Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I backspace over the words and exhale sharply, hoping my cheeks aren’t as flushed as I think they are.
Dahlia Lovelace makes me come unglued. She’s everything that gets under my skin. She’s habitually late. She pokes every button she can find to irritate me. The woman is always fucking happy.
And she’s wildly intelligent, capable of anything, and so damn beautiful that I can’t see straight.
Working alongside her for the past two years has been a bigger challenge than trying to keep the world’s biggest pop star safe. I remind myself daily that she’s forbidden—untouchable. Even if crossing the line with my assistant wasn't completely unprofessional, I couldn’t do that to her. Not with the shit I carry.
I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy.
Dahlia: Don’t make it hard, Troy.
I imagine her kissable pout pressed together in a cheeky grin as she typed those words. Don’t make it hard? Too late.
“So what are my options?” I ask as if I hadn’t checked out of our conversation for a minute and as if I don’t already know the answer. “Let’s get this over with.”
Ford’s jaw sets, bracing for impact. “Your first choice is to work with Laina Kelley’s team for another six weeks.”
I knew it. “I don’t understand why I have to contend with all of that pop star bullshit every fucking time.”
“Because she specifically requests you,” Ford says. “She thinks you’re a hero.”
“Come on. I gave her a ride when she fled her wedding—something I was paid to do, by the way. It’s hardly heroic.”
Ford’s look reminds me I didn’t just drive her away from the church. I also defused a situation with her movie star ex, physically removed her asshole father from her property, and took a bullet for her—thank God for bulletproof vests—last month.
“You know, there are people who call me a hero, too.” Lincoln nods proudly. “Sometimes, you just have to take the compliment.”
I fold my hands on the table over my phone. It buzzes against my palms with an incoming text that I have to ignore. “Of course, you know what I mean. Saving lives and saving home runs from center field. Same thing.”
“I know you don’t love this option,” Ford says, ignoring my stab at his brother.
“Ford, I’d almost rather be assigned to Lincoln’s security team—”
“Hey!”
“—than to have to go back to Laina’s,” I continue. “She’s not the problem. She’s great, and I really like her husband. He’s good shit. But every time she walks outside a building, there’s so much screaming, crying, and … goofiness.” I sigh at the thought of contending with that again. “What about Ezra? He’d be great. He loves that atmosphere.”
“Ezra is the lead on Graham’s team now,” Ford says.
“No one’s going after our brother,” Lincoln says, snorting. “G would bore them to death. He’s his own personal defense system. Just tell him to start talking if someone comes at him. They’ll leave after two sentences. Tell him to talk fast, and he’s golden.”
As much as I don’t want to laugh at Lincoln and feed his ego, I do.
“Fine.” Ford shrugs. “I can call Sebastian back from his post with the Abbotts as their travels will be over and they’ll return to normal detail. Laina is comfortable with Sebastian. But if I do that, you’re taking option two.”
“Which is …”
“You’re taking a vacation.”
I stare at him, unblinking. “Is that why you sent Lincoln here this morning to discuss living life with parachutes—to try to set the stage somehow?”
Ford lifts a brow. “Do you really think I’d send Lincoln here to butter you up?”
“Yeah, good point.” I push back into my chair. “I don’t need a vacation, Ford.”
“You haven’t taken time off in years,” Ford says. “I’m starting to worry about you. Everyone needs a break.”
“Not me. Vacations mean sitting around and doing nothing. That means too much time on my hands to think and ruminate about life.”
And if anyone should understand that, it’s you, Ford. We exchange a silent look that only the two of us understand.
“Atlas comes off Laina’s detail on Monday,” Ford says. “You have until Friday to decide whether you’re going to Nashville with her team or on vacation.” He levels his gaze with mine. “I need you healthy, man. Please consider the vacation.”
My breathing grows shallow, and the room stills.
This has been a recurring conversation over the past eighteen months, and I’ve managed to weasel my way out of it each time. But I’ve known this day was coming—when Ford takes a hard stand. And now, here we are.
Once Ford and I retired from the military, the only thing that kept my life from falling apart was the opportunities the Landrys gave me. They took me from my lowest point to … this.
I never imagined that I’d be driving around fancy cars carrying Ford’s brother to events as the governor of Georgia. Who was I to be wearing expensive suits day in and day out? How did I manage to be the right-hand man to the premiere security company in the United States?