2. Rook

2

ROOK

A nother friend from school ?

I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice, so I hung back, watching from afar. My rules were strict—no interaction unless necessary, and no presence unless it needed to be felt. Be a shadow and let Kitty live her life without the pressure of a bodyguard.

These were my own rules and a challenge to get by her father when it came to laying down exactly what he was hiring me for. It had been quite a few years since I’d heard from him, but when he called and told me he needed help protecting his family, I wasn’t going to turn him down. There was so little love left in this world that a father seeking to protect his daughter was something I could absolutely help with.

However, things had been tense ever since my arrival. Samuel was throwing his whole heart into this new deal with some construction company, and Kitty was doing everything she could to stop it. I’d overheard countless arguments between the two, and she was clearly very passionate about this town. It was a passion her father didn’t share, and I’d seen similar things play out like this before.

Money always won.

On top of that, Samuel wanted me to lock down his daughter as much as possible in order to keep her safe, but I refused. My job was to keep her safe while living her life, not turn her into some kind of prisoner.

I kept one eye on the stranger as he and Kitty became involved in a discussion I couldn’t quite overhear from back here. My only tells were Kitty’s posture. I’d watched her enough over these past few months to know almost every subtle detail she gave off with her body.

I knew when her smile was genuine and when it was a picture painted on for the public. I knew when she was holding back tears after an argument or when she was contemplating something unwise, like sneaking out to her best friend’s bar. Of course, I wasn’t here to police her, and Kitty’s decisions were her own. I was here to keep her safe.

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Kitty snapped suddenly, raising her voice. Her back straightened like a board, and I knew this interaction was now over, whether she wanted it to be or not.

I started to move toward them as Kitty threw her hands up in the air. “You’re talking like you know every fucking detail, but let me tell you something, asshole , I’m not my father, okay? I don’t want to see this town get fucked up any more than you do.”

“Bullshit,” the stranger snarled. “The mayor isn’t going to listen to reason because the rich fucks in this town only listen to one thing. Money. Well, you know what makes those elite fucks listen? When you take something they care about, and since we can’t make a dent in their millions?—”

I reached them just as the flash of a blade came into view from the stranger’s pocket. His reasoning didn’t matter to me. Nothing did. The only focus I had, the only thought in my mind was keeping Kitty safe by any means necessary, so I threw my entire form into the attacker and sent him sprawling back into the shelves. Multiple candles and ornaments clattered down around him as he stumbled. I raised one fist and punched him hard in the face. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it sharply, using the momentum to wrench his arm up his back.

He cried out in pain and the knife slipped from his grasp. As it landed on the ground, I kicked it under the shelving unit and then slammed the stranger down onto the ground. In any other situation, I would take care of him properly, but my goal here wasn’t to subdue this asshole. It was to keep Kitty safe.

The attacker lay winded on the ground, gasping desperately. I kicked him once, hard, in the ribs. Then I spun around to face Kitty.

She had pressed herself back against the shelves and looked as white as a sheet. Her lips parted but no words came out, then she pointed past me to the stranger as he attempted to climb to his feet.

“Come on.” It was my only warning because I surged toward her a moment later, wrapped one arm around her waist, and swept her right up into my arms. Kitty squealed in fright, then wound both her arms around my shoulders and clung on.

She was light, not that it was a concern, but with her grip, I was then able to carry her in one arm while reaching for my phone with the other. A single text was sent to the head of the security team informing him that there had been an incident and that I would follow protocol. Then I rushed Kitty right out of the shop.

Outside, I made a beeline for my car, which was parked across the street. Dodging a few vehicles on the road, I made it there within thirty seconds and unlocked it with a press of a button. Kitty was placed down in the passenger seat, and then I leaned over her and buckled her in place. She still didn’t speak, not until I was in the driver’s seat, bringing the car to life.

“Where…” she began, then she coughed and pressed one hand to her chest. “Where are we going?”

“Protocol states that I take you to a safe house,” I replied, racing off down the street. “So that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Right,” Kitty replied softly. “A safe house.”

With one hand on the wheel, I split my attention between her and the road. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“What?” Kitty blinked hurriedly, then clasped both her hands in her lap.

“Kitty, did he hurt you?”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head, sending her blonde hair dancing about her face. “No, he didn’t get close. You didn’t let him get close.”

While that was true, there had been a second when I couldn’t tell whether his outstretched arm had reached her or not. Relief warmed my chest, though I still ran an eye over her, looking for any signs of injury that she might not have felt, thanks to adrenaline. She looked fine, mostly—just shaken up.

“What will happen to him?” Kitty finally tore her gaze away from the road to look at me.

“Huh?”

“That man… what will happen to him?”

“He attacks you in the middle of the store and you’re concerned what will happen to him?” Her question wasn’t a shock, not really. In my time spent with Kitty since the summer, her big heart had been on clear display. She didn’t shy away from helping people and spent hours crying over cat videos on her phone. She was an empathetic person.

Even, it seemed, for people trying to hurt her.

“The rest of the security team will take care of him,” I explained carefully. “He wasn’t my priority. You were. Your safety is the only thing I care about. They will work with the police and he will be arrested. They will also conduct a sweep of the manor and the surrounding areas before giving the all clear.”

“Why the manor?”

“If he acted alone, there would be no threat. But if he had help, then we have to consider that his actions might have been a distraction, so the team will have to secure the manor and everything else before it’s safe to go back.”

“Wow.” Kitty chuckled dryly. “I didn’t get the impression he would do that.”

“Did you get the impression that he would try to stab you?” I asked sharply. Kitty flinched at my question, and her knuckles bled white from how tightly she was gripping her fingers.

“No,” she replied. “He was just… he was telling me that he’s losing business because the toxins from the construction are killing the fish in the water and it’s my father’s fault. I understood him, and I tried to tell him I was on his side, but he…” A quaver stole through her voice and she swallowed audibly.

“When people are in pain like that,” I said quietly, “reason and understanding aren’t what they’re looking for. They want to share the pain. Spread it to someone else, anyone else, just so they can feel like they’re fighting back.”

“And my father won’t even care about this. Not really.” Kitty shook her head. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Saving me.”

“It’s my job.”

“Really?” Kitty’s smile wavered, and then she turned in her seat to stare out her window. “Just a job,” she sighed.

Yes.

Just a job.

That was what I told myself each night Kitty entered my thoughts with those sparkling turquoise eyes of hers. It was what I told myself each time her smile burst into my mind when I showered, and each time her laugh sent a fizzing tickle through my chest. It was a mantra I repeated each time she used one of her real smiles on me and a prayer I clung to each time she touched me.

While these past few months have been about keeping Kitty safe, part of me was drawn to her warmth and kindness.

And I couldn’t allow that to happen. She was my charge, first of all.

And Samuel was my friend. Thoughts about his daughter were simply off-limits. No exceptions.

But as we drove, an aching throb worked through my arms as I considered how viable it would be to give her a hug and comfort her after the attack. To show her that she was safe and provide somewhere for her to cuddle and process.

It was a dangerous thought and I shoved it away as soon as it crept up, but my arms continued to ache as if my body were ready to act on its own.

“Where are we?” Kitty asked suddenly, thankfully dragging me from my thoughts.

“We’re on the edge of town,” I informed her. “Don’t worry. The safe house is just around the next bend.”