Trusting the Bodyguard

by Kimberly Van Meter

  At that she chuckled. “Can’t have that now, can we?” She took a bite and then smiled around the piece in her mouth as she clearly appreciated his handiwork. “No fair, distracting a woman with good food,” she said, cutting a small piece to blow on for Jenna. She tested it with her top lip and then fed it to the baby who accepted it without hesitation. The action tugged at a long-buried part of him that he tried to keep underground. When he’d been starry-eyed in love with her, he’d envisioned such scenes in his head. Her warmth and nurturing spirit called to his lonesome soul in a way that defied explaining. At least it had. He’d have thought after she broke off their engagement he’d have lost those feel-good feelings but no…they were still there, bothersome and confusing.

  “Tell me what you know of the Oaktown Boyz gang,” he said.

  She thought for a moment and then lifted her shoulder. “I don’t know much. I tried to steer clear,” she said.

  Too bad Mercedes hadn’t been as smart. “What made Mercedes get the restraining order against Ruben? Had something happened?”

  Marissa’s expression hardened and he had his answer but he wanted details. For a moment he was afraid Marissa was going to be tight-lipped but she surprised him. “He’d been getting more and more blatant in his attitude toward women and their role in his life, Mercedes included. He liked to pretend that he was like the Oakland version of a rap star. He was never without a woman on his arm. It got to be too much for Mercedes. She confronted him. He didn’t like it. Said she insulted him and she needed to be put in her place. Then he beat her almost to death. He put her in the hospital. As soon as she was able, she filed a restraining order and started the proceedings to get sole custody.”

  “Is there paperwork started on custody?” he asked.

  “No.” She blew out an unhappy breath. “Ruben got to the attorney before anything was filed. Suddenly, the attorney dropped Mercedes as a client and she was looking for someone new when she was killed.”

  “Pretty persuasive this Ruben guy,” Archer observed, his mind moving in wide circles. “Do you know if he has cops on the payroll, too?”

  “I don’t know for sure but I suspect he does. Nothing came of the assault on Mercedes even though she pressed charges.”

  “But an officer came out to take a report?” he asked.

  “Yes. One came to the hospital and took her statement there.”

  Then there should be a record, somewhere. He’d have Rico look into it. An assault on record would go a long way toward establishing motive for Mercedes’s death.

  “When you gave the police your statement, who did you speak to?”

  “I don’t remember. Why?”

  “Well, if it was a clean cop, there’ll be a paper trail. If it was a bad cop, it’ll be like it never happened. If the cop who took your sister’s statement is the same who took yours and there’s no trail…we’ve found the guy on the take.”

  “That’s great detective work but what good will that do?”

  He offered a short smile. “Because it’s fun to play with dirty cops. Most of them cave easily when given the right amount of pressure. If we could get this guy to squeal on Ruben, we might be able to crack open his operation and take this scum off the streets for good.”

  She smiled faintly at that but he could tell she didn’t put much faith in the idea. “Maybe,” she said.

  It made him wonder if he was underestimating this man. He’d certainly made that mistake with Vincent and the shame of his mistake wasn’t the worst of it. Kandy’s blood was on his hands. He refused to let anything happen to Marissa or Jenna.

  Unaware of the turmoil in his head, she glanced at him through black lashes and murmured her thanks for the delicious breakfast but there was something off about the timbre of her voice that immediately put him on alert. She rose, hoisting the baby to her perfectly rounded hip, and said, “I’ll help with the dishes if you like but first we both need a good scrubbing.”

  “Go on ahead, I’ll take care of the dishes,” he said, wondering at what he saw behind those eyes, ignoring the pulse of desire that flared to life at the thought of her slick, naked body under a jet of water. “Feel free to use my shower…it’s bigger,” he said, deliberately giving her his back so he didn’t have to look at her. It was bad enough the memory of her body teased his dreams, he didn’t need to feed the fire with the real deal.

  CHAPTER SIX

  RUBEN TOYED WITH THE silver crucifix pendant he’d taken from Marissa’s apartment and contemplated how circumstances were slowly slipping out of his control. It’d been a long time since that had happened. He’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

  He pursed his lips and curled the pendant in his palm. He didn’t like it.

  Marissa…so smart, not like Mercedes with her street mouth and whorish ways. Marissa was the kind of woman he would’ve been proud to have on his arm, and his bed.

  But then she had to go and ruin it. She’d tricked him into thinking she wanted to be with him. He should’ve known better. Marissa had never shown anything but open revulsion for him even when he’d been on his best behavior. That bitch had seen right through him every time. A thin smile followed as he shook his head at the irony. The one woman he wanted was the one woman who couldn’t stand him.

  She looked at him like he was trash. Her disdain pricked his pride. He remembered the first time he saw Marissa, so young and fresh, and he’d known…he’d have her. Of course, he knew he’d have to wait. In the meantime, Mercedes had been a pleasant diversion, until she got knocked up. Then she turned into a whining, nagging bitch who made him sick to his stomach at the mere sight of her bloated body.

  Raul entered the room and Ruben slowly let the pendant drop to the tabletop. “Tell me you have good news, friend,” Ruben said.

  “She’s not an easy woman to find,” Raul started, a frown gathering on his swarthy face. Ruben tried not to let his disappointment show too openly. “Her friends are limited to a few people from work, other than that…she kept to herself.”

  “Hmm,” Ruben murmured in thought, pushing the pendant idly with the point of his finger. “What are they saying at work? How does she explain her absence?”

  “Her boss, a woman named Layla, said she needed time to grieve and would be gone a few weeks. But beyond that…she wasn’t talking.”

  Ruben looked up as a thought occurred to him. “Find this Layla woman…Maybe she just needs a little encouragement to share what she knows.”

  “What are you doing?” Raul demanded, unease in his face. “This woman is driving you loco. Let the bitch go. You aren’t playing with a woman from the hood who is easily lost on the streets.”

  Ruben shot to his feet, menace in his stance as he went toe-to-toe with Raul, who returned the glare. “You questioning me, cabrón? If I say I want this woman, it is not for you to ask why.”

  “You risk too much. There will be questions,” Raul said from between gritted teeth. “For what? Let her go. Find a new woman who is less trouble.”

  Ruben held his stare, and then he smiled abruptly. The action threw Raul off guard, which was what he wanted. Ruben trusted no one, but Raul had always served him loyally. Still, he didn’t like the way Raul was watching him as if he was losing his mind. He had to send a message that no one messed with the Oaktown Boyz, and the only way to do that was to bring his beautiful, defiant Marissa back to the family…one way or another. He slapped Raul lightly on the cheek and laughed. “You worry too much. I only want to chat with this Layla woman. No trouble. I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

  Ruben stepped away, the jocularity leaving his voice as quickly as it appeared. “But if things don’t go as planned…I will need you to make sure that there are no loose ends. Can you handle that?”

  Raul’s mouth tightened and Ruben was struck by how ugly the man was with his pocked face and dark features. Not even a thousand-dollar suit could make that man into anything other than a street thug, yet for some reason this man was growing a consci
ence over messy details. Damn inconvenient.

  He’d have to do something about that.

  MARISSA BRUSHED JENNA’S curls before they tangled and then turned to her own. With Jenna playing on the floor, Marissa let her gaze wander the bedroom that adjoined the master bath. It was a strong, masculine room but nothing with too much machismo that screamed I’m afraid of women. She found comfort in its cool wintergreen colors and wood forest accents that were tasteful and classic. Her gaze strayed to the king bed with its luxury bedding—she could tell from the duvet that Archer had dropped some coin—and wondered who else had slid between those sheets after all these years. A man like Archer—who oozed virility—was unlikely to remain celibate. He was a single man, free to sleep with whomever he chose. So why was there a lump forming in her throat? She shook away her thoughts and the accompanying melancholy with blame placed on the situation rather than the events of the past, and tried to think of the positive side of things.

  She and Jenna were alive.

  How pathetic that she couldn’t think of anything else to recommend. She drew a deep, measured breath and rubbed at her nose. She’d always figured herself to be the kind of person who made lemonade out of lemons but right about now…she was plumb out of sugar.

  ARCHER GOT OFF THE PHONE with Rico after giving him the newest information about Mercedes and the possible police connection to Ruben Ortiz, and then walked out of the study to see Marissa coming down the stairs with the baby in her arms. His heart con tracted at the sight and it took him a full minute to remind himself that it wasn’t his right to stare.

  God, she broke a man’s heart just by standing there. He could still remember the first time he saw her. He’d been doing surveillance on a scumbag dealer who’d liked to hang out at the park near her lab. She’d emerged from the double glass doors, badge pinned to her right breast, with a bag lunch in her hands and a book. At first he’d been mildly amused by the fact that a grown woman had packed a lunch to work. Then, he’d come to realize she did this every day. It seemed something she treasured and enjoyed. She rarely invited others to sit with her but neither was she standoffish or rude. She always had a smile for the waves that came her way or the light conversation that sometimes interrupted her private time. But he’d seen that reserved light in her eyes that told him there was more going on behind those baby browns than she let on. It was the mystery that had spurred him to talk to her.

  That day changed his life. He’d never known it was possible to fall in love so quickly. In fact, he’d mocked anyone who tried to say otherwise, but it had taken moments—literally—to fall in love with Marissa Vasquez.

  After it was all over he wondered if he wasn’t the first schmuck who had bet it all on Vasquez only to lose everything in the end.

  “You okay?” she asked, breaking into his reverie. “You have a funny look on your face.”

  “Did you ever think twice about me after we broke up?” he asked, the shock of the question stunning her into strained silence. He waved away her need to speak. “Forget I asked. The answer is written all over your face,” he said, turning to get the hell away from her, angry at himself for letting his mind wander to that forbidden place.

  “Archer, wait,” she called after him. He spun around so abruptly she nearly ran into him. She’d put the baby down before following him. “Why would you think that I wouldn’t?” she asked, her eyes searching his.

  “Because it was so easy for you to walk away,” he bit out, hating that he sounded like a brokenhearted fool after all these years.

  Her eyes watered and she shook her head. “It wasn’t easy,” she said. “But your lifestyle…I just couldn’t deal with it. Stability and my ability to control it in my life was all I had. You threatened everything that was important to me.”

  “So why’d you agree to marry me?” he demanded.

  She looked so sad and nearly as broken as he did as she said, “Because I fell in love with you, you idiot.”

  It was too easy to look into those eyes and forgive her anything. Even now, angry as hell with the memory of her rejection, he was tempted to just take her into his arms and say to hell with it all and just start over. But she wasn’t exactly offering a fresh start. Although she watched from behind a veil of tears that threatened to fall, she wasn’t throwing herself into his arms with the promise of a new beginning. She was explaining how she justified breaking his heart into a million pieces for the sake of her need to control her environment. He jerked his hand through his hair, too agitated to say anything more, and finally with a pissed-off groan, stalked away from her.

  He needed space.

  MARISSA FLINCHED AS the front door slammed behind Archer. Jenna puckered and started to wail. Marissa felt like joining her.

  Yet her eyes remained dry. Perhaps she was out of tears. She could hardly believe that. It was more likely that she was becoming accustomed to heartache. Perhaps if she’d stayed with Archer, Mercedes would still be alive. Archer would’ve been able to keep Mercedes from hooking up with Ruben and all their lives would’ve been simpler.

  But then, she realized with an unhappy start, Jenna would not be here. And Marissa couldn’t imagine life without her.

  She’d been the first to hold her—Mercedes had been too exhausted to give the infant she’d just brought into the world much thought—so the nurse had given Marissa that precious pink bundle with her full head of inky-black hair and swollen pink mouth that opened and closed like a tiny fish out of water. And then, when Mercedes had been more interested in regaining her figure than attending to the overwhelming needs of an infant, Marissa had used her accumulated vacation time to care for her.

  No, she couldn’t imagine life without Jenna. Even if it meant dealing with Ruben.

  And on the nights she’d rocked Jenna through her bouts of colic, she thought of her own mother and how much she would’ve loved being a grandmother. She sang songs she remembered from her mother and hummed wordless tunes that floated from her memory even if she didn’t remember how she knew it. For all intents and purposes, she was Jenna’s mother and nothing would ever change that.

  ARCHER WAS NOT QUITE sure who he was mad at—himself or Marissa—but he was hot and he knew if he didn’t get some air to clear his head, he’d explode.

  The tension coiled inside him was a dangerous thing. He needed an outlet. They were trapped in close quarters together, the attraction he still felt for Marissa causing him to act out in ways that were humiliating for them both, and yet, a part of him was secretly glad she came to him for help.

  He was sick in the head.

  What were they doing? Aside from ripping open old wounds that had finally scabbed over? Damn it.

  His ears pricked at the sound of a vehicle coming down his dirt driveway and he bolted for the house.

  “Arch—” Marissa started as he came inside, an apology clearly in her expression but he didn’t have time for that.

  “Get upstairs,” he ordered. At her questioning expression, he explained quickly. “Car’s coming. I don’t get a lot of visitors. Now get upstairs and keep the baby quiet.”

  Fear flooded her gaze and she scooped up Jenna with sure hands before running up the stairs to disappear in the guest bedroom.

  Pulling the gun from the sideboard drawer, he took position to the right of the door, waiting. The vehicle stopped at the front of the house. Footsteps crunched the loose gravel and climbed up the porch steps. A heavy knock sounded.

  “Who is it?” he called out.

  “It’s me, you son of a bitch. Now open the door,” a familiar voice shouted, and Archer drew back, stunned.

  Archer threw open the door and stared. “How the hell—”

  Josh Halvorsen stared him down, pissed as all get out, and looking like he wanted to put his fist through his face. “It’s a small town. There’s only one Realtor in town. All it took was a little conversation with Janelle Grafton to find out that you had let the house sitter go. Word spread quick that you were back i
n town. I wondered if you had the balls to give me a call. Apparently, you don’t.”

  Archer drew back, insulted, but he didn’t have the option of brawling it out with Josh on his front porch, so he gestured for the man to come inside. Josh followed, a frown still on his face, and Archer shut and locked the door. “A little paranoid, aren’t you?” he asked, eyebrows raised at Archer’s actions. “Everything all right?”

  “A minute ago you wanted to punch my lights out, now you’re concerned about my welfare? Pick a side, Josh. It was never like you to be wishy-washy.”

  Josh’s face darkened. “I’m still pissed at you but that doesn’t mean I don’t care if you’re in some kind of trouble.”

  “I’m touched.”

  “Man, you’re a dick. That much hasn’t changed.”

  Archer resisted the urge to glance upstairs, but he sure as hell hoped Marissa stayed put. He wasn’t in a frame of mind to start explaining. “I meant to call,” Archer started, but he stopped. Josh deserved better than that. He wasn’t going to lie. “You’re right. I am a dick. Things have been pretty messed up lately and after I unloaded on you the last time we spoke…I figured you probably didn’t want to talk to me so I just kept my distance,” he said, the admission feeling good.

  “You said some harsh things.”

  If he’d had less pride he would’ve hung his head in shame. “Yeah, there’s no excuse for it. All I can say is I was lashing out at the closest target. It wasn’t right but I can’t take it back.”

  “No, you can’t. But you can apologize,” Josh offered.

  “And you’d accept that?” Archer asked.

  Josh shrugged. “Try me.”

  Archer shook his head. The conversation was surreal, but he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to give it a whirl. “Okay, I’m sorry, man, for being such a jerk. It was uncalled-for and there’s no excuse for my behavior.”

  “Not bad for a guy who hates to admit when he’s wrong,” Josh said, then surprised Archer with a smile. “Apology accepted. You were hurting and I get that. I remember what it feels like to nurse a broken heart. What upset me was the fact that you just disappeared. No word, nothing.”