Giorgio (Vigilance 1)

Maybe he’d convince his boss to send someone else to guard me. No matter what my mother said, I was sure one of the other agency employees would be up to the job of protecting me from Alan.

I didn’t want someone else. I didn’t want anyone or anything interfering in my life like this. Fuck Alan for doing this to me. But if I had to have a bodyguard… I turned back toward my front door, wondering how long Giorgio would be gone. I trusted him. I also liked him too much for it to be safe for me to be with him for any stretch of time, even if both of us had more self-control than I imagined we did. Well, more than I imagined I did. I supposed if this was his job, he must have quite a lot, though it hadn’t shown the other night.

After calling my neighbor Tara and making arrangements for Mittens, I pulled out my largest suitcase, tossed it on the bed, and unzipped it. Then I got out another suitcase and my carry-on bag. I stared at them, considering how much they would hold. I needed enough clothes for a few weeks plus everything else I had to take. I imagined Giorgio packing. He’d probably just thrown some stuff into a backpack and called it enough. Just take a couple changes of clothes. Ridiculous.

Yes, I knew I probably wouldn’t see anyone but Giorgio, but how the hell was I supposed to seduce him with only a few outfits? Hopefully I’d be able to convince him to take me out occasionally. How remote was this place? Who was going to be cooking? Would we have delivery? What about decent cell service? What about Wi-Fi?

I wished he would hurry back so I could find out the answers because I had no intention of living some Little House on the Prairie existence. I was absolutely not a country boy.

Mittens jumped up on the bed and curled up inside the suitcase.

“I want to take you with me,” I said, scratching her ears, “but the mean man says I can’t.”

She gave me a scathing look.

“I know you don’t like it, but I promise Tara will take good care of you.”

She didn’t look convinced. I began opening drawers and considering what I wanted to pack. Everything was the easiest answer. That was basically what I usually did.

Giorgio was going to flip when he saw how much stuff I had. The thought only made me smile.

I heard the door open and tensed. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Giorgio called.

Of course it was.

He appeared in the doorway faster than I would have thought possible. He looked me up and down and glanced around the room. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I just… When I heard the door… I should’ve known it was you.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

He sounded completely sincere. I hadn’t expected him to apologize.

“I’ll call out next time or come up with a knock to let you know it’s me. I know you want to believe Hendon isn’t a threat, but I can tell you’re worried.”

“I… Yes.”

“Then why resist having a bodyguard and getting out of the city?”

“I don’t want my life disrupted, and my mother… She likes things to go her way. I finally have a place of my own and independence. I don’t want anything fucking with that.”

“Then let us investigate this man and find a way to make sure you’re safe. The disruption to your life will be temporary, but I’m going to make damn sure the solution is permanent.”

A chill ran over me at his words. His eyes had gone hard, making him look like a jungle cat ready to drop on its next meal. “When you say permanent…?”

“He’s a threat. That threat needs to be eliminated one way or another. We will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“I’m not sure I…”

“I won’t let you live in fear. You deserve to live your life the way you choose to.”

“If you think saying things like that to me is going to make me want you less, you’re so wrong.”

He gave me that hint of a smile he’d shown back at his office. “Just because you want something doesn’t mean you’ll get it.”

I grinned at him. “We’ll see about that.”

He focused on the bed and all the open suitcases on it. “We’re not going on a month-long luxury vacation. We’re going to a cabin.”

“For an unspecified amount of time.”

“All we need are some comfortable clothes and whatever art supplies you require. My Navigator is big, but—”

“You might need to see how fast you can rent a trailer.”

He circled the bed and peered into my suitcases. A moment later, he picked up a teal velvet jacket. “Why the fuck would you need this?”

“It’s my favorite jacket.”

“There will be no velvet-jacket occasions while we’re staying at this cabin.”