Page 1 of Bad Boy Billionaire Protector

Prologue – Amber

Thelightstreamedinthrough the window, illuminating Adam’s face as he lay on the bed. His smile dove into my soul, opening my heart, and sending a flush of love to my cheeks. His hand intertwined with mine, as he talked about what he wanted to do with his life once he left college. He had big plans which, luckily, included me. He reached up to caress my face and kissed me so gently, so softly, my breath mixing with his as we melded together. My world dissolved into him alone and I sank into the kiss with pure abandon, giving it my all, my everything…

…We walked down by the beach holding hands and laughing at the antics of our friends from our weekend trip. It felt good to be in the sea air, the slight breeze blowing my dark hair back from my face, the sun beaming down on me. Adam stopped to take his shoes off and roll up his jeans. I followed suit and we walked at the edge of the ocean, the cool water lapping against our legs as we waded through. Spring Break at the Hamptons had been a good idea, one of Adam’s best. I’d never been before and it felt good to see how the other half lived…

…He chased me around the room. I screamed and giggled as I dodged away from him. He caught me quickly and tackled me to the ground, holding me down as he planted huge, wet kisses on my face and neck…

…His smile lit up the room and he walked towards me in his dinner jacket. He handed me the corsage and kissed me as though I was a delicate piece of porcelain. I was floating on cloud nine and raised up on my tiptoes to meet his kiss. He was my Prince Charming, and I was going to go to the ball…

…A dark world of secret tunnels and silken cloaks, loud with the sound of chanting. People…so many people - faceless. Black masks covering their identities…Running as fast as I can away from the faceless throng. I banged into someone. It was him. Adam. He had no mask. His face looking grave and concerned, he took my hand in his and led me away from the tunnels, out into the light…

… “Amber, can you get back to me as soon as you can please? I’m really worried about ‘you know what’ and I think they might be after me because I’ve found something out that they don’t want me to know. Please call me!” I play this over and over in my head a thousand times, the panic in his voice reaching into my soul and ripping it out…

…His body lying on the floor in his apartment. He looks dead. Adam, no! He can’t be. Somebody help me please! Adam! Wake up! Adam, don’t do this to me, please! Stay with me. Stay! Adam, no!!!!...

…At the hospital waiting. Interminable waiting…

…No answers. No one will help me. They keep telling me to go home…

…Go home Amber…

…Amber go home…

…Dead?...

…Please, God. No, no, no...

Chapter 1 – Amber

“Doyoustillfeelguilty about the fact that you never called him back?”

I stared around Dr. Feldstein’s room and thought about what she’d just asked. Guilt. Did I still feel guilty? I turned back to stare into her eyes, her face a kind visage of what I would expect in a caring psychologist.

“I’ve never not felt guilty. If I had called him back when I got the message instead of enjoying myself with my friends that weekend, maybe Adam would still be alive.”

“What do you think you could have done to change things?”

I clasped and unclasped my hands. We had gone over this same question over and over again. My answer never really changed.

“I don’t know. Maybe if I’d kept my phone with me while I was out with my friends, I could have spoken to him, soothed him somehow. Or maybe I could have left the weekend getaway earlier and spent some time with him. But I didn’t. And now he’s dead. Because of me.” My voice trembled as tears started to well up inside me. I blinked furiously to keep them at bay.

Dr. Feldstein shifted in her chair. “Remember Amber. We’ve talked about this before. You’re not to blame for what happened. You couldn’t have known what was on Adam’s mind at the time. He’d shown no signs of being suicidal before then. There was nothing you could have done. And no reason for you to feel guilty or to blame yourself for his death.”

I nodded and sighed. She was right. We had been through all of this before. Many times. I’d been coming to see Dr. Feldstein at her office every week for the last three months. Prior to that, I was seeing a psychologist at home in Boston after leaving school last year following Adam’s suicide. My parents had been worried about me returning to college in my current state of mind so I promised them I would continue therapy with someone local upon returning for summer classes. It was now mid-September and fall classes started a month ago, but nothing seemed to be getting any better. No amount of cognitive behavioral therapy seemed to cut through the heavy burden of guilt that weighed upon me.

Adam and I met two years ago at Stanford University. We were taking the same sociology class during the spring semester of our sophomore year and found ourselves paired up as partners on a research project. Within a month, we were inseparable and very much in love. Other than last summer when he went home to LA and I went home to Boston, we had never been apart more than a week. Head over heels in love with my best friend, I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Then he died last year.

He had called me to say he was worried about something when I was away on a weekend hiking trip with friends. I had been looking forward to this trip since the leaves on the trees were beautiful that late October. I had turned off my phone until I was driving home Sunday afternoon because there was little to no cell phone reception where we were. When I saw his texts and heard his voicemail, I called him while driving but he didn’t answer. Worried, I broke all kinds of speed limits as I drove to his apartment. When I rushed through his front door and found him looking so pale, collapsed on his living room floor, the scene felt surreal. There was an empty bottle of pills and a note from him saying that he couldn’t take it anymore.

I called 911 and the ambulance came to take him to the hospital but, after trying to revive him several times, he was declared dead. I remember sitting in the hospital waiting room on my own after hearing the news. It was like time stopped for me.

The last time I’d seen him he had been his usual charming self, laughing and wishing me a happy weekend. I couldn’t reconcile my memories of Adam, my amazing best friend and boyfriend who was always so full of life, with the lifeless body that I found on the floor of his apartment, the detritus surrounding him suggesting that he intentionally overdosed.

The first strange thing that happened was when they pumped his stomach, they hadn’t found any pills. The second weird thing was that the Feds became involved. I remember them hovering around at the hospital and thought it was strange that they would become involved in a student’s suicide. Whenever I tried to ask questions, they shut me down and pretty much told me to go home.

Adam’s parents came to take his body home later that evening. I had stayed at the hospital until they arrived from San Diego, not wanting to leave poor Adam alone in the morgue. It was surreal to have met them for the first time under these circumstances. I was supposed to have met them during an upcoming winter holiday break when Adam invited me to join his family on a vacation trip to Europe. I don’t remember much about his mom and dad; I guess I was in a daze of grief and numbness. But I do remember them telling me to do as the Feds said. I guess they didn’t want me hanging around too much either. They seemed really nice and tried to check on me after Adam died. I was lost and depressed and went home to Boston to take time off from school. I eventually stopped answering their calls and lost contact with his parents when I pretty much shut myself off from the outside world. I always felt pretty bad that I couldn’t have kept in touch.

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