I Just Need You

by J. Nathan

  He lowered the music.

  “Can you tell me why Marco hasn’t wanted to leave my side for the last twenty-four hours?”

  He shrugged.

  “Come on, Tristan. I know you rushed to see him Friday night. You gotta give me something.”

  He met my eyes in the rearview mirror, and I couldn’t stop the goosebumps that scampered up my arms. Traitorous goosebumps.

  “I know he’s not hanging around me because he’s hoping I’ll be up for a Hallmark marathon.”

  He remained silent as his eyes moved back to the road.

  “Not even a smirk? Come on. That was funny.”

  What was wrong with him?

  A short while later, he pulled down a bumpy dirt road surrounded by tall trees, so unlike the beach-lined streets people thought of when they envisioned Southern California. I stared out the window, anticipation bubbling in my stomach. We came to a stop in front of a one-story structure at the end of the road. The wooden sign staked into the ground out front read: Big Hearts Dog Shelter.

  I pushed open the door and stepped out. The overcast sky and impending rain made for a cooler day. Thankfully, I wore my blue hoodie and jeans. I walked to the front door and entered the shelter where I immediately heard dogs barking and yelping.

  “You must be Kresley,” the old woman behind the counter said. “I’m Doris.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m so excited to be here,” I said before my eyes were drawn to all the cages and the eager dogs of all sizes inside them.

  “I’m excited to have you. The dogs need exercise.”

  I smiled. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll get started.”

  She walked me through the room of cages which lined both walls. Every dog jumped on the cage door, wagging their tails and barking as we walked by, trying to get our attention.

  “Hey there,” I said to a little pug. “Hi you,” I greeted a long-haired dachshund. “Aren’t you a cutie pie,” I said, petting a German shepherd’s nose.

  Doris pointed out the leashes hanging by each dog’s cage, the waste bags I’d need to use to keep the walking path clean, and a variety of dog treats to use as praise. She gave me my pick of dogs to start with, telling me they each needed a good fifteen-minute walk. I could take three small dogs at once, but only one large one.

  I gathered the three small dogs I chose to walk first, leashed them, then headed out toward the front door.

  “Just stay on the path, sweetie,” Doris called as I opened the door and stepped outside.

  Tristan leaned against the SUV staring down at his phone. Who was he texting? A girlfriend? His mother? Whoever it was, he didn’t even look up as the dogs led me eagerly to the path. I heard Tristan’s footsteps trailing behind me as I took the wooded path. Within no time, the dogs pulled me to the side, all lifting their legs on various trees or bushes.

  “We have security working at the office too,” Tristan finally said, breaking his long stretch of silence.

  I twisted to look at him standing beside me. “What?”

  “You asked what I knew. And I’m telling you we have guys at the office who work cyber security who monitor the internet and dark web. They’re privy to all the seedy goings-on that people like you never want to know about.”

  “And?” I prompted.

  “And…there’s been money exchanged to get to you.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “No one wants you to know,” he said. “But it’s your life we’re talking about. You need to know what’s happening so you can be prepared.”

  I nodded, totally unprepared for that information. I knew it was always a possibility, but hearing that something was set in motion, and we didn’t know when or where it could occur, sent a shiver skimming down my spine.

  “Are you scared?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “But you know that’s why Marco and I are here. To make sure nothing happens to you.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “Should I have told you?” he asked.

  “Probably not. But I’m glad you did.” Tears glazed my eyes and there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop them from falling.

  He cursed under his breath.

  I shook my head, wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands, leashes and all. “No. I need to know. I’m not a child. I have to know these things.”

  He moved toward me, stopping when the toes of our shoes nearly touched. I tipped back my head to meet his gaze. For the first time, I saw concern in his eyes. “I will protect you, Kresley. You have my word.”

  I closed my eyes, wanting to believe that more than I ever wanted to believe anything in my life.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Tristan

  I expected Kresley to want to leave the dog shelter after I’d told her what everyone else had been too nervous to, but she surprised me, finishing the first walk and heading back to retrieve more dogs. I wondered if it was a defense mechanism for her to occupy herself with mundane things to not have to deal with reality. But if that’s what she was doing, it was working.

  “Do you volunteer at home, too?” I asked her as the three new dogs pulled her to the same path we’d just walked on.

  “Yeah. My parents always instilled in me that it was important to give back. And they were right.”

  “Do you always walk dogs?” I asked, following alongside her.

  She laughed. “No. I usually visit hospitals and help feed the homeless. I just thought animals were safer this time around.”

  She had a point. People were unpredictable. Animals you could rely on to be loyal as long as you fed them and walked them.

  “It’s why I’m majoring in hospitality to be an event planner. I want to assist nonprofit organizations with their fundraising events. If they have me, they can solely focus on grant writing, securing investors, and looking for support, while I take care of the event and all that entails.”

  People were unpredictable. I expected Kresley’s motives for becoming an event planner to be superficial. Like, making the world better one wedding or fashion show at a time. But I was starting to see Kresley was a lot more real than I initially expected. And I wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge.

  “Why’d you open Elite Security?” she asked.

  “How’d you know it’s mine?”

  “I did some research. I obviously needed to know who was protecting me. So, why security?” she persisted.

  “I wanted to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves.”

  “Like me?” She held my gaze as if trying to read my expression.

  I shrugged.

  “Has anyone under your protection ever been shot?” she asked.

  My eyes shifted away, and I felt anger flaring up inside me. “If you’re worried that I can’t properly protect you—”

  “I didn’t say that,” she cut me off. “It was just a question.”

  “Then yes. Two people under my protection were shot.” I pressed my lips together, cursing myself for admitting that to her. That was my business. Not hers.

  She was quiet for a long time, and I wondered what my honesty elicited in her. Fear? Disgust? Anger? “Let’s get something straight,” she said, her voice taking on an I-can-say-what-I-want-because-I’m-a-rich-girl tone. “Unless I say something outright, don’t assume what I might say. Let me say it first.”

  My hand tightened into a fist at my side, pissed she was trying to put me in my place after I’d been honest with her numerous times.

  “Maybe that’s where our problems stem from,” she continued. “You think you know me, but you don’t.”

  Ah, but I do. On the surface, despite nearly being raped and kidnapped, she was strong and confident—making friends easily and opting to volunteer on her Sundays. But underneath the surface, what people didn’t know, what they couldn’t know because she was too proud to admit it, was that demons haunted her dreams keeping her awake at night.

  Kresley

  Rain
began to drop from the sky as I took the old German shepherd for the final walk of the day. Knowing thunderstorms were on the way, I tried to hurry the slow dog along, giving him a gentle tug. “Come on, buddy. It’s starting to rain.”

  The dog rebelled, sitting down and staring up at me.

  Tristan snickered nearby.

  I gave the dog another light tug. Still, he wouldn’t budge. Just then, the sky opened up and rain poured down through the trees. I lifted my face to the heavens and uncontrollable laughter tumbled out of me. How was I even able to laugh after what Tristan had told me? But there I stood laughing with rain soaking every inch of me.

  “What’s so funny?” Tristan asked.

  I kept my eyes closed as I breathed in the rain-filled forest air. “I’m just appreciating the things around me.”

  “Come on,” he called over the pitter-patter of the hard rain on the trees and ground.

  I finally looked to him

  Tristan was just as drenched as me. His hair hung over his forehead and raindrops dangled from his long eyelashes making him look so much younger than he usually did. He took the leash from my hand, giving the dog a slight tug.

  Instantly, the dog stood.

  “Seriously?” I shook my head then took off running through the woods, my feet splashing in muddy puddles as I ran.

  I could hear Tristan’s footsteps, as well as the dog’s, slapping the mud behind me.

  Back at the shelter, I threw open the door and rushed inside. Tristan was only a few steps behind me. We dripped rain all over the floor.

  “Oh, no. You got caught in the downpour!” Doris said as the German shepherd shook the rain off his fur, sending water flying everywhere.

  I continued to laugh as I dried him off and got him back into his cage. “See you next time, you stubborn old dog,” I whispered to him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kresley

  When we returned to the SUV, I slid into the front seat, loving the fact that Tristan didn’t tell me to get in the back. He dragged his fingers through his wet hair as I unzipped my drenched hoodie and tossed it onto the floor in the backseat. He started the engine and cranked the heat.

  We were quiet as we drove back toward campus. I wondered if Tristan had resorted back to his silent self from earlier or if he was wishing he hadn’t told me what he’d told me—about the money being exchanged and the two people shot under his watch. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry,” I said, suddenly not in a rush to get back to the dorm.

  Tristan turned to look at me. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Ice cream.”

  “It’s lunch time.”

  “Best kind of lunch,” I assured him.

  His lips twitched. “Fine. But we’re only hitting the drive-up.”

  I smiled. “Perfect.”

  We took a detour to find an ice cream shop with a drive-up window. I ordered a chocolate cone and Tristan got a strawberry shake. It almost felt normal. Like we were just two college kids driving around SoCal eating ice cream for lunch. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was a rich man’s daughter at risk of being used as a pawn in a dangerous game, and he was my bodyguard who couldn’t decide how he felt about me.

  He glanced at me, catching me staring. “You’re not so bad when you’re eating ice cream,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” I asked, fishing for anything from him that could help me get to know him better.

  “It stops you from talking so damn much.”

  My mouth fell open. “That is not the way you talk to your employer.”

  “Oh, I’d never speak to your dad that way,” he assured me before sipping more of his shake.

  “You’re a real jerk,” I said.

  “Never said I wasn’t.”

  I looked over at him as he continued drinking his milkshake with his eyes on the road. He was such a good-looking guy. I just wished he’d smile because I bet he had a great smile.

  We returned to the dorm a little while later. Tristan waited outside the bathroom while I showered, needing to warm my chilled bones. Then, I settled in for the night. I had a bunch of homework to do, but I found it impossible to concentrate.

  Around midnight, I saw Tristan’s shadow beneath my door. I breathed a sigh of relief, then crawled under my comforter and closed my eyes, listening to the rain that hadn’t let up all day. I lay there for a long time, waiting for sleep to come like it normally did once he was there, but it never came. I tossed and turned while the rain pelted my window, no longer a soothing sound.

  I started thinking about what Tristan had told me. Someone had actually been paid money to get to me. Then, my mind drifted to what happened in France, and I couldn’t shake the visions. The feel of the Frenchman pressed against me. The mocking sound of his voice. Le fou de fortune.

  Lightning flickered, momentarily lighting up my room.

  I closed my eyes, trying to shake the sight of Andre’s face that suddenly appeared in my mind’s eyes. The pain. The fear. The regret. The blood.

  I opened my eyes only to be startled by the dark shadows dancing across my walls.

  Thunder boomed, shaking the floor beneath me bed. I practically jumped out of my skin.

  Enough!

  I kicked off my comforter and slipped out of bed. I began to pace the floor. Back and forth. Side to side. Around in a circle.

  Repeat.

  “Get in bed,” Tristan whispered through the door.

  Of course he knew I was up.

  I moved to the door, pressing my ear to the hard surface, needing to hear his voice more than ever.

  “I’m right here,” he assured me.

  I reached down and unlocked the door. I grasped the knob, knowing better than to contemplate my next move. Because if I did, I’d be pacing the floor all night. I slowly twisted the knob and cracked open the door.

  Tristan felt me open the door from his spot on the floor. He sat forward and turned to look up at me through the crack. “What are you doing?”

  “Will you come inside?”

  His brows shot up. “What?”

  “I’m having trouble sleeping.”

  He cocked his head, indecision heavy in his eyes.

  “Just for a little bit,” I assured him. “I need to see if it’ll work.”

  “Dammit,” he cursed, his eyes dodging mine. “I never should’ve told you.”

  “Of course you should’ve. You’re the only one who’s been honest with me.”

  He closed his eyes, seemingly pained by what I was asking him to do. After what felt like an eternity, his eyes opened and he pushed himself to his feet. His basketball shorts hung low on his hips and his T-shirt clung to his muscles. He readjusted what I knew to be his gun holster underneath as he stepped forward. Relief swept over me as I moved back and he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Get in bed.”

  Under any other circumstance, I would’ve been turned on by a man telling me to get into bed; however, his was an order so I could sleep—and he could get out of my room as quickly as possible. I moved to my bed and slipped under the comforter, turning onto my side as he pulled the chair out from my desk and sat in it. “Thank you, Tristan.”

  “Sleep,” he ordered, crossing his arms and looking surly.

  “I hope so.” I closed my eyes and pushed the new threat, the Frenchman, and Andre from my mind, reminding myself that Tristan was right there and he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

  Tristan

  What the fuck was I doing? I was breaking protocols on so many levels. Not to mention, if Marco caught me in her room, he’d be ripping me a new one for the foreseeable future.

  But I couldn’t deny her this.

  I couldn’t deny her this because I was to blame.

  I’d been the one to open my damn mouth and tell her the shit that had been going on behind her back. I’d been the one to put the thoughts in her head that likely kept her from sleeping. But I’d never been one to shy away fr
om the truth. Like what I had to say or not, it wouldn’t stop me from saying it.

  And as much as it sucked that she couldn’t sleep, I wouldn’t take back telling her what I knew—what everyone but her knew. She deserved the truth. She deserved to know some fucked up people out there were dead set on getting her. And, despite the fact that we didn’t know who those fuckers were, or where or when they might strike, it would still be a cold day in hell before I let anyone get to her.

  A small sigh escaped Kresley, pulling my attention to her. She’d fallen asleep, but could I slip out without waking her? Or, should I wait to be sure she didn’t wake up?

  Fuck me.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kresley

  I heard the click of my door closing the following morning. I didn’t need to look to know it was Tristan. I also didn’t need to question if his presence had worked since I slept soundly all night. Unfortunately, I was left to wonder if I’d be able to sleep without him in my room moving forward.

  I stayed in bed for a little longer before texting Marco for a shower. I wondered if he checked my camera feed last night and saw Tristan in my room. And, if he had, would he say anything about it. But when he picked me up for my shower, and then again to walk me to class, he didn’t say anything. Like, not a word.

  I glanced over at him by my side, but his eyes were on everything but me as we made our way up the path toward my first class. Was he mad? Was he worried?

  “I know,” I said.

  His eyes cut to mine, narrowing.

  “I know there was money exchanged.”

  “Son of a bitch,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t get mad at Tristan. I need to know this stuff, Marco. I need to know what I’m up against.”

  “It’s our job to be your eyes and ears.”

  “If I was your wife, would you tell me?”

  He said nothing.

  “Of course you would because you’d want me to be prepared.”

  He remained quiet, likely considering the validity of what I’d said.

  We arrived to my class and I disappeared inside, losing myself in communications before finding my seat in accounting after that for my big test.