The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 47

"This is bullshit," Isabella uttered for the umpteenth time as she was sat waiting in the conference room where she'd been taken once Ben had dropped her off at Juggernaut. She'd been sitting there for nearly an hour. Suddenly the door opened, and Gideon walked in, "hey, you got a go-bag at home?"

"Yeah," she made a face, "but I'm supposedly not allowed to go there."

"I'm taking you now. Let's go." He motioned for her to follow. "Cam is on his way to the airfield. We'll meet him there."

She nodded and followed him out.

"I am telling you now Isabella, Cam has told Mikhail if there is even one guy at your house when we get there, we have orders to kill and clean."

"I'll let them in my house," she muttered darkly, "ain't nobody coming out of there alive but me."

Gideon chuckled as he hit the elevator button to take them to the underground parking. "That's our girl."

He led her out of the elevator to an Aston Martin and motioned for her to get in the passenger seat. "Nice ride."

"Thanks," he didn't get her car door for her.

Isabella realized he was simply treating her the way he would anyone on his team and expecting her to do what the guys would do. Part of her had been worried she was going to be protected and kept in bubble wrap, but Gideon's calm façade and no-nonsense attitude were telling her otherwise. He was expecting her to behave as an experienced soldier or spy. There would be no special treatment.

Everything in her wanted details but she'd been on enough missions with Clara to know most leaders don't like repeating themselves. They'd know details together when the entire group was assembled. She'd never worked with a bunch of men before. "Who's taking care of Casper?" he asked ten minutes into the drive.

"Someone from my team will have gotten him from my place already and taken him on a holiday."

"How would they get in? Cam mentioned you have biometrics for security."

She took a breath, "I own the house next door. Lacey can access my basement. My company changes the codes each time she accesses my house for security purposes, but she can get in one time before the codes change. She'll grab him and hold him until our crazy cat lady collects him. He knows the drill and the cat lady spoils him worse than I ever have. Usually, he's a little s**t for a few days after I get back. I used to think it was because he was annoyed with me for leaving but it's because he misses her. She works from home and," she rubbed her face, "she had her grandmother knit her a sweater with a special pouch on it so she can carry him everywhere. I don't think his feet touch the floor from the minute she collects him."

Gideon's chuckle made her smile for the first time since she'd left Draxton. "He's in good hands then. I was concerned since we were going at the drop of a hat."

"I know Cam told you what I do Gideon, I mean Clara outed me in front you of you both. The collective I work for leaves nothing to chance, including my dog. If something happened to me, Casper is set up for the rest of his doggy life to live in the lap of luxury. Though, I know one of my girlfriends would take him."

"They'll have to fight me for him," Gideon tossed her a sideways grin as he pulled onto her street. "I always thought if I ever had a dog, I'd want a big as one but there's something about him."

"It's his cuteness in a bowtie." She winked and noted the car across the street from her house. "The car is too fancy for my neighborhood and isn't mine. Rather than spill some blood with kids on the street," she motioned to a family walking up the road, "take a right up ahead and then another right. Park behind the green house. We'll go in through the shed."

"Through the shed?"

"Trust me Gideon. I'm assuming we really don't have time to deal with one of Evgeni's goons." "We don't."

"Then you can come with me through the shed."

They parked where she suggested and when they stepped into a fenced backyard. "This isn't your yard," he spoke quietly as they walked through the gate.

"Yes, it is. I said I own the house next to me, but I own this one as well. Investing in real estate in Queens is smart." She put her palm against the shed door, "also my own backyard has no gate to the street and the fence is high. The house across the street can see into my yard is owned by our collective. Our chemical expert lives there."

"Chemical expert?"

"Clean up crew," she shrugged as they strolled through the shed. If Gideon had any thoughts on the bike parked in it or the fact it was more a garage than a shed, he said nothing. They exited into Lacey's backyard and walked through the backdoor down a flight of stairs.

They walked down the stairs and Gideon stopped in his tracks. "What the actual f**k is this?"

"My armory," she motioned to a panel at the far corner, "on the other side of the wall there is my gym which leads directly into my house. To get down in here, Lacey must know the code, which she's already used to get Casper." She pressed her hand against a biometric scanner and the cage over her weapons rolled upwards to the ceiling. She bent down and pulled a cabinet door open. "You have a hell of a collection of guns, Isabella."

"That one," she pointed, "the rocket launcher, I stole from a job we did in the Middle East. I beat him up and took his gun. They let me keep it as a souvenir."

"How many kills do you have Isabella?" He was quiet as he turned in the room, taking in the guns, knives, swords, and protective armor. It wasn't a large room, but it was stocked.

She paused as she checked her handgun and ammo and threw it into the bag along with her favorite knives and looked for her good luck charm, "twenty-six," she paused, "in the last month, no wait twenty-seven if you count the a*****e who took Portia, though it was a joint effort and Sabby insists since she cut his throat, she's the one who gets the point."

"What?"

She cast a glance over his shoulder and caught his stunned expression, "is that bad? Were you expecting more?"

"How many total?" Gideon's mouth was hanging open.

"Well, I've been in the field five years, I do one major mission a month and then the odd one weekly or biweekly. I don't kill someone every time I go out because, well, teamwork and all, but" she grinned completely aware of the depravity of her words, "four- hundred and eighty-six perverts have died either by my knife or bullet. I really hate perverts and unfortunately the s*x trade industry is on the rise. I have plenty to work with."

"You have four hundred and eighty-six confirmed kills," Gideon asked quietly.

"Yes." She stood up and flung her bag towards his feet, "don't ask questions you don't want answers to Gideon." She gave him a cold stare as he slowly shook his head.

"I should have asked you out instead of Torres," he grinned suddenly eliciting a laugh from her.

"s**t," she turned back and took her engagement ring off, "thanks for reminding me. Can't bring jewelry with me. Some things I don't want to lose in the field. Clara didn't even notice it either she was in such a rage." She dropped her cell phone on the ledge and then closed the gate locking her ring and phone inside.

She grabbed a set of clothes she would normally wear in the field outside of the city, "turn around so I can change now. The thought of showing up to a bunch of men in a pantsuit isn't appealing."

He turned and waited patiently while she changed. "I can't wait to tell Cam I was in the room while you got undressed. He's going to be thrilled."

She laughed, "you two are like brothers. You taunt each other the way my siblings and I do."

"When we moved back from Japan, my mom was a single mom and the army pension when my dad died was pathetic. She worked long hours in a factory, and I spent a lot of time with Cam's family." "What happened to your dad?" she asked curiously.

"Stupidly, some i***t on the base decided to store a bunch of fireworks. He was going to take them home to America and was stockpiling them. They were in a tool shed for lawnmowers and stuff and it wasn't insulated. It got hot. The gasoline vapors ignited. Fireworks exploded. Dad was impaled by a firework through the chest a hundred yards away."

"Jesus," Isabella poked her head through her t-shirt.

"Ironically," he noted she was approaching him with a vest over her t-shirt, "when I was fifteen, a bunch of kids were playing on the street with fireworks on the fourth of July and I got hit in the throat." "Is this why your voice," she waved at him unsure of how to word it.

"Yup. My poor mother nearly had a stroke, imagine losing your husband and almost losing your kid to stupid fireworks. Needless to say, she doesn't like them." He looked her up and down, "you're fast."

"Have to be." She was in full tactical gear from boots, her rucksack on her shoulder and she was tying her hair up in tight braids. "Let's go." She motioned to the door. She hit a button on the side of the door as they were leaving, and she grinned. "This button tells Lacey I've left."

They walked back through the shed and made their way to the car. Gideon drove away from the house just as Cam called his cell. It went straight to the car's display. "We're just leaving the house. Your girl has an impressive basement." "I've seen the gym." Cam's voice was dry and moderately bored.

Gideon's low laugh was taunting, "I saw where she hides her guns and her missile launchers. I also was in the room when she changed from her work clothes to her current attire. I'm considering driving in the opposite direction of the airfield." "A*****e," Cam growled, "Isabella, don't give him an inch."

"What about eleven?" Gideon asked.

Isabella laughed aloud, "is this how this whole thing is going to go?"

"Cam's a better leader when he's pissed off." Gideon grinned at her. "I mean I saw your missile launcher. Don't you want to see mine?" He winked at her making it clear he was just kidding and was totally trying to screw with Cam. "I mean, eleven inches," she kept her voice neutral, "I'm curious."

"Isabella, you're on my s**t list when you get here. Gideon, touch my girl and I'll cut off the eleven and your balls with it."

They both laughed as Gideon tore through the streets leaving Isabella's neighborhood in the distance.

"What's your ETA?"

"Twenty minutes, give or take," Gideon said quickly, "assuming I don't get pulled over."

"I thought you'd be longer."

"Nah, Isabella's a pro. She had us in and out, changed into her gear and her bag packed in under ten."

"You really changed your clothes with Gideon in the room?"

"He had his back turned," Isabella rolled her eyes at the car's display. "Are you going to act like the overprotective lover the whole time? If so, I'm going to our headquarters to live for a week."

"Fiancé, not lover," he corrected glibly, "and no. Once you are here, you're a grunt on the team."

At her raised eyebrows Gideon held up a hand to stop her speaking, "sure, sure, she knows. I'm hanging up now. We will see you soon."

"I'm not doing grunt work," she grumbled.

"Humor me and don't tell him what you told me in your armory. Let's shock the guy a bit. It's not often I know a significant detail he doesn't have. Please give me this." Gideon's eyes beseeched her for compliance. "Fine, but" she pointed at him, "I want something in return."

"What?" he didn't look enthused at her request.

"No mollycoddling. I don't want to be treated like some rookie on the team. I can follow orders and I can take direction so give it to me. Don't hold back and don't treat me like the boss' fiancé. I can hold my own." "Deal," Gideon nodded his agreement.

"Also, I'm not bunking with Torres."

Gideon lifted his eyebrows at her words. "He's not going to agree."

"If I want seven other people to have my back on the field, I can't be having them second guessing whether I'm putting them at risk. You talk to him and make him see I need to part of the team, not the boss' bitch." He scratched the side of his face and nodded slowly, "I'll see what I can do but he's going to pissed off about it."

"Sucks to be him. He's the one who demanded I tag along and at your suggestion I might add. The only reason I agreed is because my boss, and I don't mean Clara, gave me three options and this was the less of all of them." "What were your other two?"

"Staying at headquarters indefinitely. It would mean not working at Draxton and being at the disposal of my boss and our psych department. It also means I'd be staying on site with the new recruits, and I just don't have the mental capacity to deal with the crying or anger. I'm not Sabby and I'm not equipped to deal with emotional females on a grand scale. There are usually at least fifty recruits at any given time. I can deal with one or two but fifty or sixty, well, it's a giant hell no from me." "Option two?"

"Cam's suggestion of being on a yacht with Portia. Don't get me wrong, I'm starting to warm up to her but being on a boat in the middle of nowhere with no place for me to get away from her, it's entirely possible I throw myself overboard." "The boat is huge," Gideon said seriously, "I usually spend my time at one end while she's at the other."

"Do you think she would leave me alone?"

"No," he chuckled at her point. "She'd be so far up your a*s she'd need to be pried off."

"Exactly. I'm not ready for this level of intimacy with her, thanks. I mean I get Cam's a package deal and all but baby steps Gideon, baby steps."

"If I had to make the same choice, I'd pick the jungle too." Just then he turned sharply onto a dirt road and cast her a glance, "we're almost there. Buckle up Isabella. You're in for a wild ride."