Page 5 of Home Coming

“Okay.” Tears welled in her eyes as she reached for the knob. Opening the door slowly she got her first look at the destruction. “Oh my God.”

“What’s wrong?”

“They trashed the place,” she told Xander, striding toward the apartment’s door to the hallway. Pissed now, she yanked it open and lowered the phone as she came face-to-face with Xander and two uniformed officers.

Xander Barrington was at least ten years older than she was. Always impeccably dressed in a suit, and almost always at the office except when he was out entertaining clients, he was the adult in her life while she still felt like she was a kid playing at being one.

That was just one of a dozen reasons their relationship was strictly professional and always would be.

He was like the father she wished she’d had—although she was always careful to never say that to him. She had a feeling the man had a vain streak that might not appreciate the comparison. But right now, a father to protect her was exactly what she needed.

Xander strode inside her apartment. A man on a mission in a suit that fit like it had been made for him and had probably cost more than her rent.

He stopped in front of her and asked, “You all right?”

When the tears started to flow, she shook her head.

He mumbled a cuss and wrapped on arm around her shoulders a bit awkwardly before pulling his arm back.

That was for the best. His being nice was just making her cry harder, when she wanted to be pissed off.

“Who would do this? Why? And how did they even get in?” She narrowly avoided stamping her foot in anger and frustration as she demanded answers he didn’t have.

“Was this deadbolt engaged?” cop number one asked, stepping up to stand next to Xander after examining the door frame.

He was older and kind of thick in the middle. Stout was an accurate description for him, especially when compared to Xander standing so tall and fit next to him.

She cringed at the question about the deadbolt. “Sometimes I forget to bolt it during the day. But I always do before I go to bed at night.”

“The window to the fire escape is wide open,” cop number two said.

The younger of the two was built like a male stripper, if the thick muscles straining the sleeves of his uniform were any indication.

He came toward them from the other side of the apartment. “Looks like the lock’s been broken for a while. That could have served as both an entry and an exit.”

Xander let out a breath. “Jesus, Bailey. I know exactly how much money you make. You can afford a better apartment than this. A safer one in a building with security. One that doesn’t have a damn ladder that goes directly from the street to your unlocked window that anyone can climb through. And how many times have I told you that you need a damn bodyguard?”

“I don’t need or want a bodyguard,” she said in a tone that sounded suspiciously like a whine.

He lifted one dark brow. “I honestly don’t care what you want. I’m hiring you one.”

“Xander—”

“Bailey,” he echoed as he typed something into his cell phone.

Probably orders for his assistant to immediately hire the bodyguard she didn’t want and didn’t want to have to pay for.

He raised his gaze to her after sending the text. “Get used to it because it’s happening.”

She sighed. Xander didn’t understand.

He’d grown up with money. She could tell. While she’d grown up with a single mother who didn’t even get child support.

To Bailey, even now, every expenditure was a decision. Anything that wasn’t a necessity was a luxury. On paper, maybe she could afford a more expensive place. Maybe. Given New York City rents she wasn’t so sure.

A bigger apartment with better security came with a disproportionately bigger rent. And yes, she was making money now. A lot of money, but logic and spreadsheets didn’t take into account the deep-seated fear that resided inside her and likely always would. That she couldn’t spend all the money she made.

She had to stash it away for the day when all of this—the sponsor contracts, the free stuff, the followers and the fame—all went away. Because she wasn’t delusional enough to believe this windfall would last forever.

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