Page 29 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

"I'm fine, but I need to confirm some things quickly. Did you send a bodyguard for me?"

"Yes. That man from the Barrow Agency said he was sending one of his top men."

My shoulders unclenched a bit.

"And what do you know about Darren Smith?" I asked.

"That awful friend of your father's? Not much. Tristan won't talk about him."

"Didn't you have dinner with him once?"

There was a pause. "Oh, yes. I met him briefly when we were in southern Spain. But it wasn't dinner. He just showed up for a few minutes to greet one of the men at another table, and we happened to be there." Mom paused again. "How on Earth would you know about that?"

"There was a photo of you two and Smith, and some other men."

"We didn't actually meet the others. Tristan and I were just leaving when one of those tourist photographers from the hotel came by. Smith said he always took photos together with Tristan as a favor," she laughed, "because he made your father a bit better looking by comparison."

"What do you know about those other men?" I asked.

"Nothing. Smith knew them, so I assumed they were…you know."

"Criminals?"

"Well…" Mom said reluctantly.

It was time for me to be blunt. "Most of Dad's bank clients are criminals, aren't they?"

Mom sighed. "You've seen some of them."

Staring up at the leaves dancing over my head, none of my yoga breathing techniques came to mind when I could have really used them.

"May I ask her a few questions?" Colton asked, appearing at my elbow.

"Sure." I handed him the phone.

"Hello, Mrs. Carlisle. This is Colton Fitzhenry of the Barrow Agency. I've been assigned to guard your daughter, and I have reason to believe that Smith and his people have infiltrated the agency's security. Rest assured Julia is safe with me. We're off-grid."

I could just imagine Mom freaking out, but after a pause, Colton chuckled. "Yes, plenty of space for yoga. Good food, fresh air, all of the basics. We'll be out here for a bit longer, to ensure that Julia is safe."

He smiled. "You're very welcome. Maybe in a few weeks we'll sneak down to visit you. Yes, you too."

Colton handed the phone back to me, kissing the top of my head before walking away again.

"Hey, Mom."

"He sounds gorgeous," she blurted.

I blushed instantly. "Yeah, he is."

"Are you two…" I could easily picture Mom's questioning expression.

"Kind of. I mean, um, we'll talk about that in a few weeks. Okay?"

"Sure. I'm so sorry about all this," Mom said sadly. "I should have gotten us away from Tristan years ago."

"You didn't know," I said. "Let's just get through the next few weeks. I'll talk to you soon."

After I ended the call, Colton snapped the SIM card out but didn't destroy it. Pulling a plastic bag from his pocket, he wrapped up the phone and placed it in a nook in the tree.

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