Page 15 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

After I ended the call, I turned to Julia. "Are you okay?" I asked softly, reaching out to caress her shoulders.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded. "Ashley was taken because they went back to the agency. So let's not do that."

"No way."

I called Easton and left a voicemail on his work line. He called back almost immediately.

He told us briefly how Warren could read lips – and knew someone else who did, but wouldn't say who – and how Bethan was convinced that a family member of Warren's had infiltrated the agency. She thought that was the only thing that would make Warren so ferociously angry.

Thankfully, Easton didn't share any upsetting details, only that an attempt was made to take Bethan, but they were safe now. I asked him to relay a message to Warren that Julia and I were safe, then ended the call.

"Now do you smash up the phone like in the movies?" Julia asked brightly.

"Not quite."

We crossed the parking lot to the gas station next door, where I paid a truck driver twenty bucks to take the phone three hours down the road before busting it up and throwing it away.

As we climbed back on the bike, Julia said, "He didn't even ask why. Isn't that weird?"

I chuckled. "He had a military tattoo. Also, he took a good look at you to make sure that you were happy. If he had thought for one second that I was doing something shifty with a young lady, he'd be hollering to all of the other men around for backup."

Julia shook her head, sending her glossy hair swinging around her shoulders. "Wow. I guess military guys really have a bond."

"Yes. In some instances, it's stronger than family."

As we rode back to the cabin with Julia's arms around me, I mulled that over.

Everyone I knew that I had served with really was like a family member to me. To some degree, that was also true of people that weren't in the military, but had worked security for a long time. It's like we saw the world from a different angle, and recognized that trait in each other.

I was starting to have an idea who had been searching for information on Avalon Bank. But before I dug any further, I needed to make sure that Julia felt safe with me after hearing all of that.

Julia had to see me as a solid life partner, not some guy who was mixed up in a dark underworld.

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