Page 26 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

COLTON

Iwas up shit creek with a gun and some incriminating photographs instead of a paddle.

I had wanted to move up in Warren's agency, but not now that I had evidence that would destroy both his company, and Avalon Bank.

Would Julia even care about bringing down her father's business, if it also ruined her family financially? I hoped not. I certainly had enough money to provide for both of us, but I could tell she was leery of commitment this fast.

Regardless, I had a massive choice to make: figure out this entire scenario on my own, or ask Julia to help.

I couldn't anticipate her reaction. Here I was falling madly in love with this incredible woman, but I really needed to have a better sense of who she was and how loyal she was to her father before I could take a chance.

After picking up some groceries and driving back to the cabin, we went for a leisurely hike through the forest. Julia was so easy to talk to, and I kept trying to steer the conversation toward her family. But she was more interested in the birds, and the scent of the pine trees.

When we got back, I started chopping onions to add to the bottled pasta sauce.

Julia laughed lightly. "Mom and I do that too. It's sort of cheating, but it gets more real veggies into the sauce, so it's good, right?"

"Exactly."

She fanned her face, backing away. "Onion fumes."

"Do you cook a lot with your Mom?" I asked.

"Yeah. Dad is usually working, or away on a business trip. When he's home, he and Mom go out to dinner a lot. Sometimes I go with them, but I usually prefer to stay home and make something for myself."

"Why do they go out so much?"

Julia stared out the window. "I think Dad makes Mom nervous. He's been getting even more jumpy and paranoid. I think she figures if she has to spend time with him, she'd prefer to be in public. Safer."

She turned to me, shaking her head. "She moved into her own bedroom a while ago, claiming that he snored, but I know it was because she needed some space away from him and his constant phone calls and texts."

"She needed distance from both him, and his work?"

"And those people," Julia said sadly. "It was getting worse. Once, two guys came to our house in the middle of the night." She spun to face me. "Oh! I just remembered – they said that Smith sent them. That was just a month ago."

"Shit." Staring into space, my mind was working, trying to connect the bits of information I had. "Did you see what they looked like?"

"No. I was in my room. My window was open, so I heard angry voices. When I saw them leave, it was just the backs of their heads. Two tough looking guys in black t-shirts."

Quickly wiping my hands, I sat her in a chair. "Close your eyes. Describe everything."

"Umm…I heard banging on the front door. I went to the window to listen, and a deep voice said that Smith sent them. Dad tried to brush them off, but he sounded scared underneath his irritation."

"Good. Keep going."

"One of them said that Dad needed to give them the personnel files. He said he didn't have them yet. The guy said that he'd had a week, and they only needed details on three families, so what's the delay?"

Julia paused, looking up at me. "Oh my god."

"Close your eyes. Keep going."

"Okay." Her eyes shut and she took a slow breath. "Dad promised that he'd get them tomorrow and meet them…I didn't hear where. Then the men left."

Her lips pressed together. "As they were walking away, one of them muttered something about how it was going to be a blast to tear apart…did he say wheelbarrow?...because he was an arrogant asshole."

Julia's eyes snapped open. "Sorry." She shuddered. "This is all so creepy."

Kneeling down, I took her hands. "Many people think that Warren Barrow is an arrogant asshole. Could that have been what you heard?"

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