“Whoa, hey…hey, man! Hang on!”
But I don’t need to talk to this pussy little pretty boy. I don’t need his bullshit. I just need him gone before whatever cool I have left vanishes and I beat him into Alyssa’s driveway pavement.
I roar as I slam into him, shoving him into the iron gates behind him as he squeals like a little girl.
“Who the fuck are you?!”
“Her bodyguard,” I growl.
“Well fuck y—”
He screams as my fist doubles him over.
“You—you can’t just hit me, man!” he squeaks, his voice breaking.
“Watch me,” I hiss into his ear. I punch the button to open the gate, and it’s still squeaking open when I physically pick him up and throw his ass back outside.
It’s the camera flash that has me whirling towards the two guys with cameras staring wide-eyed at me from the sidewalk just outside the gate.
Fuck.
They’ve got paparazzi written all over them, and here I am throwing a pop icon out on his ass in my boxers saying I’m Alyssa’s bodyguard.
…Yeah, that should play well.
“Her bodyguard, huh?” Chad spits from the ground, eying me venomously. “What are you, a bodyguard that doesn’t wear fucking clothes?” His eyes narrow as this thin smile spreads over his face.
“Bodyguard, huh? Oh, I bet you’re guarding that body, that little—”
He screams as I storm over to him, snarling as I jab a finger down at him on the ground.
“You need to consider your next words very fucking carefully.”
He nods, and I start to turn back for the gates, when the little fucker opens his mouth again.
“Be a real shame if that guy sending letters made good on his threats, huh? Bet that wouldn’t look good on you now would—”
This time, his screams are real as I whirl, yank him up, and punch him in the gut again.
“Is it you?” I snarl quietly in his ear. The paparazzi guys are snapping nothing short of a million photos, but I don’t care. Something about the way this kid said that has me on edge. It has me connecting pieces, even if they might not be there.
“Is. It. You?” I hiss into his face, watching the color drain from his cheeks. He whimpers, and when I look down, I realize the kid is fucking pissing himself.
“No, man!” he cries. “I—I just… Fuck, I’ve been drinking, and I… look it’s not me, okay!?”
It’s not. I can tell from the pathetic look from his eyes. I drop him and shove him away.
“I see you around here again, and you’re not walking away. We understand each other?”
He nods vigorously, turning and dashing across the street to a parked sports car and roaring away. Those fucking cameras flash again, and this time, the questions come too.
“Are you sleeping with Alyssa Campo!?”
“Are you a professional bodyguard?!”
“How long have you and Chad Love been fighting over the same girl?!”
I whirl, storming towards them when suddenly, two motorcycles roar up next to us, and two familiar faces jump off to stand between me and punching out the paparazzi.
Kane, one of my best friends and the owner of Sofa King, and his younger brother, Levi.
“Whoa, brother!” Kane hisses, eyes narrowing at me. “Breathe, man. Breathe.” Levi growls at the paparazzi, keeping them at bay as Kane’s eyes glance me over. He arches a brow.
“This what I think it is?”
“You asking for the truth or you want me to sweet talk you?”
Kane chuckles. “Right, sweet talk. From you.” He swears quietly. “So, this is what it looks like, isn’t it?” He means me out here in the middle of the night going all caveman wearing nothing but my boxers.
“Yes,” I growl.
He nods. “Well alright then. Hey, Levi?”
“On it.”
Before they can even stop clicking pictures, Levi’s yanked the cameras away from both guys. They swear, lunging for them, but Levi’s not just almost as big and muscled as both me and Kane, he’s fast too. He yanks the data cards out of both digital cameras, pocketing them before shoving the cameras back into their hands.
Shit, I would have just smashed them.
The two guys start to protest, but when Kane and Levi and I all stand tall and advance on them, they seem to have second thoughts.
“Freedom of the press,” one of them mutters lamely.
“Freedom to try and extract my boot from your ass if you don’t get the fuck out of here,” Levi snarls. The two of them jump and turn, power-walking away as they mutter under their breaths.
“Thanks,” I say quietly. “For stopping me.”
Kane nods. “Was that that Chad fucking Love douchebag I saw driving away as I pulled up?”
I nod.
Levi snorts. “Was he crying?”
I nod, smiling.
“Your doing, I assume?”
“The tears or the piss soaking through his jeans?”
Both of them laugh, shaking their head before Kane looks at me curiously. “He used to date Alyssa, didn’t he?”
My jaw tightens.
He shakes his head, eying me. “So, this is what I think it is, isn’t it? You and Alyssa, I mean.”