Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) (8 page)

“And you have that?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I read it?” I ask, curiosity peaking.

“No one can,” he says, his lips twitching with amusement at my excited eyes. “Not without the right decryption.” I sit back in disappointment. “Anyway, I made contact with the Russian, laid down arms, and I gave one copy of the file to him in exchange for safe passage back to the states.”

“That sounds real freakin’ dangerous,” I say. “You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you.”

“He
did
, actually.” I tilt my head in shock and he smiles again. “We had to make my disappearance look convincing so that later when Mercer tracked my whereabouts, he’d find my blood and figure I was taken out and disposed of. It was just a graze, nothing too horrible.” He runs a pointed finger along his bicep and I exhale the breath I’ve been holding for the last minute. “The Russians were supposed to use that file to make Snake Eyes disappear.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because they were competition.” He shrugs. “A hitman can’t make any money if there’s someone better above them on the call list. The only issue was the encryption. I told him up front that I had no way of decrypting it but he just laughed and insisted he had a guy that could take care of that. He sent me packing with a bandaged arm and a new passport and I left…” he pauses, “after a few hiccups.”

“Hiccups?”

“It’s a long story,” he says. “But it ends with me making it back here.”

“How long have you been home?”

“Six months.”

Six months.
He’s been back here for half a year now and he never said a word.

“Dani, I couldn’t come back to L.A.,” he says, reading my eyes.

“Why not?”

“Because if Mercer ever realized I was still alive, he’d go after my family first.” He looks at my cheek. “Looks like I was right about that.”

“How did he find out?”

“I’m not sure…” He runs his fingers through his beard and scratches an itch. “I’m guessing the Russian’s plan didn’t go so well.”

“So, he finds out you’re still alive and he comes after
me
,” I say. “Why?”

He takes a breath. “He knew how I’d react.” I say nothing, waiting for him to explain. “Mercer was…
Friend
might be too strong a word, but I guess it qualifies.”

“You were friends with the asshole that shot Lamb and cut up my cheek?”

“You make some interesting acquaintances when you work for an underground assassination squad,” he jokes.

I don’t laugh. “So… he knows that you have feelings for me?”

“Had,”
he says with quickly, without the slightest hesitation. “I don’t anymore.”

“Oh…” I swallow a lump in my throat. “That’s good.”

He shifts on his feet. “Long story… still kind of long, but… I know someone that can probably decrypt my copy of the file.”

“Probably?”

“He’s the best chance we have. I’m hoping I can use it as a bargaining chip.”

“Bargaining chip with who?”

“Whoever will solve this Snake Eyes problem so I can take you back home.”

Home
. Back to movie sets and the paparazzi.

“Get some sleep,” he says. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

I glance around. “There’s only one bed…”

“I’ll take the floor.”

“You don’t have to,” I offer. “There’s plenty of room.”

“I’d prefer it.” His voice is firm, almost cold, but I’d rather not draw attention to it.

I nod and lower myself down to the pillows, kicking the blanket off my burning legs. My heart won’t stop racing. That black ink, those rock hard abs. The way the cobra tail swished across them, curling left and right before stopping just above his navel. I can’t get it out of my head. My fingers have been vibrating since the moment I touched him. It’s taking everything in me not to reach between my thighs right now and—

“Dani.”

I jerk out of my trance. “What?”

“Do you mind?” He points to the other side of the bed at the unused pillow.

“Oh — yeah.” I grab it and hold it out to him. He takes it and drops it to the floor at the foot of the bed. “Need a blanket?”

“No,” he says, disappearing below.

“Goodnight then…”

“Goodnight.”

I reach over and flick the lamp off, casting the room into total darkness.

***

Holy shit.

If I don’t touch him again soon, I’m going to explode.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I spent so much unsupervised time with a man other than my father. Even when Fox and I lived under the same roof, we rarely ever spent time alone together. I thought he hated me back then. I guess he was just hiding what he really feels.

Or
felt
. He doesn’t feel like that about me anymore. It was all just a teenage crush, apparently. Nothing more.

Why doesn’t he feel that way anymore?

I grab a pair of shoes, a package of socks, a few shirts, and some jeans, and walk straight to the checkout counter with the cash Fox gave me to find something to wear. It’s a low-end department store, somewhere I’d usually never shop but Fox insists that’s the point. I’m not Roxie Roberts right now. I’m just Dani. I’m not a movie star. I’m a normal person with thick sunglasses and short hair, buying some clothes because I have nothing else to wear other than a man’s shirt and boxer shorts. Just a normal girl with a target on her back.

Nothing to see here, folks.

“Do I know you from somewhere?”

I look at the cashier through tinted lenses. “I get that a lot,” I mutter, dropping my voice deeper than usual. She stares at me for an extra long second before finally shrugging and requesting seventy dollars from me. My heart resets to its normal rhythm and I get out as fast as I went in.

Fox waits outside for me, leaning against a new car by the curb. I’m not quite sure where he got it but I’m not about to question it. His eyes move back and forth in his skull on constant watch. Each passing person could be a danger. Each one another possibility for me to get recognized, however unlikely that is, especially with a fresh bandage covering half of my face. “So, where is this secret master file decrypter guy?” I ask.

“Denver.”

“Denver?
Why aren’t we flying?”

He pops open the passenger side door. “Because that requires going through security, flashing IDs…”

“So?”

“So…”
He jerks his head, gesturing me into the car. I step off the curb and lower myself down into it while he moves to the driver’s side. “Snake Eyes has access to those systems. Chances are we’ve already been flagged by them
and
the L.A.P.D.”

“Why them, too?” He glances at me out of the corner of his eyes, giving me a quick second to figure it out for myself. “Oh, right. My dad.”

“Bennett’s not stupid,” he says as he turns the ignition. “He knows how to track you down. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if our photos are all over the news right now. We need to stay as off-the-grid as possible or we’ll never even make it out of California.”

“It’s a good thing I look nothing like myself then…” I pull the visor down and flip open the mirror to look at my reflection. Black hair. No make-up. Giant gash on my cheek. I slide my sunglasses up onto my head to check my eyes. Still blue. That’s something, I guess.

“Put those back on until we get out of the city,” Fox says as we start rolling down the busy street. I do as he says and shield my eyes again before tossing the bag of new clothes into the backseat and sliding back there with them. “Dani, what are you doing?”

“I’m changing,” I say, flicking the buttons free on his borrowed shirt. “Just keep your eyes on the road.”

“We have windows, you know.”

“I’ll be quick.” I grab a black t-shirt out of the bag and lay it open on my lap. “It’s not like you’ve never seen it before anyway.”

“What are you talking about?” he asks quickly.

I smirk to myself as I throw the shirt over my head, covering my exposed breasts in less than a second. “Candy Crushers?”

Fox sighs, keeping his neck stiff and his eyes locked forward.
“I wasn’t looking at you.”

“You see,
here’s
what doesn’t add up to me, Fox…” I slide both legs into the jeans and pull them up and over the boxer shorts. “You’re out there, watching from across the street, but you turn away — like the honorable man that you are — and focus on Smith while I’m all exposed. Am I right so far?”

“That’s exactly what happened,” he confirms.

“Then why didn’t you help Smith?”

He pauses. “What?”

I take the shoes and a pair of socks from the bag and climb back into the front seat. “If you were staring so intently into my kitchen to avoid seeing me naked, then you — an honorable man and all — would have taken out Mercer before he got to Smith.”

“Dani…”

My lips twitch. “You had a clear shot. I know you did because you shot the guy in the doorway right between the freakin’ eyes. The only possible explanation is that you
missed
Mercer breaking in because you were staring at my tits—”

“That’s not what happened!”

“Then why didn’t you shoot Mercer before he attacked Smith? It would have saved us heaps of trouble…”

“I was checking the stairwells and missed it.”

“Is that right?”

“You can only see one target at a time through a scope,” he explains. “I missed it. It was bad timing on my part.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.” I narrow my eyes at him, studying his bearded face for any secret tells while keeping my laughter at bay.

He glares at me with sideways eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you, Dani.”

“You can tell me they looked great.”

“I
really
have no idea how they looked.”

A chuckle finally escapes my lips. “Okay, fine. I believe you.”

“Thank you.”

“For now.” He cranes his neck, exhaling a soft breath in frustration, but says nothing more. I slip on my socks and shoes. “Time to hit the road?”

“We need to make a quick stop first.”

“For what?”

“Supplies.”

“Like what? Snacks?”

“Guns.”

I blink. “Oh.”

“It won’t take long. My dealer knows I’m coming.”

“You have a dealer?” He nods. “What’s his name?”

Fox pauses for a moment as we change lanes. “
Her
name is Caleb.”

“
Caleb?
Your gun dealer is a girl with a boy’s name? How cliche.”

He smirks and licks his lips. “Tell me all about it,
Dani
.”

“Short for
Danielle
. At least,
my
mother wasn’t a hippie.”

“My mother is not a hippie.”

“She named you
Fox
.”

“It’s a cool name,” he defends. “Don’t get me started on
Danielle Roxanne Roberts
. I mean, what the hell is that?”

I pause, unable to contain the laugh in my throat. Nostalgia silences me even more. It’s strange how quickly old habits take over again. We’ve haven’t spoken in five years and we’re already tossing insults back and forth like nothing has changed.

Like siblings.

I reach for my left cheek to scratch an itch without thinking and my nail scrapes against the stitches holding my skin together. “Ouch—”

Fox looks over at me. “How’s that feeling?”

I check the mirror and peel back the bandage to be sure I didn’t do any more damage to it. “It’s all right.” I sigh with annoyance. “Any idea why he chose
the face
of all places?”

“I have the same scar.”

“You do?” I eye his dark beard and he slides a finger down his left cheek.

“Right here. He knew I’d make the connection.”

“When did you get it?”

He furrows his brow in thought. “It happened during my first mission in Snake Eyes. I screwed up and got made. The target had a thing for knives and managed to sneak in behind me, but…” His voice falls. “I was faster.”

I glance at his cheek. “Not fast enough.”

“Mercer called it my trophy,” he continues. “He wouldn’t let me get it fixed.
Just let it bleed
, he said.
It’ll look cool.
”

“Why do you cover it up?”

He keeps his eyes on the road. “Makes it easier to forget about, I guess.”

We turn off the street and enter a small parking lot behind an old, brick building. A pink neon sign flashes above the entrance with several letters missing. I squint at it, trying to decipher the store’s name.

“Fawn’s Pawn?” I read. “Who’s Fawn?”

“It’s her last name.”

I sit back. “Your gun dealer is a woman named
Caleb Fawn
?”

Fox pulls his seatbelt free. “Wait here.”

“Wait here?” I repeat. “No way. I want to meet your gun girl.”

“No.” He pushes the door open and steps outside. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Fox—”

“
Dani.”
He bends down and stares at me through the open window. “Stay here.”

I sigh and fall back into my seat. “Fine.” I reach for my sunglasses.

“Keep them on,”
he warns, pointing a stiff finger at me.

I hold up my hands in surrender and he walks off towards the pawn shop.

Here we go. Bantering like siblings.

This is going to be one strange road trip.

Chapter 9

Fox

“Back again so soon?” Caleb’s thick, pink lips grin at me as I step inside the shop. “I’m starting to think you’re falling in love with me, Fox.”

“You think every man that walks in here is falling in love with you, Caleb,” I fire back.

“All except my father,” she quips. “May he rest in pieces out back.”

I chuckle. I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy Caleb’s dark brand of humor. “Bit slow today,” I note, glancing around the abandoned shop.

“It’s still early. The weirdos don’t come around until the afternoon…” Her lips curl.
“Usually
.”

I stop at the counter in front of her and take one last glance around the shop to make sure we’re alone. “I need a few more things from your back room.”