The Guard

Chapter Four- Somewhere Outside of Denver

As the excitement of Lilianna’s recent stripping had now come and passed, Julian was able to regain control of his focus-as well as his hormones, as they continued onward towards New York. Having sat in silence for the better part of two hours, Julian could no longer ignore the hunger growing within his stomach and reached into one of the bags set behind her seat to take hold of one of the granola bars he had purchased. While tearing open the package with his teeth, Lilianna looked at him with annoyance as her own hunger could be heard over the sound of whatever radio station they had kept tuned in to without the knowledge of caring to change it. 

“Do you intend to make me starve?” She questioned as he then tossed the granola bar he had already opened before reaching for another one within the back seat. Struggling to stretch, he was forced to move closer to her than intended as she took an unintentional whiff of his scent; a perfect mixture of masculinity and cleanliness that made her close her eyes until he then returned to his seat. 

“How much longer?” She whined to him as he took possession of the bar between his teeth and acted as if he was moving his fingers to the screen to check the time upon the GPS-but in actuality, turning up the volume to drown her out. Offering her a smile, she was allowed a chance to see his dimples that remained mostly hidden beneath the scruff upon his expression; unaware until this moment that he had even held any emotion aside from stoic. 

“Why did you agree to this?” Her question seemed to pique his interest as he lowered the volume upon the radio and let out a deep exhale. “It’s clear you can’t stand me and I’m not exactly jumping up and down in excitement...So why?” Although this sudden release of oxygen made her believe that perhaps he would supply her with an answer-Lilianna was left with the somber silence brought by the melancholic song playing upon the radio. “If we are going to be stuck together, you will eventually HAVE to talk to me and tell me something about yourself…”

“I’m a Scorpio.” He spoke sarcastically as she brought her hands in front of her and curled her fingers to show her frustration before releasing an aggrieved sigh and turning away from him. Sensing that he had now turned away the only attempt she had made to be civil to him, he offered a momentary reprieve to his cold distance. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes flashed to him in shock of him having been capable of offering an apology. He seemed far too pompous and stubborn to offer anything more than blame; and so, her eyes softened to this sense of humanity having left his lips. 

“What do you want to know?” Her lips fell agape in excitement as she understood she could ask anything; a deep secret, a lifelong dream, a pet peeve...but what she truly wanted the answer to was a question she had already asked-and so, she simply asked it again. 

“Why did you agree to this? I understand taking me to New York may be part of your job description but...why take the job to begin with? Even after realizing how much of a handful that I am?” He smirked beneath an attempt to scratch his upper lip to hide this humorous response before replying to her. 

“Your father offered me the job and I desperately needed to get out of where I was...I didn’t know anything about your family until I worked under his official employ...And without his kindness, I would probably be dead...So I have to suck it up…” He sensed the fact that yet another person had placed dismissal upon her-and once again, he wished to make amends for this. “But I suppose there MAY be worse company to keep…We just have to introduce you to better music…” He teased as she rolled her eyes playfully as the radio was turned up once again. 

Having fallen asleep once again, Lilianna would only come to awaken at night having overtaken the once bright sky from her sight. Jumping upright after she had dreamed of that fateful night with Bianca, Lilianna gasped and startled Julian as he quickly turned to attend to her. 

“Are you alright?!” He questioned at the very moment he ceased the ignition from its starting position and forced the headlights of the car into the ‘off’ position. “What is it?”

“I...Nothing…” Not wishing to burden him or relive the moment herself, Lilianna pulled herself from the car and into the direction of the forest-surprised to find nothing in front of her but woods. “Why did you pull us over?”

“If we stay in a hotel, they will find us...It is safer out here…” He informed her as he set the keys within his pocket and began to step away from her. 

“Safer? How? There are...bugs and reptiles and…God knows who else out here…” Julian moved to the trunk as she spoke, teasing her from afar. 

“Yeah...there could be another you-” He taunted as she clenched her fists at her sides before matching this tension with that of her jaw and turning away from him. 

“I will walk to the nearest town if I have to...I am not going to remain in some car-” Suddenly he emerged from the trunk holding a tent. “That is practically a beacon for anything out here to tell them that we are here...and vulnerable-”

“You might be the only one who is…” He explained while patting his belt-where a gun had been poorly concealed in a holster that made it quite obvious that he had been carrying. Frustrated with his consistent badgering of her patience, or lack thereof,  Lilianna moved to him and began hitting his chest in anger. “Ugh!” She let out a satisfied grunt before her hand came to notice the note left for her that had been shoved in his pocket that had fallen out during the relinquishment of her aggravation. Pulling it to view, she glared through the darkness before making out the message upon the very moment that he realized what it was she had been doing and quickly took it from her grasp; but it was too late. 

“Who would write something like that?” She spoke aloud as Julian let out a sigh. 

“That is what we are all trying to figure out…”

“Even cockroaches have to die one day…” She mimicked the message aloud before looking to the ground in confusion. “Why me, Julian?” His eyes cemented upon her body as she had spoken his name. Although her voice was no more angelic than that of a chainsaw; to him, it exhilarated every nerve ending within his body to hear her speak it; even if it had been in anger. “I mean there are a zillion other girls on billboards; ones with larger trust funds and better availability...There is Summer Marie and Bianca-” She emotionally choked upon the speaking of her now deceased friend’s name. “All of this is so f***ed up! I am just supposed to remain here and trust YOU and deal with all of this-” Suddenly the sound of breaking twigs were heard by Julian-but Lilianna was too far gone into her verbal diarrhea to notice this. 

“Lili-”

“I understand that the circumstances looked bad with the cocaine and I do NOT know how it got on my body but-”

Realizing he would not be able to silence her by using his own threats, he took her against him so she was now flush with his torso and motionless to his strength. His muscles forcing her to remain in place, she was able to feel his heartbeat race against the base of her neck as he stood a good foot taller than her; if not more. Along with this racing pulse had been the tension of his physique that seemed to flex unintentionally to having her so close to him. But as she found this moment rather romantic, Julian found it anxiety inducing as he pulled her towards the boot of the car and kept her low-still against his body. 

“Stay here.” He spoke into her ear, his breath acting as an obeying serum that seemed to work against her attempts to remain independent. Whether it had been his cologne, his presence, or his ability to intimidate her; she remained put and waited for the sound of his feet approaching her. But as she lifted her gaze to expect her handsome bodyguard to look down at her with the green light that he had simply over exaggerated to a potential deer or rabbit, she was met with the end of a rifle lifting her chin upright to look at a man she had not recognized-but one who meant her harm as Julian had disappeared into the woods.