by Ali Parker
"I already got one. Go sit down and talk to me. Why the hell did you come back here? I thought you were headed to Maryland."
"I was." I handed him my beer and took it back after he popped the top for me. "Jeremy found me after you left on Tuesday."
"What?" He whipped around still holding the spatula. It would have been comical in any other situation. "Where the fuck was your guard?"
"He's in on it." I lifted the beer to my lips and held up a finger as Ian started to run through a string of curses. "I don't think Jeremy is the bad guy."
"Chloe. The fucker kidnapped you and shot you."
"Hear me out, and try to hold judgment on my sanity until I'm done."
He pursed his lips and turned back to the stove. "All right. Go for it, but know I'm likely going to kill every fucking one of them for not doing their job and leaving you in danger."
"He kidnapped me because he wanted to bring my father out to the house. I guess he has evidence of my father being involved in starting the fire that killed Brant Thomas' family before the election in 2008."
Ian glanced over his shoulder. "That's what he had? Shit. I knew it."
"Did you get it?"
He nodded. "I think so. When Pauly gets back home, I'll-"
"No." I glanced down at my hands and shook my head. "Pauly was involved. Don't give him the information until we figure out which side he's playing on. I don't trust him."
It hurt just to say it. I glanced up and took a deep breath.
"You don't mean that, right? Pauly has been nothing but good to you all these years." He turned, plated my sandwich and set it down in front of me before getting his and joining me.
"I know." I shrugged. "I can't seem to reconcile the man I know him to be and the one that would kill someone for something as stupid as politics."
"Maybe he had no choice."
"That's what he said, but everyone has a choice. Jeremy chose to kidnap me from the event and pull a gun out in hopes of shooting you. He chose that shit."
"But you just said yourself that he wasn't a bad guy, but more of a victim to your father fucking with him, so which is it? Is Jeremy a bad guy, or someone cornered with no way out?"
"I don't know." I picked up the sandwich. "Pauly lied about you leaving the job here with me. He made it sound like you'd turned in your notice and said fuck off to me and my drama."
"I would never do that." He reached over and pulled me in for a quick kiss. "You thought I would?"
"I would have." I forced a tight smile. "I'm a huge pain in the ass."
"Mmmm, but what an ass it is." He kissed me once more before moving back and picking up his beer.
"Where is this evidence? Can I see it?"
"It's right here." He patted his pocket. "You can after I talk with Pauly. I know you're having trouble trusting him, and maybe I should listen to you, but I've been on the streets my whole life. I don't read him as one of the bad guys, Chloe. He's in a tight spot and honestly, I'm not sure why. He's been with your father far too long for the type of guy your dad is turning out to be. Why? Why is that?"
My phone rang, and as much as I hated to break up the conversation, it was Pauly on the line.
"That's him. Let me get it." I got up and walked to the living room, sitting down on the couch and leaning back. "What?"
"Butterfly, where are you? Are you at the beach house?"
"Why do you care? All you've done is lie to me my whole life."
"I know. I'm sorry, Chloe. It's not like I had much of a choice in the matter."
"Where is my father, Pauly? If he's headed this way-"
"He's not. He's in Maryland. Daniel and a few other guards went with him."
"And where are you."
"Headed your way. I need to come clean on a few things."
"On you killing those kids? That guy’s wife?" I swallowed the hot ball of anger in my throat and tried to come up with some reason why Pauly might be forced to commit murder. I came up empty, as any rational person would.
"I'll explain all of it. I promise. Just stay put, all right?"
"Why should I? You're no different from the rest of them." I stood up and walked to the back door, pulling it open and walking out into the after-rain mist. The coolness coated my skin and calmed me enough to actually listen to his words.
"Remember when you were four and that blue bird that used to sit on your windowsill got hit in the head by old Martin Katrine's ball?"
I pursed my lips together and nodded as tears burned my eyes. Of course he was going to use the past to bridge the gap we were suffering.
"No," I whispered roughly. I couldn't make sense of memories versus photographs.
"Well, I do. You cried all afternoon, and your mom and dad couldn't get you to calm down, so they came and got me."
I choked on a sob as warmth filled my chest. Not only had he held me and rocked me like a baby, he'd helped me bury the damn bird later that afternoon.
"And when you broke your front teeth out, remember that? Melinda was beside herself, so I took you to the dentist and we danced around the waiting room while you held that big ass white towel to your face because you-" his voice broke, "because you wouldn't let me get you something smaller? I told you it was like your wedding dress would one day be... billowing behind you."
I laughed as tears dripped down my chest and stained my shirt. "A bloody wedding?"
He chuckled through his own tears. "You'll understand everything when I get there. We'll sit down and I'll tell you all I know, and all the reasons behind the deception that's been part of our lives for the last ten years, okay?"
I nodded and brushed my tears away. "And if I still want you to go and never come back again?"
"Then I will. I'll honor whatever you want, butterfly."
"Why would you do that, Pauly?" I turned to find Ian in the doorway. The solemn look on his face told me that he'd heard some of the conversation.
"Because I love you, little girl. I always have, and I always will. No matter what."
"Me too," I whispered and pulled the phone from my ear.
"Are you okay, baby?" Ian reached out and brushed a few tears from my face.
"I don't know." I shook my head and took a deep breath. "I only have one memory from mom's funeral."
"What is it?" He reached for me, pulling me against his chest as I let out a shaky breath.
"It's the moment we walked in together, me, dad and Pauly. I can still hear the sound of his sobs, his screaming in my head. It was beyond horrific. It's part of my nightmares. I can't imagine feeling that much devastation, that deep of a loss and surviving it, and yet he has."
"Your father?" He kissed my head.
I glanced up. "No. Pauly."
Chapter 23
Ian
I must have hovered over the top of her for an hour by the way my back ached as I stood back up. She was tucked in her bed, asleep and breathing deeply by the time I turned and walked back into the living room. I was in love with her, and would be fighting whatever fight she wanted me to. She needed to uncover the past, and I would be there to hold her hand through every moment of it.
It would seem that Pauly was the key to unlocking whatever the fuck was going on with Mitch. If the old man was involved, it was because he had a reason to be. After being in one shitty situation after the next my whole life, I was a good judge of character, at least most of the time.
I got in the shower and took my time enjoying the hot spray on my body, the feeling of my nails against my skin. I'd stay up for a few more hours in hopes of getting my mind to settle down a little, and then I'd go make love to my girl until the sun came up. We could figure out the rest of the shit facing us tomorrow. Today had been enough drama already.
After towel drying my hair, I tried to comb the front back to no avail and finally gave up. I pulled my jeans over my hips and walked into the living room, checking to make sure I still had all of the zip drives me and Cole had risked our asses for.
&nbs
p; A laugh bubbled up inside of me at the look on his fucking face when the guard came back to Mitch's mansion. I almost expected to smell shit in the air. I laughed loudly and shook my head. That fucking guy meant the world to me. He had some shit coming his way thanks to Cindy being butt hurt over him finally snatching his balls back and walking out, but I'd be beside him, and I could almost bet that Chloe would too.
Chloe's laptop sat in a computer bag on the table, and I thought about checking out the information on the pink zip drive, but weariness rolled over me. I'd check it out as soon as I got a good night of sleep. If Pauly was headed back to San Diego, he'd most likely be back by the morning. We could all have coffee and talk about everything. Whatever the solution was, I was getting Chloe away from her bastard father for good. Whether we turned him and Jeremy in for whatever they were up to was a different story altogether. Where I knew it was the right thing to do, I wasn't necessarily a good guy myself. I'd rather just keep my head down and take care of my woman for the rest of my life.
Things had a way of working themselves out... good or bad.
A knock at the door caused my heart to skip a beat. I got up and walked to the back door, reaching down to grab my t-shirt and pull it on before opening it.
Pauly stood on the porch, his dark eyes downcast, his demeanor that of a broken man.
"Hey. Come on in." I moved back and he walked in without a word. His head turned a little as if looking for something, or someone rather. "She's asleep. It's been a pretty emotional day."
"I bet." He walked to the table and ran his hand over the computer bag. "Did you see what was on the files?"
"You assume that I got them." I smiled, trying to lighten the mood just a little.
"I know you did. I have complete faith in your ability to get anything you want." He extended his hand. "Give me the drive."
"Yeah, sure." I pulled it from my pocket and handed it to him as he closed his fingers around it and glanced around, breathing in slowly. For a minute I felt the nervous flutter of mistake dancing deep inside of me. Was Pauly the one pulling the strings? Senator Moore seemed so nice, so overly pleasant at times. There was no way he could be the mastermind behind the massacre of someone's family, but Pauly... Pauly was like me. He'd come from the streets and been raised on ass-whoopings and scraps of dirty bread.
"Were there any more or was this the only one?" He slipped it into his pocket.
"What's going on Pauly? You're being really fucking ominous and my spidey senses are on high alert all of a sudden."
He swallowed and mouthed something, but I didn't understand him. A shadow moved in the background, and I jerked back. Pauly stiffened. Mitch.
"He was trying to tell you that I came in the front door while he came through the back. It's a diversion technique." He smiled and extended his hand toward Pauly. "The drive."
"Wait." I lifted my hands and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. "You guys had me steal the drive from the mansion for you, only to bring it back to you? That makes no fucking sense at all."
Mitch laughed deep in his chest as Pauly shifted just a little, turning toward the senator. Chloe's father wasted no time in lifting the gun he had in his hand toward Pauly and tilted his head a little.
"That's enough old friend. I would have kept you beside me until we both died, but you've chosen a different path, one that I can't help you with."
"What the fuck is-" I started.
"I told you to get the goddamn file. Mitch didn't know." He pursed his lips and let out a long sigh. "It was my only leverage."
"For what?" I lifted my hand toward Mitch, hoping to reason with him. "Senator Moore. Put that down. You aren't going to shoot anyone. You have too much riding on your campaign to ruin it over a misunderstanding."
"Wrong." The older man moved around to stand beside me, and I lunged to get the gun only to have him turn it on me. "Don't be stupid, boy. You'll end up like Pauly here. All those years wasted standing beside me like a lapdog, old friend, and all because you fucked up."
"To prosecute him for the-" Pauly started to explain himself as Mitch turned and pulled the trigger.
"No!" I ran toward Pauly as his eyes fluttered closed and he dropped to the floor. The bullet hole in his head poured out his life in a second.
"Get up now." Mitch moved back as I stood on shaky legs.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you."
"No, you're not. You've just been promoted." He smiled. "See, Pauly was waiting for someone to take care of Chloe who might be strong enough to protect her should he fail."
"I don't understand." I lifted my hands toward the old man. "Give me the gun, Mitch."
"Oh, I'm giving you the gun." He glanced down at Pauly. "You know what held him to my side all these years, Ian?"
"What?"
"The same thing that will bind you to do my bidding at every turn in the road." He turned the handle of the gun toward me and smiled. "Chloe."
I grabbed the gun and shook my head. "Wrong, old man. I'll blow your fucking head off."
He laughed. "Go for it, but she won't live to see the morning if I turn up dead."
"Stop talking in riddles." I paused as she called out to me from down the hall. The fear in her voice palpable.
"You killed Pauly because he came to kill her. I was never here. If any other story reaches the girl's ears, then you'll suffer for it." He turned and walked toward the back door.
"What? That's fucking ins-"
"Try me on it, Ian. Pauly was looking for a man to protect Chloe so he could step out from under my thumb, and he found the perfect man - you. Welcome to the family, son."
I stood in shock as he walked out the back door and Chloe rounded the corner in her tank top and panties.
"Baby? I thought I heard-" She stopped as a scream ripped from her throat. "No! No! Oh my God! Ian... what have you done?" She dropped to the floor at my feet and pulled Pauly into her lap, rocking him and screaming over and over again until the world faded around me.
Forgotten Bodyguard 3
Chapter 1
Ian
Blood pooled at my feet, and the sound of Chloe's screams were lost to the blood pumping past my ears as my heart raced. She leaned over Pauly's body, her father's oldest friend and bodyguard gone forever thanks to Mitch.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear the numbness that settled over me as she jerked her head around and yelled something. Her beautiful face was a mask of horror and accusation.
The gun in my hand was warm as if Mitch had been clutching it for the last hour as he made his plans. The old bastard knew what he was up to. What was Pauly trying to say before he died? He wanted leverage on Mitch to do what? Prove that the bastard killed his wife, his running mates family and who else?
I had no evidence to support my suspicions but after watching the beloved California Senator put a bullet in Pauly's head, I didn't need evidence. Senator Moore was a bastard and now I was strapped to his side just as Pauly had been for most of his life.
The sound of Chloe crying pulled me from my shock and forced me down on the floor beside her.
"Baby. It's not what you think." I reached for her, pulling her away from Pauly's lifeless body. If she loved anyone in life, it was the man on the floor below us. He'd been more of a father than Mitch had ever hoped to be. Something inside my gut said there was more to that though than I wanted to make known.
"What the fuck happened?" She turned, moving up to her knees and swatted at my chest, her arms and neck covered in Pauly's blood.
"Shit." I stood up, almost slipping in the blood and picked her up, muscling her toward the bathroom as my stomach turned upside down. I was going to lose my lunch if I didn't fucking calm down a little.
"You killed him!" She slapped at my face and kicked my shins.
What could I say? I would never kill Pauly, and yet Mitch had been perfectly clear. If I wanted Chloe to remain unharmed, then I would play the part and swallow the truth no matter how jazzed the pill
was.
"He came to kill you." I sat her down just inside the bathroom and gripped her face tightly. "Look at me, Chloe. You know I wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were coming to hurt you. Look at me."
She pressed her forehead to my chest and let out an agonizing cry that ripped my heart in two. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and held her to me, fighting back my own tears. What the fuck had I gotten myself wrapped up into? Where was I supposed to go from here?
"Baby," I whispered against her hair. "I know you don't want to hear this, but you were right. He was knee deep in all of it, and you were the last piece of the puzzle. He wanted the evidence that your father was after, what Jeremy had. I told him no, and he pulled a gun and threatened to kill you. I couldn't let that happen."
She moved back and reached up to wipe her hand by her nose. "I don't know what to think." A fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. "He was everything to me."
"I understand that." I reached out and brushed her tears away. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to tell you. I'm here to protect you, no matter what that means. He had another weapon with him Chloe. It was him or me."
She wrapped her arms around herself, not validating that she'd rather me be alive than Pauly. I let go of the need to be supported by her and moved to turn on the shower. She followed me and allowed me to clean her up and dry her off.
She didn't speak another word, and by the glassiness of her blue eyes, I knew she was lost in her thoughts.
"I'm scared," she mumbled as I walked her down the hall toward the bedroom. There had to be a sleeping pill somewhere in the house that I could use to help her rest while I figured out what the fuck to do with Pauly's body.
Figure out what to do?
I knew what I was going to do. It was what I always did when I was lost. I'd call my brother, Cole, and he would rescue me.
"It's too much to handle right now." I kissed the side of her head and pulled back the covers, letting her crawl into the bed still wrapped up in her towel. I tugged it from her as she rolled onto her side and put her back to me. "It's going to be okay. You're safe now, okay? The bad guy is gone and I'm not going to let anyone or anything hurt you ever again."