It appeared the waitress wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on Speaker Harper though.
A man dressed in dark clothing, sitting a few tables away, filled me with apprehension I couldn’t immediately place my finger on. Speaker Harper was building quite a name for himself, and he was undoubtedly starting to get recognized more often. It had to be expected that he would start drawing more attention when he was out in public, but there was still something unusual about the way this particular man stared at him.
Only vaguely aware of the back-and-forth conversation occurring between the Speaker and his daughter, I stared at the man as a waiter approached him. They had a quick exchange before the waiter left his table.
That’s when I noticed there was only one menu at the table, and that the man was alone.
There was nothing wrong with going out for a meal alone; I’d done it on several occasions myself. But once again, something just struck me as off about this particular guy.
Whenever he wasn’t staring at the back of the Speaker’s head, he was casting cautious glances around the restaurant, as if waiting for something.
“I tell you, Autumn, you must be exhausting this poor man,” Speaker Harper said.
I realized he was looking at me again.
“Have I really been that much trouble?” Autumn said, staring right at me. It was the most direct stare she had given me since her yoga workout.
“Of course not,” I said. “I’m just tired today, that’s all. I didn’t sleep too well last night.”
“Well, hopefully a good meal will help you get some good rest tonight then,” the Speaker said. “Here’s our food now.”
I turned in my seat, seeing the waitress rolling a tray with our plates on it.
In the second it took for me to turn my head, a loud screech filled the restaurant.
I turned back around, seeing that the mysterious man from a few tables away had abruptly stood, an ugly grimace on his face. As if in a hurry, he sprung forward, and reached for something at his hip. As he pulled his jacket back, several piercing screams filled the restaurant.
Confused, Speaker Harper twisted around in his chair.
Reflexively, I jumped up from my seat, knocking over the plate of food that had been placed before me.
Everything was happening so fast, yet it seemed as if I was seeing in slow motion.
I sprung at the man just as he drew a gun, aiming for Speaker Harper’s head. The shot fired into the air, causing a chandelier to explode and making the whole restaurant erupt in screams—Autumn’s being the loudest of all.
* * *
“Thank you, sir.”
“No—thank you,” the police officer said, shaking my hand.
The restaurant had been evacuated and the shooter had been taken arrested. Yet, everyone remained thoroughly shaken, none more so than the Harpers.
Before returning to his vehicle to be driven home, Speaker Harper approached me, a grim look on his face. “I don’t know what we would do without you, Brady,” he said, clasping my hand.
“Don’t mention it. Just doing my job.”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” I said, my eyebrows raised.
Speaker Harper sighed. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything ever happened to Autumn because of me. I worry about her more than Anna because she’s the one who’s always with me. I never knew how dangerous politics could get and how many people had something against me. Anna has never been a target thanks to the distance between us. So I know the only thing for me to do is to start keeping my distance from Autumn from now on too, at least until all this nonsense blows over. So from now on, I want you to be her personal bodyguard. Please stay with her at all times.”
“Of course, sir. It would be my honor.”
His precious daughter. The woman that filled my lusty dreams every night.
Untouchable.