“What does he say?”
“Nothing. I can’t even hear him breathe. It’s as if they are just reminders to me that he’s out there.” She shuddered.
“No number, I take it?”
“No. It’s blocked.”
Blake deflated. That could be anything. Instead, he asked something that he’d been wondering.
“Why did it take you so long to ask for help?”
She sighed as if weighed down by thoughts heavier than she could take. She was obviously weary, slumped down in her seat, gazing out the window without really seeing anything.
“I convinced myself I was imagining it. It was easier, despite the sleepless nights. The roses were the confirmation I needed that I wasn’t losing my mind.”
Not much of a confirmation to Blake’s way of thinking. He still wasn’t sure this wasn’t the product of a spoiled, overworked woman’s mind. But if nothing else, her fear was real.
“Don’t worry. We’ll sort this out.”
Sierra turned to him. “Sort this out?”
“Yeah. You want to find the guy, right? Stop him from doing this?” Or prove he doesn’t exist.
“I… yes. I would,” she said firmly, after a small hesitation. “It didn’t really occur to me that might be an option.”
“Well, that’s what we’ll do. My team members at Soldiering On will probably offer some assistance, too. So we’ll have this solved in no time, and you won’t need me anymore.”
All the breath blew out of her. “That’s such an empowering thought.”
He grinned. He liked the determined, confident version of this woman, rather than the nervous, frightened kitten he’d encountered earlier.
They pulled into the busy street where she worked, the skyscraper looming above them. It was a busy commercial street, full of corporate types and expensive coffee shops.
“Where’s the best place to park? Does your work have a garage?” he asked her.
“Oh, you can just drop me off,” she replied, distracted.
“Ah, no. That’s not how this works. I go with you everywhere. I don’t leave your side.”
“What?” she spun around. “I thought you were just going to escort me to and from work?”
He shook his head, trying not to get distracted from the road. “Nope. So where do I park?”
Her eyes had widened slightly in panic. “But what will I tell everyone?”
Blake shrugged. “Not my problem.” And it wasn’t. Her reluctance to tell her colleagues made his suspicions rear their ugly head again. If she was so concerned about her safety, surely she would want as many people as possible looking out for her.
“I thought a bodyguard’s role was to fit into the client’s life?”
Blake nearly rolled his eyes. He managed to stop himself, but the contempt he felt for that idea shone through in his voice. “Listen, a bodyguard is not a miracle worker. They’re a professional. And they need the client’s cooperation in order to keep them safe. If you don’t think that you are in danger, tell me now and I’ll go home. If, however, you want me to protect you, then you need to let me do my damn job.”
Sierra glared at him, indecision warring in her eyes. “Fine,” she muttered eventually. “Just be unobtrusive.”
“Unobtrusive is my middle name.”
Blake wasn’t sure he’d ever told a bigger lie.
Chapter 6
Sierra strode through the familiar glass doors of her office building, her heels clicking against the marble. Blake crowded close behind her. His eyes darted left and right, taking in every detail of the high lobby ceiling, glass walls, and well-dressed people populating it. She couldn’t imagine him looking more conspicuous if he wore a flashing neon sign over his head saying ‘BODYGUARD’.
Sierra held her head high, ignoring the curious stares. It didn’t help that Blake was also extremely handsome, which would have drawn people’s eyes even under normal circumstances.
The security guards were engrossed in a conversation about the latest sporting match—Sierra didn’t know which sport and didn’t care to—when she approached. Both were only keeping a half eye on the people coming and going through the keycard-activated gates beside them.
Sierra pasted on a charming smile, or a close approximation of one.
“Hi.”
The man and the woman both looked up at her without a great deal of interest. “Yes?” asked the woman.
“I have my keycard, but my friend here will be in and out for the next… little while. I was wondering if you could issue him a temporary pass until I can apply for one for him.”
The woman didn’t appear at all effected by her friendly smile. Drat. She turned it on the man, but he was eyeing Blake curiously.
“All new employees must be applied for in advance,” intoned the woman, no doubt quoting some manual.
“Right, I do know that. But could you maybe make an exception? You see, he isn’t the company’s employee. He’s mine. I mean, my assistant,” she finished awkwardly.
The woman didn’t budge. “Visitor’s badge, or you wait three days for the pass. No exceptions.”
Sierra was willing to just accept the visitor’s pass for a few days. It was only a minor inconvenience that Blake would have to sign in and out every time he entered or exited the building, and surrender his driver’s license while he had the badge. But apparently Blake had other ideas.
“Hi there.” His grin was easy and warm as he leant forward. Both sets of eyes became less disinterested as Blake met their gazes in turn. “Here’s the thing. Sierra here is being stalked by a really dangerous guy.” Sierra made a noise of protest, but Blake ignored her. The full force of his attention was directed at the two security guards. “She’s had to hire me as her bodyguard, but I can’t be everywhere at once. So, I’m going to need your help.”
It was incredible. The guards came to life before her eyes, buoyed by Blake’s words and interest in them.
He continued. “I’m going to need you guys to keep a lookout for anyone that doesn’t belong. Not me, obviously—” He flashed another charming grin, and the two guards fell further under his spell. Sierra felt like she was in the audience at a magic show. “But anyone else that asks for her, you call me first before letting them up, yeah?” He dug a card from his back pocket and slid it over to them. They both made a grab for it, but the woman was closer. She clutched her prize in her hand, never taking her eyes off Blake.
“I might even come down to see if we can make some high-tech upgrades for your equipment. I’ll be really relying on you both to help us out with this. Her life could be in your hands.”
They nodded in unison.
“The thing is, obviously I have to stick to Sierra like glue. He could be lurking around any corner.” He leant forward conspiratorially, and the two followed suit. “He could even be in the building right now.”
Sierra nearly scoffed, but she didn’t want to ruin whatever enchantment he was weaving.
“If there is any way you could find me a spare badge so I can stay with her, you’d be my heroes.”
One last, dazzling smile, and the performance was over. Sierra could have clapped, but held her peace.
From somewhere, the man produced a spare security badge. “This will get you in anywhere,” he said with a wink. Blake’s answering smile was warm. She could swear the man blushed.
Then, they waved goodbye, and made their way through the security gates. It wasn’t until they were safely alone in the elevator that Sierra let out a giggle. “What the hell was that?”
He shot her a good-natured look. “I tend to have that effect on people.” He shrugged. “Besides, everyone just wants to feel valued. If you are genuine with it, people can tell.”
“That’s some skill.”
His weight beside her was warm and comforting. The thought of her stalker hadn’t crossed her mind at all for about half an hour. She couldn’t remember when she’d last had such a reprieve.
She h
ad Blake to thank for that. Just his presence eased her mind, allowing her to transfer some of the worry over to him.
The elevator dinged. The doors slid open, revealing the offices of Livingston, Hastings, and Winslow. When her father had opened the office in the 1970s, he’d gone for an eighteenth-century gentlemen’s club vibe. Nothing much had changed in the intervening years. Dark wood panelling still lined the walls, and rent-an-ancestor paintings hung above their heads.
But the old carpet had been replaced by polished light wooden floorboards, and the desks had modern glass tabletops.
Sierra still thought it was an aggressively masculine space. However, she had chosen her battles with her father, and that wasn’t one of them.
People eyed her curiously as she passed. She wondered if it was the fact that she was arriving to the office late, or Blake’s presence, that had caught their attention. He wasn’t a typical visitor to their office, not wearing a two-thousand-dollar suit.
A group of besuited men in their thirties took up most of the corridor ahead. They all held fancy lattes from the expensive coffee machine in the breakroom. Sierra had a brief moment of surprise that they’d bothered to get out of their chairs to get their own instead of making an office assistant bring one to them, but no doubt they’d wanted the chance to gossip. Excuse her, ‘strategise’.
“Gentlemen,” she greeted them.
“Sierra,” Percy Winslow greeted her with a slightly too-loud exclamation. “We wondered where you’d gotten to.”
Ah, so she was the one they’d been gossiping about. “Percy. I simply had an appointment this morning.”
His eyes flickered to Blake and he blanched slightly. Sierra intentionally didn’t introduce them. Let Percy sweat.
Grant Hastings stepped forward, breaking the ice by holding his hand out to Blake and introducing himself. Blake seemed genuine as he returned the handshake.
With the three men standing next to each other, Sierra couldn’t help but notice that she was surrounded by three extremely handsome men.
Percy, blond and tanned; Grant, dark haired with blue eyes; and Blake, twice as broad as either of them, though they nearly matched him for height. The two partners in the company had obviously had their looks bestowed on them by centuries of good breeding. Blake, on the other hand, looked rough next to their polished charm. And far more to her taste.
His charisma stemmed from a genuine interest in people, not a cultivated attitude to pull out when it suited him. He had a raw edge that heightened his appeal, making him seem more real. More grounded.
But perhaps that was just her resentment toward the other two. They were quick to smile, but it never quite reached their eyes. Sierra wasn’t sure they’d ever been genuine a moment in their lives.
“Shall we go?” she asked Blake, stepping around Percy.
Grant called her name, stopping her before she made it a few steps.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Friday?”
She rolled her eyes, her jaw jumping. “You already know the answer to that.”
She spun on her heel and kept walking until she reached her office, the serenade of laughter from the men behind her following her all the way.
“What was that about?” Blake asked, as soon as he shut the door to her office behind him. A hushed silence descended on the room, thanks to the excellent soundproofing she insisted they install. A sanctuary.
Her room was lighter, airier, than the outer offices. No dour portraits hung on the walls, only light watercolours of seaside destinations. The light was cleverly maximised by the addition of a large mirror on one wall—which everyone interpreted as vanity on her part. Everything was neat and in its place.
“Grant thinks it’s hilarious to ask me out any chance he gets, no matter how many times I say no,” she replied as she settled herself behind her desk.
He watched her closely. “And you’re not interested?”
“Of course not. He’s a frat boy. Besides, despite me having more experience, he made partner last year. I wouldn’t be taken very seriously here if I dated my boss,” she practically spat the word out.
“That’s smart. So why does he do it?”
Sierra shrugged. “Can’t take no for an answer, I guess. Or maybe it’s just to remind me of my place.”
“What do you mean?”
“I get the feeling he does it to show that he can. To remind me that I’m beneath him. And to validate himself when all his friends laugh at me like I’m a joke.” She sighed, frustrated. “He’s childish, is all.”
“Do you want me to have a word with him?”
Sierra’s head snapped up. Blake looked deadly serious.
“Goodness, no. That will only make matters worse. They already see me as weak. Having you here is just going to make that so much worse.”
A frown flickered over his face. “Why?”
“Because you might have noticed I am a woman in the workplace. Despite proving myself again and again, they still see me as lesser. Needing a big, strong man to protect me is going to undo all the gains I’ve made.”
“Your name is on the door.” He sounded flabbergasted.
“My father’s name is on the door,” she corrected him. “That just makes things harder. The number of people that refuse to believe I’m capable—that I’m only here because of my father—is staggering.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he muttered.
“Welcome to my world.”
An awkward silence settled over them.
“So, are you intending to stand by the door all day?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t mind a chair, if there is one on offer.”
Sierra gestured to the two armchairs in front of her. “Take your pick.” A thought occurred to her. “But when I have meetings with clients, you’ll have to put it back and wait outside.”
His lips thinned. “Does that happen often?”
“Often enough.” She checked her diamond-encased watch. “In fact, I’ll have one in about thirty minutes that I’ll have to prepare for.”
He nodded and reached for one of the chairs. He dragged one of the heavy seats closer to the door. He only used one hand, and his face kept twisting into a grimace.
“Are you all right?” she asked cautiously.
“I’m fine,” he puffed. “Just harder to do this one handed.”
“How did you lose it?” she asked softly.
“Iraq,” he replied shortly. “IED.”
She’d heard that improvised devices like that were pretty common over there, meaning his injury was not that uncommon.
He’d finally manoeuvred the chair into the position he wanted it, so he plopped down into it. It was ninety degrees from her, facing the side wall, and giving him a better vantage of both her and the door. She supposed it was as good a place as any for him.
Since he hadn’t seem put out by her question, Sierra braved another. “And how does a one-armed man end up becoming a bodyguard?”
He eyed her, then shrugged. “We’re given a second chance,” he replied. The smile in his eyes was genuine. “Duncan started Soldiering On for us all when we got out of rehab. No one else wanted to give us the kind of work we’d trained for, and were good at. But he wanted to prove to the world that we still had what it took.” He glanced over at her. “So far, he’s been right.”
Sierra grinned. “That’s a really great story. I’ve only ever heard Mandy’s side of it before.”
“Yeah, the local news thought it was a good angle, too. There was a piece on us at one point early on. It helped us get a few of our early customers. Though word of mouth is doing most of the work now.”
“Wouldn’t have hurt that you are so photogenic.”
Blake threw back his head and laughed at her teasing. “There’s a reason I did most of the talking. Duncan scowled through the whole thing. Mandy was a dream, though. She’s great on camera.”
“She was one of the few people in our class that enjoyed doing pre
sentation assignments.”
Blake blinked. “You two were at school together?”
Sierra nodded. “Yes. Business and Communications. We bonded over our rich and distant fathers and our desire to do good in the world. She’s been more successful at both those things than I.”
A melancholy settled over Sierra, one she hadn’t felt in a long time. She’d been so consumed by her stalker that she’d forgotten all the other concerns in her life. Now that she had room to breathe, they were all crowding back in on her at once.
“I think you’ve done pretty well for yourself.” Their eyes caught and held as his words permeated the fog in her brain. Even from a distance, she could tell that they were forest green, deep and bright. They suited him. Her chest tightened, squeezing her heart as it beat steadily against her ribcage.
“Thank you,” she breathed, and meant it.
“It’s only the truth.” Then, with a wink, he turned away. Sierra slowly let the air from her lungs.
Her reactions to Blake were far too inconvenient. What the hell was she going to do about him?
Chapter 7
Once Sierra was settled at her computer, typing away, Blake pulled out his phone.
Can you get access to the security feeds at Sierra’s office? he texted Paul.
He waited. Paul had never used to be so slow in replying, since he’d been at his computer constantly, but since he’d met Christine he was constantly distracted. Blake didn’t begrudge him for a second.
Eventually, the three dots appeared, signalling Paul’s reply.
Give me the day and I’ll have them for you.
It would have to do. He thanked his friend and then pulled up a list-making program on his phone. It automatically synced to his computer, so he could review them more easily later on. Tomorrow he’d bring a laptop.
Access security footage from Sierra’s apartment
Install better security systems
How did he know where she lived?
Has she received threatening messages?
Guarding Sierra: (Soldiering On #2) Page 3