Page 16 of Bodyguard Crush
ABBY
Somehow, despite the scare, I sleep better than I have in a long time. Maybe eating all that fatty food put me in a coma. Maybe it was the alcohol I had with dinner. Or maybe it was because I knew that Kaden would not rest until he knew I was safe.
I wake bright and early the following morning and go about my usual routine of getting ready for the day. After making my bed, I go to the bathroom to shower, then blow-dry my hair. I end up pulling my hair into a high ponytail to be comfortable and not have to deal with hair in my face all day. Then I dress in a pair of shorts and a tank top. I slide my feet into a pair of flip-flops before leaving my room and going downstairs. The smell of breakfast and coffee welcomes me the moment I land on the first floor. I look around the house. It’s empty and quiet, and I wonder if Kaden is still in bed. I peek around the corner and find him sitting in a dining room chair in front of the living room window. He has his feet kicked up on the table. His head is back, and his eyes are closed.
I walk over to him and gently shake his shoulder. He jumps awake.
“Oh, hey,” he says, putting his feet on the floor as he sits up and rubs his eyes.
“How long have you been down here? All night?”
He nods. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? You must be exhausted. Come on. Let’s get you some coffee.”
He stands and follows me to the dining room, where I pour him a cup of coffee. He sits in his usual seat and picks up the cup, taking several quick sips. I have a seat next to him and pour myself a cup. “So what did the police have to say?”
He puts his cup down and rubs his eyes. “Umm, they made the report, and that was pretty much it. I called the security company, and they sent me a clip of the video.” He pulls out his phone, taps around, and then hands it over to me.
“They found where someone got in at the back corner of the property earlier in the day. Of course you can’t see his face. He’s too smart for that. Then it shows him exiting the property by climbing over the gate. He was hiding when I went out, and he hopped the gate later when he knew it was safe. They’ve also forwarded this video to the police. When we finally catch the guy, we’ll have enough evidence to put him away for a long time,” he says as I watch the video. The man in the video has a mask on, but he makes direct eye contact with the camera after he jumped over the wall earlier in the day. A chill runs down my spine when I think about how I felt I was safe all day yesterday, and now I find out he was here, probably watching every step I took.
I hand over the phone and pick up my coffee. “I can’t wait until this is over.”
He nods. “I know. I thought about hiring a whole security team to guard the perimeter from the inside. What do you think about that?”
I shrug. “You know how I feel about my privacy.”
He rolls his eyes as he reaches forward and picks up a piece of bacon. “How did I know you’d pick privacy over safety?”
I laugh. “You keep me safe. How many people does it take?”
“A whole team,” he says, shoving the bacon into his mouth.
I let out a long breath. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“Another deal?”
“If we can’t figure this thing out soon, we’ll get more people. And in the meantime, you can look into bringing in a team. Look, not hire. Got it?”
He nods. “Good. It will take me some time to form the right group anyway. We can’t just hire people off the street. With your luck, you’d end up hiring the stalker and paying him to stalk you.”
I laugh and push his shoulder. “Shut up and eat your breakfast. We have a trip to take today.”
His brows lift. “Today? Where’re we going?”
“To your spot,” I remind him.
“Today?”
I nod. “Today. I need out of here. Now that I’ve actually seen that guy on the property, it feels tainted for me.”
“You realize we’re going to have to hike like three miles?”
I smile. “Better eat up. Don’t want to run out of daylight.”
Soon after breakfast,we leave the house, and he drives us through town. It feels like we drive forever, but it’s quiet and relaxing, and I enjoy every moment I’m away from prying eyes. Eventually, he turns onto an old dirt road. It winds back and forth through the trees. He parks by a small pond, and the two of us climb out. This is where our hike begins.
I don’t know how he can remember the way so well, but he never slows or gets confused or lost. He just keeps traveling deeper and deeper into the forest until I start to hear the sounds of rushing water. “Not too much farther now,” he says, pushing through more tree limbs.
