Guardian For Hire (For Hire 2)

She dodged the single remaining local news van, headed for the mall, and quickly made the rounds to several stores before finding what she needed. She slipped into the ladies’ room to change. It had been nothing short of a miracle, but she’d found sleek black leather leggings and a matching top. She pulled on high-top combat boots as a finishing touch, though she couldn’t resist grabbing the pair that had light rhinestone patterns etched on the heel. After all, what was the point in going all out if she wasn’t going to do it right?

Stepping out of the stall, she examined herself in the opposite mirror, pulling on a top that exposed her abdomen. She blew hair from her face and bit her bottom lip. Add a bad perm, and she would have looked like she’d stolen Sandy’s getup from Grease. That was okay, though. Almost better.

She made a few more stops, picking up a piece of carpet, wire cutters, the whole arsenal of things she could remember being in Gavin’s car. After a quick visit to the perfume and makeup counter, night had fallen, and she was ready to strike.

When she pulled onto his street, it was after ten. She parked around the corner and jogged toward the huge, touch-me-not gates, taking a deep breath and laying out the plan in her mind one last time. At this time of night, Gavin was usually sequestered in his office, poring over files and being a general shut-in. Soon, he’d trudge off to bed, making her mission that much easier.

She’d have to get past each of the defense systems, and that should be easy enough. He wouldn’t be watching the cameras embedded in the shrubs in his yard, so that wouldn’t be much of a problem. The only real issue was the fingerprint scanner. One wrong response and the thing was bound to go off. She didn’t have the equipment to figure a way around it. Still, that was a bridge she’d have to cross when she got to it.

She squared her shoulders, shimmying over the first fence the way she had the night they’d broken into that house. The wrought iron, so much more difficult to surpass than the chain link, proved a challenge, but she’d worn easy-grip black gloves to avoid the abrasive metal rubbing on her bare skin. When she got to the top, her hand slipped, and she toppled to the ground on the opposite side, knocking the wind from her lungs as her tailbone tried to convince her that she should turn back and forget that she’d ever devised such a cockamamy scheme.

She wasn’t about to let anything stop her from getting to Gavin tonight, though. After years of taking the cautious route, she was through with that.

The second and third gates went more easily, and when she came to the fourth gate, she was already summoning all of her mental fortitude, trying to think up a way through the only obstacle that seemed insurmountable. But when she’d finally got there, the gate was wide open, swaying back and forth with the light evening breeze.

“What the…” she whispered to herself. Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, she stepped through the entrance, wincing as she anticipated an electric shock or for spikes to come flying at her from all directions. It was too easy, far too easy. Something was wrong.

Someone had been here before her. Were they trying to avenge Vito? Trying to get rid of the witness who threatened to bring a criminal empire to its knees? Maybe they hadn’t believed that they’d distributed copies of the tapes after all. Her heart raced, and she sprinted for the door, not bothering to close the gate behind her.

She hustled to the side of the building where Gavin’s room was, pulling the grappling hook from her bag as she went, only to find a ladder already propped against the wall leading straight to his bedroom window. She wanted to scream, make sure he was okay, but she knew that the tactical play was to remain calm and face her enemy while they were caught unaware.

She muscled up the ladder, leaving her equipment in the bank of grass in order to move unencumbered.

When she got to his bedroom, her blood ran cold. Ice coated every vein only to be quickly shattered by the scalding hot rage boiling through her.

She climbed through the window to the thunderous cries of Gavin’s uproarious, barking laughter.

He was sitting up in his bed, his naked torso partially obscured by the tiny portable television in his hands. Tears were streaming down his face, and his mirth was so violent that for a moment he stopped, apparently unable to breathe. “Thank you so much, I really needed this after the day I’ve had.” He held his TV aloft and collapsed back onto the pillows in another fit of hilarity.

She crossed her arms over her ridiculous top, jutting out an angry hip. “How did you even know I was here?”

“Well, I’m a security expert, love. And you tripped every single silent alarm on the grounds.” He raised his eyebrows, the laughter still playing across his lips.

“You opened that gate?”

“After watching you fall off the first gate, I didn’t want to see what would happen at that one.”

Her rage strained at her eyes, forcing angry tears to prick at her. “I thought the mob had gotten in here. I thought you were dead.” Screw it, what had she been thinking? Why would she rush in here to be treated like this? She may as well climb back through the window and head back home. Cut her losses.

She was about to make for the window when his laughter died off, interrupted by the ferocious, serious tone she was much more accustomed to.

“Wait, wait, you thought the mob was in here so your response was to come rushing in?” He knit his brows together, and she gave him a silent nod. “That’s basically suicide.”

“I don’t know, Gavin. It was stupid. You won’t have to worry about me again.” She swallowed hard and placed her studded heel back on the sill, cursing herself for ever trying something so incredibly stupid.

…

“Doc, wait,” he called, and she turned, the night air blowing her dark-brown hair over her face. “I need to know. Why would you do something like that? Do you have a death wish?” She was quiet so long, it physically hurt him. He was afraid to hope, but if there was any chance…

He watched the battle play out on her face. Fear, anxiety and then finally determination as she firmed her chin and faced him head on.

“I did it because—because I care about you. I…I love you. And I want to be a part of this.” She gestured around his room, then toward her clothes. “This life. I’ve never felt more, I don’t know, alive than when I was here. With you.” Her face turned red, but she continued, shiny trails of tears glistening down her cheeks. “It’s okay that you don’t feel the same way. I understand, I really do. But…but you had to know. I needed you to know that much.”

He stared at her for a long moment, heart knocking against his ribs as he tried to choose his words carefully. This instant had been his nightly dream for a week since she’d left, and still no words came to him. It was only when she bent her knee in preparation to climb out the window and disappear from his life all over again, that he was able to work the words past his tight throat.

“Sarabeth,” he started. It was hard enough to have to do it the first time. It had nearly killed him. A second go might be the final nail in his coffin, but still he had to make her understand what she would be getting herself into with him. “It’s not you, it’s me.” He wanted to punch himself for saying something so stupid. But there it was, the truth.

She laughed feebly. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“No, I mean it,” he tried again. “This life? You might think you want it now, but it’s not good enough for you. You’re not the girl who should be sitting up at night wondering if I come home, and you’re certainly not the girl I want to worry about getting caught in a firefight. You deserve something better than me. You think I’m your knight in shining armor like in one of your books, but you’re wrong.” He stood and held her gaze, his heart breaking with every word. “And even if I was, what you deserve is a prince.”

Nothing he’d said or done up to that point seemed to enrage her as much as the speech he’d given. Her whole body shook while her face blanched, her lips twisting into a contorted white line. “What else do I have to do, huh? Skywriting? What do I need to do to convince you that I don’t care about any of that? I don’t care what you were, I don’t care what you think I am. I want you now. I want this. So don’t come up with stupid excuses. Don’t try to say I’m looking for my stupid freaking prince in the wrong castle. I don’t want to hear it. If you don’t love me, be a man and say it. All this other nonsense is a waste of my time.”

He stared at her, trying to force the lie past his lips. Instead, the truth came tumbling out in a gritty rasp. “I can’t do that.”

She stepped away from the window. “Come again?”

Fuck all, what was he doing? He sure as shit didn’t know, but he couldn’t stop it. “I can’t tell you that I don’t love you. I’m miserable without you. Every day without you has been hell.” He ran a hand through the bristles of his hair and let out a short laugh. “I spend half my nights thinking about kidnapping you and flying you to Cairo or somewhere. But it’s not right—”

“You think too much.” She stalked toward him and leaped at him, knocking the portable security monitor from his hand so that she could push him back onto the bed and straddle him. Her kiss was hot and sweet, her greeting him with her tongue before pulling away to look him in the eyes.

“I’ve lived my whole life trying to please everyone else. Trying to do what people thought was best for me. And just when I thought I was going to get out of the trap, I made a terrible mistake.” She wet her lips and held his gaze. “I trusted Nico and fell for his lies. It shook my confidence, and I started to wonder if I’d ever get it back or if maybe it was better to sit back and let someone else take the controls after all.”

She leaned low and pressed a kiss to his brow. “Being with you made me stronger. It made me realize that part of growing means making mistakes and then moving past them. It means taking risks and fighting for what you want.” She flexed her hips against his, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “This is me, fighting for you.”

Heat surged to his groin, and he shook his head, trying not to let the need distract him. “Your grandparents will never accept me. I may have money now, but I’m far too rough around the edges to ever fit in there. Hell, they might even disown you.” The words were ripped out of him, but he had to be sure she knew exactly what she stood to lose by choosing him.

“I know it’s sad to say, but I don’t want to be owned by them anymore. I used to. When I was young, I’d wish they’d hug me, or read to me. You know, the things you see families do on TV. Dinners together, vacations at the lake. Picking out a messy, dumb dog.”

He reached up and brushed a strand of still, dark hair from her eyes, wishing he could take the pain away.

“But I feel like I can still have that. Not with them, but maybe…”

With him. The thought filled him with warmth, and images of baby girls with glass-green eyes flitted through his head. Jesus.

“I—” This wasn’t how this was all supposed to go, but she was making a damned good case, and one thing was for sure. He loved her like crazy, and while he couldn’t promise her life would always be easy with a guy like him, he’d do anything in his power to make her happy. “Sarabeth, I…”

Her fearful eyes went soft, and she smiled. “I see it on your face already, but I need to hear it. If you say it, I’ll stay. But I’ve got to give you fair warning—you’ll never get me to leave once you do.”

Nothing had ever felt as good as hearing those words.

“In that case.” He lifted her up and pinned her beneath him, drinking in how incredibly gorgeous she looked there, and realizing, with a thrill, that she’d be there forever. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”