The Line: The Complete Series

by Nikki Rose

  If I’d been up in my room instead of in the den watching a movie with Amanda and Chris...If Chris hadn’t chased the person away...So many things could have been different. As much as I hated my dad’s overprotective ways, this time had possibly saved my life.

  I applied an extra coat of concealer around my eyes to cover the dark circles but it didn’t do much good. I threw on a pair of jeans and a fitted tee, too tired to put too much thought into my outfit. And, I frankly didn’t care at seven in the morning. Chris insisted on us getting to class early because he wanted to scope things out and find the best escape routes and some other stuff I tuned out as he’d rambled on about it.

  I was grateful for him being there to chase the intruder away the night before but it didn’t mean I was happy about being put in a situation where I had to have a bodyguard to begin with. I just wanted to live a normal life which didn’t include security following me around during school.

  I made my way down the stairs, looking forward to a strong cup of coffee before going to class. Chris sat at the kitchen table finishing a cup of coffee with an empty breakfast plate in front of him. He flashed me a sexy smile and I hated him even more for looking so refreshed and rested after the night I’d had. I wasn’t sure how he did it.

  “Took you long enough. You still need to eat and we have a thirty-minute drive to get there by nine. It’s already...” He paused to check his watch. “Fifteen after eight.”

  “I don’t eat breakfast.” I mumbled as I made my way to the cabinet to get my travel mug out and proceeded to fill it with coffee, cream, and sugar.

  “You need more than coffee to keep you going. Sit. Eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “I’m not debating. Ms. James made you an omelet. So, be grateful and eat.”

  I plopped down at the kitchen table and Ms. James placed the plate in front of me with a timid smile. I’m sure it was hard for her to decide who she should listen to and I hated putting her in such an uncomfortable situation. Especially since she had practically raised me since I was twelve, when my mom was killed in a car accident and my dad withdrew into his work.

  Chris hovered, watching and waiting for me to take a bite. I took a big overly dramatic bite and glared at him but it seemed to satisfy him enough to leave me alone.

  “Everyone’s watching us.” I groaned as we made our way to the main building where my first class was held.

  “It's all in your head.”

  “Yeah, because most girls have some random guy following them everywhere they go.”

  “You have to quit sweating the small stuff. So, what if they are looking at you? Who cares if you have a security detail? Life happens and you just have to roll with it. If you spend your whole life worried about what other people are going to think then you are going to be miserable for the rest of your life.”

  “That’s some pretty good psychobabble. Maybe you should pop into one of the philosophy classes while you’re here.”

  “I already took philosophy in college.”

  “You went to college?”

  “Why does that surprise you?”

  “I don’t know. I just picture most of the guys who work for my dad as being more of the dumb jock type than the college philosophy graduate.”

  “Well you’re way off there. Your father only hires extremely intelligent people to work for him. We have to be able to use our minds as well as our physical strengths to keep people safe and take down the bad guys.” He opened the front door for me and led me into the building.

  I had to admit I was impressed to find out that Chris was a college graduate. That there was more to him than just rippling muscles, a great head of hair, and a killer smile. He was handsome enough to be a model but to find out he was also smart was surprising. Even though I had somewhat suspected it just from his clever quips.

  I led Chris to my first class—English Lit. I went down toward the front of the class to find a seat while Chris lingered in the back, watching as each person filed in. As much as I tried to focus on the class at hand, all I could think about was how distracting Chris’s presence was.

  I could feel his gaze on me throughout most of the class. He was like a magnet pulling me toward him even though all I wanted to do was to push him away like some internal tug of war.

  “Who's the new guy?” Tracy, the girl who sat beside me leaned over to whisper.

  “New? Oh. He’s not a student.”

  “You know him? What's he doing here?”

  “He’s...uhh...he’s here because of me.” The last thing I wanted to explain was that my dad hired him to babysit me from some guy who broke in my house the night before. So, I offered as little info as I could.

  “Oh my God. You and him?”

  I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the professor. I didn't want to lie but letting her think what she wanted was better than trying to explain the truth.

  “You have to tell me more.”

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “Have you been seeing him long? Is it new? How’d you meet him?”

  “Tracy...”

  “Ms. Applegate, do you have something to add to the class?”

  My cheeks heated and I had to fight the urge to sink down into my seat. I cast Tracy a warning glance before looking back to the professor.

  “No, sir.”

  “Good, then let’s continue...”

  The lecture went smooth for the rest of class. Tracy didn’t say another word to me until after the professor dismissed us.

  “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble. There’s just so many unanswered questions. I didn’t realize you were seeing anyone.”

  She talked as though we were best friends, but in all honesty, we’d only chatted on occasion about class assignments or missed notes.

  “Sorry, I gotta go.”

  “Okay, buy.”

  I walked as quickly as I could toward the door where Chris was waiting. He smirked at me as I passed him and headed into the hall.

  “Do you usually get called down in class? I might need to have a talk with your dad about you interrupting class.” He teased knowing full well Tracy had been the cause. He’d know since he barely took his eyes off of me.

  “Having someone staring at you through the whole lecture is extremely distracting.”

  “Tell me about it. Having you and your friend ogling me the whole time made it hard to focus on the security in the room.”

  “Ogling? In your dreams.” I rolled my eyes and kept walking without even bothering to look back at him.

  “Awe. You aren’t jealous, are you?” His patronizing tone made me want to scream. I only scoffed but my reaction seemed to encourage him to continue. “I think she might be developing a little crush.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Come on. Let’s get you to your next class, princess.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Caroline

  Things had been going better between Chris and I. Even though I still wasn’t crazy about having a bodyguard, if I was going to have to have one for now, at least it was someone like him. As much as I couldn’t stand him at the beginning, I’d begun to develop an attraction to him now. There was something in that smug smile that made me want to slap and kiss him at the same time.

  I climbed into the car and Chris shut my door before rounding the car. My phone chimed, signaling an incoming message.

  Derek: Hey babe. Haven’t seen you in a while. Meet me at the club tonight.

  I glanced at Chris who was focused on driving and texted back.

  Me: Can’t. I’m still on lock down.

  Derek: Sneak out. You need out of that prison sometimes.

  Me: It’s on lockdown since last time.

  Derek: Damn it. Starting to feel like I don’t actually have a girl anymore.

  Me: Sorry...didn’t mean to mess things up for you.

  Derek: It's ok. You can make it up to me later.

  I pocketed my phone instead of l
etting myself get worked up. Derek was making me feel guilty but it wasn’t my fault that I was on lock down or that someone was after me. It irritated me that he was more concerned with not having his girlfriend around instead of someone being after me.

  On the way home, Chris pulled off onto a side street. Usually after class we would go straight home to avoid any danger.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I thought both of us could use some fresh air. I don’t know about you but I’m sick of being cooped up in that house all day every day so I thought we could go for a walk in the park.”

  “That sounds great. And, it's such a nice day.”

  We found a parking spot and climbed out of the car.

  The park was filled with young families letting their kids play on the swings or monkey bars and old couples strolling arm in arm along the shady walking trails. It was a picturesque scene I was happy to be a part of.

  As we walked along the park, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the warm sunshine on our skin, I couldn’t seem to get a smile off my face.

  “Now there’s a rare site.” Chris glanced over at me with an amused expression.

  I glanced around, curious at what had caught his eye. “What is?”

  “You’re smile. A genuine, happy smile.”

  “Oh.” I let out a nervous chuckle and blushed though I wasn’t sure why.

  “It suits you.”

  “Thanks?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about Chris’s compliment.

  “Not very good at getting compliments I see.” He smiled and bumped my shoulder, making me laugh.

  The day felt light, carefree, except for Chris’s constant scanning of the park. I was sure this wasn’t as relaxing for him as it was for me, which made me appreciate the gesture even more.

  Up ahead, I spotted a snow cone cart and nudged Chris’s arm. “Can we?”

  “How can we not?” He grinned and hooked my hand into the crook of his elbow and we made our way toward the cart.

  “Hi, one tiger’s blood with cream, please, and...” He looked at me for my order.

  “One cotton candy, please.”

  “cotton candy?” He scrunched his face as if he’d tasted something terrible and shook his head. “That sounds awful.”

  “It’s so good.”

  “Whatever you say, princess.” Chris paid the man and we carried on with our stroll. Chris took a bite of his snow cone and a deep moan rumbled in his chest. “Now, this is good.”

  “cotton candy is the best.” I declared as I took a big bite.

  “Let me see about that.” He used his spoon to scoop a little bite of my snow cone and I pulled it away.

  “Hey, you have your own.”

  “But I paid for both, so technically they are both mine.”

  “Well, I would have paid for mine if I knew that’s how it was going to be.” I teased and took another bite while keeping it away from him.

  Chris took the bite of cotton candy ice he’d stolen from me and made a horrible face, barely swallowing it. “Oh wow. That’s absolutely terrible.”

  “It is not.” I gawked at him. “What’s so great about yours? What is tiger’s blood anyways? That sounds disgusting.”

  I stole a taste of his snow cone and the fruity, creamy taste was heavenly but I’d never admit that to him. “Hmm. Not bad.”

  He raised one brow suspiciously. “Oh no. I saw that look. You loved it.”

  “It’s not bad...”

  “You loved it. Admit it. Mine’s better.”

  “No. Yours is good, but—”

  “But nothing. Mine is better. Admit it and I might even give you another taste.” He smirked at me, teasing me with a spoonful of the red ice.

  “Never.” I tried to take the bite but he moved it away before I could. “Come on. Let me have another bite.”

  “You have your own.” He continued teasing me by taking a dramatic bite.

  “Fine. Yours is better. Now can I have a bite?”

  “Say please...”

  “Please?”

  “Say, Chris is a genius and knows all.”

  “Chris.” I stopped walking to stomp my foot but I had to fight the urge to laugh.

  “Say it.”

  “No.” I took a scoop of my cotton candy snow cone and catapulted it at him.

  He sidestepped, dodging the flying ice. “Oh, you’ve done it now.” He charged at me and before I could run away, he tucked his body low and hoisted me up over one shoulder like he had the first day we’d met.

  I gasped as he flung me onto his shoulder and squirmed to get out of his grasp. This time instead of anger though, I laughed as I ordered him to let me down.

  “Put me down you caveman.”

  “Caveman?” He chuckled. “Come on, now. I’m a little more evolved than that.”

  “Not by much. Now put me down.” I squirmed and kicked playfully but my heel accidentally hit him.

  “Ouch, shit.”

  “Oh, my G—did I kick you?”

  “Yes, you kicked me, that’s what happens when you go swinging your legs all around.” I was just about to open my mouth to apologize when his hand came down with a sharp slap on my ass. It wasn’t enough to really hurt but it did sting and more than that, shocked the hell out of me.

  “You just—”

  “That’s what you get for kicking me.” Chris chuckled and lowered my feet back to the ground.

  “I really am sorry. Where’d I kick you?”

  “My lip.”

  I leaned in to look closer. There was a small cut with just the tiniest bit of blood.

  “I’m so sorry. It looks like I busted your lip.”

  “I’ll survive. It's definitely not the worst injury I’ve gotten.”

  “What was?”

  “The worst injury?” He leaned down and picked up our two spilt snow cone containers and I followed him toward the trash can.

  “Yeah.”

  “About five years back I was on a mission overseas.”

  “What happened?” I looked up at him and it was as though a shadow washed over his face at whatever memory was stirring up.

  He turned his gaze away and motioned toward a park bench under the shade of a large oak. “Let’s sit.”

  We made ourselves comfortable on the bench, turning to angle toward each other. I didn’t say a word, I just waited for him to continue.

  “I was on a mission overseas. I can’t exactly give details about what the mission was but, during the course of my time there, I was captured by a small enemy organization and was held for eight days.”

  “Is that how you got hurt? When you were taken?”

  “Sort of.” His whole demeanor changed. I’d seen business Chris, angry Chris, playful Chris, and even caring Chris, but this was a new side to him. He seemed darker. The pain of whatever happened there was so intense in his eyes that I couldn’t help but reach over and squeeze his hand to offer him comfort.

  He took a deep breath and continued but he chose his words carefully. “There was some information our enemies wanted that they believed I had. They used certain persuasion techniques in order to motivate me to tell them what they wanted to know.”

  “Did you tell them?”

  “No.”

  “What did they do to you?”

  “I was beaten every couple of hours. They gave me just enough food and water to keep me alive—if you could even call it that. They used sensory overload, sleep deprivation, electroshock, waterboarding—which sounds a lot more fun than it is, trust me.” He let out a nervous laugh and I started to realize that Chris’s humor was a coping mechanism to deal with uncomfortable situations.

  I squeezed his hand and lowered my voice. “So, what happened?”

  “I could tell my captors were losing patience. Their torture was progressively getting worse and I knew it was hours, maybe days before they’d kill me if I didn’t give them something, but I just couldn’t do that. They strapped me to a chair, securing my arms
and legs with metal chains—Are you sure you want to hear this?”

  Chris looked at me with so much pain and vulnerability in his eyes, it made my heart hurt. Words evaded me, so I simply nodded, desperate to find out about the man who was sent to protect me.

  “They needed a new way to get me to talk. They’d already exhausted so many options. They started by making small shallow cuts all over my chest, abdomen and thighs. Shallow cuts won’t kill you—at least not quickly. But they are excruciating since that's where the majority of the nerve endings are.”

  I let out a hissing sound through my teeth just imagining the pain he must have endured.

  “That’s not the end...tell me if it gets to be too much though.”

  “It's okay. If you could handle going through it, I can handle listening to you tell about it.”

  “Once they were done with the shallow cuts, they decided to cut deeper, starting by removing my middle finger. The pain...shit, it hurt so bad I thought I’d lose consciousness but I didn’t trust being unconscious around those bastards”

  “I didn’t notice you missing a finger.” I looked down at his hands curiously and he held out his left hand and pointed midway up his middle finger at a faint white scar.

  “I sat there bleeding out for nearly two hours but I was lucky, my team busted in while I was fighting shock to stay awake. One of the guys had the mind to find my finger and they got me to a hospital just in time. They were able to reattach it. Success in having full functionality is only about 50 percent but I defeated the odds. I love to prove people wrong.” Chris smiled at me and I returned a smile though it was forced. After knowing all he’d gone through, it was hard to smile.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through something so horrible.” I had the sudden need to be close to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder, my hand holding his with my thumb making little circles around the scar.

  After such a deep conversation both of us needed time to process. We sat there in comfortable silence for who knows how long until Chris finally broke the silence.

  “It’s almost time for dinner. Let’s head on home.”

  CHAPTER 7