Page 52 of Single Mom's Bodyguards
“It won’tstophim.”
“No,” I say. “But it knocks him off-balance. It embarrasses him. It tells him she’s not alone anymore.”
Sean exhales again, slower this time. He doesn’t argue. Because he knows I’m right.
Wesley leans back in his seat. “We’ll monitor socials, intercept anything from his PR team before it takes off. I’ve already got a bot watching Reddit threads. It’s going to play like a prank of some kind unlessheopens his mouth.”
“He will,” Sean says.
“Let him,” I reply. “Let him try to explain how the woman he used to bully laid him out cold.”
That gets me a faint smirk.
Bailey stirs in the back. All three of us fall silent. Her fingers twitch. Then her breath evens out again. She’s still asleep. Still tucked safely into the dark, rolling city.
I rest my arm against the window and look out at the skyline, neon blinking against the clouds like a dare.
Let David come. I’m not scared of the next move. I want this to escalate. Let him give me a fucking excuse to ignore the rules.
The SUV’s quiet. The kind of quiet you only get in the aftermath of something violent and necessary. Bailey doesn’t stir. She’s breathing slow, face turned toward the tinted window, one bare foot tucked beneath her thigh. She’s beautiful like this. Not doneup for a red carpet. Not dressed to kill. Just raw. Bone-deep exhausted. But safe.
Wesley closes his phone and stretches. “Damage control’s in motion. His PR team hasn’t made a peep.”
I grunt at that. “They won’t. Not tonight. He’s too embarrassed.”
Sean glances at me in the rearview mirror. “That was the goal, wasn’t it?”
I shrug. “I don’t do paperwork. I do consequences.”
That gets a real laugh from Wesley. “That should be on your business card.”
“Only if yours says ‘cyber vigilante with dimples.’”
He winks. “Jealous?”
Sean clears his throat. “Focus.” But he’s smiling.
We ride like that for a few more blocks. Just…existing. Letting the city blur past us while Bailey sleeps and the adrenaline bleeds out of our systems.
I’m not relaxed, though. I’m never really relaxed. Wouldn’t know how. I’m always waiting for the next hit. The next threat. The next moment I have to crack my knuckles and do what polite society won’t. And I’d do it a thousand times over for her.
Truth is, I don’t care if she never chooses me the way she might choose Sean or Wes. I don’t care if she only needs me when the world gets ugly. Because if my job is to be the part of life that gets bloody, then that’s what I’ll be.
I’ll be her warrior, and she can be my princess. Anything else doesn’t count.
Sean’s voice breaks through the quiet. “He’s going to retaliate. You know that, right?”
“You mentioned that.”
“You know he doesn’t play fair.”
“No,” I agree. “But neither do we.”
Wesley glances back at me. “You’re not worried?”
“I’m not worried. I’mready.”
They both fall silent. We’ve drawn a line now. One David can’t step over without getting scorched. And I’m the fire.
