by Amy Brent
“You know what kind of ice cream you want?” I asked.
“Chocolate and strawberry,” she said. “With gummy bears and sprinkles.”
“That’s a lot of sugar for one little girl. You sure you want all that?”
“I’m not little, and of course!”
“You are, too, little,” I said. “You’ll always be my little girl to me.”
We pulled into the parking lot, and Lacey practically fell out of the van trying to get inside. The entire time, she bounced with excitement while I made her a massive cup of ice cream. She kept pointing at new items and new flavors, and by the time we were done, her ice cream was filled with blue raspberry and watermelon with gummy bears and an oreo.
“Now, if you can’t finish it all, we can take it home, all right?” I asked.
“All right,” she said, her mouth full of ice cream.
“Did you enjoy today?” I asked.
“Yeah. But I think Bridget would’ve liked it, too.”
I stopped eating and looked at my daughter. Had she said what I thought she said?
“What was that, honey?” I asked.
“Is Bridget your girlfriend? Because if she is, she would’ve liked today.”
“No, she’s not my girlfriend,” I said. “She’s my boss.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, I really like Bridget. Is she gonna come back over soon?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You like her, right?”
Her big doe eyes looked up at me, and all I could do was sympathize with her. The truth was, I did like Bridget. Or Kimberly. Or whatever her name was. If Bridget really was the same woman with just a different name, then it meant I really liked her. But she lied to me about who she was. She had fundamentally lied to me about who she was and what she enjoyed and how she lived her life.
Was it possible I had been wrong?
“Please let her come over soon. Okay, Daddy? Promise?”
I looked back over to my daughter, whose eyes were begging me for her new friend. A young, attractive woman that had come into my life that had swept my daughter off her feet.
“I promise,” I said.
Because the truth was, I did like her. And the job was good for both myself and my daughter financially. Bridget was a great person to be around and a hell of a woman in bed. Couldn’t that just be enough for now?
I needed to talk to her.
“Lacey. How would you feel about Nannie watching you tonight?”
“Yeah! Movies and popcorn!”
I got my mom on the phone and explained the situation. I told her I had an important conversation with my boss tonight and that I needed the time off to address some issues before Monday. She completely understood and told me to drop Lacey off around eight, which was perfect because I could pick us up some late dinner, and we could talk over something we both felt comfortable doing.
Eating.
“I’ll be back in the morning to get you, all right?” I asked.
“Are you going to see Bridget?” she asked.
“I am. I gotta talk with her for a little bit before work on Monday. Is that all right?”
“Could you give her a hug for me?”
“Of course.”
My daughter flung her arms around my neck and held me tightly. I knew she was giving me a hug to pass on to Bridget, and tears welled in my eyes when I felt just how tightly she was hanging on. This woman had definitely made an impression on my daughter, and I knew I couldn’t rob her of that if I had a chance to work through things with her.
The rest, we could figure out later.
When I got into my car and started down the road, I felt my phone vibrate at my hip. I pulled into a place that had wonderful salads in the hopes that food would lighten the conversation I was about to have with my boss-slash-whatever the hell this was. I was about to ignore the phone call until my gut told me to pick it up, but as soon as I heard crying on the other end, I pulled out of the drive through lane and started down the road.
“Bridget, where are you?” I asked.
“At-at the club. M-M-Mr. Jeffries, I know you don’t—”
“The club where you and Rachel were at when I went with you?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I whipped my car around in the middle of the road and stepped on the gas. I left food behind in the rearview mirror of my car while I tried to get Bridget to calm down long enough to tell me what was going on, but every single bad scenario kept flooding my mind. She had been raped, she had been taken, someone had cornered her in the bathroom, or maybe there was a gunman at the club.
“Bridget. Take a few deep breaths. I’m on my way. What’s going on?”
I heard banging on a door in the background and felt my heart leap into my throat. Bridget’s crying got louder and more hysterical as I whipped myself onto the highway. I was still ten minutes out from the damn club downtown, and then there was the matter of parking and getting in.
I’d never leave this girl alone again so long as I was working for her.
“What is happening?” I asked.
“I… I came out to... to clear my head,” she said. “And someone... a guy… he, um…”
The banging happened again, and Bridget yelped, and I wondered where the fuck the bouncer was. Wasn’t he paid to take care of this kind of shit?
“I’m being stalked, Mr. Jeffries,” she choked out.
“Stay on the phone with me, Bridget. I’m almost there.”
She kept crying into the phone while I kept running red lights. I barreled down the road as the club came into view. The bouncer was standing at the door, gawking at all the beautiful women in line without a care in the world as to what the hell was going on in the club he was protecting.
I’d deal with that fucker later. Right now, I had to get to Bridget.
I had to make sure she was all right.
“I’m coming in,” I told her. “Do you hear me? Stay put.”
I hung up the phone and pulled up to the curb. The bouncer spotted me and gave me a nasty look before he asked me where the hell I had been.
“I saw her walk in without you, and I almost didn’t let her in,” he said.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
The man looked confused and that was all the more reason to rip his fucking job from him. A club was only as safe as the bouncer in charge of it, and obviously, this one was no longer safe if he had no idea what the hell was going on with a high-profile celebrity within it. I shoved people out of my way as I worked toward the bathrooms, thinking that was the only place she could possibly be with all the sounds I heard on the phone.
“Bridget?” I roared. “Bridget!”
Just then, I saw someone scurry from within the women’s bathroom. I didn’t get a good look at their face before they dipped into the crowd and made their way for the back exit. Part of me wanted to go after them. I wanted to dent their face in with my fist before throwing their body into the bouncer and ruining both of their lives.
But the sobbing I could hear, even from the water fountain outside the bathroom, ripped me from my raging trance.
Chapter 21
Bridget
I was shaking as I crouched down on top of the toilet. Thomas had hung up on me, and I didn’t know what was going on. I had decided to come out to the club to get my mind off things, my secret, Thomas, and everything else that had spiraled so dangerously out of control. I wanted to forget what was happening, forget the mistake I’d made with Thomas, and just start with a clean slate.
But this guy kept coming up behind me aggressively and asking me to dance.
“Bridget. You in there?”
I heard Thomas’s voice and instantly jumped from the toilet. I crashed the door open and stumbled into his arms. My nose was running, and my eyes were puffy from crying. It felt so good to hear his voice and to feel his strong arms around me. I was finally all right. Still, I was petrified of the man coming back, and I wasn’t convinced he
wouldn’t, even with Thomas here.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Thomas said. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
He held me close to his body, and I just kept repeating myself. I was shaking violently, and my tears soaked into his clothes. His strong arms comforted me, and my racing thoughts began to slow. As soon as I could think somewhat clearly, another alarming thought flashed in my head.
Had I just pulled him away from Lacey with my panicked phone call? Fear clenched my heart, and I tried to back away from him. I wanted him to go back to his daughter and not worry about me any longer. I wanted him to go live his life and be happy and find someone who was worthy of him.
Someone who didn’t have the type of secrets I did.
“No,” he said. “Stop. Come here.”
I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head against his chest. His voice rumbled my cheek, and his heart was beating soothingly against my ear. His body was so warm, and I was suddenly so cold. His hands began to rub up and down my back before my mouth started to run away from me.
“I kept telling him ‘no.’ I don’t know why he didn’t listen. Thomas, why didn’t he listen? I just wanted to dance.”
I felt his body tense before he started running his fingers through my hair.
“What did he do?” he asked.
“He was so aggressive. Grinding into me and trying to touch me. I kept telling him I didn’t want to dance with him. That I was just out to have a good time. And he kept telling me he was my good time.”
“Did he hurt you?” he asked.
“He kept telling me he’d be waiting for me. And that he knew where I lived.”
I suddenly felt sick and pushed away from Thomas before I rushed to the toilet. I threw up the alcohol I’d had earlier while he pulled my hair back away from my face. All of a sudden, I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed to be in this situation and embarrassed he had to see me like this. I could take care of myself. I’d done it for years. But right now, in this very moment, I looked helpless and clueless.
And I hated that.
“Is he still out there?” I asked between heaves.
“No one’s outside,” Thomas said. “How long have you been in here?”
I swallowed deeply and sat back into his body before he helped me to my feet. I felt like I couldn’t stand, and my throat was burning from the alcohol. All I wanted to do was go home and get into bed and never come back out.
“A half… half an hour?”
Thomas helped me to the sink before he steered away a few women who were trying to get into the bathroom. He locked the door as I turned on the water, and when I went to gargle my mouth clean, he took a palmful of cold water and slowly sprinkled it onto my neck.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
“Good,” I said. “It feels good.”
“So, here’s what’s gonna happen,” he said. “We’re gonna wipe you off, get you out to my car, and I’m going to take you home. I’ll get you laid down into bed and stay there until you go to sleep. Then, if you need me in the morning, you just call. All right?”
“You’re not—”
“No, I’m not quitting,” he said. “And I’m sorry for how I acted.”
I felt one last drizzle of cool water hit my neck before my body finally relaxed. He was staying. Thomas was staying on as my bodyguard, even though he knew my secret. I heard the rolling of paper towels before I leaned up slowly, and Thomas began to wipe off my face and neck as he cradled my head in the palm of his hand.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Tired,” I admitted.
“Then let’s get you home.”
He escorted me out of the club, and I saw him shoot the bouncer a nasty look. I’d never be back to this club so long as I lived, and the owner was getting a call from me, telling him he needed another bouncer. Even though Thomas hadn’t been there, he shouldn’t have had to come get me. That bouncer should have done his job, and I would’ve been just fine before that man ever chased me into the restroom in the first place.
The car ride was silent as we pulled up to my house, and suddenly, panic began to grip my body. I thought back to the threat the man made. He said he knew where I lived and that he would be waiting for me. I shuddered, and Thomas must’ve seen the panic roll through me.
“Wait here,” he said. “I’m gonna go check things out.”
For the first time since I’d hired him, I saw him pull his gun. Something deep within my body pulled toward him as I watched him slowly approach the house with that piece of metal raised in the air, and I saw Thomas in a gravely different light. I saw the professional side of him that cared about the job he had, and I watched him creep around the front of my house before he slowly made his way back.
“Get out of the car and stay behind me,” he said.
I grabbed onto the back of his jacket, and we slowly went inside. His gun was still trained in front of him, and my ears were listening to every sound that creeped through my home. When we got up to my room, Thomas sat me down on the bed. He cupped my face and pulled my gaze up to him, and the words flew from my mouth before I could stop them.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jeffries,” I said.
“And I’m sorry, too. Also, it’s ‘Thomas.’”
“Thomas,” I said with a whisper. I didn’t know if I’d ever call him that again. Not after what happened and not after how both of us reacted.
“I should’ve never gone out without you tonight, Thomas. Please forgive me.”
“And I shouldn’t have taken a day off and made you feel like you couldn’t call me. I’m still your bodyguard, and it’s still my job to keep you safe. I’m sorry for the way I acted, and I’m sorry that it put you in this position.”
“You don’t have a reason to be sorry,” I said.
“I’ve got plenty to be sorry for.”
I looked into his eyes, and suddenly, all the confused pieces shifted back into place. I cursed myself for still feeling this way, for feeling home and complete while I swam in his eyes. His thumbs caressed the apples of my cheeks while his face slowly got closer to mine, then his lips ghosted over my own when he admitted the fault he was apologizing for.
“I never stopped to think about how you might have felt, carrying around that secret for this long,” he said.
“It’s okay,” I said breathlessly.
Then, just before his lips touched mine, a crash rang out downstairs.
“Get in the tub, and stay there. Lock the door, grab something you can defend yourself with, and stay silent.”
He took my hand and dragged me toward the tub while I grabbed my lamp off the edge of my dresser. He put me in the tub, and I hunkered down before he locked the door behind him. The tears began to flow once more. He was in my house. That crazy ass man from the club was in my fucking house, and he was going to find me, and I was going to die.
I heard Thomas run downstairs while his footsteps echoed across the floor. I trembled as tears streamed down my face, and the only thing I could think about was how I’d never get a chance to kiss him again. I’d never get to tell him how thankful I was that he came to the club tonight or how much I missed his body. I’d never get to tell him how I had longed to wake up to him by my side that night or how much he had forever skewed the standard men now had to hold in my life.
I would never get to tell him that I cared for him deeply, both him and his daughter.
Oh, god. Lacey. If he got hurt, what would happen to Lacey?
I heard a pair of feet slowly come up the stairs, and I stood poised, ready to strike. I heard them slowly get closer before the steps hit my carpet, and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. He was coming for me. I knew he was. He would bust down this door and pin me to the wall before I’d have a chance to bash his skull in. Oh, god. What had he done to Thomas?
Lacey would never forgive me if something happened to her father.
&n
bsp; “Bridget?”
A knock came at the door, and I jumped from the tub. Tears of relief flowed down my face as I ripped the door open. Thomas was standing on the other side with his gun holstered and his brow lightly shining with sweat. Before I could catch myself, I threw myself into his arms.
“You didn’t quite close the front door behind you,” he said. “The wind blew it open and that mirror hanging on the wall crashed to the ground.”
“Oh my god, you’re all right,” I said.
“I’m fine,” he said comfortingly. “I’m just fine. I cleared the entire downstairs. No one’s here.”
“Please don’t leave me,” I begged.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
I looked up into his eyes, and the entire world stopped moving. His hand raised to cup the back of my head while his other pressed into the small of my back. Soon, I felt myself gravitating toward him. His lips got closer, and his body got hotter, and soon, I was breathing the same air he was just before his lips descended onto mine.
And my hands rushed to his beautiful thin, short hair as I pressed my lips deeper into his.
