My Fiancé’s Bodyguard by Ivy Wild

It had to be today.Doris and I had decided on it. We didn't know how long Mark and Scarlett would be staying with us and as soon as they left, all hope of getting the journal would leave with them. No, it had to be soon. And considering that I was scheduled to visit Johnny in the North End tomorrow, it had to be now.

Doris had been the one to come up with the plan. Mark had turned one of the spare bedrooms into a makeshift office. Doris said he generally followed her straight away when she announced dinner after straightening up a few papers and putting a few things away. In the past, she hadn't paid too much attention to it. But this time, she knew what she was looking for.

She would watch where he put his journal and while we were eating, she'd head back to his office to grab it. I was then going to take it with me on my visit. We both agreed there was no way I could take pictures of the entire journal. If Scarlett's information was correct, Mark had been keeping records of his days for the past several years in this journal, adding pages as needed. It would take far too long and be far too risky to have the book out for that amount of time.

Instead, I'd have to find some way to get it to Max when I arrived. Of course Mark was going to find out. And of course Scarlett was going to suspect me after our conversation. But, I didn't plan on coming back to the mansion before everything was resolved. Because, if that journal contained what I think it contained, combined with the wiretaps and whatever else I could get Johnny to admit to on my visit, Max and I should have enough to close this case.

Our lives depended on it.

So, that evening, I sat at the dinner table across from Scarlett, between my father and Mark at the respective heads of the table, while the butterflies churned in my stomach.

I was waiting for Doris to bring dessert and give me the signal. If my dish came with ice cream, that meant we were all set. Without it, and well, we weren't a CVS Pharmacy; we didn't have a Plan B.

Currently, we were on the main course.

"Father tells me you'll be going away tomorrow," Scarlett volunteered.

"Going away is an interesting choice of words," I said, slurping a bit more soup into my mouth.

My father flipped a page over in the newspaper he was reading. I never understood why he insisted on family dinners. He just read the paper the whole time. Maybe he enjoyed people being there just so he could ignore them.

"Madelyn has been invited to visit Johnny's business," my father said in a somewhat bored tone. "It's a very big honor and she will be on her very best behavior," he said, putting emphasis on the last words.

My normal self would have given him a heaping dose of sass mixed with sarcasm, but given how nervous I was at the moment, I just smiled and put another spoon of soup into my mouth.

"Are you alright, Maddie?" Scarlett asked me.

"Me?" I replied nervously. "Of course. Just a bit nervous, that's all."

The dinner continued in awkward silence until the plates were cleared. My stomach continued to churn as I waited for Doris to bring the plates.

My father folded his newspaper and stood. My eyes followed him as he looked across the table at Mark. "Doris," he said aloud and my friend peeked her head into the room.

"Yessir?"

"I don't think we'll be needing dessert this evening."

My stomach dropped.

"Oh, but Sir, I have the most delicious blueberry pie I intended to serve with vanilla ice cream," she said, giving away that the plan had been a success.

I almost breathed a sigh of relief right then and there, but I stopped myself.

"I'm sure," my father said dismissively. "But, Madelyn is visiting her betrothed tomorrow and Mark and I have some business to discuss."

"I'm not sure I understand what Madelyn's visit has to do with dessert, Sir?" Doris ventured to ask, ever the one to push at my father's buttons. Most days I was surprised she was still working here.

He cleared his throat and looked at me. "A lady should keep her figure. Too much dessert interferes with such things. We can't have you looking overweight for your wedding."

I forced an awkward smile on my face because if he knew what I wanted to say, he'd never refer to me as "a lady" again. Doris, however, did not have my reservations, even though she likely should have, considering that she was in on this whole thing we were doing this evening and we did not need to make my father or Mark mad at either of us.

"Oh, that's old-world nonsense," Doris said. "The girl can have what she wants, Henry."

My father just ignored her comment and nodded at Mark, who fell into line behind him. I desperately wanted to hear what they were going to talk about. I was also a little nervous that Mark might start looking for his journal before the night was up. Doris assured me that she was familiar with his movements and that once he left his office for dinner, he didn't return to it.

But still.

Things always had a way of going wrong when I was involved.

"If you want dessert you should have it, Maddie," Scarlett said to me from across the table. It was just the three of us women left in the room now and my gaze softened as I looked at her. "I mean, if you want to get fat, it's totally your choice. Father shouldn't comment."

I twisted my lips because I was no longer sure if she was trying to be nice.

"Thanks, Scarlett," I said quietly as I looked over at Doris who gave me an awkward thumbs up.

I shook my head and sighed. Tonight was beyond fucked up. I could only imagine what tomorrow would be like.

The suitcasethat Doris had packed for me was on the plush leather seat next to me. Johnny had sent the stretch Escalade to pick me up at the house, and I was a little disappointed that Max hadn't been inside. It was just me and a driver I didn't recognize.

I hadn't dared open the suitcase yesterday evening once it was packed. I knew Doris likely hid the journal somewhere in the lining, but I didn't want to be seen with it just in case someone entered my room. That being said, I was dying to read its contents. I really hoped that it gave us what we needed to put things away.

The first part of the plan was on Doris, but the second part of the plan was on me. I needed to find a way to get the journal to Max and, at the same time, I needed to stay away from home for as long as it took for him to go through it and turn it over to the authorities. Mark would undoubtedly find out that his journal was missing the next day. Remaining under Johnny's care and protection would actually benefit me this time. It was highly unlikely that my father or Mark would call Johnny just to tell him they'd misplaced a book. But, if I came home, all bets were off.

I didn't worry about getting Johnny to let me stay. Keeping him away from me the entire time I was there would be trickier. I sincerely hoped I'd be able to get the journal to Max and that he'd have time to review it as soon as possible. The longer I stayed in the North End, the more likely I'd have to do something I wouldn't be able to wash off.

"We're here, Miss," the driver said to me as he slowed down the limo and put it into park. I was amazed that he was able to drive the thing through the narrowed, cobblestone streets. I looked out the window and recognized where we were. I hadn't been here many times, but you tended to remember certain things when you were a child. It was almost as if children knew better than adults when things were amiss, because I remember coming to this bakery with my father, mother and sister when I was younger and getting a bad feeling.

Pink-hued granite decorated the facade of the white brick building that housed the bakery. A bright yellow sign in big cursive letters read "Maldonado's Bakery" and stuck out slightly from the front of the building. Compared to the other buildings next to it, the shop was small, with just one floor and the attached restaurant. As I stepped out of the car, the scents of almond and fresh bread wafted towards me and it made it hard to believe that something so sweet could be a front for something so sinister.

The driver handed me my bag, and I smiled at him as he led me inside the shop. The white brick continued on the inside, offset by the old-style brown hexagon tiles on the floor. Bright glass cases displaying all of the decadent treats lined the walls and a few people were milling about, deciding what they wanted.

A glass door to my left led to the restaurant, and the driver motioned that I should follow. I walked through the door and it closed behind me. There was a quiet murmur in the restaurant, but it was still early, so it didn't appear to be open.

The lights weren't quite as bright and I looked around and tried to take in my surroundings. The floor here was a nicer tile and there were granite tables with padded wooden chairs that lined the walls. A few men were sitting at the back, drinking espresso and talking in hushed voices.

The table next to me had one lone carnation sitting in a little glass vase of water. The poor thing was desperately trying to hold onto its color, but the edges of its petals were starting to wither and curl. As Johnny made his way from the back of the room toward me, I felt just like that little flower.

I looked past Johnny and saw that Max was one of the men sitting at the table. His back was to me and I almost didn't recognize him. Seeing him with all the other alleged gangsters that I assumed were in this restaurant was a weird experience. To me, he'd always just been Max. But, seeing him here was different. Seeing him at home with this crowd was disconcerting.

I tried to remind myself that he was playing a role, just like I was. Johnny cleared his throat and I turned my attention back to him.

"I'm so glad you could come for a visit, my dear," he said. He came in close and kissed my cheek and it took everything in me not to pull back from him. His cologne was overwhelming and the reality of what this visit might turn into started to set in.

I plastered a smile on my face and gulped down my pride. "Yes, I've been looking forward to it!" I said.

Johnny pulled back and looked at the suitcase attached to the handle I was squeezing far too hard.

"My understanding was that you were just coming for the afternoon. Is there some reason you brought luggage with you?" Johnny asked.

I feigned surprise. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I . . . I didn't understand that I was just coming for the afternoon. I feel so embarrassed."

Johnny put his arm around me and started walking me towards a table near the front of the restaurant. It was next to the windows and overlooked the street. "Not to worry, my dear. Of course you're welcome to stay, but," he started to say, but I jumped in. I couldn't go back home.

"I would love to."

The smile that crept on his face was beyond creepy and my insides shuddered, but I held the mask on my face. I rolled the suitcase toward the table as we walked, but Johnny snapped his fingers as I sat down.

"Max!" he barked. Max got up from the back of the room and made his way up to the table, rolling his shoulders before cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked in a flat tone without looking at me. I kept my head down because I knew if I looked at him, my mask would break.

"Go ahead and take Madelyn's luggage over to the house and let the staff there know that I'll be having company."

Max gave Johnny a hard stare and grit his teeth. He didn't know what was in the suitcase and I knew he didn't like playing glorified chauffeur for Johnny. Or, at least that's the angle he tried to play. It made sense. Someone who was aspiring to rise ranks in the organization wouldn't want to just be some errand boy.

"I've got better talents than delivery man," Max said, taking the handle roughly.

I reached out with wide eyes. "Oh, careful! There's a delicate item inside," I said, finally looking up at him. "I need it to stay safe." I held Max's gaze and all I could hope was that he understood what I was trying to convey to him.

He paused before rolling his eyes. "Okay, princess," he gruffed before walking the bright pink suitcase towards the back of the restaurant as the men he'd been sitting with snickered at him.

"You boys can all leave," Johnny said. "Tell one of the girls to bring something over from the other side on your way out," he added.

The men all shuffled through the kitchen door after Max and within a few minutes, one of the employees from the bakery side, who I learned were all young girls, most of them in high school, brought over an assortment of Italian pastries and cookies.

Johnny grabbed at one greedily as the girl hurried away from us at a speed that was slightly awkward. He gave me a look that I felt all the way to my bones.

Somewhere outside I heard a car door slam and I knew it was Max loading the suitcase. As I looked back at Johnny I knew that in 24 hours, our fates would be sealed.