Page 5 of Finally

There was no mistaking the relief in her voice and I felt a pang of guilt that I’d made her worry. I’d tried my hardest to ignore the negative press as much as possible, but it was different for them. They hadn’t asked for any of this, and I was sure it wasn’t easy on either of them to hear people saying hateful things about their child every night on the news. The thought of having someone following me around as I worked was almost enough to make me break out in hives, but if it brought them a small measure of peace, then I’d do it.

I was so lost in my thoughts that it took me a second to realize my father had asked me a question. “I’m sorry. What?”

“I asked if you’d heard of Hamilton Security? That’s who we hired,” he repeated.

“Oh, yes. I’ve heard about them.”

Of course, I’d heard of them. Everyone in Chicago had heard of the amazing Hamilton’s Heroes as the media had dubbed them, after a few of the men had stopped someone from robbing a bank while out on their lunch break. The entire thing was taken care of and the suspect apprehended before the police even got there. I’d never paid too much attention to the stories, but from what I’d heard, they were the best of the best. I shouldn’t have been surprised that they were who my parents had hired to protect me.

“I spoke with Mr. Hamilton himself and he assured me that he would send someone over at ten o’clock sharp,” Dad informed me.

I glanced down at my watch and sighed. “That only gives me a few minutes. I better go.”

“Okay, sweetie. Call us later and let us know how everything goes. We love you,” Mom said.

“I will. I love you guys too.” I hung up the phone then let my forehead drop down on the desk with a thunk. I adored my parents and wouldn’t trade them for the world, but sometimes I thought it might be nice to have a sibling to help share the weight of their…parental concerns.

I picked my head up a minute later when I heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” I called out. I smiled curiously as Maddie’s blond head peeked around the edge. Maddie, known to most of the world as Maddox Vanderhorne, was my communications director, but more importantly, he was my closest friend in the entire world.

We’d met when we quite literally ran into each other in the dining hall our freshman year of college. I’d spent the first couple of months at school miserable and lonely, keeping to myself and basically hiding in my room. That was the first time I’d ventured out other than to go to my classes, so I’d been horrified when I’d turned the corner with my tray of food and smacked right into someone. After managing to spill two entire trays of spaghetti and meatballs down the front of ourselves, we’d looked up at each other.

I’d expected to be yelled at or at least called a few nasty names, but he’d started laughing instead. Something about the easiness of his laughter and the sparkle in his eyes got to me and before I knew it, I was laughing right along with him. It felt good to laugh again. Once we’d gotten cleaned up and retrieved new trays of food, he invited me to sit with him and we’d been friends ever since.

I’d graduated with a law degree and Maddie with a master’s in communication. After graduation, Maddie went to work as the head of a human relations department of an advertising company while I was hired as a junior prosecuting attorney at a prestigious law firm just outside of the city, and after several years, I made partner. When I made the decision to run for office, he was the first person I hired to be on my team. I knew that not only would he be the perfect person to help me with all things relating to the media, but I also needed someone that I trusted to have my back, no matter what. For me, that would always be Maddie.

He slid inside and shut the door behind him, leaning his back against it. His blue eyes were wide, and his cheeks looked suspiciously pink as he stared back at me. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“There’s a…uh…a…whew,” he said, fanning his face with his hand. I chuckled at the expression on his face. Maddie had always been prone to dramatics and whatever had gotten him worked up just then had brought it out in full force.

“You know, for a guy who majored in communications, you sure seem to be having trouble finding your words,” I teased.

His eyes narrowed at me then he pasted a bored expression on his face and stared down at his nails. “Fine. Make jokes if you want. I suppose I don’t have to tell you about the extremely fine male specimen that just walked in this very building looking for you. And by fine, I mean fiiine,” he drawled.

His eyes shot to mine when he heard me groan. “Ugh! That must be the man my parents hired.”

Maddie raced across the room and with both palms slapping down on the top of my desk, he leaned over and got right in my face, “What? Like an escort? Why would they do that?”

“Oh my God! No! What the hell, Maddie?” I hissed, struggling to keep my voice down.

He stood back up and smoothed a hand over his hair. “Oh, okay then,” he answered simply, offering me a tiny smile. His shoulders slumped as I gave him a withering look. “Fine. I’m sorry. But it was an honest mistake. It’s just that you haven’t been on a date in a loooong—”

“Maddie!” I growled. My headache which had started to wane, was now back with a vengeance.

“Jeez. Okay, I’m sorry. I was just teasing, but seriously, what’s he doing here?”

I blew out a breath as I stared back at my best friend. “Between me gaining the attention of the O.O.A. and then getting those letters, my parents are worried.”

“Understandable. That group’s enough to put anyone on edge,” Maddie muttered. There was no arguing with that. The Organization for the Old America, better known as the O.O.A. was almost as bad as the KKK. They traveled the country, spreading their hateful messages and protesting anyone that wasn’t like them, particularly those in the minority, such as immigrants and homosexuals.

“Yeah, well, it worried them enough that they decided I needed a bodyguard, so they hired someone from Hamilton Security,” I explained.

“Mmm. That would explain the delicious muscles on G.I. Joe out there.”

I rolled my eyes at the dreamy look on his face. “Okay, quit perving on the man and send him in, will you?”

“Fine, but if you get tired of him being your shadow, feel free to send him my way. That man is seriously gorgeous.” I laughed as he waggled his eyebrows at me then sauntered over to the door and opened it. “You can go on in now,” I heard him say. Maddie winked at me over his shoulder then slipped out the door.

I shook my head with a grin. Maddie was free-spirited and fun-loving and had a knack for reminding me not to take life too seriously. Pushing my chair back, I stood up and walked around my desk to meet the man who’d been hired to protect me. I figured since we were going to be spending a lot of time together over the next several months, I might as well start us off on the right foot by being friendly.

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