Page 42 of Guarding Zuri
He simultaneously loved and hated his friend. Roland was always quick to sniff out the weakest link in a team or plan. “You saying I’m compromised?”
Roland shrugged and took another bite of his cookie. He had a contemplative expression while he chewed. “Well, you let her go. I had money on you taking her back into the sauna.”
Daemon had been one millisecond away from doing that. He rubbed his mouth to hide his grin.
Roland laughed softly. “Yeah, yeah, I know you were about to.”
“You guys taking bets on me, eh?”
“Sometimes night shift is slow. Gotta find excitement where we can.”
“How much are you out?”
“About five hundred.”
Daemon groaned and put his forehead in his hand. The bet was that high? “If I’d known you were about to lose all that money, I would’ve made good on it.”
“Yeah, but I’m proud of you for resisting. We’re professionals. I know you pride yourself on that.”
“Gee, thanks,” Daemon said dryly. “Proud that I’m able to be professional and do my job.”
“Hey, it ain’t always easy.” Roland’s gaze moved to Zuri. “And she is beautiful and will be very, very important soon enough. I can see the draw.”
“She’s going home to Bendola. Eventually,” Daemon said, remembering his conversation with her in the car. She had enough on her plate without having to consider a relationship, especially not with someone who lived an ocean away.And I might return to the military, or be the CEO of Knight Industries. Who knows? My life’s too unpredictable for a relationship.
They had no future. Plain and simple. And Daemon liked to keep things simple. Complications made situations difficult to control.
“You ever think about changing your base of operations?”
Daemon rolled his eyes. “To where? I’m not going… Look, there’s just too much happening. She’s got to run a country, and my dad won’t rest until I take over the business. Two divergent paths. It’ll never work.”
Roland’s eyes twinkled mischievously. Goosebumps peppered Daemon’s arms, and a chill swept through him. He’d just given away something and couldn’t figure out what it was.
“So you’ve thought about a future with her.”
Yup. There it was. Daemon had just admitted to thinking about the rest of his life with Zuri. He really was off his game, and he laid all the blame at Zuri’s feet. If she wasn’t so beautiful and strong with a mouth that set him on fire, he wouldn’t be thinking twice about her. Wouldn’t be debating how to get her into that hot tub. Wouldn’t be wasting mental energy on how to make a long—really long—distance relationship work. “It’s not like I’ve worked through the logistics.”
“But you’ve thought about it. Working out the logistics, I mean.”
Daemon munched on another cookie. Comfort food always helped. “I don’t know why.”
“Well, when you meet a woman like that, you kind of want to step up your game. Think about the future. Work out the kinks.”
Daemon silently agreed. Although he had a job, his own money, and work that fulfilled him, meeting Zuri had made him rethink his five-year plan of remaining the head of Knight Shield. He would land more high-profile clients that would need the use of his jet and yacht, and maybe he’d have to purchase some additional luxury cars—in case he had to accompany his clients to fancy engagements. None of that required a wife and kids.
Yet, he had told her he wanted kids. Why? And it came out so naturally. He hadn’t seen a life outside of protective security until he’d met Zuri.
She said she wanted kids too, but what did her five-year plan look like? Would she want to have a relationship and run a country at the same time? How safe would she be? She probably wouldn’t want to bring kids into the picture until all threats toward the new government were eradicated. And that could take years.
“To answer your question, I’d keep command and control here. It’s the perfect setup.”
Roland nodded. “Okay. Don’t keep me in the dark when you’ve changed your mind.”
Daemon slapped his friend on the shoulder. “You’ll be the first to know, promise.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Right now, I’m going to finish the assignment. Protect her until the country shifts leadership. Then, I’ll walk away.” Daemon sighed and shoved another cookie into his mouth. If he was this hungry, he should’ve just gotten a second cheeseburger from the burger place they had stopped by on the way back. He had wanted to give Zuri a taste of a real American gourmet cheeseburger. She had loved every bite but complained about how much cardio she’d have to do to work it off. That comment had ended the conversation. No way she hadn’t been thinking about what had happened that morning, because he sure had.
