Chapter 13

Jack

I was about to tear out my hair. That asshole Jansen had told me he had somewhere important to be. Apparently, that somewhere was catching the newest computer generated animated movie. Not exactly what I would consider vital enough to risk leaving my hideout, let alone threaten my security guy with a law suit. But understanding Jansen was something I wasn’t likely to ever do.

We bought our tickets and found seats in the theater comprised almost entirely of hapless parents and children all hyped up on sugar. But the worst part was, the movie had barely started before Jansen got up to leave the theater. I followed him out and he’d given me the stink eye over his shoulder.

“I’m just going to take a piss. I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

I barely held back a smart retort, something along the lines of if he was going to drag me out to watch a child’s cartoon on my day off, I was going to at least do the job he’d threatened to sue me over. Instead I shrugged. “You aren’t to be left unescorted per the security parameters you agreed to.”

Jansen didn’t acknowledge me, he just headed back into the lobby and over to the bathroom. And I tagged along, following after the creep who’s about to take a leak. This is exactly the kind of Saturday I’d had planned, after all.

I had to force myself not to think about the real Saturday I wanted. One where I woke up in bed next to Emma’s warm body, her scent enveloping me like a field of flowers. I’d hold her, rain kisses down on her beautiful face, her neck, moving lower, taking my time.

It would be something soft and wonderful, not like that frenzy that had taken place on the conference room table. Not that I regretted the act itself. It had been so hot, so frantic, so intense, that I’d spent most of the night blissed out. When I wasn’t berating myself for my gigantic mistake that was.

Emma was off limits. The sooner I learned to accept that, the better.

Jansen hit the bathroom door and turned to me. “No need to follow me in here. Unless you’re a queer or something. You’re not getting a peek at my junk.”

I held my expression neutral while I thought about all the ways I could make this bastard eat his words. “You are not to be left unescorted.”

“Look, asshat, I don’t need you to hold my dick for me!” Jansen’s voice rose, and I saw a couple teen boys at the arcade look our way and start to snicker. The rich prick turned away and pushed his way into the bathroom.

I stood there, debating whether any of this was worth it. At this point, I was happy to let Jansen’s rivals steal any secrets the man had. If that was even why Shadow Security had been hired in the first place. Whatever reason Jansen had hired us didn’t matter at the moment. He was approaching the point where if he caught fire, I wouldn’t piss on him to put out the flames.

Still, if I hung it up now and headed home, Jansen would make a stink. It was almost as if he were looking for an excuse to fuck us over, like he did every other person he made a deal with. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, just like I didn’t want to disappoint Smith. The old man had trusted me, had given me this job and the chance to prove myself. I wouldn’t blow it just because the guy I was guarding was acting like a spoiled brat.

I entered the bathroom just in time to see Jansen head into a stall. Great, he’s going to take a shit. And I get to stand here and enjoy that. Nice.

I walked to the sink and washed my hands, just for something to do, to take my mind off what was going on behind the stall door. To add insult to injury, another person walked into the bathroom and made straight for the stall next to Jansen’s.

Perfect. Now there are two guys doing their business. I shook my head, wondering if I was really cut out for the personal security service. I’d never thought I’d end up standing guard over a bathroom stall before. What a glamorous life I lead.

A loud cough broke the silence. There was another, then another. I turned to face the stalls, but I couldn’t determine which one the coughing was coming from. The stall doors stretched almost to the floor, and I’d be damned if I was going to bend down and investigate.

I was relieved to hear a flush, and shortly after, another. Jansen came out of the stall and headed to the door, not bothering to wash his hands. Just another indignity to chalk up to the rich prick. I followed him out, and we started making our way back to the theater. I tried to contain my excitement at watching the thrilling conclusion of a cartoon about singing insects.

There was a sudden flash of movement within my peripheral vision. My years of training were ingrained, and I turned to assess the possible threat. I saw someone duck behind a poster of a giant shark and blinked. What the fuck?

That can’t possibly be who I think it is. There’s no way.

But I would recognize that figure anywhere, even when it’s crouched down and trying to hide from me. Emma Smith was behind the shark poster. What in the name of fuck was she doing here?

I remained calm, not letting my inner turmoil show up on my face. I couldn’t believe that Emma had followed me here. What other explanation could there be? She was stalking me.

That didn’t seem to make sense. Although we’d shared something phenomenally hot, Emma didn’t seem like the type of girl who would turn psycho afterwards. Yet here she was, in the same place at the same time. How else could she have known I would be here if she hadn’t followed me? Even I didn’t expect to be here today.

Although I wanted like hell to confront her, I couldn’t leave Jansen’s side, no matter how much I wanted to find out what the fuck Emma was playing at. My hands were balled into fists at my side as I fought to control my breathing.

Yes, I’d made a huge fucking mistake, having sex with Emma last night. I’m sure it had hurt, the way I’d acted afterwards. But that didn’t give her an excuse to start following me around. What the hell did she think it would accomplish. It wouldn’t change anything, other than force me to make sure we weren’t alone in the same room again. I just don’t understand.

Back in the theater, I pulled out my phone and sent her a text. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I kept glancing over my shoulder, keeping an eye on the theater entrances, half expecting her to appear in the theater. But she didn’t, and she didn’t respond to my text either. What game was Emma playing?

We’d only been sitting there for about ten minutes when Jansen stands up suddenly. “This movie fucking blows,” he announced, loud enough for several parents to pin him with dirty looks. “Let’s go.”

I followed Jansen out of the theater, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of Emma in the lobby. The space behind the shark poster was empty. She wasn’t around the concessions, nor in the arcade that I could see. Emma had vanished.

I checked my phone again, but she still hadn’t responded to my text. A tiny tendril of anxiety began to work its way into my gut. In the parking lot, a gust of cold wind hits my face, followed by a few sprinkles of rain. The weather fits my mood perfectly.

On the way back to Jansen’s hotel, I considered how best to confront Emma. We needed to hash this out now. It couldn’t wait, not if her behavior had escalated to stalking. Still, she didn’t seem the type. Perhaps there was another explanation, as unlikely as that might be.

I followed Jansen to his hotel suite, wondering if I would find Emma waiting inside somewhere to jump out like some absurd jack-in-the-box. His rooms were clean, however, and soon I was headed back to my vehicle. I pulled out my phone, annoyed to see that she still hadn’t responded.

“Meet me at the office in 15 minutes,” I texted her, anger and worry fighting it out in my stomach. This was all my fault. I’d given in to the greatest temptation of my life, and now it had created chaos. Emma was a beautiful, wonderful girl, one who didn’t deserve what I’d done to her.

But I couldn’t allow her to harbor any hopes about a future with me. And I couldn’t allow her to follow me around like a lost puppy. Sooner or later, her dad and brother would find out, and things would go from SNAFU to FUBAR.

Gunning the engine, I sped out of the hotel parking lot in the direction of the Shadow Security office. It was time to make Emma understand, once and for all, that she and I weren’t going to happen.

The thought opened a black hole in my stomach that sucked out any joy that lingered after the ecstasy of last night. It started to rain, fat droplets that turned the world gray. How appropriate.