore, but I still had sight of my goal.

The butler bowed, directing Johnny behind another set of large oak doors before leaving. “Henry Dimes!” I heard Johnny say in a boisterous tone before the doors muffled the sound of the pair’s brown-nosing.

I surveyed the large hall with some disinterest. The chances that someone would attempt to attack Johnny inside the Dimes estate was slim to none, but I was a creature of habit. My dark eyes moved from each corner as my mind calculated where threats might surface and how I might defend the boss if necessary. My eye ticked slightly as I considered the large columns creating hideaway nooks. Once again, designed for looks rather than functionality.

But as my gaze moved across the last corner, I noticed movement behind the column. A flash of pink was all I saw. Anyone without my training would have missed it, but I was on it in a second.

Crouching low, I rushed forward, my boots silent on the marble floor. Within seconds I had the intruder pinned against the column, my right forearm pressing against her neck as I unsheathed the Bowie knife I always kept at my hip and pressed it dangerously close to her neck. I felt the intruder breathe in air to scream and I quickly brought my left hand up to cover her mouth as I pushed my body into hers further to pin her down.

Having successfully restrained the trespasser, I took stock of whom it was I was facing. My eyes widened as bright blue eyes stared back at me. The fingers of my left hand flexed as I realized it was pressed against a pair of soft, plump lips. My body tensed as I felt the silk and lace of the pink dress pressed against me.

“Who are you?” I finally asked, loosening the fingers of my left hand slightly.

“Madelyn Dimes.”

“You’re notto leave your room once my business associates arrive,” my father said dismissively as I stood before him in his study.

“Yes, father,” I responded with a heaping dose of attitude. I swept a piece of my bright blonde hair that had escaped my perfect bun back into its prison with a lace-gloved hand.

I rolled my eyes as I took him in. I knew many people thought he was attractive, even at his slightly advanced age of fifty-five, but I knew that was because they’d never had the chance to have a full conversation with him. No amount of strong cheekbones, salt and pepper hair, or intense green eyes could cover his high levels of narcissism.

He was wearing a silk designer suit, and I was wearing an equally upscale pink evening gown complete with matching lace gloves because even though I wasn’t invited to the meeting, heaven forbid his guests might try and call on me and I not look like I was going to the Academy Awards.

“Madelyn,” my father admonished with a raised eyebrow.

“Apologies, father,” I said in an equally exasperated tone. “Sometimes these dresses squeeze me so tight, I know not what I’m saying.”

“It’s a good thing you won’t be receiving our guest. With an attitude like that, I’d be embarrassed to introduce you as my daughter,” my father replied absently, his eyes fixed on the folders in front of him.

I couldn’t hold back the scoff. “No doubt this particular gentleman isn’t connected enough to warrant a marriage proposal.”

My father looked up at me with a scowl. “Enough. You’re dismissed.”

I let out a dramatic sigh before walking through the oversized doors, not caring that the oak slammed behind me.

I hated that my father thought he could still tell me to stay locked in my room like some prisoner. I paced back and forth outside his study, my mind racing as hot as my temper. I knew girls were supposed to look up to their fathers, but I didn’t. I didn’t trust him one bit, and the more and more I thought about it, the more and more I was convinced he didn’t want me around because he was up to something less than legal.

That and because he had very little respect for women. He was so fucking ancient some days.

But I’d heard that he was having a meeting with Johnny Maldonado, and as clean as that man’s reputation was on paper, the rumors that floated around about him were less than gilded.

I heard Claude direct the guests to where I was standing, and curiosity got the better of me as I slipped silently behind one of the darkened corners of the foyer columns.

I peered out from my hiding place as Claude opened the door to my father’s study and directed one of the men inside. It was obvious this was Johnny. He was about my father’s age, heavyset, with what was left of his dark black hair slicked back. How cliché. Too bad his navy suit wasn’t pinstriped. He would have been the whole mob boss package.

“Mr. Dimes is just through here,” I heard Claude say.

“Thank you. My attendant will wait out here,” said Johnny. As my father stepped forward, I heard Johnny boom his name and then I waited for the doors to click shut behind them.

I watched from the corner of my eye as Claude exited the space, waiting for his footsteps to disappear down the hallway before I risked another look from behind the protection of the column. Holding my breath, I finally peered out from behind the structure to look at the man who had accompanied Johnny.

Even from my limited vantage point, I could see that he was tall—easily over six feet. His dark brown hair was cropped short and faded on the sides. Some sort of tactical vest was on over a skin-tight black tee on top. Khaki trousers were tucked into heavy combat boots, and I could see thick cords of muscle stretched along his arms, which were dotted with some interesting tattoos. Simply put, he seemed dark, fierce, and animalistic—so very different than the types of men I was used to seeing.

I wanted a closer look and risked leaning out from behind the column further and internally cursed as I watched the fabric of my skirt slide forward, exposing my location.

I didn’t have a moment to process what had happened before I felt a strong body pressing me against the stone. Before I could even draw breath to scream, a hand came up to cover my mouth as his forearm pressed against my throat.

My eyes widened as his dark eyes stared back at me. Up close he seemed even more intense than he had at a distance. A cut separated his eyebrow slightly, and he was looking at me in a way that made me feel seen. For a moment, he seemed frozen, almost as if he was taken off guard.

“Who are you?” he finally asked in a deep voice.

His fingers loosened against my mouth slightly so that I could speak.

“Madelyn Dimes.”

“Fuck,” the man cursed as I announced who I was. He quickly stepped back, releasing me. “You spying on your old man?” he asked as he rolled his shoulders.

I huffed at his accusation, however correct it might be. “What? I—” I stumbled over my words. “I’m a member of this household. I don’t need to spy.”

“Sure thing, princess,” the dark man laughed.

“Princess?”

My eyes followed him as he leaned against the column across from me and twisted his knife in his hands before he started cleaning his nails with it. “Yeah,” he said. “Locked in a castle and wearing that dress. Looks like a princess to me.”

“Hilarious,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s not like I want to be in this situation.”

“Must be so hard, being as rich as you are,” the man almost sneered.

“Yeah, well. Every situation has its own unique set of problems,” I said, my words trailing off slightly. “So are you just Maldonado’s dog then?”

The man looked up and growled, and it sent alarm bells off in my head. “I ain’t no dog.”

I could tell I hit a nerve. But it was me, and I couldn’t help but press it. “Walked on a leash and made to wait for his Master.”

“Careful princess,” the man said in a menacing tone.

I huffed before taking a seat on the ground in the middle of the foyer. “Jeez, can’t take a joke,” I said before falling back to splay out with my arms spread wide. “What’s your name anyways?”

“You often just go around laying down on floors?” the man asked with an almost chuckle.

I shrugged my shoulders. “When you’re forced to be formal on an almost nonstop basis, meeting someone you can relax with is a rare treat.” I snapped my fingers at him. “Name?”

His features shifted slightly at my words before his ice-cold mask snapped firmly back into place. “Max Holt.” He hesitated before finally adding, “Sorry for earlier, by the way.”

I giggled. “Are you kidding me? That was the most thrill I’ve had in my entire life,” I said honestly. I lifted my hands above my head to stretch. “As you’ve probably already been able to tell, life around here is incredibly boring.”

Max chuckled. “‘Probly because the house is too big. No one has to bicker for their own space.”

I sighed. “Yeah, it’s pretty lonely just being me and the old man.”

Max paused cleaning his nails for a moment to look at me. I couldn’t quite make out his eye color but from this vantage point, his irises looked almost gray. “You’re the only two people that live in this fucking castle?”

I giggled at his foul language. “Yeah. I mean, the servants are here during the day but they have quarters on the other side of the compound.”

“Geez,” Max said. “Your house has its own house.”

“So, what do you think the two farts are in there talking about anyways?” I asked, not really expecting Max to know.

As anticipated, he shrugged his shoulders. “No clue and don’t really care.”

I propped myself up on my elbows so I could get a better look at Max. “So, what is it you do anyways?”

Max sheathed his knife and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Why you wanna know?”

I motioned dramatically to the empty hallways. “‘Cause I’m always bored, remember?”

Max chuckled. The sound was deep and filled the dead space of the foyer around us. I’d never been around a man like him and I still didn’t quite know what to think about him.

“I’m a soldier. I do soldier stuff,” he said gruffly.

I twisted my lips at him. “You don’t look like a soldier in any military I know of.”

His split eyebrow lifted, and he turned to look at me. His features were even more stunning from this angle. No, not stunning. I did not just think that. So what if he had a strong jawline, dark, hooded eyes, and a scowl that played on his lips. He was just another man. One that worked for Maldonado. I needed to be smart and keep my distance.

But still, he intrigued me.

“I thought you were trapped in this castle. How many soldiers you see inside these walls, princess?” His tone was slightly amused, but I knew it was at my expense.

“Even Rapunzel found a way out of her tower. I have my ways.”

Max just chuckled and shook his head. “I bet you do, princess. I bet you do.”

I was about to ask him something else but he shushed me. “They’re approaching the door. Better get out of here unless you want to get in trouble,” he warned.

“Damn,” I cursed as I stood, and Max raised the corner of his lips into a slight smile.

“Don’t do that. It looks odd on your face,” I said as I started running down the hallway.

“Do what?” he shouted after me.

I turned around to look at him. He was standing there, staring me down. Him in his tactical vest and combat boots and me in my lacy gown. “Smile,” I said with a laugh before running down the hallway, my pink skirts billowing behind me.