Guarding His Fortune

by Stella Bagwell

  If Miles did discover Savannah had been sleeping with her bodyguard, he’d blow a gasket, especially with her. As for Chaz, she wasn’t sure how her father would deal with him. And she didn’t want to know.

  She and Chaz needed time, Savannah thought. More time to develop the bond that was growing deeper between them with each passing day. So far, she’d not yet mentioned the love word to Chaz. Not because she had doubts or questions about her feelings for him. She knew, with everything in her heart, that she loved him and would love him for the rest of her life. But she’d held the word back from him, mostly because she wasn’t convinced he was ready to hear such a vow from her. And the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel pressured or boxed into something he wasn’t ready for.

  “Well, I can tell you one thing,” Arnold said, as he dug into a bag of cheese puffs. “If someone broke into my apartment and destroyed it just to give me a warning, I’d be getting the heck out of Dodge. You have to be one brave woman, Savannah.”

  Chuckling, Savannah shook her head. “Not really, Arnold. I’m just stubborn. Why would I want to leave now when I’m just beginning to like Professor Barcroft?”

  Marva shot her an incredulous look. “Are you kidding? I’d like to tell him just how much of a weirdo he is!”

  “Well, from what everyone tells me, you have to be a bit of a weirdo to live in Austin,” Arnold said. “Do you think I fit in?”

  Marva rolled her eyes toward the gold satin blazer covering his striped shirt. “Perfectly.”

  Chuckling, Savannah began to gather the leftovers of her lunch and tossed them into a trash basket. “If you two will excuse me, I need to check in with my bodyguard. Since the break-in, he wants to make sure all is safe. If I don’t call, he’ll start worrying.”

  “Better hurry,” Arnold said. “We only have fifteen minutes before we have to be back to the lab.”

  Savannah gave him a thumbs-up sign. “I won’t be late.”

  Pulling the strap of her handbag onto her shoulder, she walked to the far end of the atrium where she was out of earshot of her friends and the few other students who were relaxing in the sunny plant-filled room.

  Chaz’s number was at the top of the contact list on her phone and her heart picked up its pace at the thought of hearing his voice. Calling him at lunchtime each day had started because of the break-in, but since their relationship had turned physical, the calls had evolved into a romantic connection that she looked forward to.

  With the phone to her ear, she eased onto a cushioned chair and waited for Chaz to answer.

  When he didn’t pick up, she waited and tried again. There was no answer the second time, or the third, or fourth.

  The common-sense part of her brain reasoned that Chaz’s phone wasn’t working, or the signal tower had lost power. Or he could have his hands too busy to answer. Any number of things could prevent him from answering. But the intuitive part of her brain had the sickening feeling that something was wrong. But what? Had Charlotte’s thugs been trailing him? Had they caught up to him and harmed him in some way?

  Uneasy, she slipped the phone back into her purse and glanced up to see Marva waving at her.

  “Is something wrong, Savannah?”

  She bounced up from the chair and hurried to catch up with the woman. “I’m not really sure, Marva. Chaz isn’t answering.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t get all panicky about that. He’s probably busy or away from his phone.”

  His phone was a connection to his security responsibilities with the winery and the restaurant. Not to mention the fact that it was a safety link between her and Chaz throughout the day. No. He wouldn’t be without his phone. But she didn’t bother to explain all of this to Marva.

  “I hope you’re right. Since the ordeal with my apartment, I see how things can change in an instant. And the person who we think is responsible for the break-in hasn’t been caught. I worry about Chaz’s safety.”

  Marva gave Savannah’s arm a reassuring pat. “You need to remember he’s a bodyguard. He knows how to keep himself out of trouble. Besides, it’s his job to worry about you. Not the other way around.”

  That was true, but Marva didn’t have the whole picture. Chaz was the man she loved. The man she intended to spend the rest of her life with. How could she not worry about him?

  “I’ve already missed a few hours of lab because of the apartment break-in. It wouldn’t be good to miss more,” she mumbled worriedly, “And I’m probably being silly to worry. Still, I wish I could go check on him.”

  “Then go,” Marva told her. “I’ll email all my notes to you later and you can go over them before tomorrow’s lab.”

  She gave the older woman a tight hug. “Oh, Marva, you’re wonderful. I love you.”

  Marva chuckled. “I’m not wonderful. Arnold calls me Austin-weird.”

  Doing her best to push aside her unease, Savannah linked her arm through Marva’s. “Come on, we’d better get back to the lab. Chaz will be here to pick me up this evening. I’ll find out then why he isn’t answering the phone.”

  However, that evening Chaz wasn’t there to pick up Savannah at their usual meeting spot behind the science building. The park bench was empty and there was no sign of his car anywhere.

  A sick feeling washed over her as she stood looking helplessly around the parking lot. Oh, God, her instinct earlier in the day had been right. Something was wrong. Awfully wrong! But what? If he’d been hurt, someone would’ve surely contacted her by now.

  She continued to ring his phone, but the only answer she got was a recorded voice informing her that the party she was calling was not available. Which could only mean his phone was turned off. But why? Chaz would never do that intentionally.

  “Miss Fortune?”

  The male voice calling her name caused Savannah to whirl around to see a huskily built, middle-aged man with burred brown hair striding toward her.

  She froze in her tracks. Could he be one of Charlotte’s muscle men? Her gaze darted to either side of the walkway. There was no place for her to run. And Chaz wasn’t here to protect her!

  The man must have recognized the terror on her face because he suddenly called out to her again. “Don’t be frightened. I was sent here by your father, Miles.”

  The use of her father’s name was hardly enough to convince her not to bolt. But she stood her ground and waited until he halted a few steps away from her.

  “Who are you? Where is Chaz?” she demanded.

  “My name is Greg Anderson. Mr. Fortune just hired me as your new bodyguard,” he said bluntly. “And instructed me to pick you up here.”

  New bodyguard? That couldn’t be possible! Or...could it?

  She raked a skeptical glance over the man. “I don’t believe you!”

  His expression turned exasperated and sheepish at the same time, which made Savannah doubt his credibility even more. But at least he wasn’t attempting to grab her and hustle her away to a waiting vehicle, she thought.

  He said, “Then I suggest you call your father and confirm my identity.”

  “You haven’t answered my question about Chaz,” she stated sharply.

  He shook his head. “If you’re talking about your prior bodyguard, I don’t know anything about him. But I’m sure your father will explain everything.”

  She hardly wanted to get into a heated conversation with her father now. Not here on the sidewalk with this strange man listening to every word. But she didn’t have much choice. It would be irresponsible of her to simply trust Greg Anderson without checking with her father first.

  With one eye warily on him, she pulled her cell phone from her purse. But before she could punch the call button beneath her father’s name, she noticed a new text message from him had just arrived. She quickly scanned the brief message informing her that he’d hired a new bodyguard, Greg Anderson. An ac
curate description of the man followed, along with the name of the reputable security company that Mr. Anderson worked for.

  Slipping the phone back into her purse, she said, “My father has just informed me about hiring you. But I still want to see your identification before I go anywhere with you,” she told him.

  He promptly obliged by handing her several pieces of ID. Once Savannah was satisfied that everything matched the information her father had messaged her, she reluctantly agreed to leave the campus with him. But all the while, her mind was whirling with questions about Chaz.

  When they arrived at Chaz’s apartment, she could see his vehicle wasn’t parked behind her rental car. The fact only added to her anxious state of mind.

  “Is this where you live?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “The apartment belongs to Chaz Mendoza—the man who’s supposed to be my bodyguard.”

  Not waiting around to hear his reply, she hurriedly climbed out of the SUV and let herself into the apartment. As she walked through the small living room, she was relieved to see that no other act of vandalism had occurred. Everything was neat and in its place. But there was no sign of Chaz.

  The kitchen held no sign of him and she moved on to the bedroom. Inside the room, her gaze automatically landed on the bed, where early this morning, they’d made slow, sweet love. Everything had been perfect. Chaz had been perfect.

  Sighing, she glanced away from the bed and on to the chest of drawers. The grooming items he normally kept there were missing, along with an army duffle bag that hung from a hook on the back of the door.

  Had he left? Without a word? The possibility scrambled her brain. When he’d dropped her off at the science building this morning, he’d kissed her goodbye and suggested they go out for dinner this evening. Nothing about this made sense.

  Dazed, her heart pounding, she walked around the bedroom and tried to calm herself enough to think. Where could he be? What could have happened?

  Questions were shooting through her brain, when she spotted a small piece of paper lying among her personal items on the dresser. He must have propped the note against a perfume bottle, but it had slipped, causing her to nearly miss seeing it.

  Grabbing it up, she began to read:

  Savannah,

  I’m not sure how, but your father has found out about the two of us. He’s terminated my services and hired a new bodyguard to take my place. He’s also threatening a lawsuit against me for breaching my responsibilities. Whether he goes through with his threat means little to me. I only want what’s best for you. And I can see that getting out of your way and out of your life is the only way to achieve that.

  I’ll be gone for the next few days to give you plenty of time to find another apartment and move your things.

  Chaz

  Her father knew about her and Chaz? And Chaz had just left without even challenging her father? He wasn’t going to fight for her and everything they had together?

  She didn’t want to believe either of the two men had behaved so irrationally and as she began to pace around the room, anger at both of them overwhelmed her. She wanted to call her father and scream at him. She wanted to ask him why he thought he had the right to ruin her life. But flinging angry words at him wasn’t going to fix things. It wasn’t going to tell her where to find Chaz. And right now, that was her first priority.

  “I don’t know what the situation was with you and Mr. Mendoza, but obviously we can’t stay here. We’ll have to find another place.”

  She looked around to see Chaz’s replacement standing in the open doorway, watching her. The sight of him made her want to scream. But she tamped down the impulse and said in a clipped voice, “I won’t be staying with you any place, Mr. Anderson.”

  Brushing past him, she hurried to the living room and dug her cell phone from her purse. Someone had to know where Chaz had gone.

  Nearly fifteen minutes later, she finally managed to speak to his father, Esteban. She could tell from the man’s evasive answers that Chaz had instructed him to keep his whereabouts quiet, a fact which frustrated Savannah even more.

  Fighting back tears, she said, “Mr. Mendoza, I admit that I’ve caused this trouble for Chaz. Or at least, part of it. But he shouldn’t have left like this. We can fix this together.”

  “I think it’s time you started calling me Esteban, don’t you? Seeing that you’re going to be a part of the family.”

  Where had Esteban gotten that idea? She couldn’t imagine Chaz saying any such thing to him. He’d not even come close to telling Savannah that he loved her. And he’d certainly not talked about spending the rest of his life with her.

  Had Esteban just cleverly put two and two together and come to his own conclusion that Chaz and Savannah had become lovers? Had he said as much to some of the family or a friend? Was that how word had gotten to her father?

  She bit down on her lip as tears gathered in her eyes. “Esteban, I think you’re too much of a romantic to see the situation clearly.”

  His chuckle was full of affection. “I know my son well. The only reason he left town is because he cares for you. And now that I see you feel the same way about him I’ll tell you that he’s gone to Red Rock to visit our relatives there.”

  Red Rock. She’d never heard of the place. “Thank you, Esteban. Tell me how to get there.”

  * * *

  Maria and Jose Mendoza were distant cousins of Esteban and Orlando, but to Chaz they were more like grandparents. For many years, the older couple had lived in Red Rock, where they owned the famed restaurant, Red. The town was an hour away from San Antonio and far enough away from Austin for Chaz to consider the place a refuge. However, he didn’t expect to stay here any longer than it took for Savannah to vacate his apartment.

  It wasn’t until late last night, after Chaz had arrived in Red Rock, that he’d learned exactly how Miles had discovered Savannah was cavorting with her bodyguard. Exhausted, Chaz had been getting ready to climb into bed when Connor Fortunado had called. Not necessarily to discuss Charlotte Robinson with him, but rather to apologize. Shockingly, the crafty private investigator had been the one who’d given Miles the information.

  Why had Connor done such a thing? The Fortunes and Mendozas were so closely intertwined. Why cause trouble between them?

  Their conversation had been lengthy, but eventually Connor had managed to explain how he’d been caught between a rock and a hard place. Only two days ago, he’d discovered Charlotte had planted a spy among the La Viña employees. Apparently, a young woman, whose name Chaz hadn’t recognized, had overheard Esteban talking with Carlo about Chaz and Savannah and how he was certain the two were already lovers. Upon learning this tidbit, Charlotte had ordered her snoop to spread the word to the people it would hurt the most. Through a mole of his own, Connor had managed to foil the plot. But he’d felt honor bound to relay the information to Miles.

  Chaz should have been furious with both men. His father for talking out of turn and Connor for not burying the information. But hell, how could he get angry over the truth? He had been sleeping with Savannah and the fact would’ve come out sooner or later anyway.

  Now, Miles would most likely throw a lawsuit at him, but what the legal ramifications of that might mean for Chaz’s financial future, or his reputation as a bodyguard, he could only speculate. Besides, Chaz didn’t give a damn about the misery Miles might inflict on him. It was Savannah, and only Savannah, that concerned Chaz now.

  Since his abrupt departure from Austin yesterday, his feelings had alternated between guilt and emptiness. He’d tried not to imagine how she must have felt when she’d discovered his note. Hurt, betrayed, angry? As lost as he was feeling this very moment? Or had she sat down and recognized the reality of the situation? She was a Fortune. She deserved a man far better than him. She needed a man in her life that her father would be proud to introduce as his son-in-law. />
  Oh, God, the pain of giving her up was tearing at his insides, making it nearly impossible to down a bite of food. But Maria was determined to take care of that problem by preparing him one of his favorite meals for lunch.

  Now, as she placed a steaming plate in front of him, he tried to give her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Maria. You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”

  “It’s never trouble preparing a meal for the people I love. So eat. And I mean every bite,” she ordered, while pointing to the pile of refried beans, rice and tamales smothered with longhorn cheese.

  “I’ll try,” he promised.

  “Don’t try. Do it. Good food always makes a person feel better.”

  She filled herself a plate and eased into the chair next to his. Chaz glanced down the table to the spot where her husband usually sat.

  “Where’s Jose? Isn’t he going to eat?”

  “He went down to Red to see if the waitresses had noticed any strangers coming in today. He doesn’t want anyone coming into town and ambushing you.”

  In spite of his misery, Chaz tried to smile. “That’s thoughtful of him to be so concerned, but it isn’t necessary, Maria. I’m going to have to face up to Miles Fortune sooner or later. I came down here to see you because—well, I need to separate myself from Savannah until she can move out of my apartment.”

  Maria slanted a wise glance in his direction. “And what if she doesn’t move out? You might just have a woman on your hands.”

  He’d fought his attraction for Savannah long and hard. And even after he’d succumbed to her charms, he’d done so, knowing that making love to her was akin to playing with a tiger. Sooner or later, he was bound to get mauled.

  But now, it was more than sex, more than the carnal needs of his body filling him with torment. Like a blind fool, he’d fallen in love with Savannah.

  “That’s not going to happen, Maria. I expect Savannah has already packed up. She’s probably spent most of the morning calling around the city, searching for a suitable apartment.”