Vanguard Security

by S. J. Bishop

  “That’s what this is really about isn’t it?” Cruz spat. “Money was never a problem, was it?”

  “Of course not.” He adjusted his grip on the gun. “VanGuard pays me well. Very well. But, it wasn’t… satisfying. I wanted something more. I wanted people to quiver whenever they saw me.”

  “And that’s why you hated me so much. I didn't bow down to you.”

  “But look where you are now!” He exclaimed. “Down on your knees before me!” There was a note of euphoria in his voice. This man had lost his mind.

  “And you won’t be the last. Your death will just be another in a long line of others to come. Many will try to stop me, but no one will succeed,” he boasted, his chest jutting out in a pompous way that made me sick.

  Fury overtook me, and I rushed forward, stabbing him with the heel of my shoe.

  He cried out, his arm swinging to the left, his gun clipping me in the head. I went flying across the room, slamming into a nearby lamp. It shattered with a loud pop. I closed my eyes, covering my face against the rain of glass shards.

  “Amelia!” I heard Cruz scream my name, but it was too late.

  The bullet had already left the chamber.

  Everything was black. No matter where I looked, darkness followed. I tried to wade through it, but it was useless. I wasn’t going anywhere.

  So I lay there, suspended in that ethereal blackness, trying to figure out how I had gotten there.

  Slowly, the cobwebs melted away as my memory returned like an old movie reel, playing frame by frame.

  First, excruciating pain that radiated through my chest. Then, a warmness that flooded that same area, trickling down every inch of my body. Next came a deep, deep coldness that penetrated through my bones.

  I remembered Cruz calling out my name, a note of hysteria in his words. I couldn’t quite understand what he was saying; all of his words were jumbled. He kept patting my cheek and trying to get me to look at him, but I couldn’t focus.

  He picked me up and carried me through the night into the back of a bright green car. We were smooshed between two booster seats…

  And then, nothing.

  I tried to remember what came next, but it was just a blank space in my mind. I looked around, hoping my environment would lend some clues, but it was the same impenetrable darkness.

  “Amelia…” My name came as a faint whisper. “Please…”

  I tilted my head, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

  “You have to wake up…”

  Cruz.

  He was talking to me. But where was he?

  I swam forward, but I didn’t move. I was stuck.

  Something grabbed my ankles, pulling me downward. I kicked, trying to loosen its grip, but it just held me tighter and tighter.

  “I love you…”

  Suddenly, a bright light shone overhead. It blinded me for a second, but soon enough, my eyes adjusted. It gave me strength – the strength I needed to pull away from the darkness.

  I swam hard and fast, determined to reach the light. To get to Cruz.

  I gasped, my body jolting in an unfamiliar bed.

  “Amelia!”

  Cruz was by my side in an instant, holding my hand in his. There were tears in his eyes. I couldn’t understand why.

  “I’m so glad you’re awake… You had me so worried…” He held me by the face with such a gentle touch that it was almost like he was afraid of breaking me. “Are you alright…? Does anything hurt…? Do you want me to call a nurse?” He was speaking so quickly that it was difficult to follow what he was saying.

  “Slow down…” I croaked, my throat so dry that the words seemed to shrivel inside of me.

  “Sorry… I’m just worried.”

  “About…?” My mind was foggy. It felt like my head weighed a ton, and if I wasn’t careful, it would snap my neck.

  “You…” He looked away. “I’m so sorry… I should have protected you… instead… I let you get shot. It’s all my fault.”

  “Wait… did you just say I got shot?”

  He didn’t answer me.

  Gingerly, I moved my body, but I couldn’t feel a thing. “Are you sure?”

  “You’re on a lot of pain medication…” Cruz continued to avoid making eye contact.

  “What happened to Rob?” I asked, trying to piece everything together.

  “I took care of him…”

  “You mean?”

  He nodded.

  “Good.” I melted into my bed, staring at the ceiling. “Thank you…”

  “How can you thank me when I was the reason you got shot? If I had just attacked him from the beginning instead of trying to get answers, you wouldn’t be in this hospital bed right now.”

  I placed my hand on his cheek. “I could never blame you for trying to find out answers. I’ve been trying to do the same thing ever since my family was murdered… their killer was never caught… never brought to trial… I was always left to wonder why he did it… why he chose my family… and I fear that I will never find out… that I’ll never get them the justice they deserve. But, you did… you got your sister’s killer. You got the answers you needed. To me, Cruz, you’re a hero.”

  He looked at me long and hard before a small smile broke out on his face. “I love you…” he whispered, gently kissing my lips. “But remind me never to piss you off when you’re wearing high heels.”

  We both laughed, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

  Epilogue

  Cruz

  You’ve never been able to put on a bowtie properly.” Amelia’s silky voice sounded in my ear as she came up behind me, adjusting my neck tie.

  “I thought you were putting on your makeup…” I turned around to find Amelia wearing sexy lingerie. It was a new set I had never seen before. The purple color complimented her milky skin to perfection. “Amelia… what are you doing…? We are going to be late.”

  “Shh…” She pressed her finger to my lip as she pushed me against the wall. “We can be quick.”

  “Quick?” I mumbled through her finger. “With you looking like that, I’ll want to fuck you all night long…” I growled with my hands on her ass. Effortlessly, I hoisted her off the ground.

  Her legs wrapped around my torso, her ankles locking together. “I wouldn’t mind.”

  “I don’t want you to miss your big debut…” I whispered, my brain growing numb as all the blood from my body rushed to my cock.

  “Then time is of the essence.” She giggled, her hand slithering into my pants and squeezing me tight.

  I groaned, bucking my hips in reaction.

  Unable to control myself, I slammed her into the wall.

  She gasped, her back arching.

  Without skipping a beat, I ripped her nightie right down the middle, exposing her lovely bosom. Her perky breasts jumped out at me, her nipples already hard. I took them between my teeth, rolling them around until she was moaning my name.

  She ran her fingers through my hair, pulling on it hard.

  As I held her up with one hand, I struggled to unbutton my pants and free my cock.

  Finally, my cock sprung to life, rubbing against the thin fabric of her panties. Teasing her a bit, I ground my hips slowly, knowing she would be dying for the rough and tumble sex we usually had. She was wild under the sheets. I loved it.

  “I hope you’re ready for it, baby…” I whispered into her neck before I started to nibble on her skin.

  She moaned, her head tilting back in anticipation. “You know I’m always ready for you…”

  I smirked, my fingers hooking around the waistband of her panties. I tugged on them, letting the thin fabric dig into her folds. I could tell that she was soaking wet. Hell, she was practically dripping.

  I tugged a little harder, listening to her moans change in pitch. “You like that, don’t you…?”

  “Fuck… Cruz… you can’t keep teasing me like this…”

  “Why not? You seem to be enjoying y
ourself.” I nibbled on her ear lobe, loving the way her body writhed under my touch.

  “Because… I need you. I need to feel you inside me. Your cock pumping in and out of me… your fingers digging into my skin… your hips thrusting against mine…”

  “Mmm, you naughty little girl…”

  Without warning, I ripped her panties right off her body, flicking them across the room.

  She gasped, giving me the perfect opportunity to ram into her body.

  My balls were nestled right against her as I paused, letting us both adjust. My cock twitched inside of her as pleasure coursed through my every vein.

  Soon, I was thrusting in and out of her, gaining speed and momentum. The friction between us grew hotter and hotter until we were both moaning into each other’s mouths, tugging on one another’s hair, as our hands roamed all over.

  “Fuck!” she screamed, her head tilting back into the wall.

  “Shh, do you want Hunter to hear us?” I mumbled before I kissed her even harder, muffling her screams of ecstasy.

  But she didn’t quiet down. Instead, she started to ride me, her movements in perfect sync with mine.

  It was too much for me to handle. My balls filled up and felt like they were going to explode.

  I pressed myself against her even harder, thrusting into her one final time.

  Her pussy tightened around me, turning into a vice, determined to milk me for every last drop.

  We tensed, our heartbeats becoming one as we climaxed in unison.

  My legs gave out, and we slid to the ground, tangled in a sexy heap.

  She looked at me and giggled. She kissed me gently before she got up, disappearing into the bathroom.

  About fifteen minutes later, she emerged, looking like nothing had ever happened.

  How did she do that?

  “What’s wrong?” she asked with a smirk on her lips. She helped me up, carefully zipping up my pants for me. “Was that too much for you?”

  “What? Of course not. I could have gone for three more rounds.”

  “Oh yeah? I’ll hold you to that in the future.” She winked before she grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door. “But for now, you’ll have to settle for one because we really have to go.” We were just about to leave the bedroom when she paused. “Oh! I almost forgot.”

  She bent down, opening the bottom drawer of our vanity. As she did so, her hips wiggled back and forth, obviously trying to taunt me. I bit my lip, my cock already hardening despite what she had just put it through. This woman would kill me one of these days, I swear.

  “Here we are.” She held a small parcel in her hands.

  “What’s this?” I asked as she gave it to me.

  “Open it, silly.”

  I gave her a quizzical look before I finally tore at the paper, revealing her newest book.

  A man that looked kind of like me posed on the cover, an attractive woman in his arms. The woman had her face hidden, but she had Amelia’s caramel colored hair running down her back. “You’ve shown me this before…”

  “Yeah, but I made a last-minute change.”

  “Oh?”

  “Read the back.”

  I flipped the book, reading through the blurb. My eyes instantly widened. “You renamed the hero after me…”

  “That’s right, my sexy little Salvador…”

  My cheeks burned. “You know I’m not a fan of my first name…”

  “Well, good thing I get your last name when we get married.”

  “Speaking of which… I was going to wait until after the signing, but I think now is as good a time as any.” Without hesitation, I dropped down to one knee and pulled out a little black box from my pocket.

  She gasped. “I was only kidding…”

  “Well, I’m not. Amelia, will you marry me?”

  She immediately nodded her head, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

  I smiled, wrapping my arms around her as we fell to the ground for the second time that night. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Cruz.”

  Franklin

  Part 3

  1

  Franklin

  You may now kiss the bride!” In one swift motion, Cruz swooped up his wife, cradled her against his chest, and kissed her. Everyone started to applaud, celebrating their happy moment. I smiled, glad that my friend had finally found someone who made him happy.

  As I stood there, I thought about everything he had gone through to be with her. He’d had to overcome so much -- he had stared into the eyes of death -- but now, everything had fallen into place. There was a glimmer in his eye that I had never seen before. I knew, in that moment, that Cruz had found the one.

  Finally, he placed Amelia back on her feet. She was beet red and beaming with happiness. Together, they walked hand in hand down the aisle and out the door. There, they positioned themselves on the upper steps of the church, accepting the well-wishes from all those in attendance. Once pleasantries were taken care of, they stowed away into the limousine, followed by the wedding party.

  As Cruz’s best man, I was, of course, part of this party and expected to take pictures with them. I wasn’t much of a picture person… but when I’d told them this, they hadn’t cared to listen to me. So here I was…

  “How does it feel to be a married man?” I asked once I was settled into my seat. I had always hated limousines. Yes, they could seat a bunch of people, but they weren’t very comfortable. If you sat across from someone who also had long legs, you’d bump knees the whole ride.

  “Wonderful.” Cruz smiled brightly as he wrapped his arm around Amelia’s shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Gently, he kissed the top of her head, causing her to giggle. “I should’ve done it sooner.”

  I chuckled. “I’m not so sure. Marriage is one of those things where you wait for the perfect moment.”

  “Franklin, ever the fountain of wisdom,” Cruz teased. “You should start printing your own fortune cookies.”

  I shook my head. “Cruz, ever the man of jokes.”

  “He tells good jokes!” Hunter chimed in, holding up his stuffed panda as if that would validate his claim. By his side, Gina just nodded in agreement. She had been the flower girl for the ceremony, and I just couldn’t quite get over how cute she looked in her little pink dress. I smiled at my daughter and she smiled back. She was growing up so fast… I felt like I was going to blink and see her in a white dress, walking down the aisle at her own wedding.

  “See, Hunter knows.” Cruz fist-bumped with the little boy before ruffling up his hair.

  Hunter giggled.

  “So, are you excited about going to Hawaii?” I asked Hunter.

  He vigorously nodded his head. “It’s going to be a lot of fun! Cruz said he would teach me how to surf!”

  “Oh, really? That’s pretty cool.”

  A few weeks ago, I had offered to babysit while they were on their honeymoon, but they’d refused, saying they would take the little guy along for the trip. They said it wouldn’t be fair if they left him behind. I didn’t care to ask how they would enjoy themselves with a five-year-old sleeping in the next room, but I figured it was their problem and not mine.

  Soon, the conversation in the limousine took on a casual tone. I zoned out and leaned back, closing my eyes. In an instant it seemed, we arrived at the park. We filed out of the limousine and quickly started to pose for the photographer, who seemed to think we were marionettes capable of holding odd positions for an hour. By the time we were done, I never wanted to see another camera ever again.

  Next came the banquet. It passed in a blur. I couldn’t remember much -- just that the food was good and the alcohol even better. Cruz had barely gotten off the dance floor once he was inebriated to the point of no return. Amelia seemed to think Cruz was hysterical and wouldn’t stop laughing all night long.

  Near one o’clock in the morning, I swooped Gina out of her chair, where she had fallen asleep with her head in her arms. Poor thing must
have been exhausted. She looked up at me with weary eyes and grumbled something before she plopped her head onto my shoulder and went back to sleep. I carried her with ease to the Uber waiting for me outside.

  I was glad when we pulled up in front of my home. I could feel fatigue settling into my bones, making them feel leaden. All I wanted to do was sleep for days – maybe even months.

  I tucked Gina into her bed and sunk into mine. I moaned in pleasure as the mattress seemed to engulf me in its sweet tenderness. I smiled and closed my eyes, too tired to take off any of my clothes.

  I expected sleep to come quickly, but it never did. Now that I was alone in my bed, I could feel a heaviness in the air. My arm extended to the empty side of the bed. I frowned, remembering a time when my wife had lain there. Crippling loneliness clutched at my heart. It felt like it would burst at any moment. I had been on my own for too long. The lack of intimacy in my life was starting to take its toll.

  Maybe, just maybe, it was time for me to move on…

  2

  Lauren

  It was nearly two in the morning. I stepped out of my Uber and looked at the address I had written on a sticky note. This was it. This was where he lived.

  When I looked back, the Uber driver was already gone. Goosebumps prickled my skin. Luckily, this seemed like a nice enough neighborhood. Still, I hurried to the door and was just about to knock when I hesitated.