THE BODYGUARD (The Gafanelli Mob #1)

1. Blindsided

Blindsided

DANI

I’d never seen a body more rock solid than his.

Even under a suit darker than his raven hair, the man at the bar could hardly hide the pure muscle lurking beneath the fabric. Luxurious, tailored to a T, that jacket was all that kept my sanity in tact, my one-track mind committing the look of it to memory so that my imagination could take it home later that night, peel back the layers and have fun with it in the sanctity of my own room.

Jesus Christ, why did life have to be so unfair? With the exception of fantasizing about the man with the dark hair and golden eyes, I’d virtually been a f*****g saint. Despite my obvious frustration, I’d been a good girl all goddamned night.

I’d shaken hands when I was supposed to and nodded at people I normally wouldn’t have given the time of day. I’d traded in my brassieres and black leather for a gold cocktail dress to match my straightened hair, and when the “business” men and women approached my table at the center of the ballroom, I’d been polite.

Well, at the least, I’d been cordial. And I’d paid for it with a throb between my legs that felt like a galloping pulse. Even the wine couldn’t do much to temper it.

If only I could just get his attention…

I knew the moment I did, he’d have no choice but to take me home. And once we stepped through the threshold of my front door, nothing would ever quite be the same.

So what if my father wanted me to stay behind at his dull party? Chit-chat with the dumb, dumber and dimwitted? My dad didn’t know what I needed, and he didn’t care. Tonight was all about his needs. But I was determined to make it about mine. Finally. And my one need was currently standing at the bar, looking like s*x in a suit.

What would happen to our longtime relationship, our bond? Would it be shattered into a million pieces and put back together completely unrecognizable? I knew that I was prepared to handle it… but was he?

It had been a long five years, and every second I’d been wanting to tell him. Five years of togetherness. Five years of silent secrecy. I couldn’t take it anymore. And he was so intuitive. At the exact moment his name crossed my mind, he looked up at me, languidly standing taller from where he leaned against the old, stained wood that bordered the bar.

His eyes fixed on me, I felt he could see right into my brain. When he walked over to my table and placed his hand on mine, I was almost certain that he could. But like every night before this one, we barely exchanged words. Plastering on smiles, we said our goodbyes, gave our common courtesies, and made our exit. Hand in hand, we’d stopped outside of the Regency Hotel with tension simmering on the surfaces of our skin. Our black car pulled up, the young valet hopped out, and the minute I let his hand go, I knew I’d made a mistake.

He looked at me, his stubble-lined jaw growing solid under the glow of the humid night’s city lights, and when he reached for the door handle to open the passenger side door, all f*****g hell broke loose.

And that was when the rain started.

Holy s**t.

I let go of the deep breath that I’ve been holding in my sleep. I awaken from the dream before even opening my eyes. My heart still pounding, I try to let the real rain outside my window beat me back to sleep.

Most people enjoy the sound of rain; they find it calming. I am not one of those people. For some reason, the rain has never given me peace. The sound of water, slow, steady and rhythmic, parades through my bedroom, making it pulsate, and as I awake from the deep sleep, I reach my hands across the mattress—searching… What I’m searching for, I have no idea… but my hands pause when they feel emptiness—nothing. Just the coolness of the bedspread. Just the solace of an empty spot.

I feel cold—inexplicably so, and when I turn over to face the window, I see a cloudy sky, scarlet curtains… And no rain.

Not a single drop from the sky, at least as far as I can tell. The windows seem to be heavily fogged. But maybe not… I take a closer look.

The window is thinly veiled, a tinted film outstretched over the poorly framed glass. Grey light filters in through its thin layer, and at this point, I can’t even tell if the sun is shining. I can still hear the rain. But not on the outside, no. It’s inside somehow, trickling just beyond my bedroom wall.

I sit up straight, bracing my open palms on my bedroom pillows when it occurs to me that the pillows aren’t even mine. In fact, as I take a closer look at the bedroom sheets, I slowly realize… I’ve awakened in a bed that also isn’t mine.

What the flying f**k…

I vault out of the bed, practically diving sideways. My bare feet land on the cold ground near the edge of the bed. I pace, taking in the remainder of the room with sluggish eyes and an unsettled mind.

I don’t recognize the silk robe draped over my shoulders. I’ve never been introduced to the floor rug beneath my feet. Nothing is familiar. None of it. Not the room. Not its two rust-colored doors. Definitely not the high ceilings, nor the darkened hardwood floors. I seem to have gone asleep in one world and awakened in another. Where the f**k am I, and how in the hell did I get here?

I walk over to the nearest door, but, oddly enough, it doesn’t open. I walk to the window, in front of the thick glass separating me from the world, and I realize that everything around me—the buildings, the people, the marketplace just outside… I don’t recognize any of it. And I’m all alone.

How did this happen?

Everything, everyone, appears to be moving with a natural purpose, in a motion that speaks of everyday life. It seems like a normal goddamned day for the rest of the world… but not for me. I am the single oddity.

I press my forehead against the hazy glass, prepared to scream, and just when I begin to… the rain that seems to pulsate in the room suddenly stops. The sound of heavy footsteps follows in its wake, matching the thundering of my now pumping heart. My heart seems to have leapt between my ears, beating at a panicky pace, and I see the doorknob turn, the door opening in slow motion as a bare foot emerges from beyond.

Through one of two closed doors, a man enters the room, half-naked, a white towel in one hand and another wrapped tightly near his navel. And in that instant, my mind goes numb.

He is gorgeous beyond f*****g belief.

Gold-green eyes peek beneath a darkly soaked head of hair, and he looks straight at me—his hazel irises expectant, one strong, tattooed arm outstretched as he dries the wet mane that drips onto his naked shoulders. Strong broad shoulders. Shoulders that sit upon a body made of olive-colored stone. The look in his eyes is intense, and he stares at me as if he is incapable of doing anything else. I don’t know why… but it thrills me, sets my senses ablaze… and scares me half-to-f*****g-death.

This is the guy—the man from last night’s dream… and I have no f*****g clue who he is. He takes a step towards me from fifteen feet off, and I recoil.

“What?” he asks roughly. “What’s wrong?” He looks towards the window. “You ok? You see somethin’? Did someone…”

But he doesn’t even finish the question. Before he can utter another word, I am running, my bare soles thudding against the wood underneath as I make a break for the other door, sprinting towards it without a second thought. And I nearly make it… before the man reaches out and grabs my wrist.

“Dani, what the hell are you doing?” he growls at me. “What are you…?”

But I swat at him, pushing him away. He stumbles backwards, and before he can recover, I am jetting across the shadowy hallway outside the bedroom, my silk robe flapping as I approach the staircase leading to the story below.

I am falling more so than running, but my steps never stop. I stumble my way down the stairs, my heels stinging with every landing as the man from the bedroom—now recovered—makes his way after me, closing in from just a few feet behind. How I manage to make it to the floor below, out of his grasp, I don’t really know, but I am relieved. My lungs fill with renewed air as my eyes scan around an oversized kitchen, past the counters and to a doorway that leads to an outside street. I run to it… just as the man’s large hand finds its grip on the waist of my robe.

My body slams backwards into his, crashing into the slippery, wet front of his brick-like abdomen.

“Dani!” he grunts, trying to control my now flailing arms. “What the f**k is the matter with you? What are you… I’m not trying to hurt you! I just want to…” Whoosh! A slip of my arms, and I am out of the robe. The man can’t finish a complete sentence. Unexpectedly, to him and also to me, I am now twisting in his arms, turning to face him as my fists fly at him, striking near his nose and eyes.

Bare forearms raised, he blocks them, his taut skin dulling the sound of my tight-fisted rage. I use the opportunity to kick between his legs, and he skillfully dodges my foot without so much as dropping the tightly wound towel hanging below his hips.

We are engaged in a battle, my long golden hair whipping as I throw my full body weight into each swing, each kick, each blow at the mysterious man. A man—a stranger—who wards them off with heavy legs and sturdy hands. I barely hurt him… but I don’t need to. I just need to move him enough to… There.

I kick over a stool by the counter, blocking his body from mine, and I grab for a set of keys atop the granite-covered counters. He reaches for them but it is too late. Now in my hands, I fumble the keys with one free hand to unchain the heavy brass locks barring the front door. Just as his grip finds me once more, I pull my final stunt, lashing my hand out to snatch off the towel at his waist, slinging it to the floor. I won’t even let myself look at what I’ve uncovered.

Shocked, the man’s hands grapple for the towel that’s landed on the floor, seeking to replace it around his waist, and when he does, I finally throw open the door.

Cloudy skies and a cobbled alleyway greet me as I take my first step outside onto a grey stoned street. A man on a moped passes by and just as I begin to yell to him, a hand—damp and large—clamps over my moving lips, pulling me backwards. I am dragged back into the house, nearly planted ass-first onto the solid floor. His sturdy arm catches me, breaking my fall, while the other lands on top of me, bracing over my chest.

Hand still over my mouth, the man still sopping wet, he covers the length of my body with his, his discarded towel now secured again, his heavy body pressing mine into the ground. His hazel eyes, now morphed into a golden flame, drill into my widened green ones. He rumbles, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You stop this s**t right the f**k now, Dani, I swear to God…”

His voice, if it weren’t so angry, would be low and molten, but is instead grating, rough and huffing as his minty breath blows across my face.

My breath emits in spurts—frenzied and short, blustering out of my quivering nostrils and onto his unmoving hand. He brings his face within centimeters of mine. Hovering.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you’d better fix it. Right now. And when I take my hand away, you’re going to calm the f**k down. Understand?” I don’t even try to speak. “Nod if you understand me,” he commands.

I can barely move my head, but he gets the hint. Removing his hand—slowly, he lets me lick my lips. I check to make sure they’re not bleeding, but as if he knows my thoughts, he runs a finger there, rubbing. It is almost as if he is checking for the same.

I steady my gaze onto his dark hair, his eyes and full lips. I know my first question before it even hits my tongue. “Who…” I bite down, steadying my slightly chattering teeth. “W-who are you?”

The color drains from the man’s face, his deep-set frown darkening into a scowl. The fine sheet of stubble across his face suddenly stands out like a shadow.

“What…? Dani…” He jerks backwards in disbelief. “What the f**k are you talking about? It’s me,” the man emphasizes. “Bishop.” The name doesn’t ring a bell, but his next words do. “Your husband…”

He draws the last word out carefully, almost as if I’m too slow to understand. But he’s right… because I don’t. I don’t know how an imaginary man has suddenly come to life. I don’t know how a dream has become real. And I certainly don’t want to even think about how the hard body of this hallucination is now making me feel.