Page 12 of Betrayed

“Ms. Davenport, I’m AJ.” I stuck out my hand to offer a formal introduction. It wasn’t necessary but I hoped to lessen her animosity towards me.

She craned her head back so her heart-crushing blue eyes could look up at me. I’d noticed she was short when she walked into the conference room, but didn’t realize just how short until I was standing next to her. Towering over her.She can’t be more than five-foot-four. I amended my guess when I saw her heels. Blake was about five-foot-two.

Blake huffed as she reluctantly shook my hand. “Can we go now?”

Ignoring the zing dancing up my arm, I answered, “Yes, ma’am. The car is in the back.” We had a fenced-in lot in the back for company and personal vehicles. It wouldn’t stop determined thieves, but the cameras, motion sensor lights, and alarms would keep most out.

She didn’t like being called ma’am, according to her flared nostrils and squinted eyes.Damn,she’s sexy when she’s mad.

Nope. I couldn’t think about that. Football stats, they were safe.

“Bye, Daddy,” Blake said as she hugged him. She didn’t bother saying bye to her step-mother.

Blake didn’t want me here. She’d made that perfectly clear on the drive over, but I had a job to do.

I had a feeling she wouldn’t make it easy for me. When I suggested she switch things up, like where she sits in class, she refused. When I told her I’d be within arm's reach at all times, she’d told me to keep my distance.

I was ready to lay my life down to protect her, but she couldn’t be bothered to sit in a different seat or take a different route to class. Definitely a spoiled rich kid.

My opinion of Blake felt at odds with the jolt of emotion her picture had inspired.

Sitting behind her in class, I spent ninety minutes observing the two entry doors; one behind the professor, the other behind the students. Nothing stood out, and no one acted suspiciously.

I also kept a watchful eye on Blake, which was, by far, the easiest part of the job. My hands itched to massage the stress and fear from her tense shoulders.

She’d have a hissy fit if she knew I wanted to touch her.

After class, she hung out with her roommate in the quad. I was standing a few feet away, watching the crowd, when I noticed a big guy sneaking up behind her, a look of determination on his face as he closed the distance.

Hell no. No one touches Blake.

In a flash, I stepped behind Blake, intercepting him. Reaching out and grabbing one wrist, I twisted it as I forced him to his knees.

Blake turned around when she heard the commotion, just as her roommate screamed.

Blake yelled, “What the fuck are you doing? Let him go.”

The guy pleaded his innocence while I held him on his knees. “He was coming at you.” Heads turned towards us as a crowd formed. I released his fat wrist, glad my hand was large enough to hold it tight.

“I was sneaking up to give you a hug,” the guy said to Blake, sounding like a wounded animal. His tone turned angry when faced me. “What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Back off!”

He acted tough now that I wasn’t holding him down. It might have been more convincing had he been standing.

Her other friend glared at me from behind Blake’s back.Damn, who needs enemies with friends like that?What kind of friend sneaks up on someone with a protection detail, or glares at the guy protecting her friend?

Unless…She didn’t tell them.Shit.I gave the guy some space but didn’t offer to help him stand.

Blake hugged him, her arms barely reaching around his waist, then pulled back and asked, “Are you okay?” Her eyes roamed over him, looking for injuries.

Fuckface said, “No, I’m not. This asshole tackled me for no reason.”

I didn’t tackle him. “I had a reason, I was-”

Blake put her hands on her hips, cutting me off. “No, you didn’t. You had no right to tackle him. You totally over-reacted you big dumb ogre.”

I’d been called a lot of things in my life, many of them unsavory, but never an ogre.Jack will laugh his ass off when he hears about this.

I scanned the crowd, glad they were dispersing now that the action had ended.

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