Pint-Sized Protector Read online

  Apparently, Clem didn’t want to find out, and he started to talk. And talk.

  The answers he provided didn’t contain enough substance to save his life. Nothing would have saved it, but they did do one nice thing before tossing him to the gators. Marcus put a bullet in his head.

  I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t think we were really nice guys. Haven’t you heard? Nice guys finish last.

  Whereas Darren always won. As to the question of good and evil, he could live with his conscience. What he couldn’t handle was sitting back and doing nothing.

  By the time Marcus returned from dumping the body, Darren had had a chance to mull over what they’d learned, which wasn’t much.

  As his bodyguard entered his office, Darren leaned forward to hand Marcus a glass of brandy. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me. Because of my fuckup, you were attacked.” Marcus took his duties seriously.

  “Not exactly your fault. Neither of us heard about the bounty placed on my head.”

  “Because the hit wasn’t on you specifically but anyone associated with the administration of the school.” Marcus swiped at his watch and flung an image onto the screen. Found buried on the Dark Web, in a forum specific to jobs—including murder—was a new entry. The gist of it was: kill the owners and operators of Secundus Academy by any means necessary and get a wickedly large sum.

  “Someone’s got a hard-on for the academy,” Marcus remarked.

  “Who would want to fuck us? We provide a service to mankind.”

  “Exactly why some people want to see you and the academy gone.” Marcus tossed back the drink, and Darren signaled at him to hold it out so he could pour him a new one.

  “This is rather inconvenient timing,” Darren remarked.

  “Glad it’s all about you,” Marcus said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re not the one who’s going to be camping on the floor.”

  “Whose floor are you planning to sleep on?” Although Darren already had a good idea.

  “Save your stupid face for your enemies in the boardroom. With what happened tonight, and until we eliminate whoever is contracting the hit, I’ll be sleeping with you.”

  “About that, while we’ve known each other for a while, I don’t think I’m ready for us to take this friendship to the next level.” Darren couldn’t help but tease his bodyguard, who, over the years, had become a close friend.

  “Joking about it isn’t going to change the fact that you need someone sticking close to you at all times, even when you’re sleeping.”

  “I can defend myself, or did you not notice what happened tonight?”

  “I did, and you got lucky. What if, next time, there’s more than one assailant? Or you bring the wrong girl home?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time a paramour tried to kill me.” A certain ex-girlfriend came to mind. Though she hadn’t actually attacked him with a knife, the pain she caused…

  Arms crossed, Marcus adopted his stubborn face, which had a lot in common with a giant boulder that wouldn’t budge. “I will protect your ass whether you like it or not.”

  “As your boss, I will tell you what protection I need.”

  “Then I’ll quit so that, as your friend, I can tell you to fuck off. I will protect you whether you like it or not.”

  A moue of amusement pulled Daren’s lips. “Asshole. You’re just hoping to save my life so you can ask for a raise.”

  “I should get a bonus no matter, given I’m the one who’s going to have to suffer through your snoring.”

  “I don’t snore.” Total lie. He did. But it never woke him up.

  “Whatever makes you feel better, rhino,” Marcus coughed in his hand.

  Darren couldn’t help but smile. “On other business, Clem never did explain how he managed to bypass our security. He obviously didn’t have the right skills to do so.” Few people would because Darren took his protection seriously.

  “I’ve already got a tech team running diagnostics. So far, they’re not showing any outside hits on our system. My thought is we either have someone working on the inside, or there’s a secret backdoor onto your network.”

  Hands folded, Darren leaned back in his chair. “In either case, until we find the breach, our system is vulnerable.” The whole house would require a top-to-bottom sweep for bugs and other possible electronic intrusions.

  “I’m going to have an outside source run background checks on our staff. I’m also going to increase security on the grounds.”

  “That is all well and good, but we’ll need to think of something for my upcoming trip.” A business meeting in an unknown location, which meant he couldn’t prepare much in advance.

  “Cancel.” Marcus didn’t even hesitate.

  Unfortunately, this wasn’t something Darren could easily blow off. “I am not cancelling, but don’t worry, I already warned them I’d be bringing you, so pack some swim shorts. We’re going to tan those white tree trunks of yours.”

  “If you insist on being a moron, then I’ll assemble a security team.”

  Darren shook his head. “Only one protective detail allowed per guest.”

  Marcus grimaced. “Figures. Better make sure you get two beds in the room. I am not sleeping on a cot or the floor. These bones are getting too old for that kind of shit.”

  “You’re barely thirty.”

  “And my ass likes a bed. So make sure they put an extra one in the room.”

  At that, Darren snickered. “Because us sharing a room won’t look strange.”

  “Big deal. They’ll think you’re into guys.” Marcus shrugged. “At least you’ll be alive.”

  Alive, and yet the rumors would abound. “I won’t have you curtailing my love life. The threat is only temporary, and while I do admire your skills, you can’t be with me twenty-four seven.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “A new bodyguard.”

  “You have one,” Marcus snapped. “Or am I suddenly not good enough for you?”

  “Of course you’re good enough. Chill out. You’re still coming with me.”

  “But you just said you could only bring one bodyguard.”

  “Exactly. But what I didn’t mention is that I get to bring a plus one. Given I’m not married, I think I’ll bring along a bodyguard who can pass as my girlfriend.”

  “Where the fuck are you going to find someone who can do that?”

  Darren shot him a look, but Marcus shook his head.

  “I know what you’re thinking. You’re going to poach from the academy. Bad idea. Not only are they kind of young for you, but they also lack field experience.”

  “On that, you are correct, which is why I’m going to hire a seasoned female operative. And I know just the man to call for help.” A friend who owed him a favor. Time to call it in.

  Chapter Two

  Talk about boring. Kacy tapped her blunt nails impatiently on the table as they went through the current business.

  Nothing new to see. The meeting went like all the others. A room full of boys arguing about who was going to get what job. With one difference. Harry, her boss, wanted the gang to work in their home turf, busting some kind of drug ring.

  Forget their rule about not working from home. Apparently, they were going to make an exception. And since it was about drugs, Kacy could already predict her role in the operation. She jumped into the conversation. “Let me guess, the Latina girl should talk to her hombres to see what they have to say about the rich kids and their designer drugs.” The stereotyping continued, and Kacy couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

  “Actually,” Harry said, “I need you to go shopping for girly stuff because you’re going to be assigned to a special security detail starting next week.”

  The description of the job brought her brows together. “I’m not a babysitter.” Killer, thief, information gatherer, and pain in the ass, yes. Someone who protected soft, rich men from their just desserts? No.

  “Are you sure about that?
It pays more than your last two jobs combined.” Anyone could see the devious delight in Harry’s smile.

  Twice the money? Twice the money would mean she could fix her mom’s roof and help her aunt send her cousin Juanita to college. The struggle between annoyance at the job and the realization the cushy gig would pay off didn’t last long. “Fine, I’ll do it.” Her acceptance emerged begrudgingly.

  The protests by the boys in the room followed soon after. “How come she gets a gravy security detail job?” Declan interjected. Pretty boy Declan, who was a handy fellow with a keyboard, but who’d yet to best her in unarmed combat.

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Would you like to shave and dress as a hot chick so you can pretend to be this guy’s girlfriend while protecting him?”

  Shaving? Hold on a second, and what was this nonsense about dressing hotly? This was supposed to be a bodyguard job, not an escort position. She glared at Harry, who ignored her.

  Meanwhile, Declan shrugged and argued for the sake of arguing. “Depends on if I’ve got to put out.”

  “The right question,” said Ben with a grin, “is, is the client hot? I’m in between boyfriends right now, so I’d do it, but I might have a hard time passing as a girl.” A big and hairy man, Ben would need a tub of depilatory cream if he hoped to have baby-smooth skin.

  “The client is heterosexual and already has a male bodyguard, so Kacy will be the secret one hidden in plain sight.” Harry opened his leather folder, the one he carried with him everywhere, and slid a black credit card across the smooth table toward Kacy. “Go out and buy whatever you need. High-end stuff. Our man moves in important circles so you need to look the part.”

  Money or not, this job was starting to piss her off. New clothes, shaving, what else would she have to do? Wear makeup and heels?

  The travesty!

  Once the meeting had adjourned, Kacy followed Harry into his office, but she held off on haranguing him until the door shut. “Spill. I want details on this job. What am I doing? For how long?”

  “Like I said, bodyguard duties.”

  “Since when does being a bodyguard require me to wear a dress?”

  “Because you’re going to be doing it undercover. The client needs you to be able to follow him in social settings without drawing attention. Therefore, you’ll be posing as his girlfriend.”

  The job kept getting worse. “What am I guarding him against? Ex-girlfriend? Pissed-off employees who are mad the hombre is shafting them?”

  “Actually, Darren is the good guy. But not everyone sees him that way. Someone put a hit out on him. He thwarted the first assassination attempt last night, but given the price, there’ll be others.”

  “Who is this Darren person?”

  “An old friend of mine.”

  Tapping her foot impatiently, she snapped, “What’s his last name?”

  “Not necessary.”

  “What?” At that, she recoiled and then glared. “Why can’t I know his last name?”

  “Because the less you know, the better. We don’t know who’s watching him. So, if we’re going to make this work, then we’re going to have to make this authentic.”

  “And exactly how do you plan to do that? I can’t just suddenly show up and announce I’m his girlfriend.”

  “Exactly, which is why you’re going on a blind date. Courtesy of my wife, who is setting you up.”

  “Like fuck.” The black credit skimmed the top of Harry’s desk as she pushed it back to him, and Kacy planted her hands on her hips. “Not interested. I am not going into this job blind.” And she most certainly didn’t want to pretend to be some a-hole’s girlfriend.

  Harry grabbed the card and tapped it on the mahogany. “You’re not going in blind. I’m telling you, this guy is in danger. Who he is doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get your attitude in check and do your fucking job.”

  She leaned forward and braced her hands on his desk. “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t like shit. And I’ll add that, while I might be sending you in light on info, how ignorant you remain once you meet Darren is up to you. You’re a professional. Or, at least, I thought you were. Treat this like an information-gathering mission.”

  “I’m not putting out for this hombre.”

  “No one asked you to. And if he tries anything you don’t like, you have my permission to knee him in the balls.”

  “Really? I thought he was your friend.”

  “He is, but I’m not pimping you out. Just so you know, I wouldn’t give you this job if I thought he’d try anything. But you’re the best I’ve got. The only one I can count on to follow this guy around and keep him alive. And trust me, you want this guy alive.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “I know you don’t. I am asking you to please do this for me.”

  Ugh. Not the P word. Harry didn’t ask much, and she owed him. She would do this, but she wouldn’t give in gracefully. “Anything I buy for this isn’t coming out of my check.”

  “Not a dime. I’ll be billing him extra for it.” Harry grinned.

  “You’ll keep an eye on Mama while I do this?”

  “I always do.”

  With that promise, Kacy took back the black card and then had to suffer through the boss’s wife taking her shopping, gushing about how much Kacy would like this guy she was going to meet.

  “Darren is handsome. Rich. And so polite. I’m sure you’ll like him.”

  “You can stop it with the sell job. I doubt I’m on anyone’s radar yet,” Kacy grumbled as they browsed through the store looking for stuff. It made her cringe to see the price tags. One dress in this place could have clothed her whole family for a year as a kid.

  “You know, just because this is a job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give him a chance.”

  The good Lord save her from matchmaking women. Wasn’t it bad enough that her mama kept asking when she’d settle down? Now, Harry’s wife, who regarded her as an unofficial daughter, seemed determined to have Kacy settle down, too.

  “If he’s as wonderful as you say, I highly doubt he’s going to be interested in me.” Rich guys had a type, and that didn’t involve Latinas born on the wrong side of the border with baggage. So much baggage.

  “You never know. Now, would you mind not looking as if you’re about to step in front of a firing squad? It wouldn’t kill you to smile a little. It’s not every day we get to go on a shopping spree.” Sherry held up a dress with more holes in it than Kacy’s childhood T-shirt the mice had nested in. “You would look amazing in this.”

  “I don’t wanna look amazing.” Kacy’s lip puckered, and she shook her head.

  “Don’t be silly. Every girl wants to look good.”

  Only girls who wanted attention. “I’m fine with my duds.” In her public role at Bad Boy Inc., Kacy worked as their property inspector, which involved crawling around in dirty places and often justified some of her infiltration antics. When people found her in forbidden areas, she played the dumb Latina with a work order.

  For those who might question her knowledge when it came to inner workings of buildings, her family had worked in construction for years, at least until her papi died. Then her brothers and cousins chose other careers. Lucrative ones when it went well, but when it went badly…deportation south was preferable to a stint behind bars. The irresponsibility of her male siblings was why Kacy took care of more than just herself.

  Think of the money. Think of the good you can do with it.

  Holding that at the forefront of her mind, she snared the dress from Sherry and held it up. Squinting at it one-eyed didn’t add more fabric. “How do you wear it without falling out?” Petite and athletic didn’t mean flat-chested and skinny-bottomed.

  “Trust me. You’ll look stunning. You’ll need more than one dress, though.” Sherry began to pile Kacy with clothes, more dresses than she’d ever owned. Then there was the torment of trying them on—a torture that Kacy wouldn’
t admit she enjoyed.

  She might have grumbled going into the partitioned room at the back, yet there was something about sliding silky material over her skin and seeing the transformation from tomboy to woman—a woman with curves—that flustered.

  Kacy rarely took time to draw attention to herself. Rarely did things to make herself more attractive to the opposite sex. Unlike many girls she knew, Kacy didn’t thrive on that type of attention.

  Still, she couldn’t help but admire how she looked in some of the dresses and outfits.

  But she had to draw the line somewhere. So when Sherry shoved her newest finds at her, Kacy shook her head. “Like hell. Put those back.”

  “Think of the mission.”

  “Ain’t no mission should require me wearing this!” Kacy held up the matching bra and panties made of black lace, the quality so fine it felt silky instead of scratchy. “I’m supposed to be pretending to be his girlfriend. Key word being pretend, which means he ain’t going to be seeing anything under the clothes.”

  “You know better than that. If you want this undercover op to succeed, then every part of you, including the lingerie, has to match the role.”

  Kacy did know better, which meant she lost that argument and got ridiculously impractical undergarments, but Sherry did relent and allowed her to add underpants that weren’t just dental floss.

  As for colors, Kacy tried to stick to plain stuff. Black dresses. Simple lines.

  Sherry would have nothing of it, which meant the bags Kacy dragged home were full of things in shades of color she’d never buy herself. Silks and pretty pastels, stuff that required ironing and hanging.

  It was wrong. So wrong. Why couldn’t she dress in her regular gear? There was nothing wrong with her jeans—the hole forming in the ass hadn’t reached any crucial spots. Or her T-shirt—won at a fair declaring she was the Unicorn Horn Ring Toss Champion. Great stuff for wearing around the house, or on property inspections, but a rich guy wouldn’t date a girl in rags.