My Fiancé’s Bodyguard by Ivy Wild

I watchedhim as he slept. His calm exterior was at complete odds with the turmoil that I knew was currently ravaging his heart.

Maybe some girls would still have hated him.

Hated him for refusing to help me run away.

Hated him for finding me.

And hated him for insisting on bringing me back.

But, I didn’t hate him.

After everything he told me, I understood him.

I understood why he was doing what he was doing, and if I were in his shoes, I’d be doing the same thing. In some ways, I was. Because nothing was preventing me from trying to run away now. Sure, I might not get very far, but I could still try.

And more than that, nothing was requiring me to help him. But, I knew he wouldn’t get far without my help. The chances of getting someone to do something for either of the people we’d lost in our lives were slim to none.

No, I didn’t hate him.

How could I?

Because we were the same.

And the only way we were going to avenge the people we loved was by working together.

Morning sunlight filtered through the open windows. The drapes were pulled back from the large panes so the room lit easily. His gray eyes cracked open and he looked at me for a moment before he said anything at all.

“Hey.”

I smiled the smallest of smiles. “Hey,” I said back.

“You didn’t sleep?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I can’t sleep when I’m anxious,” I replied.

He nodded and sat up in the bed, the sheet falling down to reveal his sculpted and inked torso. “Eventually you get used to it.”

I reached over and touched one of the tattoos on his chest. His breath hitched but he didn’t stop me.

“What does this mean?” I asked, running my fingers over the phrase on his pectoral. It read "rely on yourself and you will not be disappointed."

He put his hand over mine, pressing my fingers into his heart. “Does it matter?” he asked, looking at me intensely.

I shrugged. “I guess not.” It’s what I said, but I was lying. For some reason, I wanted to know Max more. I wanted to know what made him tick, other than revenge. I sighed, realizing with sadness that he probably didn’t know the answer to that himself at the moment.

The ringing of his cell phone pulled us both out of the moment. His hand slipped away from mine as he reached to grab it from the nightstand.

"Hello," he said, putting the phone to his ear. He was distant this morning, but I understood it. Eventually, Johnny would return and he'd have to watch me return to two men who he knew would not be kind to me. Him and I getting involved was--

--no. He and I weren't involved. Having it any other way was too risky.

And I'm sure he knew that.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said into the phone. His tone changed back into the harsh, standoffish voice I’d heard him use around Johnny and my father. I hated hearing it coat his words.

"Yeah, we're still at the hotel." He nodded before saying, "sounds good."

He clicked the phone off and looked at me. "Johnny's on his way back from wherever he was. You sure you're ready for this?" he asked.

I shook my head. “No. But, closing the blinds doesn’t keep the sun from rising each morning,” I lamented, looking around the room.

Max gave me a confused look and I smiled sadly. “I mean, whether I’m prepared or not, there are some things in life that we can’t control. And this is one of them.”

“Ain’t no chance to go back once we start, princess,” he said to me.

I nodded. “There never really was in the first place.”

I satat the assigned table in the hotel's restaurant. The butterflies were churning in my stomach more than usual, but that was to be expected, given the circumstances. I was in one of the stupid outfits that had been left for me. This time it was a white silk dress that hugged my curves held up by gold metal straps.

If I wasn't wearing it for Johnny Maldonado's amusement, I would have almost liked it. Max was sitting across from me, his phone in his hand, one combat boot crossed over the other, looking incredibly bored by the whole situation.

Johnny had called him in the morning to let him know that he'd be returning to the hotel in the evening and that he wanted me ready for dinner. Suddenly I was being subjected to demands.

Max and I had agreed on our plan of action, as best as we could in the limited time we had to make it.

Step one: delay the wedding as long as possible. We needed to collect evidence about the business dealings between my father and Johnny. We both had a feeling it would be far easier to find evidence through my father than through Johnny.

Johnny had been doing this sort of thing for years. If the rumors were to be believed, the Feds had been trying to find a way at him for years. But, no one would go near him. Not the state prosecutors, and not the cops. So, the Federal Agents who weren't as under the influence of Boston's notorious mafioso always came up empty on the evidence side of things.

Max and I figured that if we could feed them just one thread, they might be able to pull hard enough to make the whole thing unravel. But, that meant me being back home to search through my father's office. Not married to Johnny and stashed away in some lavish Cambridge penthouse with a credit card, a 24-hour guard and limited access to the outside world.

Step two was the thing I was dreading the most. And that was to get close to Johnny. Just thinking it made me grimace, but it made sense. Max was quick to point out that the more comfortable Johnny was around me, the more likely he was to let something slip. We also didn't want him getting frustrated with me and calling the whole thing off.

I'd asked Max if Johnny had ever let anything slip in all the time he'd been working for him and he said no, but pointed out that Johnny never seemed romantically interested in him.

"He's got a soft spot for pretty young things. And that's you."

"Gee, thanks," I replied, laying back down on the bed to stare at the gilded cage on the ceiling. "Should have played the lottery given my luck."

"Use it to your benefit, Maddie. It will take you far in life. What was it you said on the beach, 'anything's a weapon?'"

I'd thrown a pillow at him and that was the end of that conversation. I knew he had a point, but even still, I didn't have to like it.

So, with those two steps in place, I was wearing what I was wearing, sitting where I was supposed to be sitting, waiting for Johnny to come back from wherever he'd gone.

Max really wanted to know where he'd been. And that was my goal for this evening. To find out why Johnny had left and where he'd gone.

A bit of noise from further down the restaurant drew my eyes up, and I tried to plaster a smile on my face as I saw him walking down towards the table. Johnny wasn't an ugly man per se, but all together he was just not a great specimen. He wasn’t slender, but he wasn't fat. He wasn't short but he also wasn't tall. He had hair, but not a lot of it. It was a good thing he had power, because he wasn't going to get far on looks alone.

I stood as he approached and he shooed me back into my seat.

"Oh sit, sit, my darling." He paused and looked at Max who was still playing a game on his phone, acting as if he was completely oblivious to the entire scene. "But you, up," he said with a snap.

Max looked up from his game and stood before looking back down at his phone. Johnny took a seat and Max just stood there awkwardly.

"Did you enjoy your time in the city while I was gone, my dear?" Johnny asked me.

"Oh yes, very much so," I replied carefully, giving him a nervous smile.

"I assume my personnel behaved himself and didn't cause you any grief."

Max rolled his shoulders but still kept his eyes on his phone. "I ain't the one to cause grief, boss."

I brushed off the comment. "Everything was fine," I said. "I got to see a good deal of the city and that was fantastic."

"I'm glad to hear that, my dear," Johnny said. He placed his hand atop mine on the table and brushed his thumb against my skin and I let him for approximately two excruciating seconds before pulling back with a shy smile.

"I don't think we'll be needing you for the rest of the night, Max," Johnny said, not taking his eyes off of me. I looked down, because I was afraid if I looked up, I'd physically blanch.

"You sure, boss? She has a tendency to bolt when a person's not looking. She's sort of like a Husky dog. Heard they did that, too."

My eyes widened and I feigned shock at Max's words, but Johnny just brushed him off. "Enough," he said. "You're dismissed."

Max shrugged his shoulders and made his way towards the kitchen. I felt the loss of him instantly. This was the first time I'd ever been alone with Johnny, and despite the fact that there were people around us in the restaurant, I still felt very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry I had to be apart from you these last few days," Johnny said to me.

I shook my head bashfully. "No, it's okay. I understand. I'm sure your business is very important." I resisted the urge to ask him where he had gone. It would have been too obvious.

"Yes. Unfortunately people don't always do what they're supposed to and sometimes you have to make a personal appearance to ensure that they act accordingly."

I nodded my head like I understood what he was saying.

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, placing it on the table. "I was thinking of you, however," he said. "And I had a little something made for you."

A velvet jewelry box was between us and I looked at him uncertainly.

"Mr. Maldonado," I said nervously. "I thought we were waiting to make the engagement formal." My words came out shaky and this time, it wasn't an act.

He chuckled lightly and pushed the box a little closer to me. "You're going to get exhausted jumping to all those conclusions, my dear. Go ahead and open the box."

I reached forward gingerly and took the little thing in my hand. I pulled it open and almost breathed a sigh of relief. Inside was a shimmering gold necklace. The pendant was a square-like shape with a little circle cut out in the middle.

"Wow," I said, not sure what to say. "It's too much, really."

"Nonsense," Johnny said, getting out of his seat. "Let me put it on you."

I nodded my head because I knew I had no other choice. I took the little pendant out of its box and handed it to Johnny. His hands circled my neck, touching my collar bone as he dragged the chain to the back to connect the ends together. He placed his hands on my shoulders for a few seconds and I just sat there stiffly until he let go.

Circling around back to his seat he smiled at me. "It looks beautiful on you. I hope when you wear it, you think of me."

I fingered the little charm and nodded my head. "Yes, thank you," I said. Internally I hoped that the necklace might have some clues as to where he had gone. "Did you at least enjoy your trip?"

Johnny shook his head. "I never like to talk about work at the table. We Italians have a rule about it. At least when women are present."

Up until he'd said that last thing, I imagined that some people might find Johnny charming. But, his statement was a blaring reminder of who this man really was and what his values were. Marrying him was not an option. Doing so would be equivalent to forfeiting my life.

"Oh," I replied sheepishly.

Johnny shook his head. "Not to worry. I want to hear all about your time in the city while I was gone. We'll be heading back to Boston within a day's time, so I hope you got to see the sights."

My eyes widened a bit at his news. "We're leaving so soon? But you just got here."

Johnny nodded. "Yes, but I've no need to be here any longer. Besides, I don't like to be away from home for too long."

Internally I scoffed. That made perfect sense. A king would be foolish to leave his kingdom unattended for too long. Especially if what Max said was true and he had four sons all vying for his position and power within the family. Being around to control the inevitable conflict that was sure to arise from that would be absolutely necessary.

"That's a shame," I replied sweetly. "I was just beginning to like this place."

"You don't like Boston?" he asked, signaling for the waitress.

She approached and we halted our conversations so that she could take our orders.

"It's not that I don't like Boston," I replied. "It's just that I've never been given the chance to live anywhere else. I was really hoping to go to school at some point," I said, testing Johnny on this subject.

He shook his head. "No need for that, anymore," he replied taking a sip of his wine. "It won't do you any good."

I grabbed my own wine glass and took a sip, needing time to cool down before I said something that got me murdered.

"I suppose you're right," I muttered into the glass, feeling sick as I said the words.

The rest of the evening I tried to carefully find out things about Johnny, but the man was a closed book. By the end of the night, I felt no closer to getting any information on him than when I started. Even my attempts to bring up his sons were met with a smooth change in subject.

"Well, Ms. Dimes," Johnny said to me, standing up and offering me his hand. I took it and internally wished the hotel spa offered Botox, because it would have made all this fake smiling a lot easier. "I very much enjoyed being back in your company tonight," he said, wrapping my arm around his and leading me towards the rooms.

"Yes," was all I managed to say.

"Did you get a chance to explore the hotel?" he asked as he walked me towards the spiral staircase. Each step I took made me feel like I was walking closer and closer to the edge of a plank. There were only so many steps left before I was sure to drown.

"Um, not really," I said to him honestly. "We spent most of our time in town."

"Oh, what a shame," Johnny replied. "Each room in this mansion is as eclectic as its owner was. You really should have asked for a tour."

I nodded my head. "Perhaps tomorrow."

We ascended the spiral staircase and Johnny stopped at the threshold to my suite. "I'm staying in the Empire Suite. It's more my style compared to Gianni's Suite."

I nodded my head again like I was interested, which I wasn't. Frankly, I didn't care where Johnny slept as long as it was not next to me.

"I'd be happy to show it to you this evening," he said, leaning in.

My nerves dropped in my stomach and I panicked and leaned back. "Um, Mr. Maldonado," I said as he invaded my space.

"Please, dear, call me Johnny."

"Oh, I don't think I could do that," I replied. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm very tired today for some reason. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon?" I was trying to be diplomatic in my response to his rather bold and obvious request.

I could see the disappointment and borderline frustration on his face. It was a solid reminder that I needed to give a little here, otherwise things were not going to go well for me, according to Max.

"Yes, tomorrow then," he said.

Knowing I had to give him some semblance of hope, I leaned forward quickly and placed a peck to his cheek. He looked at me as I pulled back and I quickly opened the door to my suite. "Good night, Mr. Maldonado," I said before closing him on the other side of the door.

I rubbed the back of my hand across my lips in disgust as I made my way to the sink to wash out my mouth. There was no going back, but this was going to be harder than I thought.