Under His Protection

by Katie Reus

  The bell over the door jingled, drawing her attention away from him. Just like before it was as if the moment she broke eye contact, the rest of her surroundings came back in a rush of sensations and sounds. It should be illegal that he had the ability to distract her to that point.

  When her brother Sandro strode through, alarm jumped inside her. It was Monday, he was supposed to be working today. He was part owner in a restaurant with her oldest brother, Montez, Jr. And he never just stopped by to say hi.

  Before she’d taken two steps, Ivan had already weaved his way through displays of lingerie and was giving her brother a hand shake of sorts. They did that fist bump/shake thing that her brothers always did before hugging. Of course Ivan and Sandro didn’t hug. But their friendliness and Ivan’s seeming lack of surprise that Sandro was here made her frown.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” she asked as she approached them, very aware of the racy display of sheer, leopard print purple bras she was standing next to. And the fact that she owned one and wondered what Ivan would think of her wearing it.

  “I’ve got to run out so Sandro’s going to hang here for a while,” Ivan said, his expression calm.

  As if it shouldn’t annoy her that clearly he’d called her brother without mentioning it to her. She glanced at her brother. “How did you guys even contact each other?”

  Her brother shrugged. “I gave Ivan my number before I left last night in case anything happened.”

  Gritting her teeth, she looked at Ivan and tilted her head in the direction of the dressing rooms. “Can I talk to you a sec in private?”

  His eyebrows pulled together, but he nodded. The beat of the overhead music was slightly louder near the dressing rooms. Instead of rooms with doors, she’d sectioned off five areas with colorful curtains so patrons wouldn’t feel suffocated in a tiny space.

  “What’s wrong?” Ivan stroked a hand down her bare arm, his expression concerned.

  She fought a shiver at the feel of his calloused fingers skating over her skin. “You just called my brother without asking me?”

  His eyes widened for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights. “Yeah. And that was…obviously not a smart move. I’m sorry Julieta, I wasn’t even thinking.”

  Crap. If he wasn’t going to defend himself she couldn’t get angry. “It’s fine. I just don’t want to be kept in the dark. I’m so appreciative of everything you’re doing, but this is my life. I need to know what’s going on, especially if my family is involved.”

  His jaw tightened a fraction. “Fair enough. I’ve got some things to take care of today and I didn’t want to leave you alone. I figured asking your brother to help was better than one of my friends, even if they are all trained.”

  The remaining steam of her annoyance completely faded. “Yeah, I love having Sandro around. I don’t see him as much since he started working with my brother, Montez.”

  “That’s the one he owns a restaurant with, right?”

  She blinked. “Yes, how’d you know?”

  “He told me when we talked this morning.”

  “I’m surprised he’s being so nice to you.” The words were out before she could censor herself. “I meant, uh…”

  To her surprise, Ivan let out a loud bark of laughter, the action completely relaxing his face, making him look years younger and almost boyish. “I know exactly what you meant. I think he’s okay with me because he knows I just want to protect you.”

  It was still a shock. In the past, anytime she’d brought a man around, her family hadn’t warmed up to any of them. Especially after what had happened with her ex. He’d been like family, always around for two years, then nothing. “So what things are you taking care of today?” She wondered if she even had the right to ask. Even though they’d kissed, they certainly weren’t in a relationship. But he’d said he wanted to shadow her and was leaving her with her brother. She was curious.

  “Ah…work related.”

  Something about his tone was off. She narrowed her gaze. “Is this about something Lizzy told you? You’re not doing something illegal are you?” she whispered the last part, even though no one was near the dressing rooms. Julieta hadn’t had a chance to contact her friend that morning, but she still planned to. “I can call Lizzy right now and find out what you’re doing.”

  Ivan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck in a way she’d noticed he did when he was agitated or concerned about something. “I’m checking out Aguilar today. Just want to see what his schedule looks like and if I catch him doing something he’s not supposed to.”

  “You’re going to be following River around?” Her gut clenched at the thought. If River really was the one stalking her, she didn’t want Ivan anywhere near him. It didn’t matter that he was clearly trained, she didn’t like the thought of him putting himself in danger for her. For all she knew River was harmless and not involved in all this, but worst case scenario, he was her stalker and capable of anything.

  “Yeah.”

  “Ivan, I don’t like that—”

  “Ms. Mederos, sorry to interrupt, but we’re done.” The man who Ivan had been talking to earlier came up with a paper in hand, likely her invoice.

  “I’ve got my phone on me,” Ivan murmured before hurrying away.

  Practically running. She gritted her teeth and glared at his backside, delectable as it was, for a moment before turning back to the other man. She had a business to run and a lot of stuff to do today. Ivan was a grown man capable of making his own decisions. While she hated the thought of him following some potential stalker, deep down she knew nothing she said was going to stop him.

  Once she wrapped up with the glass guys and helped a couple customers, she looked up from the cash register to find Ruby holding up two very different, but sexy outfits. Not the kind of lingerie you wore under your normal clothes, but more for bedroom play. One was a sexy French maid outfit, and while it wasn’t the most original, it was one of her best sellers so clearly people loved it. The other was called ‘naughty nurse’. The red and white sheer outfit was all satin and ruffles. It even came with a little headpiece with a red cross on it.

  “Which one do you like best?” Ruby asked.

  Before she could respond, her brother appeared out of nowhere, like a magnet drawn to Ruby. She was pretty certain he’d had a crush on her for a while.

  “I think you could pull off both. If you want to try them on I’d be willing to give you a critique.” His voice was light and teasing, his grin that charming smile he too often turned on the ladies.

  Ruby just rolled her eyes. “First of all, you’d be more than just willing. And I would ruin you for other women once you saw me.” Her brother straightened and blinked in shock. Most women just fell all over themselves when he turned that smile on them, but Ruby would never do that. Her feisty employee continued, one eyebrow arched. “Second, I’m not asking for me, I’m asking which your sister likes best for her to wear.”

  It took about two seconds for Ruby’s words to sink in. Even though he was twenty-six and he’d dealt with a sister and female cousins his entire life, his ears turned red. “No. Just no. I’m not hearing this.” He stepped back and held his hands up to his ears as he moved to the front of the store.

  Julieta laughed at his quick retreat then turned to look at her friend. “For me, huh?”

  “Uh, yeah. You are so going to be hooking up with tall, blond and delicious soon. And you need to be ready. The costumes might be too much though. Might say you’re trying too hard.” A slight frown pulling at her lips, Ruby set them on the counter and made a beeline for a purple and black corset Julieta had been eyeing when the new shipment came in last week. “No, I think this and crotchless panties.”

  She bit back a grin. Just because she sold everything a woman could imagine didn’t mean she wore all of her merchandise. “And crotchless doesn’t scream I’m eager?”

  Ruby snorted. “Girl, you should be eager. That man is mouthwatering. And I say that in a non
-jealous way. But I will be hating you a teensy bit the next time I see you and you’ve got that I-had-sex-with-a-god-glow.”

  “Didn’t that good looking detective ask you out yesterday?”

  Ruby grinned in that wicked way of hers and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. The woman had a bombshell figure, the type Marilyn Monroe would have envied. “Yes, but he’s better looking than me so I said no. I can’t date a guy who spends more time in front of the mirror than me. No thank you.”

  Julieta shook her head, doubting that was why Ruby turned the guy down. For as long as Julieta had known her, the woman rarely dated. It wasn’t because men didn’t ask either, they did. Often.

  Her gaze drifted to the rack of corsets and an image of Ivan’s heated expression when he pinned her up against her door last night flooded her mind. “Grab me a small.” Because she was definitely buying it. And screw the panties altogether.

  She wasn’t certain what was going to happen with her and Ivan, but deep down she knew that sleeping with him was a foregone conclusion. She knew herself well enough that this type of physical attraction was incredibly rare and she wasn’t walking away from what was developing between them. Even if she knew he was a player and this was going to end up being purely casual, as long as she made it clear to him that she wanted casual too, she’d be fine. Or would at least be able to salvage some of her pride when things between them ended.

  Chapter 8

  “We’re good without you,” Blue said wryly, his voice coming over Ivan’s wireless earpiece as he sat in his SUV.

  Ivan rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the building tension as he leaned back against the driver’s seat of his vehicle. Alexander Blue was Mina’s fiancé and Ivan’s new boss. Sort of. Blue had worked for Red Stone Security for a while before being promoted to head up one of their East Coast divisions, which included the company’s Hollingsworth account—once Mina moved her family’s security division over to them. Ivan had been with Mina’s father and Mina kept him on, which meant he now worked for Red Stone and Alex, even though his only client was Mina. “I know, I just—”

  “I’m capable of watching out for my own fiancée. We’re not leaving the condo since I’m working from home today and there haven’t been any threats. Besides, Mina’s worried about Jules and she’ll have my ass if anything happens to her.”

  Ivan half-smiled, the tension in his chest easing. He was taking time off no matter what because Julieta needed him, but he was glad this wasn’t going to affect his job. “Okay, I just wanted to check in.”

  “We’re good. Take all the time you need and don’t worry about checking in anymore. I’ll let you know if we have any issues.”

  Once they disconnected, Ivan took his wireless piece out of his ear and set it next to his phone on the center console before he turned down the last road his GPS directed him to. What he was doing wasn’t illegal, as Julieta had been concerned about, but he was going to check out River Aguilar. He wanted to see this guy in person and find out if he had a set schedule. If he was her stalker, Ivan wanted to know everything he could about the guy.

  Ivan cruised past the two-story house once, taking in the entire street as he drove. It was a dead end road, off a main street in a middle-class neighborhood. Which meant he wouldn’t be able to hang out too long without neighbors getting suspicious. At least it was the middle of the morning on a Monday. Most people would be working.

  Choosing a one-story ranch style house two houses down from where Aguilar lived with his mother, he parked on the curb under an oak tree. He cracked a window then shut off the engine. It was October, cool enough to sit in his vehicle without baking.

  A two-door red car sat in the driveway. A newer model and according to the file he’d glanced at earlier, not something Aguilar or his mom owned. He jotted down the plate and make and model. The yard itself was immaculate, the grass looking as if it had recently been cut and the flowerbeds were also taken care of.

  He wasn’t a fan of PI work because it was often boring and took forever to yield results. Julieta might not have time for long investigative work if whoever was stalking her got desperate so Ivan wanted to stay in front of the situation.

  And he hated that there were so few leads. This guy had just started harassing her seemingly out of the blue, but there had to be a tipping point. The very first text had felt personal. I’m going to make you pay for what you did.

  Unfortunately there had been no reference to what she’d supposedly done. It could be something as benign as cutting the guy off while driving. Unlikely, but people on the edge didn’t need a sane reason to get angry.

  Keeping an eye on the house, he settled against his seat and turned on his mini laptop. He could read on his phone but preferred something bigger. After pulling up his email, he scrolled through Lizzy’s latest message with details on Aguilar.

  It was all basic, but telling about the guy’s personality. He’d moved back in with his mom recently, but it looked as if he’d been living with a woman before that for a couple months. A stripper. All the bills had been in her name, but he’d had his cell phone bill address listed there. Before that it seemed as if he’d lived with a dozen different women over the past two years.

  No arrests, no violent history, not even sealed juvie files. Aguilar just seemed lazy. He found random work, would hold down a job for a couple months, then when he lost that job it appeared as if the women he was living with kicked him out. Some seemed to keep him around for a month or so, but eventually, he moved out. Without talking to the women or him, Ivan didn’t know if it was because he found another woman to mooch off or if they just got tired of him. He guessed it was the women who got tired of him. Which could explain his anger toward Julieta.

  After reading the email he called Lizzy, who answered on the first ring. “Hey, was just about to call you.”

  “Good news?” Please say yes.

  “Not really, but it’s information. I managed to track down the license plate on that motorcycle. Grant contacted Duarte about it. Turns out the bike was reported stolen a week ago. Some college kid who seems highly unlikely as Jules’s stalker, but I’m sending you the info on the kid anyway.”

  He pushed back the disappointment that surged through him. “And you weren’t able to track the bike using CCTVs?” Because he knew she’d done it before.

  “Unfortunately no.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “And I still haven’t gotten a hit on who purchased those phone numbers. We already know they’re burner phones, but this likely means he bought them in cash.” Which left them still at square one. She didn’t say it, but he guessed she was thinking the same thing he was.

  He cleared his throat. “Listen, there’s a car in his driveway now that isn’t listed in the file you sent me. Would you mind running another license plate?” He wasn’t sure how much she could do on company time.

  She snorted. “Of course not.”

  After he’d given it to her and she promised to get back to him when she got a hit, he said, “Thanks for everything you’re doing.” Having someone like Lizzy in his corner was a huge benefit.

  “No problem, I love Jules. Call me if you need anything. I’m at the office today.”

  After they disconnected he pulled up the file on the guy who’d reported his motorcycle stolen and realized why Lizzy said she didn’t think he was involved. The kid had posted live updates on one of his social media sites around the time Julieta had received the most recent text from her stalker. It had listed his location too: Orlando.

  Damn it.

  Sighing, Ivan turned off his laptop, set it on the passenger seat and waited. Three hours later he finally got some action at Aguilar’s house.

  A woman with long, black hair wearing jeans that might as well have been painted on and an equally snug, bright red T-shirt strode out hand-in-hand with a shirtless Aguilar. The man smiled at her as he walked her to her car. Aguilar pressed her against the driver’s side door, groping and kissing her for a few
minutes before she left with a huge smile on her face.

  Maybe he had a new girlfriend.

  Ten minutes later Ivan straightened in his seat and started the engine when the garage door opened. Aguilar pulled out seconds later behind the wheel of the five-year-old truck registered in his name. According to the records Lizzy had sent, the guy’s mother had bought it for him and was currently paying his insurance. Pathetic.

  Tailing him was easy since he didn’t go far. His final destination was a small, locally owned bar and grill in a shopping center next to a Publix less than five minutes away. It was nearing four, which unfortunately meant the place wouldn’t be too crowded. Restaurants tended to be busy during lunch and dinner but tapered off in between. Could be good and bad for Ivan. He wanted Julieta’s stalker to know he couldn’t harass her anymore, but he didn’t want to tip his hand too soon. The last text the asshole had sent had specifically mentioned her blond friend so the guy knew what Ivan looked like.

  Ivan waited in the parking lot as Aguilar got out and made his way inside. The man was dressed casually in jeans, a T-shirt and boots. Inside the dim restaurant it took a moment for Ivan’s eyes to adjust.

  A hostess wearing a black skirt and a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt smiled broadly when she saw him and stepped out from behind the wooden stand. “Hi, welcome to—”

  Her eyes widened as she glanced behind him. Ivan turned to find the woman who’d left Aguilar’s house not long ago striding inside, her expression tense. Ivan faintly heard the hostess mutter a curse, but then she seemed to regain her composure.

  “Are you meeting someone or dining alone? Or would you like to wait in the bar?”

  “Bar,” Ivan murmured, trailing behind the dark-haired woman as she headed to the bar. It was situated on the left with a huge rectangle-shaped bar in the middle of it with chairs lining it. There were also booths lining three of the walls, with nothing on the back wall but a door that led to what he assumed was the kitchen.