My Fiancé’s Bodyguard by Ivy Wild

Johnny wasn't jokingwhen he said we'd be heading back to Boston soon. We were back on the jet the next day, and I couldn't make up my mind about how I felt about any of it. My secret alliance with Max was so new and it was entirely untested. We hadn't coordinated how we would pass information back and forth to each other or what I was even supposed to be doing, besides trying to get information from Johnny and snooping around my father's office when I returned home.

I fiddled with the necklace Johnny had given to me. It sat heavy around my neck but I knew I needed to wear it. His reaction to me turning him down the night before was fresh in my memory. I wasn't an idiot. If I didn't appear interested in him at all, the plan might fall through.

As much as I didn't want to marry Johnny, I also didn't want Max to continue suffering with the unknown about his friend. I also wanted to know what had happened to my mother. If we were somehow able to discover what happened to those closest to us, playing along with Johnny was worth the risk.

"Do you like the necklace?" Johnny asked me from across the few feet that separated our seats.

I nodded my head. "Oh, yes. Although, I don't quite understand it," I ventured. "I've never seen something like it before."

"I'm not surprised," Johnny said. "It's called a Chakana or Incan cross."

Johnny opening up about where this little trinket may have come from was a good thing. I decided to push him to see if I could get any more information. Of course Max was sitting in the back of the plane, looking bored and on his phone. But, I knew that was just an act. I was sure he was listening.

"What's Incan?" I asked in a naïve tone.

"The Incan," Johnny corrected me with a bit of a smile on his face like he enjoyed doing it. "They were an old world empire, mainly in Peru."

Thatwas interesting. So, this little piece traced its roots back to Peru. It at least gave us something in terms of geography for where Johnny might have been.

"So, this is from Peru?" I hazarded a guess.

Johnny smiled at me. "I had it made especially for you," he replied, dodging the question.

I smiled back at him, playing with the little pendent between my fingers. "What's it made of?" I asked him. The question was a giveaway, but he clearly thought I was stupid.

"Pure gold," he replied, his chest puffing out a little bit.

"Oh!" I said, looking down at the little charm. "I haven't had a lot of gold jewelry. My father gave most of my mother's pieces to my sister when she got married."

Johnny shook his head. "He shouldn't have done that. You're the oldest."

I shrugged. "I think he gave up on the idea of me ever getting married and wanted to pass it all along to someone who had a chance of continuing the family name."

Johnny scoffed. "Well, I wouldn't say either of you will be able to continue the family name. It's a shame that your father was never able to sire a son."

The comment was obviously meant to be an insult, but insulting my father wasn't something that bothered me. More than that, I tried to use it as an opportunity to transition to Johnny's family.

"That's right, don't you have a lot of sons?" I asked.

"Four," he said proudly.

"Wow!" I replied. "And do they all help you with your business?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Just what do you think my business is, my dear?"

I gave him a dumb smile. "Don't you run a bakery? It's why you're in business with my father, right? Because my family still runs the flour mill?"

Johnny nodded his head in satisfaction. Apparently, I'd passed some sort of test. "Yes, that's right. A bakery is always in need of flour, especially at the rate we sell cookies."

I kept the dumb smile plastered on my face. "So, your sons, they help with the business?"

"Some more than others," Johnny replied, which was interesting.

"I guess that makes sense," I replied. "I don't really have that much of an interest in my father's business."

Johnny let out a chuckle. "Yes, dear. But, why would you? You are just a woman, after all."

I bit the inside of my cheek and forced the smile to stay on my face. "Silly me," I said to him. "I am sorry we didn't get to explore Miami together," I ventured, trying to continue the conversation.

"Oh? But didn't you explore with Max?"

I nodded my head. "Yes. But, I didn't feel like you and I got a chance to get to know one another at all," I remarked. "Which is sad, because I thought that was the purpose of the trip."

Johnny looked lost in thought a bit. "I suppose you are right. But, not to worry, your father and I have a lot to discuss. I'll be by your house a lot in the coming months leading up to the wedding."

I nodded my head and was saved from responding when the flight attendant made an announcement that we were about to touch down. Max made his way over to one of the seats near us and the three of us stayed quiet until we landed.

"Are we headed back to Dover?” Max asked as we waited for the attendant to open the plane door.

Johnny looked at me before nodding his head slowly. "Yes, I do think it would be best to take Madelyn home. I'm sure her father is anxious to see her."

For a moment it definitely felt like Johnny was deciding if he wanted to force me back to his place, but thankfully that's not what he decided on. This entire plan rested on me being able to gain access to my father's office and do some digging. The information might not make sense to me, but if I could figure out a way to get it to Max, it might give him the lead he needed.

We piled into the stretch Escalade that was waiting for us on the tarmac and I spent the remainder of the car ride quietly looking out the window as Johnny made various text messages and phone calls in Italian.

We finally pulled up to my house, and it was an odd sensation to be relieved to see the stupid mansion again. I climbed out of the car and stretched before Johnny took my arm in his and walked me up to the front door. We knocked, because it's not like I had a key and Claude answered for us.

"I don't think I'll accompany you inside, my dear," Johnny said, much to my relief. "I've got to check on things back at the bakery."

"Of course," I said, nodding my head. Johnny pulled me into his big body and I let him. He wrapped me in a big hug and pressed a kiss to my cheek before we parted. I smiled at him bashfully and wondered if this was what flies felt like when they were being slowly eaten alive by venus flytraps.

Johnny backed up from me slowly before snapping his fingers at Max. "Her bags."

I could hear Max's almost-growl, but he brought my suitcase over to me anyways. He almost shoved it into my hand and didn't say anything before turning to leave.

"Thank you for touring me around the city," I said to him, and he just waved his hand dismissively before waiting for Johnny to get back into the car. I watched as he climbed inside himself, closing the door behind them before the car drove off. I felt the loss of him the same way it had felt when he was forced to leave me at the restaurant in the hotel.

Except, this time, I knew he wasn't coming back. This time, I knew I was on my own to try and figure out whatever it was I could about my father and his connections to Johnny.

My father acted like him and Johnny were only recently doing business together, but I had a feeling that wasn't the case. I had a feeling that this relationship had been growing over the last few years but it had only recently been formalized.

"Who's at the door?" My father's voice echoed from inside the house and I grimaced upon hearing it. He made his way over and all but pushed Claude aside. "Was that Johnny?" he asked.

"Nice to see you too, father," I said, pushing past him and walking inside.

"Why didn't you insist he come inside? I would have liked to talk to him."

"Honestly father, your man-crush on him is a little sickening. You come off as needy," I replied. I probably shouldn't have been giving my father such attitude at the moment, but for the last twenty-four hours I'd had to keep it all bottled up for Johnny and now it was breaking free.

"Watch your tone, young lady," my father said back to me.

I shrugged as I started making my way towards my room. "No thanks. Don't forget, I'm your ticket to a long lasting relationship with the Maldonado Family. Better start being nice to me, dad." I said the last word with special emphasis before disappearing behind the stone column. I had to admit, a little bit of elevated status did feel good.

I’d done an idiot thing.Leaving aside teaming up with a runaway princess to try and investigate Billy’s murder, because that level of stupidity had its own gravity, I’d done another stupid thing.

I’d slipped the girl a cell phone.

She wouldn't have noticed it. But I slipped it into her luggage before we parted. It was a burner and there was only one number programmed into it.

Mine.

Well, not mine exactly. I wasn’t that much of an idiot.

It was the number to another burner that incidentally was sitting at home locked in my gun safe.

I really should have talked to her about the logistics of our communications, but my dick was too busy doing the thinking when I'd been with her at the hotel. It had only occurred to me when I'd woken up the next morning and Johnny said the jet was on standby that the moment her and I were back in Boston, I'd be seeing a lot less of her.

I needed a way for her to feed me information and for us to coordinate our efforts. And that meant taking a bit of a risk. I generally carried a spare burner with me at all times, especially when I traveled. When you lived in this world, this type of preparation just became second nature.

"You ready to get back to business?" Johnny asked me as the driver merged us onto the highway.

I rolled my shoulders and gave him a hard stare. "Fuck yeah."

"That's what I like to hear," he replied. "A large deposit is going to be made in one of my accounts within twenty-four hours. I've been told by my banker that he's not going to be able to process the wire, as the bank has suddenly found itself under new management, which is apparently a bit stricter about their anti-money laundering protocols."

I listened to what Johnny was telling me, hoping it would give me some sort of clue into what was going on.

"I need to send this banker of mine a reminder of just whose management he's truly under."

"Yeah, I got it," I said to Johnny.

"Make sure he understands there's to be no hold up in receiving the wire." He reached for his bag and pulled out a folder. He opened it up and gave me three photographs. I didn't need to look at them to know they were pictures of this guy's family. "Just incase he needs a little extra motivation."

"I'm usually very persuasive, but thanks," I said, tucking the photos into my back pocket.

Johnny nodded his head, seemingly satisfied that I understood my new directive.

"Did you enjoy your time with the little runaway this week?"

My heart pounded in my chest at his words but I kept my cool. I was careful about seeing her last night. I knew Johnny didn't know anything.

"I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed it," I replied in a bored tone.

"Then what would you say about it?"

I furrowed my brow at him. "I'd say I tolerated it. She's pretty obnoxious, if you want my opinion. Whiney and needy."

Johnny chuckled. "Young girls often are."

"Right," I replied. "Which is why I prefer ones with a bit more experience."

"I'm surprised you prefer company, at all," Johnny said.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I generally don't like people. So, there's that."

Johnny chuckled. "It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to find out that you're some sick fuck when it comes to women."

I ground my teeth but held back what I really wanted to say. "Not sure how we got on the topic of my interests in women, but let's take the first exit, shall we?"

Johnny's laugh subsided. "Always so sensitive."

I barked out my own laugh. "Ha! It's been a while since someone used that term within a thirty mile radius of me."

Thankfully, the driver parked the limo at the bakery and I exited the vehicle, cutting off the conversation. Johnny followed behind me.

I took a look at my watch and grimaced. It was around seven in the evening. I thought about how I wanted to handle the shakedown assignment.

"I'm gonna hit your boy up on his way to work tomorrow," I told Johnny.

He shrugged. "I don't care how it’s done. Just know if that wire doesn't go through, you won't be getting a paycheck because of it."

That was bullshit. It wasn't like Johnny didn't have the funds to pay me, even if this payment got halted. He was just letting me know in a not-so-subtle way that if I didn't get this job done, I was going to pay for it.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "I ain't never let you down on this shit before," I said, rolling my shoulders.

Johnny opened the door to enter the bakery and I could see his four sons sitting at one of the tables, talking. Johnny turned around to me. "I think you better go home, Max. I need some time with my sons to discuss a few things."

"Works for me," I said to him, turning back around.

"Report to me tomorrow after you've got everything sorted on your end."

"Got it," I said, raising my hand in acknowledgement before walking out the door.

With the evening over, I headed back to my apartment with only one thing on my mind.

Her.