Falling For Her Bodyguard: A BWWM Suspense Romance (6 page)

“Not when you’re
drunk,” he whispered. Kenzie didn’t have time to be
disappointed before he grabbed her hand. “Why don’t we
both change? I’ll make us some food.”

Kenzie nodded. As she
turned around, she felt his hands run down her shoulders. His fingers
brushed against her skin sending electricity through her body. She
felt the dress loosen as the strings were untied. Then, barely
noticeable, she felt a kiss placed on her shoulder. As she threw a
glance over her shoulder, she saw Gianni staring back at her
longingly. It made her smile. The man cleared his throat.

“Right. I’ll
meet you in the kitchen.”

Kenzie disappeared
into her room to change. The smile wouldn’t leave her face. At
least now we’ll stop fighting so much. She slipped into a pale,
pink nightgown that stopped at her thighs. When she walked into the
kitchen, Gianni stared before he regained his composure.

“What?”
She asked suddenly self-conscious.

“Nothing. Food’s
almost done.”

Gianni didn’t
seem to be able to take his eyes off of her though. It made her grin
as she walked out to the living room and drew her legs up on the
couch. She flipped through the channels aimlessly as she looked for
something for them to watch.

The smell of cooking
food made her stomach tighten in hungry anticipation. He carried two
steaming plates out for them before sitting them on the table. The
man had gone simple, burgers and fries. She smiled.

“Just what I
wanted, thanks.”

Gianni nodded. “Drunk
food always seems to be burger and fries.”

“Do you even
drink?” She asked amused as she picked up a french fry, blew on
it and popped it into her mouth.

“Yes, but it’s
usually when I’m not working.”

The woman nodded. He
was so responsible, but then again he was older than her. They
watched the movie and ate in silence. When Gianni went to ask her a
question, he glanced at her. The woman had curled up on the couch,
her head resting on the arm. Her slow, steady breathing filled the
room. Gianni turned off the TV. He put the dishes away before he came
back, gathered her up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom.
Gently, he laid her on the bed before covering her up. She moaned,
mumbling in her sleep. Gianni brushed a lock of hair from her
forehead. He turned out the lights. A smile spread on his lips as he
headed back to his room.

*****

Kenzie woke up to the
sun filtering through her blinds, her head throbbing and pounding
against her skull and a faint memory of the night before. Most of
what she remembered was drinking too much, dancing too hard and the
soft touch of Gianni’s hands against her skin. The last thought
made her grin. There was something there, she was sure of it. Slowly,
she pushed herself up before glancing at the clock. 7:00. She
groaned. Why was she up so early?

As she swung her legs
from under the cover, she could hear thumping from outside of her
door. She wondered what was going on as she walked out into the
hallway. Her fingers pushed through her hair as she walked into the
living room. There were moving boxes scattered throughout the room
and two men were loading her things up into a truck. She recognized
them as Brick and one of the other guards.

Kenzie wiped her hand
over her eyes before she headed to the kitchen. First, pain pills.
Then she would figure out the rest of the day. In the cabinet above
the sink she found a small bottle of pain pills before she filled a
glass with cold water. Once she’d swallowed them down she went
in search of Gianni.

Gianni was standing in
his room, filling a box with books. His eyes were squinted as he
began to tape the box shut, his lips moving without making a sound.
He didn’t look too happy. Kenzie walked in before she plopped
down on the bed. He looked over at her.

“Get ready.”

“For what?”

Gianni sighed.
“Remember I told you yesterday that we’d have to find a
new place for you? We found a house a little further North.”

“I don’t
want to move.”

“Too bad.”

Kenzie scoffed. “No,
I don’t think you understood me. I’m not moving, period.”

Gianni slammed the box
down that he held in his hands. He pressed fingers to the bridge of
his nose before taking a deep breath. After he’d moved the box
to the hallway and stepped back into the room he started on the next
box.

“You don’t
have a choice. This is ridiculous. I told you last night that it was
going to happen. For once, can you just do what I ask?”

Kenzie stood up. “I
don’t hear you asking, first of all. I may dress young and have
fun, but I'm still an adult. I don’t need another father. So,
why don’t you just leave, because I’m not going
anywhere.”

Kenzie could hear him
calling after her as she left, but she was in no mood for further
discussion. She walked into her bedroom, slammed the door and headed
into the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water eased her aching
muscles from the night before, some of the headache washed away with
the help of the pills. Her eyes were closed, fingers working into her
stiff shoulders when the shower curtain was ripped open.

“What the hell
are you doing?”

“I just thought
you’d want to see this.”

Gianni threw a package
wrapped up in purple cloth on the toilet. She leaned over, picking
the bundle up gingerly before she peeled it open. Inside, there was a
Kenzie doll, but it was all wrong. The eyes had been scratched out. A
knife was stuck in the belly of the doll, fake blood covered it.
Kenzie let out a shriek before she threw it to the ground.

“Where did that
come from?”

“Downstairs.
Someone left it for you. Are you ready to go now?”

Kenzie nodded slowly.
It was time to go. Gianni closed the shower curtain before leaving
her alone in the bathroom, but she felt uncomfortable now. She turned
the faucet off, dripped water through the bathroom as she skipped
picking up her towel. In her room, she found one of the little pills
and swallowed it. The pounding of her heart slowed. She forced
herself to stay calm, but she no longer could stand the place. All
she could think about was what if he’d found a way inside?

Kenzie pulled on a
pair of dark blue shorts, a white tank top and flip flops before she
pulled her hair up into a bun. When she was dressed, she pulled out
her bag and began to pack her things. After she’d lugged out
the first bag, Brick came in and helped her take out the rest. She
sat on the couch, legs curled underneath her as she waited until it
was time to leave. She was already sick of moving.

“We’re
ready,” Gianni said as he walked into the living room.

Kenzie nodded.

The drive to the house
was long. They were moving farther away from everything that she
knew. The city shrinking in the distance as music pumped through her
headphones. When they pulled up in front of the place, Kenzie
frowned. She had expected something elegant, posh, but the place in
front of her was far from it.

The house was a small,
one story, brick house. The shutters were white, there were flower
boxes in the windows. The street they were on was pretty empty too.
Houses flanked both sides, but they were some distance away. Gianni
led her inside.

If she’d hated
the outside of the house, the inside was far worse. Everything was
done in traditional wooden floors, outdated appliances and wallpaper
that she wanted to rip down and set on fire. Her mouth hung open as
she looked into each room. The living room held an out dated sofa and
TV. The kitchen was tiny, the table inside it only big enough to
maybe seat three at most. Her bedroom was small, an old white metal
bedframe that supported a full size bed. The blankets that covered it
were a pale, pastel rose design. The bathroom felt like a closet. She
peeked into the second bedroom, it was almost worse with its tiny bed
and sad TV. Kenzie walked out to the living room where Gianni was
overseeing the moving.

“I changed my
mind, I want the city.”

“The city isn’t
safe.”

“I don’t
care! I feel like I’m in suburban hell here. I want to go.”

Gianni ignored her as
he finished putting all of the boxes where they belonged. Kenzie
scoffed. She’d had more than enough of being ignored and
treated like a child. She slipped out the back door. The backyard was
much the same as the front, cute little garden, porch swing for two.
She wondered if the last owners had been an old couple who’d
died. That’s what it felt like at least. She pushed that morbid
thought aside as she walked through the white gate. The day was still
warm. She figured she’d get some bars on her phone, call
Cassie, tell her about the piece of crap she was being forced to live
in.

The thought of Cassie
going off brought a smile to her face. She always believed Kenzie
deserved the best. Cassie was a good friend. Thinking about Cassie
made her miss Ben. Which made her think about the upcoming show. They
were only a few months away from it, she still hadn’t finished
her music and now it was going to take an hour every morning to drive
into the city. It was frustrating.

Kenzie held up her
phone as she walked, desperately praying for some kind of signal. The
little red line through the bars made her want to throw the phone.
The more she wandered, the more she seemed to get lost too. She’d
thought the house was tucked safely behind her, but then again she’d
been moving pretty fast to avoid being seen by the guards. She
wandered into the line of trees, the sound of water comforting her.
Not too far inside, she found a little stream flowing quickly. She
sat down at the edge of it and hugged her knees as she tried to
relax.

It was hard to relax
when she constantly had to think about someone ending her life. When
every corner felt unsafe. The only reason she felt safe in that
moment was the combination of the new place and the medically
prescribed drugs. She heard something crunch. Her head shot up from
where it’d been buried in her arms.

Her eyes scanned the
trees, but nothing moved. Slowly, she stood up looking around
herself. A skittering sound made her lose her balance. She fell on
the ground hard, her knee scraping against rocks. She brushed the
dirt from the wound, but it clung to her hands and her face where
she’d brushed her cheek. Kenzie climbed back up to the road.
She wasn’t totally sure where she was going or how long she’d
been gone. She checked her phone. The screen was cracked, the numbers
jagged. Sighing, she started walking, her knee protesting with every
step.

As she walked back,
she began to wonder again how the man had found out where she lived.
With a deep, twisting fear she thought perhaps he was following
either Cassie or Ben around. It would be the easiest way to get to
her since they always hung around together. Kenzie thought she’d
better call them both to warn them, just in case.

Just as Kenzie began
to scold herself for not bringing any water with her, the small white
house appeared down the road. She never thought she’d be happy
to see it, but she almost began to run when she did. The moving truck
was gone, so was the car. The fear that everyone had left and she’d
be locked outside came up fast. Her hand gripped the doorknob. The
door creaked loudly, so did the floor as she stepped on the sagging
floorboards.

“Hello?”

The house was silent.
She shrugged before she headed to the tiny kitchen painted in a sea
of ugly greens. At least the house had been open. She filled a glass
with water, drinking so deeply that she didn’t care if some
spilled on her shirt, making it stick to her skin. She drank until
her stomach hurt, but she didn’t feel quite like passing out
anymore.

“Now to deal
with this knee,” she mumbled to herself as she went off in
search of a first aid kit.

There were boxes
everywhere, cluttering the halls. She pushed them aside, scooting
them out of her way as she tried to slide through. She hummed quietly
to herself as she opened the medicine cabinet to find a bottle of
liquor and band-aids. She poured some of the alcohol onto her knee as
she sat on the edge of the tub. She jumped when she heard a loud
voice.

“Did you check
everywhere?”

“Yes, we
couldn’t find her. I’m sure she just went for a walk…”

“Go find her,
now!”

Kenzie recognized
Gianni’s voice, but barely. It was more angry than she’d
ever heard before. She cleared her throat.

“I’m in
the bathroom.”

Three men, including
Gianni rushed towards her direction. She could hear boxes being
knocked over as they came closer. All three stood in the doorway,
staring at her. She gave a little wave.

“Hi.”

Brick groaned as he
walked away with one of the other guards, leaving just her and
Gianni. He stepped inside of the bathroom, shut the door. That made
Kenzie nervous. She watched as he sat on the closed lid of the
toilet, buried his face in his hands and laughed.

Oh God, he’s
cracked. I cracked him.

“Gianni…”
she asked softly placing a hand on his knee.

He continued to laugh.

“Are you
insane?” Gianni asked.

“I just went for
a walk.”

“There’s
someone trying to kill you. Do you comprehend that?”

Kenzie rolled her
eyes. “No, I wasn’t aware of that.”

They were both
standing in her room, the door closed against the outside world. The
other two guards had already left in search of a break that Kenzie
bet suggested of booze. When they were gone, Gianni helped her clean
her knee before he dragged her out of the hot bathroom. Immediately
he’d started laying into her.

“Why do you keep
doing this? It’s like you want to die.”

Kenzie glared at him.
“I just don’t want to be a prisoner.”