Page 8 of Freed
~Six~
ROMAN
I wasn’t sure why Lanie would think that I would be interested in any woman other than her. She had a natural beauty, one that I would never get tired of. The minute we got back to my house in Vegas, I showed her just how much by worshipping every inch of her body. My only regret was that I didn’t have a chance to do it again before we left for Portland since we needed to get on the road.
The trip to Portland was uneventful. There were no stops for a quickie. That wasn’t to say I hadn’t thought about it. But I knew Martin was anxious for me to get back to Portland so he could introduce me to the two men that he hired, per my request, to take care of Lanie while I kept Brian entertained.
Lanie had fallen asleep during the long drive, and when I turned off the car, having arrived at my condo, I couldn’t help but take in her slumbering state.Could a woman be any more beautiful?Rubbing my thumb across her cheek made her eyes flutter open, and she lifted her head while stretching as best she could, given the room she had to move. “Wow. I guess I was tired.”
“A lot has happened the past couple of days.” I smiled, knowing what kept her up so late last night.
I unfastened my seatbelt and opened the door. There was a twenty-degree difference in the weather compared to Vegas, and I felt it the minute I stepped out of the car.
As we waited for the elevator to come down, my phone began to vibrate. It was Martin, and I knew that I needed to take the call instead of letting it go to voicemail. “Martin, we just pulled in and are on our way to my condo. Where are you?”
“We are at your condo waiting for you.”
When Martin said ‘we,’ I knew who he was talking about. Finally, I would be able to decide for myself if the two men that he hired would be good enough to keep Lanie safe. The doors to the elevator opened, and I allowed Lanie to enter first. When the elevator stopped on my floor, I took hold of Lanie’s hand and led her out of the elevator to my condo. As we rounded the corner, Martin and two very large men, ex-military, if I had to guess, were leaning against opposite walls like bookends. They looked competent enough, but until I interviewed them myself, I was not going to make any judgment of their abilities.
Martin’s eyes moved in our direction, and he stepped forward to meet us. Passing me, he took Lanie in his arms. “Lanie, sweetie, it’s so nice to see you.”
I should have been angry, but I knew about the relationship that they once shared. Once being the operative word. I could never allow Martin to touch Lanie again, no matter what their connection was. Even though Martin wasn’t a threat, I had a funny feeling that I would be protecting Lanie from him as well.
Stepping past the three men, I unlocked to door to my condo and pushed it open. I stepped in first with my hand still holding Lanie’s. It wasn’t long until we were all inside staring at each other, each trying hard to read the others. The tension was thick even though it shouldn’t have been, and I could tell that the silence was making Lanie uncomfortable based on the way she was squeezing my hand.
Kissing her on the forehead, if only to make a statement, I looked over to Martin. “Are you going to introduce me to your men, or are we going to continue staring at each other?”
“Of course.” Martin began, looking uncomfortable himself. “Why don’t we go into your study so we can make our introductions?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. Lanie has every right to know who will be protecting her. I think it’s time we stop keeping things from her, especially with everything she has been through.”
Martin didn’t seem very pleased with my declaration, but I was done keeping things from Lanie. Maybe it was because I needed to earn her trust, but mostly, she needed to know about the men who would be protecting her.
“Very well. Alannah, I would like you to meet Miles Cannon and Zack Cramer.”
It upset me that Martin directed the introductions on Lanie’s behalf, but then again, she was the one who was going to be protected. There was still some in-depth interviewing that needed to be addressed, and that was something that I wanted Lanie to be a part of. I wasn’t so sure that I wanted Martin there, but he did find these men and deserved to be a part of this process as well.
“Why don’t we all take a seat? There are a few questions I would like to ask these men before I make a final decision.”
We all did the gentleman thing and waited for Lanie to take a seat before taking our own seats. I, of course, sat next to Lanie in the loveseat, while the two men sat on the couch in front of us, and Martin sat in the armchair facing the couch and loveseat.
I leaned back and draped my arm around Lanie before pulling her near me. It might have been an arrogant move to piss Martin off, but I also saw it as a way of letting everyone know how protective I was of her. Hoping that my expression was intimidating, I asked my first question. “Have either one of you ever been arrested for battery, assault, or anything else along those lines?”
The two men looked at one another and began wailing like a hyena in heat. “Are you serious?” Miles asked.
“I assure you, Mr. Cannon, when it comes to Lanie’s safety, I am more than serious.”
“Look, Mr. Michaels. We all want the same thing here, and that is to make sure Lanie is protected. If you count defending the right of a woman to not be taken against her will because some dumb fuck was too drunk to back down, then yes, I have been arrested. And just so you know, the charges were dropped once the security cameras inside the bar were reviewed.”
Miles Cannon was a cocky son-of-a-bitch, but he did have a point. And based on his further explanation of what took place at the bar he was a bouncer at, I would have done the same thing. He and his buddy were the kinds of men I wanted to protect Lanie. It was a no-brainer.
