Page 6 of Her Guardian
“Y-yes,” she stammers, fiddling with her vape in her hand.
“I’ll tell you what you can use. I’ll be crystal fucking clear about it. And because I do the job I’ve been given, and do it well, you will let me hear your damn podcast, before you air anything loosely related to the stories I’m going to tell you. Got that, too?” I turn into a parking lot and shoot her a glare.
“I-I understand.” She cowers a little. “But sometimes I’m live.”
“Not this time,” I say harshly, and she cowers again.
Okay, too strong, but necessary. I relax a little, find a parking space and exhale a long sigh. Despite putting the fear of something in her, I still take precautions and tap the button on the side of my phone.
My phone has a frequency masker that blocks any nearby recording devices. A jammer. All they hear is a hum. It was recently hacked, due to a flaw in the coding, but that’s been fixed now. The person who hacked it also fixed it, oddly enough.
“So, boundaries,” I mutter, rolling my window up. “First, I don’t hurt women unless it’s necessary, and it takes a lot for it to be necessary. I might spank one, if I think she needs it.” I level my gaze on her as I say it.
“Oh!” She jumps in her seat a little.
“Kids are completely off limits, unless they start shit,” I continue, barely missing a beat. “I don’t check ID if someone is coming at me with a knife.”
“U-understandable,” she says, squirming as she settles back into the leather.
“I follow orders, but I don’t go looking for trouble. Ever. Respecting other people’s boundaries is part of keeping mine where they are,” I say, leaning back and turning my head toward her. “What kind of boundaries do you have, Sarah? I told you mine.”
This isn’t part of the job. I don’t need to share anything personal with her, and I don’t need to know a damn thing about the hot little blonde in my passenger seat.
But I’m stuck babysitting her for the next few days.
I might as well entertain myself.
CHAPTER 3
Sarah
I’m sitting in a parking lot, inside a luxury SUV, with a Mafia bodyguard.
Big Boyd.
OrBoyd, as he prefers to be called.
The Mafia fangirl inside me was pretty excited about my plan. I tried to stay playful and happy like always. There was even a little flutter in my stomach, because Boyd is the hottest guy I’ve ever been in a car with.
But he’s starting to scare me. Notshaking-in-my-sneakersscared or anything, but he’s got an edge to him. This guy is in the Mafia. He’s killed people. Maybe not women and children, but still—that leaves a lot of room for dead bodies.
And he has to approve my podcast before I can air it? I can’t even do it live. I was planning a series. Stories from the Mafianobody has ever heard before. Having to record it knowing it’ll be scrutinized by Boyd makes me rather nervous.
I remind myself that I asked for this as I prepare to answer Boyd’s question.
“Boundaries…” I repeat. “Well, I don’t hurtanybodyintentionally. Ever. I don’t lie. Usually. I mean, I understand sometimes it’s necessary in your line of work.”
“Alright, so you’ve never hurt anybody intentionally?” he asks, clicking his tongue. “Ever broken up with anyone before? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”
“In like middle school,” I laugh, trying not to let my nervousness show. “I only agreed to be his girlfriend so people would stop teasing me about him liking me, but that made it worse, so I broke up with him the next day.”
“Bet you broke his poor heart,” Boyd laughs. “Sounds like it was intentional, too.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. “I meant I wouldn’t… stab them or whatever. Shoot them.”
“So, you stick to emotional wounds. Got it. Sometimes those hurt more. You’re a sadist, Sarah. A true sadist,” he chuckles.
“I am not!” I insist. “You’re just teasing me. I don’t like it when people tease me like that. That’s a boundary.”
