The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 9

She went to the fridge acutely aware the man was looking around her kitchen and waiting for her to invite him to sit. She didn't. Instead, she pulled out two beer, passed him one and set hers on the counter. She then opened a small packet of something odoriferous wafting in his direction and listened to him choke on the smell while Casper ran in excited little circles around her feet.

"Freeze dried anchovies," she shook the bag at him. "I went to Spain last year and brought them back as a joke for Elian's new pizza place. Casper chewed through my suitcase to get to them. I now order them in for him. He saw the delivery guy earlier and he's been waiting patiently for them." She passed him a piece of the silvery skinned fish and watched as he raced to the crate in the kitchen.

He had his shirt over his nose, "they are rank."

"True but look how happy they make him." She washed her hands thoroughly to make certain the scent was off her before she twisted the top of her beer and took a long drink.

"He's spoiled. You literally order his treats from overseas. You have no right to judge me about my kid. Your dog gets imported fish."

"He keeps me sane," she met his gaze, "I'd buy him the factory."

"Are you always this loyal?"

"To those who are important to me yes." She took a deep breath and sipped her beer again, closing her eyes as she tried to fight her attraction to the man in her kitchen. How was it possible to be so annoyed with him and so damn attracted to him in the same breath?

"Andropov?" he asked quietly interrupting her thoughts. "Is the reason you're angry with me because you like the attention Andropov gives you or is there some kind of loyalty you feel you owe him?"

She set her beer down on the counter and glared at him wondering how he could be so infuriating. He took a drink of his beer as if using the bottle to keep his mouth shut. "I am not loyal to Evgeni. Anything I felt for Evgeni is long over." "Then why so angry?"

"I told you, you staked a claim where there isn't one and I don't like it." She kept her voice even.

"Why?"

"Because we aren't in the Middle Ages and I'm not chattel."

"You hate it enough you left me sitting in a five-star restaurant because of it and left without explanation?" his voice was quiet but demanding.

Isabella had a sudden insight as to how this man would probably conduct an interrogation. She wasn't an easy subject and she switched gears. "Would you have rather me do something else?" "Sit, talk, be an adult?"

"In your mind, someone who walks away from a situation which makes them uncomfortable and disrespected is immature." She pursed her lips before taking another sip of her beer. "Interesting." "It's not what I meant."

"No? I'm pretty sure I heard you say I should have behaved like an adult and stayed and talked." She summed his words with a cynical twist of her lips, "I know if I had stayed my temper would have escalated because you were demonstrating boorish behaviour, which by the way is a pet peeve, and I would have made a scene. Instead, I removed myself from the situation without losing my cool, made my way home and did a workout to redirect my anger. I am of the opinion, I behaved as a responsible adult," she emphasized the last word taking note of how he shifted impatiently from one foot to the other, "who was dealing with someone to whom she owes nothing."

He opened his mouth to say something and the closed his lips. He started to speak and then stopped. He c****d his head to one side, narrowed his eyes and took a long drink of his beer before speaking again. "Did your parents spank you as a child?" "According to my mother, not nearly enough," she watched his long lean fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle and found herself wondering if he wanted to choke her because he was really gripping the bottle. She grinned, "are you okay?" "You're frustratingly eloquent. I just imagine you talking your way out of a punishment as a child with too much ease." He shook his head. "Your mother is either bald or had grey hair early."

"Pfft," she smirked, "Elian, the twins and Raoul turned her grey long before we were born. Amelia and I were bonus babies. We did no wrong even when we were little terrors." "And you could have been a lawyer."

"No, I'm too honest," she shrugged unapologetically. "I have no time for bullshit."

"Then why haven't you cut Evgeni Andropov off?" his gaze was victorious as he realized he had made her relax before shooting his shot.

She contemplated, realizing what he'd done and mentally awarded him the sparring point. She spoke with deliberation. "I ended things with Evgeni three years ago and I always felt guilty for not being sad when we split. He felt more than I did and so I have been easier on him than I should. You're correct in saying I have allowed him to get away with too much. Most of the time he's busy with someone else so I don't have to deal with his shenanigans."

"You know that's absurd right?"

"You know I have parents, right?" she retorted as she rinsed her beer bottle in the sink before setting it in her recycle bin. "If I needed some old guy giving me life advice, I have a father, two brothers and a handful of uncles who I'd listen to long before some strange guy I only met today."

"Fair," he nodded and took the last drink of his beer. He moved around the island and copied her move by rinsing the bottle and setting it in the bin. "Though, at the risk of repeating myself, I'm not old and we met at the deli when you asked me what my problem. I was ogling you by the way. I admit it freely."

He was in her space, his body inches from hers now and she fought against stepping away and showing any kind of reaction to him. She ignored his latter comment. "Way older than anyone I would ever date."

"Yet, you're going to." He said sounding arrogant.

She lifted her eyes to meet his and instantly regretted the move because his eyes were daring her to argue with him. He was relishing the fight. She smiled sweetly, "yes, I am." She saw his eyes widen in surprise and she shrugged. "I'm desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures." Her grin was positively devilish, "I'm sure women date you all the time out of sheer hopelessness, Torres." She patted his chest and stepped past him.

He grabbed her arm and spun her back to face him, standing toe-to-toe with her. "It's Cam." He corrected her. "Isabella, say my name."

"Torres?" she fought the hitch in her breath.

"Cam," he spoke softly, "say it Isabella," the way he said her name was similar with how her family said it with the I very much sounding like an E and felt familiar but new. "Cam," she said trying to slow her beating heart. It felt too personal for some reason. "Happy?"

"I'll be happier when you're screaming it with your legs wrapped around my waist," he said suddenly and grinned at her sharp intake of breath and stunned surprise. He stepped back from her and winked. "I don't think it's first date activities though. Maybe second date?" "You need to go," she hissed as color stained her cheeks.

"Do you really want me to go?" he stopped suddenly at the sound of pounding on her front door. He raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Are you expecting company?"

"No," she shook her head as she led him towards the front door.

"Evgeni?" his voice was terse.

"He doesn't know this address. I lived with my parents when he and I dated, and I never told him where I bought my place." She looked through the peek hole. "Big guy, built like a tank. Saw him with you at the deli this week."

"Gideon," he pulled his phone out and made a face. "No service. He's probably trying to reach me."

She grinned as she opened the door to Cam's security guard. "Hi."

"Where's my boss?" the man's voice was raspy and raw.

"I chopped him up into bits and fed him to my wiener dog." When he lifted his arm instantly to move her out of the way, he gripped her arms and she responded instinctively. She manoeuvred under his arm and pinned the unsuspecting man against her front door before releasing him just as quickly. "Never touch a girl in her own house Gideon, it's rude." She stepped past him, ignoring the gaping mouths of the two men standing there.

She hadn't meant to respond physically but Gideon's grip on her had caused her to react immediately and she had used his arrogance in assuming she was a helpless female against him. He was larger than her, but she was wirier, and she had no trouble pinning him the one time. Of course, he now knew she could defend herself so she might not be as lucky with the move should he manhandle her again.

Gideon looked to Cam. "I tried to text you. You didn't answer."

"My house has built-in anti-spyware." Isabella spoke from where she flopped onto her sofa.

"Come again?" Cam faced her, standing side by side with his counterpart, creating a wall of muscle across her front entrance.

"I work for one of the biggest, if not the biggest technological security companies in the world. To maintain my security clearance, my home had to meet certain security criteria. The minute someone sets foot in my house, their devices are scrambled, and data is not accessible. I can provide you a program you can put on your phone so your phone is usable, but it will censor the data downloaded to your device." "You can't be serious." Gideon glared at her.

"I didn't invite either of you here." She waved at them, leaned back on the sofa, and kicked her feet onto the coffee table. "If you don't like it, there's the door."

"You're telling me your entire house, has built in software restricting electronic devices from working?" Cam c****d an eyebrow at her.

"No." she negated his comment with a shake of her head. "I'm telling you my entire house is hardwired with special equipment to prohibit espionage on both corporate and personal levels. My sister-in-law is one of the richest women in the world. Between tabloids, other tech companies, and the fact we work on special projects for the government, we are always at risk."

"You're an actuary." Cam argued. "What could an actuary need such high levels of protection for?"

"Better yet, why does an actuary need such levels of protection and to know self-defence? You pinned me way too easy." Gideon glared at her.

"Clara taught me karate," she shrugged, "you were off balance. I don't like being touched." "What are you hiding?"

"Corporate secrets?" she met Cam's gaze head on. "I told you the reason for it. You have three options Torres," she reverted back to his surname. "You can leave your phone unusable when you're in my house, you can add the app to your phone to censor what data leaves your phone or you can simply leave, and we're done. Those are your choices."

Gideon looked at his boss and best friend and shrugged, patted Cam on the shoulder and turned to leave, "you're alive. I don't care. Throw the lamp through the window if you need help."

"Windows are bullet proof," she shrugged. "I have issues," she offered as they both turned to look at her again in disbelief.

Gideon shook his head and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.

Cam looked at the young woman on the sofa, her arms linked behind her head and in a new light took in her toned body, her defined abs peeking between her bike shorts and crop top. Her body was lean and lithe, and as he considered the juxtaposition of someone, he would have considered a nerdy girl when he was younger versus the woman in front of him now, he was baffled. There was more to her than she was telling him. He was going to figure it out.

"Why bullet proof?"

"They're not so much bullet proof as resistant."

"Why?"

"Clara paid for it. I babysit on occasion and when the twins are here, I refuse to have security agents in my house. I compromised."

"You're lying."

"I am," she agreed and sighed. "I don't owe you explanations Torres. I just met you today." She stood up suddenly, "now, if you don't mind. I missed dinner because a caveman pissed me off and I felt compelled to leave. I'm going to order pizza, replace a game on the television and cuddle with my dog."

"Where are you ordering pizza from?"

She held his gaze, "Julio's on the corner."

"Order enough for two?"

"Seriously?"

"I only had a couple bites of my fish because I was waiting for my date to come back from the bathroom like a gentleman, but she disappeared." "Fine, but you eat pizza, you watch the game, and you go home."

"Agreed," he looked at her, "pepperoni?"

"Well yeah, unless you want one of those truffle pizzas my brothers sell." She laughed as he made a gagging sound and reached for her phone.