Safe in Her Bodyguard's Arms, page 11
“Do you still drink it that way?”
“No. Once I moved to my aunt Karen’s I stopped having sugar. She also wasn’t a fan of dairy products like milk and cheese. Too many calories.”
“I need as many calories as I can get. I burn a lot,” he said.
“I imagine you do.” She couldn’t help glancing over at him, trying to be surreptitious as she let her gaze move over his big, muscular body. She liked his large biceps and really appreciated his strength. His body was a testament to his own ability to survive.
“So now you take it black?”
He kept distracting her and in that moment she thought she really liked this guy. This man who’d shown up out of nowhere and now was saddled with keeping her safe. He could have just been stoic, dragging her along behind him through the swamp, but he was aware of her next to him. She felt seen by him in a way that made her feel unique, special and safe.
“Yes. Though sometimes Hilda, who owns the coffee shop, comes in and makes this Cuban coffee. It’s really strong espresso and she puts in condensed milk. Oh my God, it’s so sweet and strong. It’s delicious. You might like it. Lots of calories.”
“You can make it for me when we get out of here,” he said.
“Will we?” The words just slipped out. In the back of her mind, she didn’t see that happening. The last time she’d been in the swamp her parents had died. It was almost as if she was afraid that...she might not make it out either.
Sure, they were walking and he had his satellite phone, but the truth was that the men following them were dangerous, and no matter how many nice distractions Xander offered her, she was scared and unsure.
It was nice having him by her side, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to save her. The only sure thing was herself.
* * *
Xander wasn’t the best at small talk, and coffee had been the only thing he could think of to discuss. He wasn’t entirely sure it had been helpful, but Obie wasn’t as pale under her tan as she had been since the moment he’d drawn that tattoo on his phone. She had history with the cartel, and his brother hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with all that his “favor” from her would entail.
He was tempted to ask Van to get her out of the situation so he could go hunting and find a man they could get information from. Except that course of action was a slippery path that he hadn’t allowed himself to get back on in a long time.
It would be easy to blame his brother for the rage that was building inside of him. He was very tempted to just forget the training and the past ten years of the man he’d become and go back into eliminating any threat.
If he’d been alone, he might have killed one of the two men following them on sight and then pressed the other one for information. He didn’t like to harm anyone, but sometimes that was the only option if it meant rescuing others, and if it came down to keeping Obie safe he’d do whatever was necessary. A part of him regretted that he hadn’t done it even with Obie here. But then maybe the fear in her eyes would be directed at him and not at the cartel.
That shouldn’t matter. Most of the time Xander didn’t really give a crap what anyone thought of him. But somehow he wanted Obie to see the best side of him. The noble bodyguard. The brother who was somehow better...hah. He wasn’t better than Aaron. He just had gotten lucky when Van had found him and offered him this job.
He had to remind himself that.
The Quentin boys were dangerous, and that hadn’t changed just because they’d all left home and hadn’t been in the same spot for too many years. They were still a threat to anyone who crossed them.
“You are getting out of this, Obie Keller,” he promised. “Don’t doubt it. And when you do I hope you’ll make me that coffee.”
“If—”
“When.”
“Sure I’ll make it for you. But Hilda’s is better. She also makes the best black beans and rice. Have you had that?”
“No, I don’t think I have,” he said. “I have had beans on toast. One of my favorites.”
“Gross.”
“Excuse me? I think I’m offended by that,” he said. She seemed lighter now and he’d do anything to keep her from drifting back to that scared spot she’d been in a short while back.
“I’m offended by beans on toast... Actually what is it?”
He laughed. “It’s what it sounds like. Toast and then you open a can of Heinz baked beans and put it on the toast.”
“Heinz? I thought they were catsup people.”
“Over here maybe but in the UK they have the best beans.”
“Hmm... When we get back to Miami you can make it for me.”
He looked over at her, saw that she watched the trail in front of them, occasionally glancing back to check and see if they were being followed. “Deal.”
They walked in silence for another twenty minutes before she stopped. “I need a break. And maybe a moment alone.”
He suspected she might need the toilet. He did too. He looked around and then back at her. “Do you see a spot that would be safe for us to use?”
She took a moment to walk along the marshy mangroves and then nodded. “Over there should be safe.”
“Okay, go first, I’ll keep watch.”
She didn’t hesitate as she moved into the underbrush and behind some trees and bushes. He shrugged out of his pack and took out his Glock 22 handgun. Unless things went wrong, they should be able to stay on the dry part of the path until they reached the lake. He checked his weapon, and the clip he had in it before putting on the safety.
Obie came back and smiled at him until she noticed the weapon in his hand. “What’s that for?”
“You. I figured you’d feel safer with it while I dash into the bushes.”
“I don’t know how to shoot a handgun. My dad had a rifle to scare snakes and other critters away but it’s been years since I’ve used it.”
He gave her a quick lesson. “The safety is on. So you’ll have to flip this switch before you fire. If you hear someone other than me, take the safety off. Those men we saw earlier will kill you.”
Her hand shook as she took the Glock 22 from him. But she looked determined. “Does it kick? Should I use two hands?”
“If you want to you can,” he said, showing her how to hold the gun with two hands and how to aim. “I doubt you’ll have to use it but better safe than sorry.”
“Yeah. Okay go fast,” she said.
“I will,” he reassured her. He dashed into the underbrush where she’d gone and quickly did his business.
He hurried back to where she waited. She handed the gun back to him as soon as he was within arm’s reach. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too,” he said.
Her hair now framed her face now in a riot of curls instead of the smooth strands she’d had when he’d first seen her in Aaron’s house. The swamp was changing them both. It was clawing away at Xander’s controlled facade, and it was changing Obie from the urbanite she’d been in Key Largo to this woman who seemed to belong here.
* * *
Holding a gun wasn’t her favorite thing, but she appreciated that he’d thought to try to make her feel safe. Honestly she wasn’t as scared as she’d been earlier. There was something about Xander...he radiated an assuredness that she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in a long time.
“That sounds good. Do you have anything to cook with in there?”
She’d seen quite a few crabs. And in the briny water, clams flourished. She could gather some stuff while he inflated the boat.
“I have a small camp stove.”
“Great. I’ll get some fresh seafood and we can cook it in the salt water. That way we can eat. I’m getting hungry.”
“Me too,” he admitted. “I do have some more protein bars as well.”
“Good to know.” Of course he did. He seemed to have thought of everything.
They continued walking and she glanced over at him. “Does anything surprise you?”
“You did,” he said. “I mean I knew you’d called but I assumed that once I didn’t call back that would be the end of things for you with Aaron.”
“I’m not that kind of person,” she said. She wasn’t. She couldn’t just walk away from anyone. That’s probably why she was still hoping to find some sign of her brother and the truth about what had happened to her parents. But she also kept in touch with everyone she’d met in college and considered a friend.
Maybe it was because of how alone she’d been after Gator left. Sure, she’d had her new life, but she’d missed having someone to talk to. Someone sort of like Xander, who had just made silly conversation about coffee to distract her from the reality of the situation. She needed that.
She thought maybe everyone did. For herself she needed people not interactions on social media. She stayed after her shift was over at the coffee shop and talked to Bea or Hilda or whoever had the next shift.
“No, you’re not. You really care about Aaron? I mean...was there anything...?”
“Anything...?” Oh. He wanted to know if they’d hooked up or were dating.
“No. He was too into himself, doing his own thing. And he worked for me too. I mean that’s just asking for trouble when you date a coworker.”
“Yeah, today there are all kinds of rules about that,” he said. It was clear the idea of her dating Aaron bothered him—but she couldn’t help but tease it out a bit more.
“Even if there weren’t rules, it’s awkward AF if you date someone and then it doesn’t work out. That happened to me in at my first job. We were both working at McDonald’s and it was fun at first but then after we broke up, I hated when we had the same shift.”
Even as a teen, dating had felt like a minefield. She was expected to act a certain way, talk a certain way...and then the few men she’d let into her life broke her trust anyway.
“When was this?”
“High school. So maybe there was some of that teenage angst going on too. I mean Rand was a bit of a player and dated everyone who worked there. So it wasn’t him, it was me. I hated that I hadn’t realized he was just dating his way through the restaurant.”
“I’d hate it too,” Xander said.
“Sure, you would. You don’t seem like the type of person that would happen to,” she said.
“You’re right. But that’s because I really don’t date,” he said.
“Why not?”
“The job mostly. My assignments are usually for a few months to a year. That’s a long time to be away from a partner. And I also am not really good at opening up. I have heard from more than one of my exes that I suck at sharing my feelings.”
She laughed. “I have the opposite problem, or did. Like you I haven’t been dating a lot lately.”
“Not because of your job, right?”
“No. Just me. In my twenties I was like, never say never. I can change a guy to be a man I want to spend more time with. But once I turned thirty I was like, maybe saying never to some losers isn’t a bad idea.”
He laughed, making her smile. Aunt Karen had been pushing her to find a trust-fund guy to get engaged to from her social circle, and she’d dated a few, but it was hard work. She had to look a certain way. Dress all preppy and go to the club on the weekends. It had taken a lot of time and she had been twisting herself more and more into someone she didn’t really like. Finally she’d said no. Told Aunt Karen she was going to be single until she was eighty and stopped dating.
She had to like herself alone before she was going to be able to like herself in a relationship.
“So now you say never.”
“Hell, yes. In fact if Aaron asks for another favor it’s going to be a never again from me.”
He nodded and smiled, making his eyes crinkle and his face relax. She wished she could stop noticing how good-looking he was. Maybe it was just the fact that he’d saved her from being killed that made him so attractive. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel that shallow or simple, and that might be scarier than the situation they were both in.
Chapter 11
“I’m not sure we’re going to make it to the marina before nightfall. I don’t know the terrain like you do,” he said. “Should we try to cross West Lake in the dark or find shelter and do it tomorrow?” He’d heard nothing from Van or Lee, which worried him. Was this situation even more untenable than it seemed?
More than once he’d seen Obie look behind them in fear. There was no way she was going to feel safe until the SD card was handed over to the district attorney’s office and the men following them were arrested. He wanted that too. But it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen soon.
“Probably find shelter while there’s still some light. We should try to get up if we can. I had a cousin who got bit by a moccasin when he was sleeping on the ground. Do you have something we can use as a shelter in your pack?”
“I do. I have a critter-and element-proof tent,” he said. “We can both fit in it.”
It would be tight, and after that kiss under the raft he wasn’t sure that sleeping close to her was a good idea, but there weren’t a lot of options.
Hell, something kept biting him and it was sweltering hot even as the sun started to set. He hadn’t felt like this ever before, unsure of the terrain and what awaited them. There was no way out of the swamp unless someone was in a body bag. And if they weren’t careful, that someone would be one—or both—of them.
But that wasn’t a scenario he’d ever accept.
He was relying on Obie, in a way that he normally only did with the Price Security team.
“Good. I saw some larger cypress trees, which would provide some cover but the roots are in water, so they might not hold both of our weights. Or we can go further away from the lake where the trees are a little stronger. We’d also have less threat from the snakes.”
“Away,” he said. “Let me deflate the raft first.”
“Okay. Can I check in with the district attorney’s office?”
“I’d rather we wait to hear from my team.”
She turned away from him without another word, walking to the edge of the forest area to find a path or trying not to curse him.
He rolled up the pack-raft and returned it to his backpack before following her. “I’m not trying to be controlling. I just don’t know what we are dealing with. You saw the gang sign same as me. Logically it makes no sense for Aaron to have sent them. The only other people who knew you’d be there was the district attorney’s office.”
“And your team.”
“My team didn’t know about Aaron’s house. They knew Miami and if Van wanted me dead he wouldn’t send me to Miami to kill me,” Xander pointed out. He was hanging on to his temper by a thread.
Now she was making him feel like he was being unreasonable even though logic clearly showed he wasn’t.
“Why do I have to just trust your people?”
“You don’t. I am the one who trusts them. If you want to call the district attorney then do it. We’ll see what happens.”
“You’re being an asshole.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive and I’m sorry but taking a risk that we don’t have to makes no sense. I’m hot, bug bites are now covering my legs and I feel damp in every part of my body. So if you want to call do it. I don’t really think I’m going to be getting a lot of sleep tonight so staying awake to see if the men we saw earlier come back is fine.”
She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m short-tempered too. I’m hungry and scared and you’ve been great but I still don’t know you.”
“I get it.” He truly did. He looked around. There wasn’t anyone else around as far as he could see. “Why don’t you gather some seafood?”
“We’re too far inland for the crabs now. We could try fishing but we don’t have any bait.”
“Protein bars it is,” he said. He was feeling like they needed to be moving more quickly through the swamp but there was no way that the two of them on foot could. “Sorry.”
“The bars are fine. They will definitely give us some energy.”
“Not for that. For being a jerk. I know you are worried too and want to get help. I just... I have a hard time trusting anyone I don’t know.”
She gave him a slight smile, something she did more and more frequently. “I get it. But you should try trusting me.”
“I do,” he said. She had no idea how much he was relying on her because she was the expert. She was the only way they were safely making it across this marshy land and to the relative safety of the marina on the other side of West Lake.
“As much as I do you.”
He arched both eyebrows. “How much is that?”
“A lot,” she said. “Should we start walking around the lake?”
“Yeah. We’ll have to find a place to pitch the tent. I have a feeling like everything else in the swamp its not going to be as easy as finding a safe place to put the tent for the night.”
“I’m starting to feel a bit like Katniss did in the Hunger Games.”
“Does this feel like that to you?”
“Yes. I feel like I was ripped from my world and dropped into this survival fest and I don’t like it. But hearing that out loud I sound like a brat. I’m just tired like you.”
“It’s okay to complain,” he said.
“Yeah, but you’re not.”
“Uh, I think I had a meltdown a few minutes ago,” he pointed out.
“You were hangry. And I get it. You were thrown into this too.”
He was, but he had been prepared for it in a way that Obie hadn’t been. She had no idea what kind of trouble Aaron always brought with him.
