“Yes, I’ll sign up for lessons. I want the gun and bullets for it too.” He could tell she was just humoring him. She had no intention to sign up for lessons. A foolhardy mistake that could get herself or someone else killed. Beautiful, hardheaded, arrogant and misguided.
Run far away Harper, run away! He thought and winced. His running days were over, a bullet grazing his lower spine had ended his police career with the NYPD. He’d had to learn to walk again and rehab had been terrible. Now, he focused on his own business: safety…and his mind said that the beautiful Sienna was all wrong for him.
“How about the gun now and you get bullets later?” he countered forcefully and smiled when she gave in. Thank God, he thought silently. The idea of an accidental shooting tore up his stomach. He suggested mace instead if she really believed she needed protection. The woman only needed to crook her finger and he was positive that her sugar daddy would have bodyguards pouring out of every room to protect her. Maybe this was her asserting her independent streak against her papa? Who knew – certainly not him. No bullets, she’d be safe and would forget about the weapon in no time.
Standing back, he watched her whip out a black American express and rolled his eyes. Loaded, rich, and probably full of silicone in less than ten years, he smirked and then frowned. It would be a shame because she had such a classical elegant look to her now. He watched her stride out of the building after she’d paid, and out of his life. Regret had never felt this bad and Harper knew he’d made a mistake letting her slip through his fingers.
5
December 2018
Sienna took her time getting used to her new purchase. She stared at the gun fearfully as she sat in her recliner in her living room, drapes drawn tightly and every light on in her house. She was afraid, exhausted, and barely functional. Afraid of the gun, frightened by Joel and her memory of the kind man at the store. He’d been handsome and she kept remembering his hazel eyes. Blue with flecks of green and brown in them. Stunning.
She couldn’t sleep at night because she kept hearing noises in her mind and around the house as her cottage settled with the weather or temperature changes. Nightmares woke her from her sleep. She was on edge, always looking over her shoulder, waiting. She kept thinking she had spotted Joel in his car following her one day but then he was gone. Another afternoon, she could have sworn she saw him walk past the deli where she was having lunch with Melinda. Literally, choking on her drink, she began to hack as she gasped in her iced tea at the sight of him.
Her breaking point was near and Sienna knew it. Everything was bothering her and she felt herself reaching a rolling boil internally knowing that she was about to become irrational. She needed sleep, a chance to relax, and a sense of comfort.
She needed a bodyguard.
Taking a sip of her hot tea, she stared ahead thinking, and remembered. Grabbing her purse, she was reminded of the business card the officer had handed her. Shuffling around, she felt herself getting irate because she couldn’t find it. Her purse was a bottomless pit and she did not have the patience for it right now. Aggravated, she dumped it over and shook it forcefully upside down, sending a flurry of debris onto her, the loveseat nearby. Gum, keys, loose change, sticky notes, floss and receipts were crumbled up among several tubes of lipstick. She lived out of her purse and it was nothing to jot an idea down, scribble a few suggestions and throw it inside. Sorting through all the pieces of paper, she came across the business card and sat down hard on the floor near the loveseat.
Harper Etan - retired NYPD
Professional Bodyguard
Security Specialist
Surely it wasn’t the same man? Harper from the store with the gorgeous eyes? Picking up her phone from the scattered mess on the couch cushion, she dialed the number and heard his warm, sultry voice answer the phone – and promptly hung up.
“Chicken,” she whispered aloud. Bock-bock-bock, she thought to herself and jumped when her cell phone rang in her hand. Of course, he called back. “Hello.”
“Someone just called this phone number- may I help you?”
“Yes. I, uh, was looking to speak with Harper Etan please.”
“This is he.”
“Mr. Etan, I would like to discuss a job opportunity with you, if you’ve got a few moments to talk?”
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Sienna blurted out confused. He didn’t ask her name, how much or any questions, just bluntly declined to talk to her. What kind of help was that?
“I don’t talk to prospective clients over the phone. I need to meet you, see what I am getting into, and we’ll come up with a security detail that works for you. Each need, each client is different so if you are interested- those are my terms.”
“I’m the one doing the hiring, not you.”
“Then I wish you the best of luck finding someone. If you want an expert, you’ve got him on the line right now… but if you want someone to take orders from you instead of watching out for you… I’m not your guy. I don’t take orders to make you happy. I will keep you safe because it’s my job. Now, may I help you or not?”
“Yes,” she said softly, stunned and a bit taken aback by being ordered about.
“Perfect,” he chuckled warmly. “Now the ball is in your court- I would prefer to meet you in an environment you are comfortable in, so I suggest your home or office. Which would you prefer?”
“My home,” she said immediately. Office was too open, too impersonal, and there were too many people watching her. She wanted no one to be tipped off that she’d hired a bodyguard. In fact, she was having second thoughts about it. Only the overly-indulged had bodyguards, not some up & coming well-to-do designer. Harper, with the lovely eyes though… she thought dreamily.
“Can we meet soon?” she blurted out and felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
“Are you in immediate danger?”
“No…well, I don’t know.”
“Okay, this is my cell number you called. Text me your address and hang up. I will come to you and call when I arrive, nothing else. Do not answer the door for anyone if you think you might be in danger. If you hear anything, any noises- call 911 immediately. Don’t hesitate- got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Harper abruptly ended the phone call and Sienna texted him her address. She saw the dots indicating he was typing a reply. He texted that he could be at her home in fifteen minutes. Cramming all her junk back into her large purse, she stayed seated where she was on the floor staring at the door.
She’d been antsy and scared for so long that the thought of having a moment’s respite just drained her physically and emotionally. She let out a shaky sigh and ran her fingers through her light brown hair. Several minutes passed and she heard a car drive up, the gravel drive crunching under the tires. Her heart began to hammer in her chest nervously. Was it Harper?
Hearing a knock at the front door, she felt herself get light-headed as her pulse kicked into high gear. Harper claimed that he wouldn’t knock, he would call her instead. It wasn’t him! Was it Joel? Sienna dialed 911 on her cell phone and picked up the can of mace off of the coffee table where it sat beside her unloaded gun. Bullets! I am soooo buying bullets in the morning!
Getting slowly to her feet, she whispered into the cell phone that she was frightened and gave her address. She tiptoed towards the front door and the phone beeped in her ear, indicating a call waiting. Glancing down, she saw Harper was calling her. Confused, she didn’t know what to do.
“Can you hang on a second?” she blurted out and gaped in terror as her front door opened by itself. Harper confidently stepped inside, taking the phone from her limp hand where it dangled from her hand. He put it up to his head quickly, talking while Sienna just stared at him and slowly crumpled onto the floor to sit down. Her legs gave out from underneath her in overwhelming terror and sudden relief.
“Hey Monica, its Harper Etan. Yeah, no everything’s okay here. Cancel the dispatch, I’ve got it an
d if they are on the way, I’ll sign the papers. No, no problem. Yeah, I owe you guys several times over. Okay, yeah. Thanks. Bye.”
Harper hung up the phone and looked appreciatively at her, kneeling down beside her. “Put your head between your knees before you pass out. Relax. Sienna, right? Miss-pistol-packing-Sienna from the gun store?”
She did as he told her, simply because she wasn’t sure if she was going to throw up from fear or if she was going to drop over in a dead faint. She’d never been so terrified, not even at a haunted house when she was a teenager and they’d jumped out at her with a fake chainsaw. Seeing her locked front door opened that easily nearly caused her to soil herself. She barely heard him speaking as her ears were ringing fiercely.
“Miss Sienna, I will take the job for three reasons and we are starting our contract right now. First off, you followed my directions and for us to work together and keep you safe- it will be critical if you are in danger. Secondly, you didn’t shoot me, which means you listened to what I said about the bullets weeks ago – thank you very much for that. Third, the first thing we are going to do is upgrade your security here. It was entirely too easy for me to pick the lock and that keypad on the wall is a joke. I cut the wire from the outside and your security system should have called you long before I ever knocked,” he told her and she slowly raised her head to look at him as her body was coming down from the paranoid rush. She still felt woozy and her hands were trembling something fiercely.
“I am sorry I scared you, but I am here to help. You’ll be safe Sienna.” Mortified, she felt hot tears fall down her cheeks as she stared up at Harper’s kind face. His sympathetic eyes showed that he understood her jumbled feelings. He didn’t say a word, but reached over and grabbed several Kleenexes, handing them to her as she cried unabashedly there where she sat on her wood floor. After a moment, she felt him pat her on the shoulder.
“You’ve been strong for a while now and it eats away at you. Finish your tea and I’ve got some things in the car to get us started. I’m going to go ahead and replace the door locks, with your permission, of course. I prefer Schlage and it’s much harder to pick.” Sienna watched as he kindly picked up a throw blanket off of the chair and covered her with it. His understanding eyes watched her knowingly. “I bet you haven’t slept in a while, have you? Why don’t you take a nap and we’ll talk more after the locks are installed? I have fasteners for the windows as well and I’ll show you how they work when you wake up. You’re safe,” he repeated.
Sienna watched him head out the front door to his car and saw him return with a duffle bag full of things. As he set it down, he removed several lock kits, a Philips-head screwdriver and a small drill. He nodded at her and proceeded to start removing the doorknob/deadbolt combo from her front door. Her eyes drifted shut several times before she felt the blessed darkness overwhelm her as she finally slept soundly for the first time in weeks.
6
Harper instantly recognized the woman the moment he’d opened the front door and flinched painfully. The sheer terror in Sienna’s face would haunt him. He’d thought about her often, that arrogant sexy stride and spark of fire in her that intrigued him. She’d disappeared and he’d prayed for a chance to meet her again, but not like this – never like this.
This was what he assumed to be an easy job. Some poor woman was frightened and wanted a bodyguard to protect her for a few days until she felt secure again. He’d seen the routine repeatedly. Sometimes it was legitimate, other times they were looking for a bit of eye-candy to dangle upon their arm. He had been scandalized the first time it had happened to him, now he recognized it. Depravity was everywhere it seemed and being police first, bodyguard second had given him some glimpses into the seedier part of life. It was tough and took a person of high morals and high faith to get through it all and know that they were serving a higher purpose in the end.
Sienna had stared at him horrified and he had plucked the phone out of her loose grip easily to call off the 911 rescue. She was obviously smart and listened to him when he’d given the direction to her. Either that or she was so worn down and broken, that in desperation she’d called. He hated to be the one to drive her to that moment, that feeling. No one should ever be scared to death like this and her ghostly white face under that golden tanned skin made him feel like the biggest heel in the world.
He had been showing off and he knew it. Whoever had called him lived alone in a quaint cottage overlooking a cliff. Every wall seemed to have a ton of windows, more than what he would have designed for sure. The front door, while beautiful in its teal paint with old world elegance, was a sheer joke. There was no deadbolt. He nearly laughed aloud when he saw the simple, old lock and it took him moments and two picks to open it right up.
As he entered the room, Harper watched her sink to the floor. He knew that look; she was close to fainting. He told her to hang her head between her knees quickly so the blood could return to her face. Her terrified eyes were not focusing yet and he knew she was traumatized. Please don’t let her suffer, I still hear that gun in my sleep and feel a twinge in my back, he prayed and then amended his thoughts quickly, don’t let me be the cause of her suffering. He wanted to help her, whatever was wrong. He’d take the job and if it turned out to be for nothing, he’d be thankful for the chance to wash the ‘what if’ regrets from his own mind.
He saw her look up at him with sightless eyes. She was scared senseless, a pang of regret burned in his soul. Her eyes had rings of exhaustion underneath them and he felt his heart clench. Poor, beautiful woman. No one deserved this, no one.
“I am sorry I scared you, but I am here to help. You’ll be safe Sienna,” he crooned softly and wondered if she even heard him. A few moments later, she began to cry. It wasn’t delicate feminine tears. They were ‘ugly tears’ his mother called them.
“When your soul hurts, you cry ugly tears to shed the pain, my son,” his mother told him when he’d cried his own tears from his hospital bed. He’d been a grown man yet had cried like a baby in his mother’s arms when he’d believed he’d lost the use of his legs. He’d cried again when he’d found out that it was significant damage but they believed he’d walk again.
Sienna was crying those soulful tears and he felt overwhelmed with regret and guilt. Would things have been different if he’d reached out to help her weeks ago? Had she been fine until he’d shown off, opening the front door with ease?
Harper didn’t say a word, but reached over and grabbed several Kleenexes, handing them to her as she cried unabashedly there where she sat on her wood floor. After a moment, he couldn’t stand it any longer. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, unsure what to do. Where was her husband or boyfriend? Was she single? Would she try to shoot him if he tried to comfort her?
He slowly moved forward and picked her up. He expected to feel her fight against him, especially if it had been him that terrorized her. Instead, she didn’t – she accepted his help and moved gracefully to the Loveseat, and he covered her with a crocheted throw blanket nearby that matched several of the cushions. Her house was like her, breathtakingly beautiful in its simplicity. Elegant yet old-fashioned in some ways.
“I bet you haven’t slept in a while, have you?” Harper acknowledged and saw her eyes finally meet his. He’d hit the nail on the head! She didn’t say a word but didn’t have to – she was beyond worn out. “Why don’t you take a nap and we’ll talk more after the locks are installed? I have fasteners for the windows as well and I’ll show you how they work when you wake up. You’re safe,” he repeated.
Her eyes watched him, stared at him, and he had to get out for a moment. He wondered if she blamed him or if she would trust him – either way, he now had a job to do and his path had led him to Sienna again. As he walked to his car, he knew putting himself to work protecting her would soothe him and hopefully her as well. He popped the trunk to grab his duffle bag. He carried an equipment bag everywhere he went. That was the first thing he’d learned, that peo
ple had no idea how unsecure their homes truly were. Between videos online, hackers and simply old-fashioned thievery, if the ill-will was there- people broke in and had access to learning more creative ways to do so. His job was to stay one step ahead of them.
As he set the laden duffle bag down, he slid open the zipper and removed several lock kits, a Philips-head screwdriver and a small drill. He barely glanced at her, cringing as he saw the sheer exhaustion on her face and the flat look she’d given him. He nodded at her and proceeded to start removing the doorknob/deadbolt. Focusing on the deadbolt, he felt his mind racing. Who would be after her? He glanced over and saw she was fast asleep finally.
Who wouldn’t be after her? He thought candidly to himself. She was beautiful like a Grecian goddess in a painting. She was tanned with dark eyelashes fanning her cheeks and the part that made his stomach flip-flop was the fact that she wore no rings at all, nor was there a sign of a tan line from one. He assumed/hoped/prayed she was single and he wouldn’t have to worry about some angry man banging down the newly secured doors.
Harper replaced the front deadbolt, installed a series of window clips to prevent the glass pane windows from being slid open or jimmied, and two more deadbolts on the kitchen door. The house was obviously quite old because he’d only seen Dutch doors in movies or in magazines. It was a quaint touch that unfortunately made the rear of the house easily accessible and frankly horrified him when he saw it.
He’d literally smacked his forehead and rolled his eyes at the small hook & eye that was on the top half of the door and the slide on the bottom half. He was glad she was asleep because the security specialist in him was tempted to screw plates from one door to the other to make it solid – but he didn’t want to make her cry again. Instead, he smiled as he imagined the look on her face when he handed her three sets of keys to her house.
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