Faking Ever After with the Bodyguard: A Sweet Fake Romance

by Lacy Andersen

  He slid a single piece of paper across the table to Agent O’Brien.

  “I find that hard to believe, personally.” O’Brien ignored the affidavit and leaned over the table in Void’s direction. “Isn’t he one of your campaign managers, Mr. Void? With the election only weeks away, I would suspect you’d keep tabs on your employees’ every move.”

  “Mr. Mack terminated his involvement with the campaign two weeks ago, prior to his disappearance.” Mike slid another paper across the table. “Here, you will observe a copy of his termination letter. Signed and dated by Mr. Mack himself.”

  “What was the reason for Mr. Mack’s termination?” O’Brien raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t like what was going on behind the scenes at the Void campaign offices? Did he get a little too deep into the Void family criminal history?”

  The team of lawyers surrounding Void began to titter as Gerald crossed his arms and smiled bold-as-brass across the table at them. Mike cleared his throat twice before the room finally settled down again.

  “Kindly keep your conjecture to yourself, Agent O’Brien, or we will be vacating this office and the media will find out just how far you’re willing to go to soil the good name of Gerald Void and his family.”

  Troy growled under his breath. Everyone in law enforcement knew the Voids were no good. They had loyal peons across the city, but there was no question: anyone who crossed them paid the price. Poor Bethany was just another nameless face in the long parade of people who they’d trampled on to reach the top.

  The thought of her instantly made her lovely face appear in his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing right at that moment. He’d left this morning before she’d come out of her room. Part of him had been relieved. He wasn’t ready to face her yet. He’d hoped to return this afternoon with great news—the kind that would make her forgive him for being such a fool. But the way this meeting was going, the chances of that happening was becoming less and less.

  O’Brien played ball with Void’s lawyers for a good hour, tossing question after question and never getting a result. Gerald Void remained tight-lipped, his people doing the talking for him. All he had to do was lean back slightly in his chair and flash that infuriating smile. Troy was tired of the entire thing. They’d never find Freddy. Not like this.

  Void wasn’t going down easy.

  Finally, after what seemed like years, they decided to break for a half hour. Troy wearily stood from his chair, feeling as if he’d aged half a century during that long morning. His eyes trailed Void as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and then proceeded to walk down the hallway to make a call. There was something undeniably evil about that man: there was no question. Troy’s gut instinct was never wrong in cases like these.

  Despite the fact that his parched throat was calling out for the water fountain, Troy’s feet took a detour around the corner and moved after Void of their own accord. While everyone else was busy running to the restroom or searching for food in the break room, Troy shadowed Void down an empty hallway. He stopped when he heard him talking.

  “And she’s there?” Void’s voice was low, but clear. He paused to look out a window as he spoke into his phone. “You’re sure? Good, good. No, I want you to take care of it. Any means necessary. No mistakes this time.”

  Troy wasn’t sure what he wanted. To grab Void by the collar and shake him? Command him to leave Bethany alone? Or, pop him right on the nose? Something had to be done to make that greasy smile slide off his face. He couldn’t take the sight of it for one moment longer. Not when Bethany’s very life hung in the balance because of this monster.

  “Call me when it’s finished,” Void continued, tapping the toe of his designer shoe on the linoleum floor. “That’s right. Clean up this mess and you’ll have a bonus coming your way. Don’t let me down.”

  Troy was only three feet away when Void turned suddenly. He spotted Troy coming up on him and smiled, showing off his achingly white teeth. Tucking the phone back into his pocket, he clicked his tongue and chuckled.

  “Agent Troy, it’s good to finally meet you.” He held out a hand. “I’ve been wanting to meet the man so intent on my family’s destruction.”

  Troy stopped short, his eyes narrowing. He ignored Void’s hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t be so intent on your family’s destruction, Void, if they didn’t find it necessary to break so many laws. Do the crime, do the time. That’s my motto.”

  Void snickered and dropped his hand. “Is that so? Well, my family has their own motto: only the strong survive. We’re survivors, Agent Troy. We’ll always end up on top, no matter how much you fight it. You can drag me here, pepper me with questions, threaten my family, and stalk me, but you’ll never win. Your kind never does. I hope you realize that.”

  Heat rushed to Troy’s face. How dare this man come into his house and challenge him? He stiffened his shoulders and fixed Void with a menacing stare. “I think you’re wrong. We’re going to nail you this time, buddy. We’ve got someone who’s going to put you away for a very long time.”

  Bethany was the strongest woman he’d ever met. If anyone could do this, it was her. She’d weathered this storm like a champ. He had no doubt in his mind that when this case came to trial, she’d face down that jury and be the witness they needed to put Void in his place.

  “Let’s say for the moment that, hypothetically, I know who you’re talking about,” Void said, tilting his head to one side. Evil danced in his dark eyes. “You think you have an ace up your sleeve, but don’t you worry, Agent Troy. Your witness will fold in time. She’ll see the light, just like they all do.”

  Troy growled. The fear that he carried for Bethany flared deep within his gut. There was no doubt that Void was talking about her. But he was so sneaky, so devious, that he’d never say anything self-criminalizing. Void knew the system and he played it well.

  “You know nothing about her,” Troy said through his teeth, his face growing warmer.

  “Is that so?” Gerald chuckled and padded the phone in his pocket. “I’ve got eyes everywhere, Agent Troy. In more places than you can imagine. In the courthouse, on the street, in the law enforcement. Heck, I even have them in nursing homes.” His eyes glittered dangerously. “What do you know about your witness, Agent Troy? Do you even know where she is at this moment?”

  Fear gripped Troy by the throat and squeezed violently. His ears rang as Gerald Void threw his head back in laughter and then proceeded to walk back toward the conference room. He gasped for breath, knowing within his heart that Void’s threat was real.

  Void knew that Bethany’s mom was in the nursing home. Just last night, she’d been begging to go visit her mother. He thought he’d shut down that idea, but now he wasn’t so sure. Had Bethany managed to sneak out of her protection program to go see her mother? He wouldn’t put it past her. She was too stubborn for her own good.

  He stumbled back toward the conference room where everyone had begun to take their seats. Shawn was the last to arrive. Troy grabbed him by the back of his uniform and pulled him around the corner of the hall, shoving him into the wall.

  “What gives?” Shawn demanded, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. “Why are you in a mood?”

  “He’s got Bethany.” Troy’s voice shook with fear. He’d never felt so afraid. “Void knows where she is. I think he’s going after her.”

  Shawn’s brown eyes grew wide. He placed a protective hand on his gun and frowned. “Did he tell you that? What does O’Brien think?”

  “No.” Troy swallowed hard. “He’s too smart to say something directly like that. But the way he talked to me, I know he’s got her. I can feel it in my gut. She’s in trouble. O’Brien would never believe me. Not after my last screw-up.”

  He didn’t need to add in the tidbit that O’Brien had walked in on them kissing last night. Between that and his epic screw-up on his last mission, O’Brien would think that Troy was just overreacting. He’d reason that she wa
s safe with Agent Rogers. But Agent Rogers didn’t know her like Troy did.

  He didn’t love her like he did.

  “I have to go to her, Shawn. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

  Shawn didn’t hesitate. “Go. I’ll figure out an excuse to tell O’Brien. You do what you have to.”

  Troy didn’t thank his lifelong buddy as he ran off. He didn’t have to. They both understood what this kind of situation could do to a man. Troy knew deep within his heart something was wrong. Void might not have come out and said it, but he had Bethany within his sights.

  If Troy didn’t rush to her side, he was sure she’d be plucked off the streets, then vanish, just like the rest of the Void family’s problems. He couldn’t stomach the idea. He wouldn’t let that happen to her. He couldn’t screw up another case.

  And he couldn’t lose her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Bethany

  “You just take care of yourself, okay, Momma?” Bethany gazed at her mother through blurry eyes as Lila reclined on her bed.

  It could’ve been her imagination, but her mother seemed frailer than the last time she’d seen her. She’d dropped a few pounds and her blouse hung off her bony shoulders. Bethany waited for her mother to speak, to say anything, but she’d ignored her existence for pretty much the entire hour she’d been at her side. All she could do was hold her hand.

  Bethany had tried to prepare herself for this. She knew her mother’s lucid moments would come less and less as time went on. However, she hadn’t been ready for her mother to not recognize her when she came into the room. The entire visit she’d had to hold back her tears.

  Maybe tomorrow would be better, she repeated to herself. She didn’t care if an entire army was after her, she wasn’t going to stay away from her mother for another day. Their time together was too precious. Troy was going to have to figure out a way to make it happen. She would put her foot down.

  Of course, sneaking out this morning probably wouldn’t help her case. She’d managed to get past her temporary babysitter, Agent Rogers, as he snoozed on the living room couch. Angelica had let her take her little white Prius—no questions asked. Thank God for good neighbors. She’d be back before Agent Rogers finished his morning coffee. No one would be the wiser.

  “I have to go, Momma.” She kissed her mother’s hand one last time and set it gently on the comforter. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

  It hurt her heart to leave, but she needed to return home to put some plans into motion. No longer was she content to have the FBI order her around like some criminal. She was in charge of her own life. Troy might have dropped her like a hot potato last night, but he needed to listen to her now. If they wanted her to testify, they were going to have to meet some demands.

  She left her mother’s room and headed toward the parking lot where the Prius was parked. As she walked, an unbidden image of Troy popped up in her mind. It was the panicked version of him from the shopping center. The man who’d confessed to her that she was more than just a job. He’d seemed so sincere in that moment.

  “Too bad he was lying,” she mumbled to herself and then wrinkled her nose in disgust.

  She sighed and tried to scrub the image from her head, but Troy was a hard man to erase. She could still taste his kiss on her lips. Feel his large hands canvasing her back. See the handsome curve of his mouth when he smiled at her. But she couldn’t think of him like that anymore. He was still her bodyguard. And until this whole thing blew over, they were stuck together.

  As she went to open the door of the car, something strange caught her eye. A dark car was parked a few lanes over. Normally, something like that wouldn’t even faze her, but two men sat inside it. They both wore dark shades and she had the strangest feeling they were watching her.

  A cold trickle of fear went down her back and she hurried to jump inside the car. Throwing it into drive, she pulled onto the road and checked her rear view mirror. The black car slid in behind her, keeping a healthy distance.

  As her heart began to pound loudly in her chest, Bethany forced herself to take a few controlled breaths. On one hand, those could be Void’s men, sent to dispose of her. But on the other hand, she could totally be freaking herself out over nothing. A lot of people wore sunglasses and drove dark cars in Las Vegas. Why was this any different? She needed to chill out before she drove herself crazy.

  It wasn’t long before the road got busier. More cars wedged themselves between her and the black car, until she could hardly see it in her mirror anymore. When her turn for home came, the car was nowhere in sight. She chuckled nervously and rolled her eyes at her minor freak out.

  “Three hours without Troy and already you’re losing your mind.” She loosened her white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel and laughed again. “Girl, get a hold of yourself.”

  But when she glanced in the rear view mirror ten seconds later, the car was back. Her stomach leapt into her throat and she stifled a panicked cry. Something was definitely up. She could feel it in her gut. At that moment, no matter how much she hated Troy for breaking her heart, she wished for nothing more than to be safe at his side.

  Pressing the pedal to the floor, she shot forward in the only direction she knew to be safe. Home was only a couple blocks away. Troy had set up a lethal arsenal in that place. She may have rolled her eyes at it when they’d first moved in, but now she couldn’t be more thankful to him for being so prepared.

  The Prius hopped the curb as she pulled into their drive and parked sideways. She didn’t have to look behind her to know the black car had followed her home. Sprinting toward the front door, she let herself in and bolted the lock behind her.

  “Agent Rogers?” Her shrill voice sounded childish to her ears. She ran from room to room, hoping to spot the man who’d been sent to babysit her for the day. “Agent Rogers? Are you here?”

  No response.

  Fear constricted her chest. She was so stupid. He’d probably noticed she was gone and was out looking for her. She’d abandoned her only protection and now, she was paying the price.

  The sudden ding of the doorbell ringing nearly made her jump out of her skin. She froze, her feet stuck to the floor. There was no way she was answering that door.

  “Hello? Anybody home?” called a familiar male voice. He rapped on the door a few times and tried the doorbell again. “Bethany? It’s Mathew. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to talk.”

  Bethany wanted to melt into the floor. Mathew was on her front porch. The very person who got her into this mess in the first place. She crept toward the door, careful not to make a sound. Half of her was overwhelmed with fear, but the other half was curious. Had he really come to talk to her? Didn’t he realize that the man he worked for wanted her dead?

  She peered through the tempered window to catch a glimpse of Mathew fidgeting outside. He wore a black suit, with his hair artfully moussed and tousled. It reminded Bethany of how he’d shown up for their date. She’d thought she was so lucky to be set up with such a good looking man. What a fool she’d been.

  He was fidgeting and glancing around the neighborhood, his right hand reaching for something under his jacket. Bethany watched him for a long moment before he turned and she caught a quick glimpse of the gun hiding beneath his jacket. Her knees nearly buckled at the sight.

  He wasn’t here to talk. He was here to dispose of her.

  She turned toward the stairway and gasped when a shadow appeared in the sliding glass doorway to the backyard. Throwing herself against the nearest wall, she listened as the door handle jostled. It must’ve been locked, because the sound ended, bringing her the tiniest bit of relief. But two seconds later, the shattering of glass made her squeak in horror.

  They were coming for her.

  Bethany’s feet seemed to move of their own accord as she sprinted up the stairs and into her room. She slammed and locked the door behind her, backing away slowly.

  “What do I do? What do I do?” Bethany glanced wil
dly around the room, looking for an idea.

  At once, she mentally kicked herself. Why hadn’t she gone to Troy’s room? He’d covered that space with enough firepower and ammo to take down an entire gang. Her room was useless. The only thing she had at her disposal was a curling iron and a pair of tweezers. Deadly weapons, for sure.

  The rumble of a vibrating noise made her jump. Her panicked gaze fell on her cell phone she’d left on the night stand that morning. Troy’s name popped up on the screen. With a gasp of relief, she launched herself across the room and answered it.

  “Troy?”

  “Bethany, thank God.” He sounded like he was in a wind tunnel and far away. “Where are you?”

  “At the house.” She glanced at the bedroom door, waiting for the shadow of feet to appear underneath. “I’m so sorry, Troy. I snuck out this morning to see my mom at the nursing home and two guys followed me back. They’re in the house. I can’t find Agent Rogers anywhere and I’m trapped in my room. I think they’re going to kill me.”

  The realization of what she’d just said ripped through her like a jolt of electricity. She gasped and leaned back onto the bed, her legs weak.

  “Listen, Bethany, I need you to climb out your window.” Troy’s voice broke through the panic. It was calm and steady, as if he’d been in this situation a hundred times before. “Run to the Mertens’ house and hide. I’m on my way.”

  “Okay.” Her voice was shaky. She ran to the window and looked out, gulping when she saw the distance to the ground. “That’s a long way to fall.”

  “Listen to me, you can do this. You’re strong. Just don’t think about it.”

  She pushed open the window and her fingers fumbled as she took out the screen. If Troy thought she could do it, then she couldn’t let him down. And a broken leg was a million times better than being caught by Void’s men.

  “I’m going to do it,” she said resolutely into the phone. Biting her lower lip, she closed her eyes against the fear and dropped a leg over the window sill. “Please hurry, Troy. I don’t want to die.”