No, I couldn't think like that. I needed to keep my head screwed on. This was a job, a temporary thing, nothing more. Plus, I was off relationships anyway. Not that I would ever date a human… or at least I hadn't ever thought I would.
Okay, admittedly another reason I had escaped my hometown was because of Vivien. I'd loved her, from a very young age. The moment I set eyes on her I felt something within me change. I assumed that she was my one, the woman that I would be with forever, and I'd continued on with my life assuming that one day she would catch on and start feeling the same way that I did.
Then one day, at her eighteenth birthday party, it seemed that had finally happened. It felt like a scene from a movie, like she'd finally seen me across the room at her house and we were drawn in together like magnets. We kissed, she led me upstairs, we made love… it felt like my real life was about to begin.
Until the morning, when she told me to get out, and she called me 'Hank'. I was well known in our town, but it seemed that wasn't enough for Vivien. I realized then that I was never going to be what she wanted, and I ran without looking back.
I vowed then that I would never get involved without being sure that it was going to turn into love. I never, ever wanted to get my heartbroken again. Once was bad enough, I honestly didn't think that I would survive it again.
Anyway, off to work, time to go to this random hotel, to meet this random famous chick. It would be long hours. I just hoped that this job wouldn't be the death of me.
***
Kayla
I lay across the bed feeling ridiculously morose and lonely. It was insane how much I relied on technology for communication from the outside world, I hadn't even realized it until now. I didn't even care about speaking to my mom anymore, I just wanted to talk to anyone. To feel connected. I even just wanted to click through the comments on my Instagram account, just to look at the good ones, just for the confidence boost.
Now I had nothing.
“Knock, knock,” Mouse cooed through the door in that patronizing manner of his. “Can I come in?”
“No,” I shot back in a heartbeat. “I'm busy.”
But of course, he totally ignored me and came inside anyway. Once of these days I would be actually in the middle of something and then he'd get a shock. “Here is Hex, the bodyguard I told you about.”
“Right,” I pouted, allowing my sulkiness to shine through. “Whatever.”
“Hello there,” I suddenly heard a chocolaty, gruff voice, but it wasn't that which got my attention. It was the wariness to his tone, as if he didn't want to be in this position either.
I glanced up and found my eyes traveling up a well sculpted, picturesque body which had my heart fluttering like crazy. I wasn't sure what else I'd been expecting, shapeshifters always looked incredible, but being close to this one felt different.
“Erm, yeah, hi,” I sat up straighter on the bed and smoothed down my hair. As he shook my hand to be polite I felt a weird buzz race through my body, almost as if he excited me, which was crazy. In all honesty, his morose expression was enough to know that he wasn't the sort of person that I would even like, never mind…
Well, nothing, because those sorts of thoughts weren't even in my mind.
“Where am I going to sleep?” he asked me, not even batting an eyelid.
“Erm…” what did he mean? I knew that he had to be with me all the time, but not in my room, surely? I couldn't handle that. How the hell was I supposed to process everything that was happening to me if I didn't have any time by myself?
“We can book you a room,” Mouse interjected, much to my relief.
“No, don't worry about it,” Hex replied. “I will sleep outside the door. That way I'll be able to keep an eye out all around. And don't worry, I'm a very light sleeper.”
As Hex and Mouse left me by myself in my room, I felt all off-kilter. I could almost feel a magnetism radiating off this man, despite the fact that he wasn't even in the room anymore, which left me all on edge. I'd been weary before, close to getting ready for sleep, but now I had a weird anticipation coursing through my veins.
I needed to do something. All of a sudden my hotel room felt totally claustrophobic and I wanted to get out. Only I couldn't, not with the light sleeper on the other side of the door.
No, I needed to forget that plan and climb into bed, before I did something stupid. But even as I thought about resting I knew that it wouldn't happen. I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.
Wasn't my plan to escape anyway? To act up to make everyone else see that this was my life and I could do whatever I wanted? Once I broke free and partied all night long, Mouse and the rest of them would soon see that they were wrong about my stalker. Yes he freaked me out online, but everyone knew that the Internet was a completely different world to real life.
My heart thundered in my chest as I considered the possibility of escaping. I wasn't one for always doing what I was told anyway, but tonight it felt even naughtier. I'd had it expressly forbidden.
I mean, it was possible. This hotel room was on the first floor, I could jump down with ease. I might not have had my phone to contact any of my friends', but I knew where they'd be. That new club had opened on the corner, and it was all that everyone could talk about. It was exclusive, but I was just about famous enough to be counted as a VIP so getting inside wouldn't be an issue.
The more that I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. It exhilarated me. It was either remain here, cooped up and pissed off, or go out and have fun. There really wasn't any competition with that one.
I slid the window open as quietly as I could, glancing towards the door constantly as I did. I didn't want Hex to hear me until I was gone' and there was nothing that he could do about it, which made all of this even more thrilling. My pulse rate was about as high as it could go. My whole body was trembling. I almost giggled from the excitement.
As I tossed myself out of the window, and the cool breeze hit my face, that laugh finally burst free from my chest. I'd done it, I'd acted the worst that I ever had, and now I was about to reap the benefits of that. I didn't have anything on too early in the morning, so I could get drunk and dance all night long – it was going to be epic.
But just as I escaped from the hotel grounds, my body slammed into that of a stranger, causing me to stagger backwards.
“Ooh, sorry,” I said quickly, hysteria lacing my tone. “I didn't mean to…
“That's okay, Kayla,” came the very cold reply. “I don't mind having your body up against mine.”
My blood ran cold, my whole body iced up. It couldn't be… could it?
***
Hex
I couldn't sleep, however hard I tried. This was all a little much for me. Sure I was a good bodyguard. I'd proven more than once that I could do the job. But this was too much.
Kayla 'was in the dark. Mouse had made the possibly naïve decision not to tell her the full details of the issue with her stalker. She assumed that it was just a few letters and some unpleasant stuff said to her on social media, because they had kept the parcels he'd sent away from her.
This guy was sick, clearly very obsessed with her, and to prove that he'd been sending her parts of his body – toenails, hair, a vial of blood. The more that she ignored him (because she didn't know) the more incessant he became. It seemed like he was slowly coming to the point where he was going to come after her.
I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit.
I wanted to burst in that room right away and tell Kayla the truth. She clearly thought that hiring me was an over the top reaction. It had been written all across her face. I wanted her to understand why it was necessary.
But there was something holding me back, and I wasn't sure what it was. I guessed it had something to do with the weird feeling that she had caused in my stomach the moment our eyes locked. I hadn't ever experienced it before, so I didn't know how to process it. I wasn't totally sure what it was.
I pressed
my ear up against the door, listening in to hear what she was up to. I felt wired, like my whole body was buzzing with something exciting. Much as I wanted to collapse into the chair Mouse had set outside the door and get some shut eye, it was never going to happen now. Not when I had so much weirdness to consider.
The room was silent, too silent. I might not have had the same incredible hearing of a wolf, but it was good enough to know that Kayla was either sleeping and very still, or she wasn't there.
My heart began to pound so heavily in my chest that I feared it might have broken free. Shit, Kayla had no idea how much trouble she was in! She didn't even slightly understand what was going on here. If she was gone, then things could easily take a very bad turn.
No, I forced myself to step backwards. No, I was overreacting here. There could have been lots of explanations to why she was suddenly silent. Maybe she was in the bathroom, maybe she really was asleep. Maybe…
Uh uh, it wasn't enough. I needed to be sure.
Knock, knock.
“Kayla?” I asked quietly, not wanting to wake up any of the other hotel guests. Not that there was anyone too close by really, the rooms were really spread out in here. It must have been a very expensive hotel. “Kayla, are you in there?”
Okay, I'd asked twice and got nothing back. I had to go in there. It was my job. If she wasn't in there already, on my first night on the job, I would lose it right away. Then the agency would fire me and I would end up with nothing yet again. This job might not have been what I wanted from my life, but I really needed the money. If I kept thinking about the cash and the possibility of a new home, then surely it wouldn't be so bad?
I pushed the door, using all of my strength. It clicked open far too quickly for my liking. Mouse was right to be worried, he understood that this place wasn't really safe enough for Kayla. It was just a shame that he hadn't trusted her enough to give her that information too. After all, it was her life in danger.
“Fuck.” I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging on the ends as I realized that my suspicions were right. The room was in fact empty, and the window was open.
This sort of behavior must have been normal for her. It was probably where she got her bad reputation from. It was just a shame that Mouse hadn't warned me properly. I didn't always like to believe what I read with no proof, which was why I'd suggested sleeping outside of the room, but now I could see that was silly. I should have just done it. It would have been much better for her.
I raced out of the room and pounded down the steps until I reached the front door. I could hear the receptionist yelling something to me behind my back, but I didn't stop to listen. This was an emergency, I didn't have time for anything else. I just had to get out there.
A part of me wanted to yell her name top note, but I knew that I couldn't. I needed to keep my cool with this one, it had to be a secret what with it being a high profile person involved.
Instead I crept along, my mind whirring at about a hundred miles an hour, trying to work out where she could have gone.
Then I spotted her. She hadn't made it far, she was just outside the hotel in the arms of a man wearing a hoodie. I felt silly, knowing that I'd freaked out just to witness her sneaking off for some time with her boyfriend. I wanted to creep backwards, to escape unseen, but somehow I couldn't stop looking.
Something about the image made me feel wrong. I wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't normal.
But then before I could force myself to go, her eyes drew around to me, as if she was magnetized by my presence. I saw something in her eyes that I hadn't spotted before. Fear.
She was afraid.
This wasn't a lovers' tryst after all, this was danger. I needed to snap into action.
***
Kayla
My heart was thundering in my chest. My stomach was swirling with sickness. I was shaking all over… was this really happening?
“You will be mine,” the hooded assailant hissed into my ear. “Remember what I said, I am the only one that can have you.”
This was my stalker, it had to be. I had suffered messages along that sort of line from numerous people, but he was the only one that I'd ever felt really meant it… in a sinister way, not just in a 'messing around online' way. And now he had come to put that plan into action. I really should have listened to Mouse and everyone else. I should have taken it all much more seriously. I was foolish to ignore it, and to carry on in such a silly and naïve way.
Now I was out here, stuck with him, and no one knew where I was. A tear pricked my eye as it hit me how serious this was, and how I had no one to blame but myself.
He had a tight grip of my wrists, and he'd pulled me up close to him so that his body was pressed up against me. He had me trapped, pinned so close that I could smell his weird, musky scent and that had my skin crawling. I kept trying to pull away but he had me completely overpowered. I couldn't help but wonder if he was actually human. He seemed more shapeshifter than anything else.
“P… please…” I stammered through the emotion. “L… let me go…”
But he just laughed loudly at me, as if I was making the funniest joke ever. “You aren't going anywhere.”
I tried to move my head around, to see if there was anyone around that I could get the attention of before he hurt me… or worse, but I just couldn't move a single bone in my body. I wasn't sure if it was just him holding me in place, or fear too, but I couldn't move anywhere. I was frozen to the spot.
“You know how long I've been wanting you, you think that I'm just going to give you up that easily.”
“C… can we just… talk?” I said. I needed to find some way around this, and negotiating was all I had left.
“I gave you chances to talk, and you weren't interested. You blew your chance for that.”
He did? When? I couldn't remember that at all, but it was possible that I'd ignored him without even meaning too, back when I wasn't taking everything seriously.
“I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…”
All of a sudden with no warning whatsoever, I felt my stalker's body sharply shift to one side, almost as if he was staggering. My heart leapt up into my throat, especially when his grip loosens, and I feel myself freed just a little bit. I didn't care what was happening, this was my chance to escape.
I shoved him backwards, my brain spinning, and I moved to run. Just then, another set of arms wrapped around me. I lashed out, punching and kicking whoever this guy's helper was, but it was like hitting stone.
“Hey, hey, hey,” came a calming tone of voice. It was Hex! He said, “Are you okay? I've got you.”
I stared at him, lost for words. Something about the way he spoke had me soothed, and I found my eyes traveling up his body.
“I hit him, I'm pretty sure that he's knocked out. Shall we get back to the hotel room?”
“Oh thank God,” I gasped, gripping tightly to him. “Hex, thank goodness. I thought… I thought…” But I didn't want to vocalize what I thought because it was just too awful, so I collapsed into sobs instead. “Maybe we should call the cops.”
But as I spun back to try and get a better look at my attacker now I felt safe, I saw the shadow of someone racing away, taking away my chance to find out his identity, and to get him arrested.
“Shit, well I guess that he wasn't knocked out after all,” Hex furrowed his eyebrows, looking pissed off at himself. “But hopefully that will be a warning to him and he'll leave you alone.”
I nodded silently, mostly because I didn't agree, and I tucked myself firmly under his arm. No longer was I worrying about Hex being the enemy, or the confusing feelings he was causing in me, I just relied on him solely. Despite my shitty attitude towards him, despite the fact that I had run off to hopefully get him in trouble or maybe even make him lose his job, he had still come for me. He had saved me, and for that I was extremely grateful.
“Take me inside,” I whispered to him. “And please, don't leave me alone again.”
; As we walked, Hex spoke quietly and gravely to me, shocking me to my core. He told me all about the stalker and the packages he's sent.
“I told Mouse that he should have told you everything. It wasn't fair not to. Mouse deemed it a good idea to keep some of the stalker's communication away from you, and I told him you wouldn't understand the severity of things but he wouldn't listen. Well… now you know.”
“Wow,” I didn't know what to say to that, it all felt so shitty. Why would Mouse think that it was so terrible for me to know the whole truth about my own damn life? “Thank you.”
That confirmed it for me. I needed to keep Hex around, he was the only one willing to tell me the truth. I had to start doing what I could to keep him as a go-between, to finally keep me in the know. Plus, if that asshole stalker came for me again then I wanted someone as strong as Hex to defend me. I needed him!
I needed him more than I'd ever needed anyone before, and that scared the hell out of me. I had always been so independent, so focused on making my own way in life, and now that had been taken from me. Although to be honest I wasn't sure that I'd had much control over my own life for a very long time.
***
Hex
My heart was racing as I finally got Kayla back into her hotel room where she belonged. This was crazy, and all the fault of Mouse. He should have told her. It should not have been left to me, but I felt glad that at least I'd said something.
I carried her over to her bed and watched her flop on the sheets, looking vulnerable and sweet. I realized that she couldn't be the terrible person that the Internet presented her to be. The media often got it wrong, I was aware of that, but with the case of Kayla I felt like they were way off.
In the very short time that I'd been around her, I got the distinct impression that the only reason she ever acted out was because she felt trapped, out of control of her life, and she wanted to regain that. In a way it reminded me of the way that I had run away to escape heart break. I felt like I understood her, just a little bit.
Princess For Them Page 34