Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,25
dismissed as pranks, but I’m afraid we have to take them seriously after what happened today.”
My mother raises an eyebrow when he stops talking. Reluctantly, he continues. “I’ve hired personal security for you, Evie, your mother, and myself. Some of the board members are doing the same—”
“You what?” I don’t wait for him to finish; I can’t.
The situation is getting more and more dire as he speaks. In the past three years, after I disappeared from the scene, the gossip columns mostly left me alone. My friends and even the influencers and social media celebrities grew tired of me quickly. I barely get tagged in photos and posts anymore. I can go on the subway without attracting curious glances, and nobody bothers me on campus. I’m free to do as I like, be with whoever I want, and don’t have to read about my life online anymore.
But this? This will undo everything I built in the past three years and throw me back right where I was before… Before he left.
“It’s a necessary precaution, Zach,” my father is saying when I tune back in.
“No,” I manage through gritted teeth. “I’ll stay here if that’s what you want, but I’m not walking around with a bodyguard!”
“It’s not up for discussion.”
I know the finality in my father’s tone well. It’ll be a complete waste of time to argue. I gear up for an argument anyway.
“Honey.” My mother cups my cheek, stopping me lashing out at my father. “Your father and I discussed this before we made the decision.” She glances at him, and when she turns back to me, the determination in her eyes takes me by surprise. “We have to do everything we can to protect you and Evie. And if that means hiring the best people in the business, then that’s what we’ll do.” She purses her mouth and tilts her chin stubbornly. I’ve rarely seen Mom take such a firm position on something. She’s usually the mediator, the calm after the storm my father caused.
And then it hits me. The realization of what they’ve done nearly knocks the breath right out my lungs.
“No way,” I say, a hysterical giggle bubbling to the surface. “No fucking way.”
Nobody else laughs.
I jump to my feet, taking the distance between the couch and the desk in three long strides and slam my palms on the surface.
“You hired my ex to be my bodyguard? Are you fucking kidding me?”
My father doesn’t even flinch. “He’s the best in the business. His company will be responsible for the security of our family, as well as the penthouse and the offices.”
“There was nobody else?” I shout. “Nobody else in the fucking company was available? It had to be him, personally?” My hands shake when I bring them to my face.
My father shrugs as if this isn’t a big deal. As if my world isn’t turning on its axis right now.
“When the best in the business offers his services, you don’t turn him down,” he says.
“He volunteered?”
My father nods.
Why? Why would Alec do that? He’s the one who left. He’s the one who broke my heart, packed his bags, and went to the other side of the country—to fucking Los Angeles—to get as far away from me as possible.
He didn’t even call after Evie’s accident.
And now he’s back in New York and volunteering to be my bodyguard? Something isn’t adding up.
Before I can collect my thoughts into a suitable argument against this arrangement, there’s a knock on the door. My father throws me a meaningful look before he stands and walks to the door, opening it wide.
“Alec. Good to see you.” They shake hands before Alec steps into the room.
Seeing him after all this time feels like a punch to the gut. Instinctively, I wrap an arm over my stomach and seek the edge of the desk for support. Alec’s eyes are glued on mine as he walks further into the room. He breaks eye contact, only to greet my mother who stands and accepts air kisses on both cheeks from him. I notice her worried glance in my direction.
I can’t take my eyes off of him even if I want to. And I really really want to.
He looks better than I remembered. Tall, built like a Roman god, dressed in a suit that fits him perfectly. His dark hair is shorter than I remember, and his dark eyes scan me from top to bottom as if checking for damage.