The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 21

Cam shifted uncomfortably in his theatre seat. He and Portia had gone for a nice dinner and the show was near ending and he had been sitting far longer than his body was used to. "Dad, stop fidgeting," she nudged him, chastising him.

"The seats are hard on the a*s," he grumbled uncomfortably but dropped his hand over her shoulder and hugged her to him, dropping a kiss on her head. She had loved every moment of the evening from the time he'd picked her up at the house, to the expensive dinner and then the show. They were watching Chicago and he had to admit, it was damn good, but his a*s was numb.

As the music came to an end, he stretched his arms overhead and laughed as Portia jumped up and down in her seat. "Daddy, I loved it. I loved it so much. This was the best night. I had no idea I loved theatre."

"Well, I'm glad you did. Maybe we can come more often." "Could we?"

Her eyes were hopeful, and he realized he had been working too much and not giving her what she needed from him, regardless of the fact she was a young adult. "Of course, we can Portia." As they stood up, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you!"

They exited the theatre with security in tow and were heading straight to the car when Portia grabbed his arm.

"What is it, Portia?"

"I'm not ready to go home yet." She met his eyes and smiled sadly. "I'll just sit by my stupid phone waiting for Evgeni to send me a text. Can we go for a walk or do something else?"

He looked at his watch and then at Gideon who appeared he'd rather shoot himself than to walk through New York at night, but he couldn't lie, he was feeling the same way. He'd called Isabella multiple times since he'd left her house the evening before and hadn't had a single response from her. He was frustrated as hell.

"Can you walk in those shoes?" he grinned at her feet.

"Daddy, I could climb a mountain in these," she grinned back, "if I could climb mountains."

He laughed at her words and then looped her hand through his elbow. "Let's go for a stroll around Times Square"

They walked with Gideon and Portia's personal guard Felix in proximity. Cam felt himself being on edge aware his daughter's request was putting them in danger. With his wealth there was no shortage of nutjobs out in the world who would want to take what is his, including his daughter. Few people knew he had a child and in his line of work, one could never be too sure.

"Dad, when you were younger, where did you hang out? Did you come to Times Square a lot?"

He heard Gideon laugh at the question.

"No Portia, my childhood was definitely not Times Square, though we came here once in a while if we were causing s**t," he looked over his shoulder and saw the laughter in his best friend's eyes. "Or to impress girls with the s**t we could do." She giggled, "so where did you grow up then Dad?"

"East Harlem," he said quietly, "and it's not the same East Harlem growing and starting to see some levels of prosperity over the last few years. When I grew up there it was rough, everyone was poor, gangs were a thing and going for a walk like this at this time of night was not something you did unless you had your posse with you."

"Can you show me?"

"Maybe another time Portia," he said simply.

"Dad, you and Gideon and Felix will keep me safe."

"It's a twenty-minute drive."

"Please?"

He looked to Gideon who shrugged, "alright, let's go."

Forty minutes later he admitted he was more on edge than he had been in Times Square. The area he'd grown up had gentrified, yuppies building condominiums and coffee shops but behind the polish and shine of some of the newer storefronts, the same poverty- stricken faces were around. He pointed to an apartment complex up further, "there's the place where your grandparents brought us up."

"Dragged you up," Gideon corrected with a laugh as he walked on the other side of Portia.

Cam realized they were flanking his daughter and even though it was highly unlikely anything would happen to her, their past experiences in this neighborhood had their nerves unsettled. It wasn't the same community and yet it still impacted them both. "Dragged me up is right, mostly because I fought them tooth and nail. Your poor grandfather," he laughed and pointed to the street corner, "once had to fight the father of a girl I kissed right there. Turns out it wasn't her father, but her husband and my fourteen- year-old self was too stupid to see I was being played."

"No!" She laughed at the story, "Dad, it's terrible."

He chuckled and patted her hand in the crook of his elbow, "it is. Your grandfather didn't talk to me for six weeks."

"Because his mouth was wired shut," Gideon laughed. "He still fared better than the other guy. He beat him to a pulp and then his brothers all came out and jumped your grandfather."

Portia was horrified, "you're kidding, right?"

"It was a different way back then Portia," he shrugged, "the one thing we always knew how to do when we were kids was fight." He pointed to a corner store and a pizza joint, "that pizza place was my first job." "Isabella," his daughter said seriously.

"What?" he looked at her as if she had stuttered and saw her looking down the street. "It is Isabella. What the hell is she doing here?"

He watched as she escorted another girl into a building and shook her head laughing before turning to jump back down the stairs and lean against the concrete stairs obviously waiting. He looked to Gideon, "who's the other girl." "Sister, Amelia, midwife."

"Jesus Dad," Portia wrinkled her nose suddenly forgetting she had asked him to kill her, "what did you do, have Gideon research her entire family?"

"Yes," he was not remorseful. "This is a tough neighborhood, and she shouldn't be standing there on her own." He watched as she casually leaned propping her foot against concrete stairs into the building.

"f**k," Gideon said suddenly and tilted his chin across the street from where Isabella was lounging.

A shady looking guys was eying her up and immediately crossed the street towards her.

"Go," Cam ordered torn between keeping his daughter safe and protecting his girlfriend. He watched as Gideon made strides but then heard Portia gasp at the scene unfolding.

As the guy pulled a gun out, Portia gripped his arm tightly. Then all three of them, Gideon several feet in front of them stopped dead in their tracks as Isabella noticed the man and without even hesitating managed to disarm him.

She reached out with a long arm, swept behind him, ripped the gun out of his hand, dumped the cartridge on the ground and then beat the man in the temple with the gun.

As the man fell to the ground, she started kicking him in the ribs and chest and was yelling at him. "You," she kicked him furiously, "do not approach me with a gun and think I'm not going to kick your f*****g a*s!" She punctuated each word with a punch to the face and then shoved him backwards to the ground.

Gideon reached her before Cam did and he went to pull her off the man she was beating into a pulp. She pulled her fist back as if to strike him and then furrowed her brow as she recognized him.

"Jesus Gideon, what rock did you climb out of?" she frowned at him. "Tell me you're not f*****g stalking me too?"

"No," Cam spoke up behind his friend aware she hadn't noticed him yet, "Portia and I were out checking out my old neighborhood and saw you beating up the neighborhood thug. What the hell are you doing here on the street on your own?"

Isabella groaned as she saw Cam standing there. "My sister has a patient here who was worried her water may have broken early. I came with her to keep her company. It's normally pretty quiet on this street."

"You just beat him up by yourself," Portia exclaimed gleefully. "Really cool."

Isabella grimaced, "did you see me do it? Then you should know to stop texting me, calling me, and making me nuts. Evgeni is a lying sack of s**t. I don't want him, and I haven't wanted him since I left him three years ago. Stop messaging me or I'll kick your a*s too." "Hey," Cam cut in, "don't talk to her like that. You don't threaten my kid."

Isabella muffled a curse in Spanish as the guy laying on the ground started to groan. "Shut the hell up," she kicked him in the stomach, "I didn't say you could get up." She rested her foot on his back and pointed at Portia, "stop harassing me."

"Okay," she swallowed nervously, "it's just Evgeni said,"

"He lied," Isabella cut in angrily.

"Oh," Portia blinked, her blue eyes batting furiously as if trying to stop tears from forming. "Then he just doesn't like me and really was only using me to try to make you jealous."

Cam watched as Isabella nudged the guy on the ground and ignored Portia's comment. Her face was flushed and angry and her eyes glittered dangerously. He had seen the look before but never on someone he'd slept with. He watched as she reigned her temper in and then grabbed the guy, his face bloodied, by the collar and tried to make him stand.

"Get up shitbag." The guy grunted at her, "I said get up. Get up and get the hell out of here." She tilted her chin. "Get lost before I finish the job."

"You're going to just let him walk?" Gideon went to go after them

"I sure as hell am not filing the police report," she grimaced angrily, "it's after eleven. By the time the police get here and take a statement it'll be after midnight. He'll think twice before trying to rob a woman." She waved at Gideon who was not happy with her decision, "fine, do your worst. I don't care but I'm not chasing him. I have to get my sister home."

Just then Amelia came down the stairs, "false alarm. What the hell?" She stopped midstride down the stairs as she took the man staggering to his feet. "Not again."

Cam's eyebrows rose at the words. Again?

"He tried to mug me." Isabella shrugged as if it explained everything.

"You can't beat up every single person who tries to mug you Isabella Carolina Ruiz," Amelia slapped at her sister. "I have to work in this neighborhood." She looked to the others with her sister. "Who is the Rolex? He doesn't look like he's here to mug you." Isabella groaned and motioned between Cam and Amelia. "Amelia, Cam Torres, his daughter Portia, his muscle Gideon." She looked at her sister and sighed, "all I wanted was a nice relaxing evening."

"Well, you got to beat someone up," Amelia grinned, "and I have something to tell Mama"

"You will not," Isabella ground out.

Amelia grinned at Cam, "Rolex is good looking. No wonder you're hiding in the house and avoiding him. Coward."

"Shut up 'Melia," Isabella rolled her eyes. "I'm not avoiding anyone."

"Then why are you ducking my calls?" Cam jumped on the bandwagon.

"Because you're an antagonistic jerk who treats me like a child and I have enough bossy men in my life without adding another one." She was watching with interest as Gideon was lifting the man off the ground and studying his face intently. It was apparent Gideon knew the kid from somewhere.

"So, you admit you're avoiding my calls."

"Yup," she saw Portia grinning at her. "What?"

"You're amazing." She clapped her hands together, "you're nothing like Evgeni said you are. He made it seem like you're some fragile girl who needs him. He told me you had all kinds of trauma in your life, and you had therapy dogs and nightlights and you were always begging him to take care of you."

Amelia threw her head back and roared with laughter at Portia's comments as Isabella closed her eyes and tried to control her rage at her ex-boyfriend.

Isabella shook her head. "He's a liar Portia and it's all I can tell you." She looked at Amelia, "you ready to go?"

"Yes, we can go." She eyed Cam with interest, "though I'd really love to stay and chat more."

"Not happening," Isabella said seriously, "let's go."

Cam watched Isabella pull her sister down the road towards a beat-up car and then slam the car door just before they pulled away from the curb. Amelia driving as they went past, waved excitedly in their direction but Isabella simply stared straight ahead ignoring his presence.

He looked to Gideon, "clean this mess up please. Make sure he never attempts to rob anyone ever again, least of all my girlfriend."

Portia slapped his arm, "Dad, she's not your girlfriend. She clearly said she doesn't want you around. I mean, I get why you like her. She's fantastic and strong and reminds me a bit of Deadpool."

Cam titled his head, "what?"

"You know Deadpool. The character Ryan Reynolds plays in the movies. Really mouthy and rude but brutal. I bet nobody beat her up in school."

"I know who Deadpool is," he shook his head at her, "I didn't think you liked those kind of movies."

"It's Ryan Reynolds," she made a face at him.

"I give up," he looked at Gideon and motioned for Felix who was now jogging down the street in their direction. Gideon was on the phone giving instructions and in seconds their car was pulling up to the curb. "Home, enough excitement for one night." As they went home, Portia didn't stop talking about how Isabella had taken down the man with a gun, all by herself using Karate like a superhero. Cam sat quietly wondering what, out of the file Gideon couldn't build, explained everything he'd just witnessed of Isabella Ruiz. As he recalled Portia saying Evgeni mentioned childhood trauma, he decided he was going to replace out exactly what he was dealing with, if it meant pulling it directly from the source itself.