Fake Boyfriend - Miley Maine Page 0,29
aware of your surroundings and how to get away if it comes to that.”
“I’ve taken plenty of self defense classes. I even took a Krav Maga class.”
“That’s great. But most of those classes don’t go deep enough. You need more. If you’re going to carry a purse that’s worth more than some cars, then you need a crash course on how to protect yourself.”
“Do you think I should get rid of the purse?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Do you think I shouldn’t have been carrying it?” I asked.
“No. I don’t think that at all. I wouldn’t have known that it made you a target. But some asshole did.”
“It’s not right that a purse could make someone a target.”
“No it’s not right. But I don’t care what’s right. I care what works. For that matter, I think you should rehire your bodyguard.”
“What?” I could not believe what I was hearing.
“I think it would be safer if you had a bodyguard.”
“Have you listened to a word I said?”
“Look. I’m not the public relations guy for a reason. I get stuff done, and I say what I think. There’s no point in sugar-coating it. You’d be safer with a bodyguard.”
That was bullshit. Safer? From what? From never having a life of my own? “Wouldn’t anyone be safer?” I yelled.
“Possibly. But definitely you.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “If my sister had had a bodyguard, she’d--”
He rarely talked about his siblings. “She’d what?” I asked.
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. But you should reconsider the security issue. Even if it’s just when traveling. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Where did he get off? I thought he’d understood how I felt about this topic. “You’re just like everyone else. You think you know what’s best for me.”
“In some circumstances, I do know what’s best. Such as how to give escaping from a criminal your very best shot.”
I was so pissed off I couldn’t think straight. I picked up a stick and cracked it in half. It didn’t really help quell my rage.
Jackson didn’t even raise his voice. “There’s no point in getting mad. The first time you were alone, someone tried to rob you. What if someone had something more sinister in mind? Your family is powerful. They have a shitload of money. There are people who’d exploit that.”
I had to concede that he had a point, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. “I don’t think you’re being realistic. No one has ever tried to kidnap me or anyone else in my family.”
“Fine. Don’t listen to me.”
“I thought you were different. I thought you’d listened to me,” I said, desperately trying to keep the whine out of my voice but probably not succeeding.
“Loren. I gave my honest opinion. That doesn’t mean I didn’t listen. If you don’t want a bodyguard, don’t have one. I wouldn’t. No matter what.”
“You wouldn't?” I asked.
“Hell no. Every time I’ve been around a president or a prime minister, I can’t imagine what that would be like. No amount of prestige would be worth losing my privacy like that.”
I deflated. Obviously this was still a touchy subject for me. There was no reason for me to go nuclear just because Jackson expressed his opinion. He was military. He had a different mindset than me, and that was okay.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m going to have to be calm about this. It won’t be the last time I discuss it, even if it’s not with you.”
“You know how I feel. I understand how you feel. And I won’t bring it up again.” Jackson lifted one eyebrow. “One last piece of advice from someone who’s lived longer than you have -- don’t make decisions based on emotion.”
I mulled that over for a moment. Then Jackson and I found a decent-sized clearing with a grassy spot, and he went through some basic drills with me, such as how to hold my hands if I was getting tied up with rope, and how to escape handcuffs, and zip ties if I ever did get tied up.
He taught me how to be aware of exits, and where to sit in restaurants and movie theaters, and how to watch a crowd to see if it was going to turn into a violent mob. Then he went into topics that might affect me more, such as how to tell if someone was following me, and what to do if so.
By the end, I was more than a little overwhelmed, and I told him so.
“That’s okay. It took me years to