Page 33 of Her Bossy Bodyguards

Kelly gasped, then let out a laugh, too. “Too soon, Natalie! I swear to God, I still have PTSD from that shit.”

“And what do you think I have?” I chuckled again. “But if you miss me so bad, you can always come visit me in Cali. Seriously. I can just get my dad to pay for the flight.”

“How long do you think that’s going to last?” Kelly mused. “The whole ‘him feeling guilty about you being kidnapped’ thing?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure how long it takes to get over the fact that you almost got your daughter sold into fucking sex slavery.”

“You know, when you put it like that, it kind of makes me feel like I deserve to sit in first class,” Kelly replied. “If I’m going all the way out to Cali to visit you.”

“You deserve to stay in a five-star hotel, too,” I added. “Okay, I’ve got to go. The boys will be home any second now.”

“Bye! Congrats on living the fucking dream!” Kelly playfully shouted into the phone, then ended the conversation with a click. And just as I placed my phone back down on a nearby counter, I heard the front door jiggling with a key.

Soon enough, Zeke popped his head around the corner with a smirk. It was obvious he’d just gotten back from a run, sweat dripping down his forehead and right down his naked chest, too. It took me a few seconds to regain my concentration, my mind wandering to some of the dirtiest places I could’ve imagined, wondering if Zeke and I would be able to fit in a quickie before he had to get ready for work.

“Don’t even think about it,” Zeke warned with a laugh. “You know I need to get to the office. Kingston will be here in a few minutes, anyway. He’s right behind me in the van.”

“I don’t understand why you two still have to work.” I pouted. “What’s the point of you being full-time security guards if you’re not guarding me all the time?”

“Hey, you were the one who said you wanted us to help track down those other girls, too,” Zeke reminded me. “And while keeping you safe is our top priority, we have to keep our ears to the streets, too, or we’re never going to find out what happened to the other women in those cages.”

“You’re right.” I nodded and sighed. “I do want you and Kingston to track down the other girls, even if it means we have less time together. It’s not fair that I was the only one who got out.”

“And that’s why I love you, princess.” Zeke winked and bent down to kiss me. But before our lips were able to touch, I heard Kingston walking into the apartment, too, quickly setting down a bag. He headed over to us, already wearing a grin.

“Don’t mind me,” Kingston joked. “This wouldn’t be the first time I walked in while you two were preoccupied.”

King looked at me. “Have you given any more thought to going to UCLA, baby?”

“Come on, King,” Zeke groaned. “Don’t pressure her. She’s barely moved into the apartment.”

“What? I’m wrong for caring about her future?”

“She doesn’t need you to care about her future, she’s a grown woman.”

“Sure, Natalie can do what she wants, but we don’t want her ending up aimless.”

As Kingston and Zeke continued with their harmless mini-argument, I couldn’t help but smile at them both. Because despite all the bullshit I’d been through in the last few months, I’d somehow still managed to come out on the other side of it with two men I loved more than I ever thought possible, partners who I knew were always going to protect me, who were willing to fight for me with their last breath.

And I couldn’t wait to see what came next for all of us, excited about any future where I had Zeke and Kingston by my side.

---