My Fiancé’s Bodyguard by Ivy Wild

I openedthe car door for Johnny, closing it a little too hard behind him. I was on edge, that much was clear. I climbed into the driver's seat and buckled myself in roughly.

“What’s the matter?” Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing,” I grumbled as I started the engine.

In truth, it really was nothing. If someone asked me what was the matter, I wouldn’t be able to tell them. I didn’t do women. Not in a relationship sense, anyways. Maybe for a dark time in my life I frequented Giuliano’s clubs too often, but I’d moved on from that vice as well. It’d been years since I’d started up with the Maldonado Family. But, I had a reason for being here. Sometimes it was obscured, but it was always there in the back of my mind. I couldn’t afford to fall in too deep. I couldn’t afford to let things distract me.

Especially little princesses in pink dresses.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Johnny quipped, ever one to egg someone on.

I grit my teeth as I began to drive back to the North End. “It is nothing,” I managed to grind out, trying to convince myself. I tried to put the thoughts of the way Johnny was interacting with Madelyn out of my mind, but Johnny continued to press on my nerves.

“So, you spent some time alone with the daughter. What can you tell me about her?”

“Nothing really. She’s pretty dull,” I responded, trying my best to disinterest him.

But Johnny was too smart for my tactics. “That doesn’t seem right. From what I saw, she’s quite the spitfire.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t see it.”

“Right,” Johnny said with some skepticism. “Are you sure you’re feeling right? You’re normally my go-to when it comes to reconnaissance. This was a rather simplistic task. Not losing your edge, are you?” Johnny said with a bit of a smirk. He knew exactly how to push me over the edge.

“Fuck that,” I cursed, squeezing the car’s steering wheel so hard I knew I probably left indents where my fingers were.

“Just an observation, that’s all,” Johnny remarked as he stared out the window at the highway traffic. We stayed silent for the remainder of the ride back, both seemingly lost in thought. When we finally pulled up to the bakery, Johnny turned to me. “We’ll be returning tomorrow.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why so soon?”

Johnny looked annoyed, and I knew I’d reached his limit. “Come again?”

“Nevermind,” I grumbled, closing the car door.

“Fuck,”I muttered under my breath as I entered my apartment. I let the door slam behind me and sat down heavily on my beat-up sofa.

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what Johnny’s intentions were towards the girl. Whether it be marriage or something a little less formal, there was going to be an exchange of money for her in the very near future.

I’d seen it happen before, and I’d kept my head down. Anything that interfered with my reason for being here was a distraction I couldn’t afford. But things like that, they ate at your soul after a while.

I guess some people let it eat at them till they no longer had a soul. Maybe that was their liberation. Maybe that’s how they did things so awful without a care.

For better or for worse, my soul was still intact. It was bleeding out from too many stab wounds, but the fucking thing was still there, and damn if it wasn’t crying out for little miss princess.

There was just something about her. I’d only been near her for a few minutes at a time, but there was something good and pure about her. Johnny was right. She was a spitfire. She wasn’t like the other rich brats I’d run into. Aside from that, the little girl said she wasn’t even afraid of me.

Guys twice my size holding automatic rifles were afraid of me.

And she wasn’t afraid of me.

What had she said? That I intrigued her?

How fucking rich.

I took a deep breath and knew what I had to do.

I needed to maintain my focus.

Madelyn Dimes was a dangerous distraction.

And in my line of work, distractions got you killed.

I’d worked too hard and too long to get where I was. I wasn’t going to put all that at risk for some girl.

I didn’t retireto my rooms immediately. Instead, I walked to the galley where I could grab a few pieces of this and that for lunch. I was agitated by the morning’s events and by stupid Max Holt.

“What’s got your cheeks so red, huh?”

I turned in surprise and nearly dropped my entire plate of food at the woman’s voice. “Oh my goodness, Doris!” I exclaimed. “You scared me half to death!”

“Only because you’re lost in something that’s raising your temperature,” the older woman said with a knowing smile. “With my old bones, I haven’t been quiet for the last two decades. So,” the woman said, sitting at the counter and motioning for me to do the same. “What’s on your mind? It’s not that hulk of a fellow I saw you in the gardens with, is it?”

My eyes widened in surprise and a bit of panic. “What did you see? Please don’t tell father!” I responded instantly without thinking.

“Stop that,” Doris said with a wave of her hand. “I’ve never been loyal to your father. Only ever to your mother and now you. I should think you would know that.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt you.”

I loved Doris like a mother. In many ways, when my mother passed away when I was young, she had taken on the role for me. She was just about the only confidant I had in this lofty castle. She and I gossiped about the other staff, my father, celebrity news. Nothing was off the table with us and everything stayed between us.

When I’d tried to convince my father to let me attend college upon graduation, she’d been my staunchest supporter. Of course, my father had said no. But you couldn’t buy the sort of loyalty Doris showed me during that time.

“So go on,” Doris said, encouraging me to talk. “I know that I’m not much to look at now, but in my old days, I did quite well. I’m sure I can help you through whatever man troubles you’re experiencing.”

I blushed at Doris’s insinuation. “Well, I don’t know exactly what you saw in the gardens,” I said but Doris interrupted me.

“Enough to know he’s on your mind.”

I pulled my lips in slightly. “There’s nothing to tell, really. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever been around before,” I admitted. “I know you understand that I’m not the woman my father necessarily thinks I am, considering you’ve always been the one to help cover for me from time to time.” Doris nodded her head with a bit of a smile.

“And I’ll always be glad to. Keeping you cooped up in this big house like you’re some sort of doll isn’t good for a girl of your age. You need to see the world, have friends, experience boys. I make no apologies.”

I nodded my head in gratitude. “But he confuses and frustrates me. I can’t seem to get my mind off of him.”

Doris barked out a laugh. “Sweetheart, a man like that? If I were your age, I wouldn’t be able to get myself off of him, let alone my mind.”

“Doris!” I said with a laugh and a blush.

“Don’t act like you’re some prude virgin,” Doris responded. “You’re thinking the same thing I am, admit it.”

“Okay, fine,” I said with a laugh. “He’s nice to look at. But he’s dangerous.” I sighed. “Plus, I’m worried about father’s plans with Maldonado.”

Doris nodded her head in agreement. “I don’t disagree with you there. But sooner or later you’re going to have to make a decision regarding your father. Either you live your life or the life he wants you to live. I can’t make that decision for you, dear. No one can.”

I sighed. “Yeah,” I said a bit deflated. I knew that fact too. I’d been feeling it for a while. Since I turned 18 it had been weighing heavily on my mind. “If I left, he’d completely disinherit me.”

Doris nodded. “Maybe. But you’re a smart girl. I know you’d figure out how to put your talents to use.”

I sighed. “It’s all a little overwhelming. This house is the only home I’ve ever known. And while I’ve managed to sneak away for an evening here or there, I’ve never been away for any significant period of time.”

Doris reached out to pat my hand gently. “Don’t worry about that just yet. The right path will reveal itself, it always does. And in the meantime, don’t be too hard on yourself about this new hunk. He’s gorgeous. I’d be worried if you weren’t caught up in him.”

I blushed a bit and smiled. Standing up, I walked around the counter to hug Doris. “Thank you. You always know just the right thing to say.”

“That just comes from years of saying the wrong thing, dear.”