Chapter Seven
Cruz
Later that day, I grabbed my clothes and gear in my tattered bag, double checking the chamber in my revolver. Fully loaded. I had a combat knife hidden in my pants too. Sheathed, of course. Didn’t want any accidents happening.
I left my apartment, double locking the door in the process, and headed for the store where I’d hired the limo. Or where Alexandra’s dad had hired it, to be more precise. I’d made sure there were a couple of very expensive bottles of champagne in the fridge. Again, all courtesy of the girl’s father.
I arrived at the entrance of Alexandra’s mansion an hour before I was due, not wanting to leave anything to chance.
I made my way to the front door, nodding at the guard standing like a statue to the right of the entrance. “Mr. Miller,” he said, nodding back.
Taking the steps two at a time, I pressed the doorbell. A few moments later, the door swung open and I was greeted by a kindly, middle-aged woman who adjusted her gaze up to my face, smiling. “Ah, Cruz Miller I presume? Pleasure. Please, come in,” she said, stepping to the side.
The entrance of the house led to a large spiral staircase that I had caught a glimpse of on my previous visit. I stood to one side of the foyer with my arms behind my back, adopting a nonchalant but powerful pose. I switched my brain off, knowing it might be a while before the girls were ready. The middle-aged lady walked up to me, staring at me quizzically. If she was impressed or intimidated, she showed no sign.
“Do you want a coffee, love?” she asked kindly, in what I guessed was a southern British accent. When I shifted my gaze to her, I caught her staring at me in a motherly fashion.
I ain’t that much younger than you, you know, I thought amused. Though I liked to think I could pass for my late 20s, I could realistically pass for being in my early 30s.
“No thank you, doll,” I said. “I ain’t one for mixing coffee with anything more than a short drive. Water would be good, though.”
She smiled and hurried off toward what I guessed was the kitchen.
I surveyed the room, noticing a large armchair, couch, and table off to one side.
I wonder if anyone ever sits there? Who would, with a hundred other rooms to choose from?
I unashamedly walked over and sat myself in the middle of the large couch, hands clasped in front of me, elbows on my knees. I tried not to flex my biceps too much, but it was damned hard to keep them from bulging through my t-shirt. I felt the sheath of my knife poking into my groin and had to adjust myself from through my pants, hoping no one was looking.
Ah screw it, I hope they are. Hope they like what they see, too.
A while later, after finishing my glass of cold water, I heard a commotion from upstairs. It sounded like the party had started already, and I could hear excited chatter from a number of young female voices. I groaned inwardly, anticipating that I would have a headache before we even get to the airport. I prayed the limo had a soundproof privacy glass…
All of a sudden, the chatter stopped as three figures emerged from the doorway at the top of the stairs. Two of them were staring at me, unashamed. Both were pretty, with full figures. One of them had far too much makeup on. The other had dark, alluring eyes, and from what I could make out, much larger breasts that she wasn’t hesitating to show.
Neither of them was my type though. Too easy; I could tell that at a glance. Ain’t no fun if there ain’t no challenge.
I ran my hand thoughtfully across the slight stubble on my chin, knowing my bicep and chest would flex as I did so. I couldn’t help myself; I might not have been interested, but that didn’t mean attention wasn’t nice.
“Hey, handsome,” the made-up one said as she got halfway down the stairs. “Alexandra said you were big, but wow! She’s been telling as all about how she can’t wait to see you. In fact, I caught her this morning in bed, her…”
Alexandra slapped her friend on the arm. “Olivia, control yourself! I know you can’t help it, but please do try.”
I took a mental note that the stripper one was Olivia and that I should probably keep an eye on her because she’d get her friends in trouble, no doubt. After her and Alexandra, that left...
“What do you think, Lucy? D’ya feel safe now?” Olivia turned to the third girl, the last to arrive in the foyer.
Lucy looked thoughtful. Quiet, full-figured, dark eyes, husky…Dangerous to the unprepared or desperate man, I imagined.
“Yeah,” Lucy said, simply. “I feel like we can get into any trouble we want with Mr. Big Hard Bodyguard watching over us.” She and Olivia started laughing, while Alexandra frowned at the pair.
I stood swiftly to approach the three of them. “Are you ready to go, ladies?”
Alexandra spoke before the others had a chance to respond, a blank expression on her face. “Yes, we are.”
“Now why don’t you use your big muscles for something more useful than standing there looking scary?” Lucy said breathily, staring into my eyes.
I waited for a second, playing dumb, and also, wondering slightly if the girls knew what I was by now. If they did, they clearly weren’t intimidated by it.
Lucy gestured up the stairs with a dainty hand. “Our suitcases are up there, too heavy for us weak, defenseless women to carry downstairs by ourselves.”
Giving me a hard time ‘cause your daddy’s rich, I thought to myself, annoyed. I wasn’t takin’ no shit from girls who were too used to gettin’ their way all the time. I cleared my throat.
“I’m gettin’ paid to be a bodyguard. Ain’t nothing in my contract about being no bell boy, kiddo.”
Lucy frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to be struck dumb. Clearly, she wasn’t used to the staff talking back to her.
Better get used to it, girl.
Olivia and Alexandra laughed, both looking a little flushed.
After hesitating for a while, Olivia, Alexandra, and Lucy begrudgingly walked back up the stairs. I heard a muttered, snide remark from Lucy, just quiet enough so I couldn’t make out the words.
Knew she’d be trouble.
But it would take more than a spoiled little rich girl to piss me off.
A few seconds later, the girls filed downstairs, struggling with their massive suitcases. With my arms folded, I watched them awkwardly make their way down with the cases. Outwardly, I frowned, but only because I was struggling not to laugh.
When they’d managed to get halfway down the stairs, I ran up to meet them, springing into action. My speed surprised Olivia and Lucy, but not Alexandra. Her expression was hard to read, but I thought she looked awed. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my end.
Deciding it was time to show off, I lifted Alexandra’s suitcase first, my chest and biceps bulging as I settled it on my left shoulder. I then lifted Olivia’s suitcase with my left hand, having to hold it at an awkward angle to keep Alexandra’s balanced on my shoulder.
Christ, what the fuck had they packed?
Nevertheless, I gave no indication that the cases were heavy, lifting Lucy’s case onto my right shoulder and balancing deftly on the stairs. I smoothly took the cases out to the car.
When I returned, the girls stared at me.
“Listen,” I said, “I’m here to keep you safe. Something I’m good at. If you’re ever in trouble, you can count on me being there. See anything suspicious, tell me.” I paused, looking at them each in turn. “But I ain’t takin’ any shit. If you need help with something, you ask nicely, and I’ll think about it.”
Lucy approached me, swaying her hips and smiling with her dark eyes fixed on mine. She put her hand on my bicep and squeezed a little too familiarly. “Well, there is one thing you could help with, if you’d be so kind?” she said teasingly. “There’re three more cases at the top of the stairs. Could you please help and bring them down for us? You’re obviously more capable than we are.”
I looked down at her, raising my left eyebrow. “That’s more like it. See, it ain’t hard, darlin’.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alexandra looking at me covetously. I suppressed a frown, hoping that she wasn’t falling for me. I’d been counting on her to not make things easy…