Dylan

Dylan hadn’t been this excited to visit his grandfather since he was a boy. He already had all the places he wanted to show Bonnie mapped out in his head. He wanted her to meet his grandfather. He wanted her to eat the food he remembered growing up. He wanted her to experience everything about the city that he loved.

He wanted to share his world with her.

Dylan had never brought another woman to New Orleans. His grandfather had never met any of his former girlfriends. It never felt right to introduce him to them. But, Dylan wanted his grandfather to meet Bonnie.

When he thought about what the meant, it made him both nervous and excited. He’d never felt this way about anyone before. He knew in his bones she was the one for him. They had amazing chemistry both in and out of the bedroom. She made him smile without trying.

He was head over heels in love with her.

He put the last couple things into his small carry-on bag. He didn’t need much for the quick weekend trip, and if he did, it would be easy enough to buy things there.

Dylan felt light. His heart was happy and his world full of goodness. He was finally doing work that mattered to him. He was helping foster kids find their way in the world. He had a good woman that he was proud to introduce his grandfather to.

Life was good.

He grinned and headed out of his trailer to go pick up Bonnie for their flight. He opened the door and nearly tripped over her. She sat on the bottom step, her bottom lip between her teeth and her brow tight. Her dark eyes were deep and unhappy.

“What’s wrong?” He dropped his bag and immediately sat down beside her.

She took a shaky breath. “I can’t do this.”

His heart dropped straight down to his toes. This? Them? He did his best to keep his voice calm and centered. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t do this trip.” She sniffled. “I’m so sorry.”

He relaxed a little. It was the trip, not them. Being in a relationship that really mattered to him like this was new to him. He still had some things to get used to.

“Why?” He asked. He wanted her to go with him. He was so excited for her to meet his grandfather. This was important to him, but he wanted it to be important to her too. He wanted her to want to go.

“It’s not safe,” she told him.

“What?” He had taken all the precautions he and his security team could think of. He had the heads of security for three billionaires come up with the plan to keep her safe for the trip. The president of the United States had less security. “Where we’re going is very safe. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your safety.”

She sniffled and smiled at the same time. He had no idea what that meant.

“That’s not it. It’s not safe for me to go,” she repeated.

He sighed. They’d been through this. They’d been through it several times. He understood that there were mobsters looking for her. He got that. He also understood that the Trio was a small organization that didn’t have a lot of power anywhere but in her town.

Did she not realize how important this was to him?

“Bonnie, we’ve talked about this,” he tried again. “We have enough security. You’ve seen what the heads of security came up with. You said it was enough.”

He gently put his hand on her shoulder, and she pulled away hard. He tried to keep the hurt from her motion from showing.

“Things change,” she snapped. She stood up, her arms wrapped around her.

“Bonnie, what’s going on?” He kept his voice low and gentle. She was obviously upset about something. He didn’t know what, but she needed him. The protective part of him wanted to wrap her up and punch anyone that came close to hurting her. He wanted to fix the world for her.

“They’re looking for me,” she whispered. “The trial’s been set. If they can find me before the third, they’ll be able to keep my brother from testifying.”

He understood now. She was scared. She was pushing him away because she was terrified. His heart ached for her. The anger vanished instantly.

He got up and pulled her into his chest. This time, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she tucked her head, burying her face in his shoulder. She shook like a leaf in the wind. He hated to see her this scared.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered into her hair. “I promise.”

“I’m just so scared,” she admitted. “I’m scared for me. I’m scared for my brother. I just want this to be over. I’m so tired of looking over my shoulder all the time. I jump at every car that passes, even if I recognize them. I don’t want to hide anymore.”

He rubbed his hands along her back in slow, soothing circles as she cried into his shoulder. He wished he could make this better. He wished he had a secret crime-fighting alter ego that could go to New Jersey and wipe out the Trio. He wished he had some way, other than hiring security teams, to keep her safe.

But he didn’t. He had hired the best security team money could buy to go with them. He had private tours and fake names all set up for the two of them. No one but his grandfather would even know they were in the city.

“Please come with me,” he said softly once her breathing evened out. “I want you to meet my grandfather. I will keep you safe.”

She sniffled.

“If you want, my grandfather can be the only person in the entire state of Louisiana that gets to see you,” he offered. “I’ll make everyone else leave.”

She chuckled. “Having no one see me would make security hard. They should probably keep an eye on me.”

He smiled. She was joking which meant she was feeling better. “You have a good point.”

She pulled back and wiped at her face. Even blotchy from crying, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

“You promise you’ll keep me safe?” she asked once more.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Extra security. Extra everything. I promise.”

She nodded slowly. “You want me to meet your grandfather that badly?”

Embarrassment tugged at him. He hadn’t told her how much this meant to him. “Yes. It’s important to me. He’s the reason I want to go. I want you to meet him.”

She smiled at him. “He’s important to you. It’s important to you that I meet him?”

He nodded. “Yes. He’s all I have left of my dad.”

“So, this trip is really for me to basically meet your parents.”

He shifted his feet. “More or less. You still need to meet my mom and my sister.”

“I get the impression that you don’t care what they think as much as you do your grandfather.” Her brown eyes watched his face. How did she see him so easily?

“They like everyone. My grandfather is more... picky.” There was a very good reason why he’d never brought a girl home to Grandfather. None of them measured up. He thought Bonnie would.

She hugged him. “I now see how important this is to you. So, let’s go.”

“Yeah?” His spirits lifted.

“Yeah. But, no public areas. I’m still not sure going to New Orleans is a great idea,” she told him. “But, it’s important to you. So, I’ll go.”

He grinned and hugged her.

She was going to meet his grandfather.