HER BODYGUARD

Someone rang the bell and Asher went to check the security camera monitor and recognized the man standing on the front porch. It was James.

“What’s the word?” Asher asked, after letting the other man into the house.

James, a tall , dark man with steely gray eyes and a scar that ran down his neck, shrugged. “Paul is doing fine,” he replied. “They got the damn bullet out. Doctor says he is good. But he lost some blood”

“Any damage?” Asher asked.

James shrugged. “I didn’t want to hear anything bad so I didn’t ask. I’m sure it’s fine though. If there were any problems, they would have told me”

Asher nodded. He understood. He wouldn’t have asked either if he had been in James’ shoes. “Are you okay taking care of the other job?” he asked.

“Sure thing” James replied. “We got teams there already. And if the uncle gets any close to the kid, I will take him down”

Asher nodded. “Remember, if you have to take him out, make sure you are on the correct side of the law” Asher reminded his right hand man.

James smiled slowly. “I wouldn’t do it any other way” he said.

They discussed other jobs for a few more minutes, then James left.

He returned to the kitchen to continue with his work on his laptop, but Kimberly was already there, her long hair damp from the shower.

He found her standing on a chair, inspecting the moldings attached to the ceiling. She stood on tiptoe, her expression intense, her fingers probing every inch of the painted wood.

“It’s not fancy, I will admit,” Asher said, “but I thought it looked decent enough. Are you disagreeing with me?”

Kimberly jumped when she heard his voice and turned on the chair. “What is wrong with you? You startled me”

He ignored her comment and jerked his head towards the wall? “What’s the problem?” he asked.

“I’m looking for cameras,” she replied. “Is there anywhere in this house where I can go and not be watched?”

It took him a couple of seconds to make sense of her words. When he did, anger quickly followed.

“You think I’m spying on you?” he asked, annoyance tightening his voice.

Kimberly breathed deeply. “What else should I think?” she asked, shaking her head. “This place is more secure than my local bank vault. There is a computer that tells me where I can and can’t go…. that’s right, I looked around before going to the bathroom and I saw the “keep away” signs all over” she added when his eyes widened.

“Special screens on the windows so I can’t go outside.” she continued. “I’m basically your prisoner. I don’t know you and I don’t trust you. Why wouldn’t you spy on me?”

“Because I don’t need to get my rocks off by watching you prance around naked or in your underwear” he said.

He crossed to the chair she stood on and grabbed her around the waist. Before she could react, he had lowered her to the ground. He had a brief impression of heat and curves before he released her and stepped away.

She glared at him. “I’m not helpless. I could have gotten down on my own” she said.

“I’m sure you could have,” he retorted.

He took her hand in his and dragged her out of the room. She sputtered in protest but didn’t pull away. As they approached the control room, he pulled a remote from his pocket and hit a button to deactivate the system. Then he brought her to the control panel, released her hand and pointed.

She rubbed her fingers and ignored the monitor he was pointing at. “Is there a reason why you don’t try asking me to go with you first?” she asked. “There’s no need to be dragging and lifting me all the time”

“Are you complaining about your treatment?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “obviously”

“So noted” he said. “But here is a news flash, princess, I don’t care”

Her gaze narrowed. The man was the most annoying human she had ever met in her entire life. She thought.

“You are not looking” he said harshly, still pointing at the monitor.

“At what?” she asked. But she turned slowly and stared at the screen.

The picture showed a floor plan of the house, with all the rooms labeled. Asher grabbed something from a nearly empty desk. She didn’t see what it was until he came to her side and snapped it on her wrist.

“What on earth?” she stared at the gray metal bracelet. There was no visible catch, no markings of any kind on it. He gestured towards the monitor once again and when she looked, exactly in the center of the room named ‘control center’ stood a red dot.

“I’m the dot?” she asked.

“Walk around and find out,” he replied.

Kimberly did as he suggested, moving to the window, then back toward the door. The dot on the screen moved with her.

Her attention shifted from the computer to him. “No pictures?” she asked.

He nodded. “I wasn’t even monitoring you in the first place because I know you can’t get out even if you tried”

“Oh” she said. She glanced down at her wrist, then back at him. “It was a logical conclusion”

Her eyes were brown. He had registered the fact before but hadn’t paid any attention to them. Now he did. She had the kind of hair teenage boys daydreamed about -straight and long. She was beautiful… Not that he was interested. He reminded himself.

“Logical” he agreed. “But I’m not the kind of guy who likes to watch”

Her delicate eyebrows rose. “I thought all men were into that,” she said.

He allowed himself a smile. “Maybe under different circumstances. Not like this” he said.

“Good to know… And I’m sorry I kinda jumped into conclusions”

“It’s all right,” he replied.

“What’s all this equipment for?”

“It’s mostly computers,” he replied. “Some tracking equipment. I have a monitoring system for the house.”

She nodded. “So no one gets in, no one gets out?” she asked.

“Not on my watch” he replied.

Was the man always this confident? She wondered. She walked to the window and looked out. He knew the view was little more than some lawn and a high fence topped with razor wire.