Page 134 of Receiving His Mercy
“I told him that he’s no longer a threat. He had his men take me to the airport. And I’ve never heard anything from him since.”
They picked up their coffees and headed back along the street to her apartment. She needed to meet with Oliver this week and go through the plan for her next trip.
Urgh. She really didn’t want to go.
“Then why won’t you tell Travis his name?” he asked as they reached her apartment.
“Because he’s a nutter who won’t leave things alone. It’s best just to stay out of A . . . his business. And if Travis knows his name, he’ll have to look into him. And if he looks into him . . . well . . .”
“Well what?” Tyler asked as he finished up his brownie. “He might discover that this guy is scary as fuck and needs to be eliminated before he harms you?”
“Jesus, no.” Aadan wasn’t a good man, though. And if Travis went after him, he could get hurt.
So she just wanted to leave things as they were. It was safer that way.
Unlocking her apartment door, she pushed it open. She was about to step into her apartment when Tyler suddenly grabbed her arm, drawing her away from the door. “Don’t you know the first rule of bodyguard school?”
“There’s a bodyguard school?” she asked.
“Sure is. I was top of the class. What’s important to remember is that the bodyguard always goes in first.” He walked in first. “Then, he does a sweep.”
To his credit, he did seem to be taking this seriously. Although she still didn’t understand why.
Had something changed?
“Has something happened?” she asked as he came back.
“Happened?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why is Travis putting a bodyguard on me now?”
“I don’t know . . . could be because he loves you . . . because he wants you. Because you’re his. Because there’s a risk against you that he can’t assess, so he’s gone to nuclear level of protection in order to cover all bases? Yeah, probably something like that.”
Shit.
That made sense, actually.
She guessed that by not telling Travis Aadan’s name, he had no way of assessing the risk. And his protective instincts wouldn’t let him just let this go.
So now she had a bodyguard.
“Bloody hell. I don’t like when you Andrews brothers make sense.”
Tyler just grinned. Then he grew serious. “Tell him the name of your ex, sweetheart. Let him protect you properly. This is who Travis is. He takes care of the people that belong to him. After our dad died, he stepped up and became the man of the house. It wasn’t easy, we were all wild and crazy. But I also know that Travis will always be there for me. No matter what. And he can do the same for you.”
She chewed her lip. “I told him I would. I just have to think on it a bit longer.”
“What’s to think about? He needs to know everything about your background to protect you. That includes the names of your exes.”
“All of them?” she asked, starting to feel agitated.
Maybe she should go . . . no! She didn’t need a shower. She wasn’t dirty.
And she had to learn to deal with stress without falling back on bad habits.
“How many have there been?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Not that many,” she grumbled as she sat on her sofa and sighed.
