The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 11

Sunday morning Isabella was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Although Evgeni hadn't completely stopped bothering her, he had messaged her more politely asking to sit down and talk. He knew of her date with Cam Torres, and he didn't approve and wanted to talk to her about it. She had not had another message from Portia since the gold-digger comment on Friday night when Cam had been with her.

As far as Torres himself went, she hadn't heard a word. Nothing. No calls, no texts, and no contact at all since he'd left her house Friday evening.

She made her way to the coffee shop where she was meeting Sabine and kept Casper on a tight leash. The sound of a catcall from across the street made her roll her eyes.

"Hey gorgeous, why don't you walk those long legs over here," the man yelled, and his statement was punctuated by his friend whistling loudly.

She told herself they were talking to someone else but as she met Sabine's eyes at the entrance to the coffee shop, she knew they were talking to her. "f**k you!" She turned and gave them both a salute her mother would have slapped the back of the head for. As she approached her friend, "if it was dark out and there weren't street cameras," she muttered.

"I'd help you flay the bastards," Sabine grimaced and then made a cooing noise as she reached down and scooped Casper up in her arms. "Hello Mr. Casper. You look particularly dapper today." She touched the bowtie Isabella had put on his collar. "Very suave. He's such a gentleman."

They entered the shop and found their favorite table in the corner and Sabine sat with Casper talking gibberish to him while Isabella went and placed their orders. They were regulars here and Casper was welcome. Only once had anyone complained and Isabella had pulled out his papers to prove his training as her emotional support dog. She rarely played the card, but it had been warranted in the moment.

After paying for their drinks and pastries she made her way back to the table and shrugged out of her wool cardigan and draped it over the back of the chair. Casper sat in the windowsill watching the world go by and she faced Sabine.

"Well, how did the date go?" Sabine made a face, "I can't believe I had to wait until now to hear about it."

"It's not my fault you wound up hiking in the Catskills in October with no cell service," Isabella echoed the face Sabine made. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking the big burly man would keep me warm, I was wrong. All he did was piss me off. He told me he was a naturalist, and he hikes and camps all the time. Why do men lie about this stuff? He couldn't unpack his tent, Isabella. The tent. He couldn't unpack the tent." She slapped the table with her hand. Her ebony skin was flushed with her annoyance and her dark eyes were glittering with irritation.

Isabella threw her head back and laughed, her dark hair cascading down her back in thick chestnut waves. "You just left?"

"Yes, I hiked my a*s back down the mountains and left his sorry a*s there. i***t. The Forest Rangers probably had to rescue him." She rubbed her forehead. "Ugh, why are we talking about this. I want to know about Friday night with Daddy Warbucks." She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly, it was the most bizarre date I've ever been on." The server stopped at their table and set their coffees between them and then their oversized puff pastries filled with jam and a small peanut butter cookie for Casper. "Why was it so weird?"

"Well, he told me he wants his daughter away from Evgeni."

"Doesn't every father?"

"Mine liked him for about a year and then he didn't," she laughed. "Papa just happened to have been holding my phone talking to Elian one night,"

"Right!" Sabine pointed at her excitedly, "the day Hugo Sr. saw Evgeni's Jr."

They both roared with laughter at the memory.

Isabella quoted her father, embellishing his accent, "if one is going to photograph such a thing, you would think it would be at the very least impressive." "I've seen bigger sardines," they said in unison as they cackled loudly.

Isabella wiped her eyes with her thumbs and sniffed as she struggled to pull it together. "My dad is the best."

"He really is," Sabine hiccupped as she leaned back in the chair.

Isabella took a bite of her pastry and groaned. "Oh my god this is so good."

"What did you have for dinner at your fancy restaurant?" Sabine asked curiously.

She pursed her lips, "I ordered the squid ink pasta," she made a face which had Sabine instantly shaking her finger at her.

"No, no, no, no," She shook her head, her finger wagging at Isabella. "Ordered but did not eat? You did not walk out of the restaurant."

"I did." She groaned, "he pulled a caveman move so I ducked out the kitchen and into an uber."

"Why?" Sabine eyed her seriously, "you do this all the time."

"I had a good reason."

"You always do until you don't."

"He suggested we date to make Evgeni leave me alone. His thought was once his daughter realized Evgeni was being a total jerk and lying about me chasing him, she would dump his a*s." "It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Somehow he made it make sense."

"You agreed," Sabine was stunned, and her eyes rounded incredulously.

"I did."

"Did you have wine?"

"Yes."

"Damn."

"Right?"

"So now what?"

"Well then he pulled off the most machismo bullshit, he called Mikhail."

"Evgeni's dad?"

"Yup." She made a face and scratched her temple, "he literally called Mikhail and said I'm dating Isabella so get your son under control."

Sabine covered her mouth with her hand, "no, he did not."

"Yes, he did. Staked a claim on me like I was the village cow."

Sabine choked on her coffee at Isabella's words. "What did you say?"

"Well, I contemplated dumping my lovely bowl of pasta over his condescending yet absolutely gorgeous head but then realized I was sitting in a five-star restaurant with a billionaire. I opted instead to go the bathroom, call an uber and go home and kick the crap out of my dummy." They clinked coffee cups, "good call." Sabine said.

"I'm learning."

"You are."

"Then he showed up at my house."

Sabine bit out a curse word and made a few heads turn and Isabella giggled into her hand.

"Where he apologized for being an overbearing jerk," Isabella admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah, apologized which, if you know my dating history doesn't happen often with the idiots I go out with."

"This is so absolutely true. You date stupid people."

"I do." Isabella couldn't deny it. "I like big jacked up men with lots of muscles and tattoos"

"Which means steroids, no brains and small dicks." Sabine concluded matter-of-factly. Her blonde curls barely moving as she mocked Isabella's dating history.

"Anyway," Isabella sipped her coffee. "I accepted his apology. Then we were chatting, and he was going to stay for pizza and watch the game. He mentioned how Portia was a bit on the lost side."

"You feel sorry for her!" Sabine's brown eyes were nearly black with condemnation. "Stop pitying the enemy."

"I can't help it. She is young and naïve and surrounded by men and no women to lift her up. He said he was concerned. I was telling him how Evgeni operates with the grandiose displays of affection and how, if his Portia is desperate for attention, she would be lapping it up and he raced home to talk to his little girl." She ripped the pastry apart with her fingers in annoyance, "he said he'd call, and I haven't heard from him."

"You're thinking he changed his mind on the plan?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "but it's not like me to wait by my phone like a stage five clinger and yet there I was last night at my mother's house checking my phone every three minutes to see if I missed his call."

"You like this guy." Sabine exhaled with a half smile. "I like that you like him!"

"He challenges me," Isabella said with a hint of confusion. "He makes me think, and he makes me annoyed and then he makes me laugh in the next breath. I've had a handful of conversations with him and damn," she rolled her eyes, "you're right. I like him." "What's the problem with liking him?" Sabine asked her.

"He's old. He's twelve years older than me. He's stupid rich. He's probably a mercenary according to Clara and I'm afraid."

"Of what? You could take him."

"Of getting hurt," she replied simply with a shake of her head knowing Sabine deliberately misinterpreted her words. "The plan was to spend a month or so hanging out and dating and then when his daughter is safe from the clutches of Evgeni and Evgeni is leaving me alone again, hopefully moved on to someone else, then we go our separate ways."

"And?"

"Sabine, I literally stalked my own phone last night and was up half the night wondering why he didn't call. After one date. One. I can't do it. I'd rather deal with Evgeni's psychotic behaviour knowing he can't hurt emotionally than me than deal with the possibility of having my heart crushed by some guy with way more experience with flings than I have."

"Let me get this straight. A gorgeous man who is employed," she threw the dig at the fact Evgeni was living off his trust funds, "wants to date you and you're worried you might get hurt."

"Yes," she looked at Sabine. "Sabby, I let him in my house without even a second thought. He was in my basement. I put the Draxton app on his phone. All within an hour."

Sabine leaned back and folded her arms and studied her friend curiously, "I agree, weird for you."

"Right? And" she flung her arms in exasperation, "Elian told my mom I was out with him, and I actually didn't deny it but confirmed it."

"No!" Sabine mocked her.

"You laugh but you know this is weird." She finished her coffee and looked at the bottom of the cup longingly. "I need another one." She looked for her server who waved back and gave her a thumbs up. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm not doing it, obviously. I mean, it's likely he's changed his mind anyway so it's moot." She allowed Casper to jump on her lap from the window and fed him a piece of his cookie. "Anyway, so this describes my weird date from Friday night."

She accepted the coffee the server put in front of her with a grateful smile.

"How'd your debriefing go this week?" Sabine asked suddenly.

"Ugh," she stirred her coffee and stroked Casper. "I made the mistake of admitting I had a nightmare in the last month. One nightmare in six months and psych was ready to send me for full eval."

"I thought you looked pissed off when you left."

"I was pissed off." She admitted. "What about you?"

"Do you know how much shrinking they give the shrink?" Sabine rolled her eyes. "I went back to school to get my doctorate in psychology and somehow they think this allows me special abilities to avoid questions or to twist my answers to suit my evaluation." "And does it?" Isabella grinned widely

"Yes," Sabine laughed, "but if you ever tell anyone I'll deny it and make you look crazy while I do it."

"I needed this." Isabella smiled at her friend. "I really did. It's been a hell of a week and I needed this more than I needed a debrief."

"Big plans this week?"

"Papa and I have a game Tuesday night."

"I don't know how you get into sports like you do." Sabine teased, "for a nerd you sure are a jock."

"I'm well rounded," Isabella corrected and grimaced at the sound of her phone ringing coming from her purse. "I swear if this is my mother asking me to come to church, I'm telling her I'm Wiccan."

"I dare you," Sabine's eyes danced excitedly at the prospect.

She made a face and answered the phone keeping her eyes on her friend. "Torres, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She grinned as Sabine wriggled in her seat and pumped her fists in the air.

"What are you doing?" Cam's voice was soft in her ear.

"Having breakfast with a friend."

"Male or female."

She looked at Sabine, "not your business Torres."

"When I said we were dating, I meant exclusively." He said seriously.

"Oh," she lifted her eyebrows in surprise and pursed her lips at Sabine. "Are we exclusively dating?"

"I was calling to see if you were busy for lunch."

"Sorry, I have plans. Ouch!" she rubbed her shin where Sabine kicked her and glared at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but I'm busy. I'm having breakfast with my friend and then we're going to take Casper to the park."

"I want to see you, Isabella. I feel we left Friday night on a strange note."

"And what Torres wants, Torres gets?" she mocked. "I told you, I'm not free for lunch."

"Dinner then," he pushed. "I promise not to chase you out the back door of the restaurant."

"Can't," she shook her head. "Hey!" She reached for her phone Sabine had yanked out of her hand.

"Hey Torres, I'm Sabby. I'm Bella's best friend and she is free for dinner tonight. Pick her up at seven, take her somewhere nice and don't blow it. Also, if you hurt her, I know a whole crew of women who will absolutely f**k you over so don't make her cry. She may act tough, but she's very soft-hearted and quite pathetic, if I'm being honest." She then hung up the phone and passed it back to her. "There, now you have a date."

"I hate you." Isabella's cheeks were burning.

"You love me and if we liked girls, we'd be married to each other." Sabine grinned a white toothy smile. "Now, let's talk about whether or not you're going to put out on the second date."

"Sabine!" Isabella groaned and dropped her head on the table and Casper licked her cheek. Her phone pinged and she looked at the phone and it was text message from Cam that simply said seven pm.

Sabine looked over at the message and quipped. "At least it's not an eggplant emoji. He's an improvement already."