Top Dog

“Shit,” I groaned, and sat up to press the answer button. “Hello, Mr. Carter. What can I do for you?”

“Hello,” Robert said, and no trace of anger filled his voice. I relaxed slightly. “How is my daughter handling Madrid?”

“So far, so good I would say,” I said. “Nothing has happened out of the ordinary. They have been sightseeing mostly.”

“That’s good to hear. Listen, Harley, I need to speak with you about something that has come up here in the office.”

“What about, sir?” I asked.

“There have been some threats circulating my family,” Robert said. “This case I have is going to trial in two weeks, and I’m afraid that my daughter’s life could be possible blackmail.”

I set my jaw. “It won’t be. Not while I’m with her, Sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jordan. I hired you for a specific reason. I feel much better knowing you are there. If there are any problems, please don’t hesitate to call me.”

He hung up after that. I rose from my bed to grab my .22 from where it rested on the table next to the bed. The weight of it felt comforting in my hand.

“Harley?”

I looked up when I heard Abigail’s voice on the other side of the door adjacent to our rooms. Slipping my .22 into my holster at my right hip, I covered it with my shirt before opening the door.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her standing on the other side dressed in a simple white dress with a black bikini underneath from what I could see. She shifted nervously under my gaze before clearing her throat. “Could we go to the beach today?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Libby’s voice cut in over mine. “The beach? Let’s go out to that bar I googled earlier.”

“No bars,” I said, sharply. It caught both Abigail's and Libby’s attention. “We shouldn’t be out today anyway. I talked to your Dad this morning and—”

“Let me guess,” Libby interrupted, rolling her eyes. “He wants us to come home because of something going on.”

“You live in a bubble,” I snapped. “You don’t understand that there are things going on in the world that don’t revolve around Madrid or you.”

“What did my Dad say?” Abigail asked, her tone much more respectful.

“There is a case in two weeks that is going to court,” I said. “There are threats going about you because of this case.”

She didn’t look entirely fazed by it. “What sort of threats?”

“He didn’t specify what was being said,” I said.

“I’m not trying to be the brat here,” Libby spoke up then, slipping her pair of feet into some sandals, “but, I can tell you that this isn’t the first time that things like this have come up. She can’t live a sheltered life all the time.”

“No one is trying to shelter

her. We are trying to protect her.”

“Whatever,” Libby said. “I’m going shopping with Roco. I’ll see you later Abi.”

She left the room without waiting for a response. Abi let out a tired sigh and leaned against the doorframe. “I’m sorry she’s like that. She has a habit of getting upset when plans get ruined.”

“I don’t care about anything besides what I was hired to do— protect you.”

“I know,” she said, nodding. “This happens more than you think. My Dad makes a big deal out of it every time, and I just want to go out and enjoy the sunshine on the beach. Please?”

Gut instinct told me not to go. Something wasn’t right about the day, but I couldn’t resist the pleading look Abigail sent me.

“Grab your things,” I said. “Let’s go while the sun is up.”

I waited for Abigail to gather her purse before going down to the hotel lobby to hail a cab from the outside. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching us. The hair on my arms stood up on edge, but when Abigail reached out to grasp my hand, I let those thoughts go as we climbed into a cab to go to the beach.