HER BODYGUARD

Kimberly looked away. “No I haven’t” she said. “I wanted to wait two weeks before I took it so I could be sure about the result. But you don’t have to worry” she added immediately. “I feel fine”

Asher nodded. “Okay” he said. “I’m here if you need me”

“You don’t have to leave. No matter what the result is” Kimberly said.

Asher nodded. But he didn’t tell her that if she was carrying his child, there was no way in hell that he was going to leave.

————————–

They ate their food quickly and, soon after finishing, they were singing its praises.

“I keep telling Greg that the food here is fantastic,” Kimberly said. “This fast food queen will be coming back here with him… Just to prove my point”

“Greg?” Asher asked.

“Oh, sorry. Greg is a work associate. If you insist on following me around then you’ll get the chance to tell him, too. I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning.” She said,

Asher’s brows drew together.

“There was no mention in your itinerary about a meeting tomorrow. You know you are not supposed to be going to work every day right? At least so your kidnappers don’t know everything you do… If they are watching” he said, most likely trying to recall the schedule she’d sent to her father, who had sent it to him.

Kimberly couldn’t help it. Tension rose fast and fierce, straightening her shoulders. She pursed her lips.

“That’s because I didn’t include everything in my itinerary.” She snapped.

She stood and left the table to pay at the podium near the door. His next question was going to be why, and the only answer she could give would create more questions. Questions she didn’t want to answer. She didn’t want anyone telling her what to do.

Asher didn’t berate her as they left the restaurant and made their way back to her apartment. In fact, he had gone silent as he trailed the space beside her, yet kept his distance. It gave her a sense of being alone. One that was shattered when he moved close with a whisper that nearly tickled her ear.

“Let’s pause for a second, please.” he said softly.

Kimberly did as she was told and turned to the man, confused.

“I can see the apartment from here,” she pointed out.

Asher grabbed her arm and pulled her backward with him. Not ready for the contact, she started to pull away when he spoke again. “I think we’re being followed,” he said. His gaze cut behind her.

Kimberly allowed him to position her so she could see the people behind them on the sidewalk. Her eyes hopscotched across each of them quickly and, she hoped, covertly. She understood the concept that if someone was following them, they would be spooked if they noticed their target noticing them.

But, then again, Kimberly didn’t think she was being followed at all.

“The couple in the green and black jackets,” he added when she was coming up empty.

She turned to look for the couple in question. A dark-haired man and a dark blond-haired woman, arm in arm. Kimberly let out a loud sigh and turned back to Asher.

“You mean Mr. And Mrs. All Over Each Other?” She snorted. “I don’t think their interest lies anywhere other than with each other.”

“They were in the restaurant and left when we did, even though their food wasn’t finished.” Asher said.

Although Asher’s eyes were on hers, she could tell his attention was still tracking the upcoming couple. His intensity was almost surprising and, perhaps, the reason why she did what she did next.

“You know, you’re right,” she said, looking back at the couple that was nearly upon them. “They might be following us.” She said. She grabbed Asher’s hand, abruptly breaking his focus, and smiled. “So, why don’t we lose them?” Without another word from her bodyguard, Kimberly began moving. “Let’s take a detour.”

—————————-

Kimberly pulled Asher to the nearest crosswalk and together they surged across the road in a cloud of pedestrians.

Kimberly’s grip was firm while the rest of her body seemed surprisingly loose. When she looked back at him, she even had a smile across her lips. One that looked odd there, but also right.

As they hit the sidewalk she kept straight, angling them down a block with a chain clothing store and a twenty-four-hour bakery. Asher had studied the layout of the surrounding blocks from her apartment before he came to stay with her. It would be hard to get lost unless you intended to do just that.

He was comfortable with their small detour. However, his attention was still sharp, frequently looking back over his shoulder at where the couple had been.

They stayed across the road, passing over their own crosswalk to get to the next stretch of sidewalk. Maybe he had been overreacting. The man in the green jacket turned his head and met Asher’s stare.

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“Mr. Bodyguard?” Kimberly said. Asher didn’t turn until the man dropped his gaze, laughing at whatever the woman beside him had said. “Staring isn’t polite.” she said.

Asher refocused his attention on Kimberly. She had slowed her clip but kept holding his hand, steering him through foot traffic.

Asher felt her warm skin against his. It was soft in his rugged hands, which were hardened by his time with the punching bag and weights. He briefly wondered what she thought of his rough skin before quickly killing the thought. While he knew the woman wasn’t thinking about the intimacy that came with holding hands, he found his focus was starting to break because of it. Instead of shaking the hand free, however, he cleared his throat and used his training to get back to what was important.

His job.

“Let’s hang a right up here. If we cross the road we’ll hit construction,” he said.

Kimberly snorted.

“If we’re being followed, we won’t lose our tail that easily,” she said back, dropping her voice as if the two were conspiring. “Don’t tell me I’ve been assigned a lazy bodyguard.”

She looked ahead with a smirk trailing her lips. She was being difficult and she knew it, teasing him while simultaneously goading him.

Asher didn’t know if he thought the attempt was amusing. Either way, he wasn’t about to be labeled as lazy on his assignment.