The Bodyguard's Fake Marriage Read online

  “You’re very charming; you know that?”

  “I thought I was stiff.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You were, but not tonight, which I’m grateful for. I feel like I’m in a room full of vipers and they’re all waiting for me to make a mistake.”

  “They’ll wait awhile. Hope they aren’t holding their breath. Although, seeing them drop like flies would be amusing.” Jake chuckled.

  “You’re not what I expected.”

  He tilted his head. “What did you expect?”

  “You’ve been guarding me for months, and I had no idea a human being lurked under the surface.” Her lips rolled in, and it was obvious she was teasing.

  “That hurts, Ms. Maheras,” he whispered her name. “I was doing my job.” A job that he’d managed to keep professional until a few days ago when she kissed him. He hated how much the tiny brush of her lips shook him. It felt as though an electric current hit his heart, and now that it was beating again, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and what it’d be like to kiss her again.

  “I know, I just…I like this side of you. You’re funny and rather suave for a guy so large.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

  She flattened her hand against his chest. “You’re right. That was backhanded. I’m sorry. You’re just not what I expected, and I’m finding myself a little flustered.” She swept her hand across his chest and rested it on his back, her fingers curling around his hair. The sensation jolted him, and his breath caught. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  No, he was far from okay. The physical reaction he was having to her was throwing his control upside down, especially when she was staring up at him with those eyes and taunting him with those lips that were so kissable. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  He wasn’t sure who he was saying that to, her or himself, but he needed to gain some control before he did something he’d regret. She was his client, and his mind and body needed to get on the same page and remember that.

  Chapter 5

  Once the party was over, and as soon as the last guest left, her papa took Lexi by the arm and turned to Faustus, who remained so glued to her papa that she almost checked for actual sticky residue. “I need to speak with my daughter. I’m sure you understand.”

  Faustus’s smile faltered a second. “Of course. I’m sure you have a divorce to discuss.”

  Lexi lifted an eyebrow. “Or not.”

  “Enough, Lexi,” her papa said, the words spoken so angry she flinched. He took her, led her down the hall to the study, and slammed the door the moment they were inside. “What were you thinking? Marrying that man? He’s beneath you.”

  “And Faustus isn’t? The way he’s spoken to me? You find that acceptable?”

  Her papa paced. “You have no idea what you’ve done. Faustus is…”

  Lexi stepped toward her papa. She wasn’t backing down. He could yell at her all he wanted, but she wasn’t marrying a man she could barely look at just because her papa declared it so. “What? Faustus is what?”

  He stopped and turned to her, his eyes filled with a level of fear she’d never seen before. “You need to marry him. I can’t keep you safe unless you do.”

  A cold rake of fear slashed through her. Not once had she ever felt fear for her life until that moment. “Jake will keep me safe.”

  “No, my love, he can’t. They’ll…he’s one man, and he can’t protect you forever.” He strode to her, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. “How can I make you understand how important this is?”

  “Papa, just tell me what’s going on.” She covered his hand with hers. “Please.”

  With a quick glance at the door, her papa leaned in. “Faustus wants our land, but he wants more than that. He wants to control me, and the only way to do that is through you. He thinks marrying you will give him credibility since the strange death of his father.”

  “Is he the reason you hired bodyguards for me a year ago?”

  He nodded. “He was beginning to make comments then. What would happen if I lost you? What would I do to keep you safe? When his father died, the threats became worse. He came to me a few weeks ago and said that if you’d marry him, he’d keep you safe.”

  “That’s why you were so insistent I marry him?”

  “Yes, he’s not worthy of you. No man is, but Zikas is evil and cruel. He’s been following me, keeping tabs on where I go, and he sent me pictures of you sleeping. That’s when I hired the bodyguards, but then he sent me pictures of you in other places. His way of saying he could get to you anytime he wanted.”

  Lexi blinked as her mind tried to process everything her papa was saying. “You should have told me. I could have…”

  “What? There’s nothing you can do against a ruthless man like that.”

  A knock came from the door, and it opened a sliver. “Mr. Maheras, it’s Jake Maverick. May I speak with you in private?”

  Her papa caught her gaze and held it. “Go to the room next door and lock it. Stay in there until I come for you.”

  “But—”

  “No, this is the only way I know of protecting you. Do as I say.”

  “Okay, Papa, but we’ll find a way to get out of this. I promise; we won’t let him have the orchard or keep threatening our family.” She meant it too. There was no way she was letting a creep like Faustus touch her family’s land. There had to be a way of exposing him and taking away his power.

  She passed by Jake as he stepped inside the room. He caught her by the hand and pulled her close. “I will protect you; do you understand? No matter what happens, no one will hurt you.”

  With a nod of her head, she slipped from his grasp, walked next door, and gave him one last look before stepping inside. The second she heard the study door shut, she came back out and quietly cracked the door open. Whatever they were discussing she deserved to know. It was her life hanging in the balance, and she was intelligent enough to think of a way to get herself out of marrying Faustus.

  Chapter 6

  Whatever Lexi had discussed with her father had shaken her, and it was hard for Jake to let her go, knowing she was frightened.

  “Mr. Maheras,” he said as he got a feel for the room.

  Jake was as impressed with it now as he was when he’d staked it out a few days ago in preparation for Mr. Maheras’s visit. The study had an old-world feel with dark wood paneling and beams. Rows of shelves lined with books, a gaming table in the far corner on one side, and an entire buffet filled with decanters. A seating area in the middle of the room gave Jake the impression that Mr. Maheras had conducted business in this room more than once.

  “Mr. Maverick. You gave me your word you’d keep my daughter safe, and now you’re married to her?” The vein in the man’s neck bulged.

  “In name only. She didn’t want to marry Faustus Zikas. I told you I’d keep her safe, and when I heard that name, I knew something was wrong.”

  “But marriage?”

  “It was the easiest way to keep her safe. You asked me not to tell her anything, and I gave you my word. Had I known what was going on, though, I wouldn’t have. Lexi needed to know. She’s a grown woman.”

  The man dismissed Jake with a wave of his hand. “She didn’t need to be frightened. I was protecting her.”

  “Tell me what’s happening.”

  Her father walked to his desk and sat in the large leather chair. “The man is threatening Lexi. If she doesn’t marry him, he’ll kill her.”

  “That won’t happen while I’m watching her.”

  Lexi’s father looked like a man who’d been fighting a giant. “You can’t win this. Not alone. He has too many connections and enough money to hire anyone he wants.”

  Jake put his hands behind his back and laced his fingers together. “Sir, I told you when I took this assignment that I would guard her with my life. She’s a brilliant woman with a medical career ahead of her. Something she’s worked for tirelessly.”

  “There’s
oil under my orchard. Faustus’s father wanted the land too, but we were friends, and the man respected my wishes. Faustus, on the other hand, is using the love of my daughter to try and take everything my family has worked for.”

  “Have you gone to the authorities in your country?”

  “He’s purchased several of them, and now they do whatever he says.” Her father stood, walked to the shelf filled with liquor decanters, and poured himself a glass of something amber. After taking a long drink, he said, “Faustus has gained the ear of many of the influential political leaders in my country. Every day, I have officials inspecting my orchards. Anytime I disobey him, they levy fines against me. He’s maneuvered himself into a position that I’m finding difficult to fight.”

  “You know I can’t let her marry him.” Jake softened his stance. “I won’t break my word to you, and marrying him won’t change the danger she’s in. And you know my plans if something happens.”

  “Yes, that you’d take her to the safe house in Houston where Pamela and her team stay.”

  “You haven’t told Faustus that, correct?”

  “I wouldn’t tell that weasel anything.”

  “Good. Don’t.”

  “How did she talk you into marrying her?” Mr. Maheras smiled as he eyed Jake.

  “She didn’t have to talk me into it once she mentioned Zikas.”

  The man narrowed his eyes. “But that wasn’t the only reason.” A look of shock registered on his. “You’ve fallen for my daughter.”

  “No, sir. I would never let my feelings distract me from my assignment. I was doing what I thought would keep her safe, just as I promised. I gave you my word, and I intend to keep it.”

  Suddenly, Lexi yelped. Jake spun around to find Faustus gripping her arm and pushing her through the door.

  Her father jumped out of his chair and pounded his fist on the desk. “Take your hands from her.”

  Faustus snaked his arm around her neck and held her back flush against his chest. “I don’t think so. Your muscle-bound beast there looks like he could use a little motivation to stay where he is.” The thick Greek accent was gone, and it was pretty clear now that he’d been playing the weak, uptight role Jake expected of him.

  “Hurt her, and I’ll kill you,” Jake said. “Lexi, remember what I taught you?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Trust me.”

  She held his gaze a second before ramming her elbow into Faustus’s stomach and cracking her heeled shoe against his shin. Now free, she ran to Jake and buried her face in his chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “It’s okay. You did great.”

  Faustus wheezed and held his midsection. His lips curled into a snarl. “I really didn’t want to marry her anyway. The only reason I suggested it was to keep the old man from trying to fight me. Even if I had married her, we wouldn’t have stayed that way long.”

  Lexi trembled in Jake’s embrace, and Jake turned his attention back to Faustus. “You frightened my wife, and I don’t like that.”

  “Your wife is a lot of bark. Granted, when she does bite, it’s not convenient,” Faustus said as he strolled to the couch in the middle of the room.

  The man pulled out his phone and touched a button. “Michael, are you there?”

  “We’ve surrounded the house. There’s no way in or out,” a man replied.

  Faustus smiled. “See, things have a way of working out the way I want them to. I had the strangest feeling Maheras’s daughter would try to find a way out of marrying me. As a child, I remember her being quite the thinker. Needless to say, I figured I’d need a little backup, so I prepared some just in case.”

  Jake guided Lexi away from the large window framing the desk. “I had a similar feeling. When your men tripped the alarm, the San Jose police, of whom many call me friend, were alerted. I would say that in about five minutes, you’re going to be surrounded by a SWAT team.”

  The man’s lips pinched together in a thin line. “Then I guess I have no reason not to kill all of you and leave.”

  Lexi looked up at Jake. “You did?”

  “I told you, it’s my job to protect you,” he said and smoothed her hair back. He pulled his weapon and trained it on Zikas. “Faustus, if you surrender, you might live.”

  For a moment, Jake thought the man might actually listen, but then chaos broke out. Jake ducked as the large window shattered as a hail of bullets poured through it. He curled around Lexi, shielding her as he pulled her to the corner of the study and flipped over the small gaming table.

  Jake glanced over the top of the table.

  Instead of opening the door, Faustus dove behind the large sofa in the middle of the room. Apparently, he’d locked it when he pushed Lexi in, and now the men who were supposed to be running in were locked outside.

  Sirens wailed in the background as bullets continued to fly through the window. Faustus tried to make a run for the door, and Jake fired a round to keep him put.

  “Papa!” she screamed, and Jake had to force her down. “My papa, we can’t leave him.”

  Jake pulled his second firearm from his ankle holster and pushed it into her hands. “If anyone comes near you, shoot them. Just like I taught you.”

  She nodded. “Okay.” Her voice trembled.

  He waited for an opening and dove across the room, searching for Lexi’s dad. “Mr. Maheras?” Another round of bullets flew in his direction. He lifted just long enough to find his target and fire through the window. A loud yell let him know he’d hit his mark. “Mr. Maheras!”

  “Under here.”

  Jake crawled to the back of the desk and found him wedged underneath it. “Come on, let me get you and Lexi out of here. Is there another way out of this study?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s go.” He took the man by the arm and led him to Lexi.

  She threw her arms around her father’s neck and cried, “Papa.”

  Jake fired off another shot. “We really should get out of this room. Police are out there, but it won’t matter if Zikas’s men find us before the police can take control of the situation.”

  “Cover me? Is that what they say?” Mr. Maheras asked Jake.

  Jake chuckled. “Yes, sir, I’ll cover you.”

  As Lexi’s father stood, Jake shielded the man. A second later, a panel opened in the wall.

  “Let me go first,” Jake said.

  Mr. Maheras nodded, and Jake stepped into the adjacent room. With it clear, he waved them through.

  “I knew that secret panel would be useful one day,” Mr. Maheras said.

  “Yes, sir, it sure was.” Jake pulled the panel closed behind them. He put his finger to his lips and lowered his head, concentrating on the sounds around him. The sirens were no longer blaring. He walked to the window and peeked outside. “Something’s wrong. We need to get out of here, now.”

  Lexi and Mr. Maheras huddled behind Jake as he carefully made his way to the door. He cracked it and checked the area just outside. The gunfire had stopped, there were no sirens, and now it seemed as though the house was empty.

  Jake’s skin crawled. Why did the police show up and then leave without securing the property and checking on the owners? He could only assume Faustus had someone on the inside, but the men he knew would never have betrayed their oath, so there had to be another reason for their departure.

  He turned to Lexi and her father. “We’re going to quietly make our way to the garage, okay?”

  They nodded, and Mr. Maheras said, “Okay.”

  Jake cracked the door open again and stepped into the hall. He’d scoped the house a few days ago on his day off when he learned Lexi’s father was coming. Jake wasn’t sure if they’d visit the home, but experience taught him it was better to be prepared.

  He’d disguised himself as a repairman, and the staff had happily let him roam all over the home. Now he was glad he’d taken the time to familiarize himself with the place.

  Keeping his bac
k against the wall, he led Mr. Maheras and Lexi down the corridor, past the stairs, and through a door to the left to a large kitchen. Just inside, they stopped, and Jake took a moment to listen.

  What was going on? Faustus had them surrounded. Why was he waiting? Jake couldn’t understand the thought process behind it. What could be holding the man back when he had the firepower to overwhelm them?

  When they reached the garage, Jake spotted the SUV he’d prepared a few days ago. He’d packed a bag for both him and Lexi in case they needed it, including her medical bag. Lexi once mentioned it belonged to her mother and was important to her.

  Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he had a crazy suspicion that not all was as it seemed. His next moves would have to be precise. Unless his gut was off.

  In one swift move, he grabbed Lexi around the waist, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and made a dash for the SUV.

  “Stop!” Mr. Maheras shouted just as Jake opened the driver door.

  “Put my daughter down and step away from her, Mr. Maverick.” The man’s voice sounded unsteady.

  Jake set Lexi down and slowly turned to her father, taking a step to shield her from the gun the man held in his unsteady hand. “I gave my word.”

  “I know,” Lexi’s father said as Faustus stepped out of the shadows and stopped next to him.

  “Papa?” Lexi choked out.

  “I’m sorry, my love, but this is the only way.”

  Faustus grinned. “See, I had a better plan. It helps when you know what you’re up against. Isn’t that right, Captain Maverick?”

  Jake narrowed his eyes. “Well, I admit, you really did do your homework, but we both know I’m not a captain.”

  “That’s right. You were dishonorably discharged for…”

  “Jake?” Lexi softly spoke his name. “What’s he talking about?”

  He kept his gaze trained on her father and Faustus. “Have I lied to you?”

  “No. I don’t think so.”

  “Then I need you to trust me and get in the car.”