Page 10 of Guarding Her Love

“What is wrong with you, Joy? Home? Already? What the hell? This is real life, not a romance novel!” I stop dead by the kitchen and look around. “And now I’m talking to myself!”

I start pacing again, doing laps around the living room as I try to find something to stick my brain on to distract me from whatever it is that Dawson has done to me. Even when he’s not here he’s still doing something to me that I can’t understand.

Am I really falling for him already? I wonder. It doesn’t seem possible. That’s not the Joy I know, but then again, the Joy I know wouldn’t have asked a stranger to take her virginity in the shower only an hour after meeting him…if that.

But I did, and Dawson was a gentleman enough about the whole thing to realize I wasn’t acting rationally and turn me down. But if I wasn’t acting rationally then, how come now I still want nothing more than for him to come back through that door, throw me down on the bed and claim me like I’m his woman and he owns me?

I slide my hand between my legs—yup, soaking. I’m worried sick about him and what might happen if those men find him again, but at the same time, I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to lie beneath his muscular body and surrender all control.

That’s one thing I’m terrible at: not being in control. It’s one of the reasons I never dated, why I always worked my butt off in school so my grades were top notch, and why I decided to go into politics. Working for the senator was meant to be a steppingstone to my own career – a way to effect change. But as it turns out, I found something much more important along the way.

I glance up at the clock on the wall; he’s been gone four hours. He should be back now.

It’s killing me to just sit here, and I want to go after him, but his car is gone and I don’t have my phone to call an Uber. Besides, Dawson would kill me if he came back and I wasn’t here. He told me to stay put, so that’s what I’m going to do.

“Yes, that’s what I’m going to do,” I say again. But after another half hour has passed, and I’ve done another hundred laps around the living room, I just can’t take it anymore. I rush into the bedroom and find a pair of shorts that semi-fit me after I roll them a few times, and a T-shirt that fits like a dress, and go outside to look around for another car; there isn’t one, which makes me feel even worse about crashing into his earlier.

There is, however, a mountain bike. Chewing my lip, I quickly debate my options. I can either stay here like he told me, potentially letting him get killed in the process, or I can get on the bike and go find him. But how will I be able to help him? Where am I even going? Where is my car?

“No,” I say, turning back inside. “I can’t. Don’t do it, Joy.”

I step back into the cabin, but as I do, I take a deep breath and Dawson’s scent, embedded in his T-shirt, wafts into my nose and stops me dead in my tracks. It’s like a combination of instant comfort and desire, and I know that if for some reason he never comes back to me, I’ll never be able to forgive myself or stop wondering if there was something I could have done. After all, he was willing to put his life on the line for me, so why shouldn’t I be willing to do the same?

“Sorry, Dawson,” I say into the air as I throw my leg over the bike. “But I’m coming for ya, baby!”

7

Dawson

Goddamn it, you idiot. You fucked it all up.

I should have seen that setup coming from miles away; I guess I didn’t realize who I was going up against. They’d towed Joy’s car to the only tow lot in town, and I was able to get over the fence with ease. I stayed in the shadows and scoped the place out before I moved in.

The USB drive was right where she’d said it would be, but when I turned around, one of the men had a shotgun aimed at me. He’d come out of the company office, meaning he’s either in league with the owner or he broke in ahead of time and waited. Luckily for me, I’m faster than he is, and managed to pop two shots into his stomach before he had a chance to fire.

He went down screaming before I managed to finish him off, but just as I whirled around to look for his partner, a load of buckshot caught me in the guts and send me sprawling.

I fired off two shots blindly and managed to roll out of the way of his nex

t shot and come up firing. I caught him in the knee and put one in his head as he fell, but the damage was already done.

My phone’s fucked, I’m bleeding, too damn injured to move, and I can slowly feel my life slipping away. I should be scared for myself, but all I can think about is Joy and what’s going to happen to her now.

The senator is sure to have more men working for him; they’ll find me and then they’ll find her, and without the USB drive, she’ll be powerless against them. I told her I’d do a job for her and I fucked it all up, and now she’s going to pay for it.

“Fuck!” I growl, shifting my weight to alleviate some of the pain. I can hear the sound of sirens in the distance; no doubt someone called in the shots. The police will be here soon, and unless they end up being friendly and not paid off, this is the end of the line for me and for Joy.

I should have known better; life would never let a sorry son of a bitch like me find his angel. My cards just don’t fall that way. It was stupid of me to think I could have a future with Joy, but what angers me most is that I thought I could save her.

Ex-Marine my ass! I think as a swell of anger hits me and I fight to get to my feet. But my leg gives out from under me and I collapse back into a heap of pain, clutching at my side, gritting my teeth like I’m about to bite them out of my jaw.

“Fuck!”

I let my head fall back against the cold wall of the building, and that’s when I hear it – the sound of someone at the gate. More of the senator’s men no doubt, here to finish the job. I glance quickly around, looking for somewhere to stash the USB drive on the off chance that somehow Joy manages to find it, but before I can, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

I grip my pistol and raise it up. I’m not going down without a fight. But when I see the figure emerge from the shadows, I can’t drop the muzzle fast enough.

“Joy!” I cry out in a hushed whisper.

---