Falling For Her Bodyguard: A BWWM Suspense Romance (13 page)

“It’s
Cassie. I better take this,” she said.

“Go ahead. I’ll
start on breakfast.”

As he disappeared back
inside of the house, Kenzie picked up her phone. She could hear
Cassie sniffling. She wondered what would make her cry that early in
the morning.

“What’s
wrong?” Kenzie asked.

“My granddad
passed last night. I tried to call you, but I couldn’t reach
you,” Cassie said sniffling.

Kenzie immediately
felt guilt run through her body. “I’m sorry, I had the
show last night. I’m sorry to hear about your granddad. I know
you two were close. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I really just
need to see you.”

“I’ll meet
you in town.”

“Kenzie, I can’t
go into town like this! I look a mess. Can’t I just come over
to your place?”

Kenzie bit her lip. As
much as she wanted to say yes, she knew that she couldn’t.
Especially not after the night that she’d had. It would be too
risky.

“Hello?”
Cassie called.

“I’m here.
I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you where I am. Maybe we
could meet up somewhere else though, somewhere with less people…”

Kenzie heard the scoff
before she’d even finished speaking. “You can’t
even tell me where you are now? Are you kidding me? You know what?
Fuck you.”

The phone beeped.
Kenzie looked down at her phone with wide eyes. What was going on
with her? She knew that Cassie was upset, but she’d never acted
the way she was acting now. She realized she didn’t know much
about what was going on with Cassie anymore. She’d been so
wrapped up in her own world that she’d barely taken the time to
ask Cassie about hers.

Kenzie spent the rest
of the day walking around the house, lost. She tried to call Cassie
back, but all she got was a voicemail. One of the guards came to the
house with groceries so she and Gianni wouldn’t have to leave.
Right after he was gone, she wandered back out to the porch. The day
was slowly ending. She hadn’t heard anything about the guy who
had left the notes. It was unsettling.

The sun was setting,
painting the sky in brilliant hues of orange. She watched for a
while, her mind in other places before she sighed. Glancing at her
phone, she saw there were no new messages. She was afraid she’d
lost her friend forever. With a groan she stood up before she pushed
the back door open to the house.

Hands circled her
arms, pulling her back. Kenzie fell onto the porch, her elbow banging
against the wood. As she looked up, she saw the man from before. The
hood pulled tightly over his face and his quick movements kept her
from seeing more. It wasn’t him she was focused on though, but
the knife that was in his hand.

Kenzie screamed.

The man jumped on her,
pinning her against the porch with so much force that she couldn’t
shake him off. Her legs kicked fruitlessly as they connected with
nothing but empty air. He brought the knife up, aimed it at her belly
once more. Kenzie could feel her breath leaving her body, the setting
sun that gleamed off of the knife making it seem all the more
dangerous. When she expected to feel the white hot pain of the stab,
there was nothing.

Gianni was grabbing
the man, pulling him off of her. The knife flew from the man’s
hands, landing in the dirt. Kenzie sat, paralyzed as they fought each
other. Fists flew, blood poured, but still she couldn’t make
herself get up. She couldn’t make herself run or help Gianni.
The fear had gripped her, squeezed her until she was tiny,
insignificant.

The hooded man landed
a blow to Gianni’s eye. It made him reel, fall off balance, but
he recovered quickly. Kenzie watched as he ran after the hooded man,
tossed him into the dirt. Kenzie thought about what would happen if
Gianni didn’t win. She shivered.

As the hooded man was
tossed to the ground once more, she saw his hand sliding towards the
knife. His fingertips were brushing the blade, trying to bring it
closer to him. Gianni was too focused on trying to choke the man out
enough to have him pass out. The closer the man’s hands got to
the knife, the more dread began to build in the pit of Kenzie’s
stomach. Before her brain could tell her no, she launched herself
forward and grabbed the knife. The feel of it in her palm was wrong,
all wrong, but she held on to it tightly.

As the knife slipped
out of his grasp, the man glared at her. She could feel cold hatred
in his eyes. It penetrated her like ice, making her shiver. Making
her want to shut her eyes until he was gone as if he were a monster
under the bed of a small child. The man fought hard before he was
able to drive his knee into Gianni’s groin.

When Gianni doubled
over in pain, the man turned to her. His hood had fallen away, but he
wasn’t anyone that she recognized. He took a step towards her.
Kenzie held the knife out in front of her, the shaking of her hands
betraying her.

“You won’t
use that on me.”

“I don’t
want to,” she said, “but you’re dead wrong that I
won’t.”

The man seemed to
think it over. Something in her eyes must have conveyed the
seriousness of her words. Gianni was slowly picking himself up off of
the ground. The man took one long look at her, blew her a kiss before
he turned and bolted. By then Gianni was recovering.

“Go inside of
the house. Lock everything up. I’m going to catch him.”

Kenzie didn’t
argue, simply did what she was told. She locked both doors, double
checked that the windows were closed and locked. As she waited inside
the eerie stillness of the empty house, she found that she could
barely swallow. She kept thinking that somehow he’d be behind
her when she turned around. Every flash of movement or shadow in the
corner of her eye made her jump.

After what felt like a
long time, she saw a figure running up to the house in the dark. The
knife, she discovered, was still in her trembling hands. She clutched
it tighter. There was a knock on the glass in the door. She flipped
the light switch, flooding the back porch with light. Gianni shielded
his eyes.

Kenzie unlocked the
door before she let him inside. He was covered in dirt. She could
already see the dark bruising that would mean a black eye. When he
stepped inside of the house, he didn’t chat. He locked the door
then called the whole team to the house. One of them must have
protested, because Gianni’s shout was enough to make her jump
in the dining room chair.

When Gianni was
finished with his phone call, he turned to Kenzie. First, he took the
knife from her, gently placing it on the table before he pushed it
out of her reach. Then he gripped her cheeks, examined every inch of
her bare skin to see if she was hurt. He saw the small scrape on her
elbow. Kenzie could see the anger boiling inside of him.

“If he hadn’t
been such a bitch, kneeing me in the crotch, I would have broken his
neck,” he mumbled more to himself than to her.

Kenzie rested a hand
on his. “What happened when you went after him?”

Gianni sighed, the
weariness seeping into his voice. “There was a car waiting for
him. As soon as he hopped into the passenger seat, someone took off.”

“There are two
of them?” Kenzie asked. She began to laugh. “I don’t
think I can take anymore of this!”

Gianni closed her
hands up inside of his. They still trembled, but they were calming
down. He ran his hand over her cheek.

“I’m going
to catch them. I promise you that. Okay?”

Kenzie nodded, but she
couldn’t help but feel a bit incredulous. No matter how many
times people tried to find him, he disappeared. It felt like he’d
never be caught. That she’d never again get to experience
feeling safe and free.

There was no way
Kenzie could settle down enough to sleep. She spent her time pacing
the floors, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. She needed
answers. Something had to change or she thought she would finally
lose it. As they trickled in, she did feel an overwhelming sense of
safety.

As they started to
talk, Kenzie could feel the adrenaline slipping from her body. Her
body was a mass of sore muscles and exhaustion. She curled up on a
chair in the living room as she watched them talk. Gianni was trying
to get to the bottom of how the guy had known where she was. He
turned to her.

“You didn’t
tell anyone where we were?”

Kenzie shook her head.
“No, not even Cassie. I didn’t want to have to move
again.”

Gianni believed her.
“And you weren’t followed from the grocery store Harris?”

The bodyguard who had
brought them food looked nervous. “I did see someone, tagging
along with me for a while, but then they stopped. I made sure they
were gone before I headed back this way.”

Gianni raised an
eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Harris squirmed in his
seat. “Pretty sure.”

Kenzie didn’t
think she’d ever seen him so close to exploding.

Kenzie spent the next
few days walking around the house in a haze. Gianni was once again
trying to find them somewhere safe to go, but since she’d
gotten back onstage it was harder. He tried to comfort her as best he
could, making sure she felt safe and secure while they stayed there.
He kept two additional guards in the house around the clock; one in
the living room, one in the other bedroom. He made it a point to
sleep next to her every night.

She noticed on the
third night that Gianni would disappear from the bed after she was
asleep, the sound of his pacing feet outside of her bedroom door
comforting in its own way. She was worried about him though. Gianni
wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping. In the morning, she could
see the dark circles under his eyes, the worry that creased his
forehead. He hadn’t smiled in days.

The whole thing made
Kenzie feel even worse. She knew it was his job to look after her,
but she could see it slowly eating away at him. If they’d never
been together, if they didn’t have feelings for each other, she
knew he wouldn’t be taking it so hard. Would he still be
worried, cautious? Yes, but not like he was now.

In the early
afternoon, Kenzie was going through her clothes, trying to distract
herself in any way possible, when Gianni walked into the room
excited. She watched him go through her drawer before he produced a
pair of shorts and a pale blue tank top. In his hand, there was a big
bag already filled with things.

“Did you find us
somewhere else to go already?” She asked, confusion on her face
and in her voice.

“No, but let’s
get out of here for a little while. I think we could both use a
change of scenery.”

Kenzie nodded as she
dressed in the clothes he’d put out for her. She saw him stick
something else inside of the bag, but she couldn’t tell what it
was. As they climbed into the car, two more of the guards slipped in
as well. She had hoped it would be somewhat like their date. So far,
the only thing it reminded her of was the fact that she was being
stalked by a crazy person.

Almost an hour passed
before she started to get anxious. She kept looking around. Something
tugged at the back of her mind. The worry was pushed away as she
started looking closely at the landscape that surrounded her. Gianni
smiled, watching her eager face.

“I knew it! I
knew it!” Kenzie cried excited.

She could see the
beach coming in their direction. Santa Monica State Beach. It was
already crowded with people. She could smell the intoxicating aroma
of fried food, ocean water and sugary sweets. When Gianni parked the
car, she threw her arms around him.

“Thank you!”
She said.

Gianni smiled as she
hopped out of the car. It was good to see her smile again. He grabbed
the bag with their stuff in it before he followed behind her. When he
was close, he reached into the bag.

“Here, I got
your swimsuit.”

Kenzie took it from
him before she ran off to change. He stood nearby, counting the
minutes until she emerged in a purple bikini. She was deliciously
curvy in the swimsuit, her hair pulled up into a flaming red bun.
Gianni handed her a pair of flip flops that she slipped into, passing
him her sneakers.

“Let’s go
into the water!” Kenzie said excitedly.

“I’m
coming, I’m coming,” Gianni said with a grin.

Kenzie didn’t
even mind the fact that the other guards were there. She was happy.
She ran into the water, the coolness wrapping around her ankles.
Walking out further, she felt the sand shift beneath her feet as it
tapered off. Once she’d walked forward until the water rose
past her hips, she dove forward. The water seemed to wake up every
cell in her body. She swam out fast before she turned around to
glance at the shore. People milled around on the sand, some swam
closer to the beach. She laid back, let herself float on the rocking
waves.

When she heard
splashing, Kenzie looked over to see Gianni swimming towards her. His
body was kissed by the sun and waves, making him almost golden. He
swam smoothly as she watched his muscled arms rise and fall through
the water. When he reached her side, Gianni placed a kiss on her
lips.

“Thank you again
for doing this,” she said. “I really needed it.”

“You’re
welcome. I’m just happy to see you relax.”

They swam out in
deeper water for a while before they swam back towards the beach.
Kenzie’s muscles were screaming. She hadn’t worked out
like that in such a long time. There was already a blanket set up for
them, the two bodyguards watching them and their things sat right
behind them. Kenzie dropped down onto the towel. All she wanted to do
was kiss Gianni, but back on land with the others nearby, she knew
that wouldn’t happen. They hadn’t let anyone know about
their relationship, especially not the people he worked with. She
couldn’t blame him. It would be weird if they knew.