Page 32 of Just a Bit Guarded

And never mind that it hadn’t even occurred to him to put up a fight before Will had turned up—Will always made him feel braver than he was.

Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to find Gadiel. He was being pushed into a car by two thugs, but the area was illuminated well and the thugs couldn’t be too obvious about it without attracting attention. Gadiel seemed to be resisting their attempts to move him, but for some reason, he wasn’t calling out for help. It made no sense. There were people around; someone could have helped him.

But Scott didn’t have much time to wonder. Will reached the car in the blink of an eye and slammed a fist into one of the thugs’ temple.

Scott winced involuntarily when the guy fell like a rock.

“Will!” Gadiel said, his face lighting up.

Will shoved Gadiel behind him, toward Scott, his eyes trained on the thug with the knife. “You don’t want to do this,” Will said as the other thug got to his feet shakily. “Leave now, and I’ll let you go.”

The thugs sneered and attacked.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked Gadiel, keeping only half an eye on the fight. He had no doubts about his cousin’s ability to handle a few muggers. Will had gotten a black belt in karate years ago, and he’d only become more proficient in martial arts since then. He could wipe the floor with Scott when they boxed, and Scott wasgood.

“Shouldn’t we help him?” Gadiel said, chewing on his lip as he watched the fight anxiously. “It’s two against one. I don’t think Will has a gun.”

“He doesn’t need one,” Scott said, shrugging.

And he was right. Within less than a minute, both thugs were on the ground, groaning weakly.

“We should—” Scott cut himself off, realizing that Gadiel was no longer by his side.

“Will!” Gadiel said, cradling Will’s face and patting his cheeks and neck, as if to ascertain that he didn’t have any injuries. It was beyond weird. It was obvious that Will was fine. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Will said, his gaze sweeping over Gadiel. “You?”

Gadiel gave him a radiant smile.It made his face so breathtakingly beautiful Scott could only stare.

“I’m fine,” Gadiel said softly, looking Will in the eyes. “Thanks to you.”

Oh. Gadiel was looking at Will as though he were a god, as though he’d drop to his knees for him right there if Will told him to. He seemed to have forgotten that he’d been angry with him—if he’d been angry with him at all.Scott was starting to doubt it.

I’m here, too, Scott nearly said but bit his tongue. The whole thing was humiliating enough without him pointing out that he was there.

“It’s my job,” Will said curtly, his gaze lingering on Gadiel’s smile before shifting to the thugs on the ground. “We should probably call the police.”

“No,” Gadiel said, grabbing Will’s arm before slipping his hand down his forearm to his hand. He squeezed it. “Let’s just go home.”

Will frowned and cast him a probing look. “Why? By the way, why didn’t you call out for help?”

Gadiel winced, averting his gaze. “Can we just go home? Please? I’ll tell you later.”

Giving him a long look, Will nodded. “Fine. But wewilltalk about it later.”

“Okay,” Gadiel said, already turning toward his building and heading there.His hand was still holding Will’s, so Will was forced to follow him.

Scott moved after them, his gaze locked on their hands.

Well. That was...

Scott tried to tell himself that he might be misreading the situation. Gadiel being grateful for being saved was only natural. This didn’t necessarily mean anything.Will was Gadiel’s bodyguard.It was natural that Gadiel would want some physical reassurance after such an ordeal, though it did beg the question of why he was seeking comfort from his straight bodyguard while Scott, his date, was right there.

There was also the fact that Gadiel had barely even glanced at him, his eyes only on Will.

As for his cousin... he was harder to read, but that was nothing new. Will had never been easy to read. He wasn’t a man for outward shows of emotion. But. Hewasallowing Gadiel to hold his hand. Granted, it was hardly a romantic gesture—Gadiel was all but pulling him by his hand—but the fact remained that Will was allowing it. He could have easily pulled his hand out of Gadiel’s grasp. But he hadn’t, even though he was usually very strict about keeping a professional distance from his clients.

Scott didn’t know what to think.

---