Giorgio (Vigilance 1)

“A young man is being stalked. He needs someone to protect him.”

“We’re not bodyguards.”

“No, we’re not, but this is a special situation.”

“Then refer them to a special security service.”

“The young man is my son.”

I couldn’t possibly have heard that right. X had never mentioned having children. “Did you say—”

“Yes.”

“Okaaaay. You’ve never mentioned him before.”

“I’ve also never talked to him for more than a few minutes at a time, and he has no idea I’m his father.”

I had so many questions, but despite the fact that X was one of the few men I trusted to have my back no matter the situation, we rarely talked about his personal life. He had a hell of a lot of secrets. I knew the biggest one—his identity. I’d originally known him as a burned-out commander who’d trusted my instincts and done everything he could to save a mission we never should have gone on. After he was wrongfully accused of being responsible for the errors of men higher up in the chain of command, his family had put pressure on the army to give him an honorable discharge. That was how I’d found out who he was back home—a man with a hell of a lot of money and resources. He now used his wealth and connections to fund Vigilance.

“But… obviously you know he’s yours.”

“Yes. And that’s all I’m going to say for now except that his ex is stalking him, and I want him protected by the best.”

“You know plenty of excellent bodyguards.” I knew he often had requests for help that was out of our sphere. He passed those requests on to men he knew from his military days who worked for security agencies.

“I do, but I want this handled by us.”

“Vigilance is—”

“I created this organization, so don’t try to tell me what it is.”

The ice in his voice made me shiver. He was the only man who could do that to me. “Sorry, sir.”

“I know you’re anxious to get back out on a mission, and you need that after what happened a few weeks ago. This is your assignment.” I heard him sigh, and I was sure he was running a hand through his hair which was now thick and expensively styled rather than buzzed like it had been when we’d served together. “I’ve made difficult choices as a father, but I care about my son, and I’m going to make absolutely sure he’s safe.”

“What about Niall or Leo?” Either of the other two senior members of Vigilance would be better suited to babysitting X’s kid than me.

“Niall’s on another assignment. Leo’s best artist just moved, and one of his others is out on paternity leave.” Leo ran a tattoo shop, and I remembered him mentioning that scheduling was going to be tight.

“Can I trade assignments with Niall?”

“His assignment involves negotiating between squabbling mafia families. It’s not your area of expertise.”

I’d prefer to just shoot them all. “All right, but why would you—”

“I put up with a lot from you, Giorgio, but questioning my leadership is not something I’ll take lightly.”

We might not be in the military anymore, but X still expected his orders to be obeyed. “Yes, sir.”

“Better. I have my reasons.”

“With all due respect, I’d be interested to know them.” I was absolutely not the right man for bodyguard work. I had no patience for being around people for hours at a time.

“You’re focused, and you never miss.”

“Do you want me to guard your son, or do you want me to find the bastard who’s after him and take him out?”

“I want you to stay with my son and keep him safe while I find out more about the guy stalking him, then we’ll put together a plan to destroy the asshole.”

“Do you think there’s more to this than an overly eager ex-boyfriend?”

“I know there is. Two other young men the stalker went out with are dead. Both deaths were ruled accidental, but the circumstances raise alarm bells for me.”

If it were one death, I might believe it was coincidence, but two? No way. “Did he stalk them too?”

“If he did, they never reported it to the police.”

“Did your son?”

“Yes. He has a restraining order.”

I snorted. Those rarely worked like they should.

“I need to know my son is safe.”

I let out a long breath. There were so many reasons I didn’t want to take this job, but I couldn’t tell X no. I would do this, and a hell of a lot more, for him. “Tell me where to go and when.”

“I set up a meeting for you and Lane at Leo’s shop.”

Lane. Did he have to have the same name as the man I couldn’t get out of my head? “Just for me? Won’t you be there?”

“No. I don’t want to meet Lane under these circumstances.”

“Anything else I should know?”