Sticking to the shadows, I zig-zagged my way towards the big house. Its windows were yawning wide and yellow with the light within. My heart squeezed in my chest, and anger bolstered my steps. What happened inside that house had filled me with so much bitterness that it was hard to ignore it. Memories invaded my brain. I glanced over to the Staff House, where my parents and I had lived before Blanchet ripped them away from me.
I shouldn’t have been here, but I was. With a quick sprint across the back garden, I stood beneath one of the few windows that didn’t have any light on.
Sadie’s bedroom.
I leaned against a tree, staring up at the window. She would be up there now. Maybe she was in bed, asleep. Maybe she had her nose in a book, just like she used to. Her dog—or maybe it was dogs, now—would be lying across her lap, and she’d be absent-mindedly scratching it behind the ear.
My muscles turned to stone as tension stiffened my body. When I had vowed to destroy her father, I hadn’t considered her. She’d been collateral. But now…
My jaw ticked.
This wasn’t part of the plan. I shouldn’t have cared about Sadie, but then I remembered how she would always help my mother bake my birthday cakes. She would pick flowers for our family and walk her dogs with my father.
She wasn’t just collateral. She was the only Blanchet that had a heart.
What kind of woman was she now? What had fifteen years done to her? Was she as beautiful as Ivanov said?
I definitely shouldn’t be here. I was risking the whole mission. I was risking three years of work, and fifteen years of planning. I was risking my life.
For what?
Was it to destroy Senator Blanchet’s life, or was it to satisfy my curiosity about Sadie?
I snorted at myself, disgusted.
I was stronger than this. I was harder than this. I wanted to destroy Nathan Blanchet, and nothing could stand in my way.
Not even Sadie.
I glanced one last time at the black window and then turned away. It was time to leave all this behind me. In a few weeks, hopefully, I would pull the trigger myself and end the Senator’s miserable life. Sadie would be fine. She wasn’t my problem.
I stepped from the shadow of the tree. Something rattled behind me, and I heard the sound of an old window scraping up.
“Shh—” A giggle exploded behind me and I retreated back to the tree’s shadow. The trunk wasn’t big enough by half to hide my large, six-foot-three frame, but the darkness helped. I stayed light on my feet, keeping my eyes on the second-floor window.
“Come on, Sadie! Hurry up!” I squinted at the second floor window as a dark figure climbed out. A girl landed on the awning below it, and then reached up towards the window.
“I don’t know, Mags,” came a second voice from inside. My heart shook. I knew that voice. It was older and smoother, but it was that voice. Sadie.
“Sadie! Come on! We’ll miss the show.” Mags was Sadie’s cousin, and they’d been inseparable as kids, even though Mags was always the wilder one of the two. Nothing had changed there, apparently.
“What if we get caught?” Looked like Sadie was still the same goodie-two-shoes that I’d known.
“Your dad is a Senator, I think we’ll be fine.” Mags motioned impatiently. “Come on!”
Sadie’s head appeared, and her long red locks dangled out the window. My breath caught in my throat. This wasn’t the snot-nosed kid I’d left behind. This wasn’t a plain-looking girl who was made to look attractive by her money.
She was fucking gorgeous. The light spilling from the house illuminated her delicate features. Her hair tumbled like dancing flames over her shoulders. Even at a distance, I could see her soft, full lips as they pursed in disapproval.
Sadie made a huffing noise, and then pulled herself through the opening. Landing with a thud, they both giggled and made their way to the edge of the awning.
It took all my self-control not to run forward when I saw them dropping off to the ground. She could break her fucking leg, and I was just standing there watching.
But they fell down in a heap, laughing and shushing each other. With a glance towards the bright house, Mags grabbed Sadie’s arm and dragged her towards the back of the estate—towards the garden gate.
Towards my car.
I needed to follow them, to make sure they didn’t find out I’d been here.
That’s what I told myself, anyway.
Going back through the estate unnoticed was harder with the two of them glancing back towards the house every four fucking seconds. They were making enough noise to wake up the whole neighborhood.
I guess not everyone was trained to move in the shadows.
I stayed near the wall, keeping my eyes on the women.
Well, keeping my eyes on one of them.
Sadie was wearing a tight black dress and a cropped leather jacket. Her ankle boots said fuck me and my body was ready to oblige. When they got to the back gate, she dropped her purse. Leaning over to pick it up, I saw her bright pink panties and my whole body thrummed.
Where the fuck was she going dressed like that? Maybe she wasn’t the goody-two-shoes I thought she was.
She’d be going out, and I knew wherever she went she was sure to be the most beautiful girl in the room. Fucking creeps would be all over her, touching that perfect, perky ass of hers. The thought of another man putting his hands on her made my stomach turn.
Like a flash, my instinct kicked in. I couldn’t let that happen. No one would touch her tonight. Over my fucking dead body.
I told myself I was following them to make sure she was okay. I told myself it was to protect her, but deep down, I knew the truth.
I followed her because as soon as her head appeared in that second-floor window, I knew the past fifteen years of planning had just tumbled out the window with her.
It was time for a new plan. It was time for Sadie.
2
Sadie
Mags pulled me through the gate, putting her finger to her mouth.
“Shh,” she laughed.
“My heart is beating so fast!” I put my hand to my chest and took a deep breath. I glanced back towards the house, and I could see my dog, D’Artagnan, looking out my bedroom window. He knew I’d left, and I could tell he was looking for me. I hesitated, and Mags poked me.
“You need to get out more, Sadie.” Mags arched an eyebrow, grinning. “I can’t believe you have to sneak out of your parent’s house at twenty-four years old.”
You can’t believe I’m a virgin, either, and yet here we are.
I sighed, shaking my head.
“You have no idea what it’s like being a Senator’s daughter.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, glancing up and down the disused road. “I haven’t been back here in years. Whose car is that?”
“Who cares?” Mags grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the main road. “Harry is waiting for us down here. Come on, we’ll miss the show.”
I let her drag me towards the street lights to her boyfriend’s car. She slipped into the front seat and gave him a long kiss. Harry cupped her cheek with his hand and shook his head.
“How is it that you get more beautiful every time I see you?”
“I got new mascara,” Mags shrugged, grinning.
“I don’t think that’s it.” They kissed again, and my heart squeezed.
How come my fiancé never looked at me like that? We’d been engaged for two months, but even when we first met, Thomas didn’t have that spark in his eye. He was a businessman—he wasn’t overly emotional. Still, when I was around Mags and Harry, it felt like something was missing in my relationship. Happiness basically radiated off the two of them anytime they were together. They were drawn to each other, and the energy between them was electric.
And I was jealous.
It was that dirty, dark kind of jealousy that curled in the pit of my stomach. Being jealous of your best friend was like living with poison in your veins. It ate a
way at me anytime we were together, and I hated myself for it.
Harry glanced back at me and whistled. “You’re looking good tonight, Senator’s daughter!”
“I have a name, Harry.” I scowled, and Harry flashed that disarming grin of his. “I hate that my entire identity is based on who my father is.”
“Such is life, princess.” He winked at me and I fought to keep the smile off my face. Harry had that harmless, class-clown kind of charm to him. It was hard to stay mad at him. He shrugged.
Mags smacked his arm and he grinned.
“I’m only kidding. Sadie, you know that you’re like, a borderline genius, right? You’re at the top of your class at fucking Georgetown Law, for fuck’s sake. You have your own identity, don’t worry. I’m just a lowly peasant. I gotta get my kicks in where I can.”
“Well, drive us to the concert, peasant.” Mags motioned to the street. “We’re going to miss it!”
“Yes, ma’am. You know I like it when you tell me what to do.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Mags and she just laughed. I glanced back towards the huge house where I grew up, and I sighed.
Mags was right, it was ridiculous that I still had to sneak out. It was the only way I could get some peace. Bodyguards followed me around everywhere I went, and they kept me at a safe distance from all ‘threats’, a.k.a. everybody else. Having a burly security detail wasn’t exactly conducive to having friends… or boyfriends. I was isolated and alone 99% of the time.
So when Mags told me she was taking me to the heaviest heavy metal concert of the century, I said yes.
I didn’t even like heavy metal music, but I needed to get out.
Harry started the car, and we rolled forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow moving in the alleyway where we had just emerged. My heart skipped a beat, and I waited for one of my huge, sour-faced bodyguards to come running after us.
My heart thumped, but nothing happened. We drove off and I glanced back.
No one was following us. I was seeing things.
I sighed, relieved, and then I settled into the seat. Mags cranked the music louder and I finally, finally, allowed myself to smile.
For tonight, I was free. I wasn’t Sadie Blanchet, I wasn’t a Senator’s daughter, I wasn’t a borderline genius or at the top of my class in Georgetown Law.
I was a nobody, and it was amazing.
Mags rolled her window down and screamed out of it as we drove past mansion after McMansion, and I giggled. We were too old to be doing this, but I didn’t care.
I. Was. Free.
By the time we got to the venue, I couldn’t stop smiling. Mags hooked her arm into mine and we walked to the bouncers. Harry produced our tickets, and we were in.
The noise hit me like a wall. The noise, and the smell. Mags started nodding her head along to a beat I didn’t understand. It sounded like notes and rhythms and sounds that weren’t supposed to fit together. We weaved through a crowd of rough men and leather-clad women. I was glad Mags had picked my outfit for me—my usual colorful wardrobe would not have blended in. One man looked me up and down, stroking his long beard as we walked by. He was wearing a ripped black tee-shirt and old, bell-bottomed jeans.
“Metalheads are the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Mags yelled in my ear.
“They don’t look it.”
“That’s the point.”
We found the bar and Harry bought us a round of drinks. I gripped my beer, trying not to look as nervous as I felt. Harry nodded to the stage.
“Headliners are about to go on. You guys want to get closer?”
“Fuck yeah!” Mags shouted, grinning.
My heart thumped and I managed a smile. “Let’s do it.”
“Hold on to me tight.” Mags clamped her hand on my arm and we moved into the thicker and thicker crush of humanity near the stage.
This was definitely breaking more than a few fire safety laws. My mouth went dry and my eyes bulged as I took it all in. Mags was in her element, dancing and jumping and screaming as I did my best to stay upright. Harry grinned back at us, pushing forward towards the stage.
He yelled something I couldn’t hear. Mags said something back to him, and I didn’t hear that either. I took a swig of beer to calm my nerves and we started moving closer to the stage again.
This was definitely out of my comfort zone.
We came to a stop near the stage. Silence fell over the whole room as the lights dimmed, and excitement buzzed through the crowd. Mags glanced at me, grabbing hold of my hand and smiling.
“These guys are good.”
I nodded and gulped. I wasn’t exactly sure what ‘good’ meant, in this context.
The band started with an explosion of light and sound. The crowd went nuts, and I went nuts with them. I laughed and jumped with Mags, screaming along. I did my best to head-bang, my long, wavy red hair flying out in all directions.
In that moment, I let go.
I let go of everything—of law school, of the expectations that my parents had of me, of my doubts about my fiancé. I just let myself be.
Mags and I looked at each other, and I smiled. My cousin knew me so well. She knew I needed to get out, she knew I needed to let off some steam. She knew exactly how to get me out of my comfort zone and show me a good time, no matter how much I resisted.
As unlikely as it seemed, this metal concert was exactly what I needed.
The band played and played and then played harder. The energy in the crowd around me started to build. Movements became rougher as bodies banged into each other. I gripped Mags’s hand tight as my heart thumped.
It was fun, it was controlled, it was everything I needed… until it wasn’t anymore.
A frantic fever took the crowd as the music got louder. Lights flashed over and over and over as bodies tossed me back and forth. I dropped my beer, and it was lost in a mess of legs.
When I lost my grip on Mags’s hand, my heart fell down to my stomach. She reached out to grab me, but a massive body pushed me further away from her.
I screamed again, but this time it wasn’t a release. Terror gripped my throat as I felt myself get tossed back and forth like a rag doll. The crowd was out of control, and I was in the center of it.
I clawed and fought and kicked to keep my head up. At five foot two, I was used to feeling small. But this was different. This felt dangerous.
An elbow to the back launched me forward, and I knew I was in trouble. I tripped over big, black boots and scrambled to grab on to a shoulder, an arm, a torso—anything to keep me from falling.
I was going to be trampled. If I fell, it would be over. It wouldn’t be my legs and feet and beer bottles that would be kicked and stomped on, it would be my head.
Time slowed. The music got louder and I felt like my ear drums were going to burst. My vision blurred and I bit my cheek so hard I tasted blood. I clawed at a leather jacket, but my grip slipped.
The world tipped on its axis, and I knew it was done. I was falling.
A scream ripped through my throat, and suddenly I was floating. I stopped mid-air as a thick, powerful arm wrapped itself around my waist. With a lurch, the arm pulled me back until I collided with a solid wall of muscle. The man’s arm didn’t leave my waist, and he hoisted me up over his shoulder.
Tears streamed down my face as I let myself be carried away from danger, away from the jostle of bodies, away from the stage. He took long, powerful strides that parted the crowd effortlessly. I clung on to his shirt, silently thanking my mystery man.
My head was spinning, my heart was thumping, and I hadn’t even caught my breath by the time the man carried me down a hallway to the side of the stage.
The sound of the band was muted as soon as we turned the corner. The man set me down. He was gentle—so gentle it was surprising for a man his size. His hands dropped from my waist and I wavered on my feet.
“You okay?” He had a deep, gravelly voice. Heat flooded my womb.
My chest was heaving,
and I just nodded. I couldn’t make words—not yet. He reached up and brushed my hair back from my face. His touch felt so good, so warm and gentle, and safe.
I inhaled his scent and it calmed my racing heart. It was the smell of pine and spice and the faintest hint of manly sweat. I closed my eyes as he brushed the hair off my forehead, letting this stranger touch me in the most intimate way.
Finally, I opened my eyes and dragged them up his brawny body. His tee-shirt clung his chest where it was damp with sweat. His nipples were hard, poking through the thin fabric. I longed to touch them, and the thought made me blush. Thick cords of muscles bulged in his arms, and he dropped his hand away from me.
When I looked up at his face, my heart skipped a beat.
Deep, dark brown eyes stared back at me. Looking into his eyes was like getting lost in the forest on a warm summer’s day. It felt like I had seen those eyes before.
A thin shadow of stubble was dusted across his chiseled jaw, and he swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed. A zip of heat travelled down my spine and my heart started beating again in a different way.
“Th-Thank you,” I managed to stutter.
He nodded. “You should go home.” His voice was so deep that it reverberated in my chest. It knocked something loose in my heart and made me want to lean into him. I twisted my hands in front of me and took a deep breath.
“Yeah. I will.”
“Good.”
He turned away from me and I watched him take a couple steps towards the music.
Then, it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
I knew that walk. His gait looked exactly like the gait of a young, straight-laced teenager that used to live with us, whose parents used to work for my family. The eyes. I knew those eyes. Those were the first eyes that I fell in love with, when I was thirteen years old.
He was walking away from me. He had saved me from the mosh pit, he’d saved me from being trampled, and he was walking away from me without even saying a word.
Maybe it wasn’t him? Maybe—
“Zane!” I called out before I could stop myself. He froze mid-step, and my heart thumped.
The Protector: The Complete C.I.A. Romance Series Page 2