CHAPTER 13 — The Bodyguard Prob
512 Words
By noon, Adrian’s penthouse was no longer silent.
Two security teams moved through the hallways like shadows, checking entrances, rerouting camera feeds, and installing new digital locks Ava didn’t understand but knew were expensive.
Adrian stood in the center of it all, colder than glass.
Ava watched the transformation with a mix of fear and curiosity. He wasn’t just a billionaire CEO—he was someone who commanded people with a single look. Someone used to war in suits and skyscrapers.
One of the guards walked up to her. “Ms. Cole? You’ll need to stay in the secured area.”
Before she could reply, Adrian cut in, “She stays with me.”
The guard nodded immediately, stepping back like he’d been corrected by a king.
Ava put her arms across her chest. “You’re being dramatic.”
“I’m being cautious,” he said.
“You’re making it seem like I’m some fragile—”
“You were threatened,” he snapped, stepping toward her. “Directly.”
She blinked, stunned by the sharpness in his tone.
He exhaled slowly, softening. “I don’t want anything happening to you.”
Her voice went quiet. “Why?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he handed her a slim black device. “Panic transmitter. Press this side button and security reaches you in three seconds.”
She lifted a brow. “Three?”
“If you’re in danger, I expect immediate response.”
Her heart did that stupid, traitorous flutter again.
“You realize you can’t babysit me forever,” she murmured.
“Watch me.”
The words were soft, but they carried weight—a promise and a warning.
Ava looked away quickly, pretending the warmth in her cheeks was the room’s fault. Adrian studied her silently, then turned toward the window, hands clasped behind his back.
“If someone is watching us,” he said, “then they’ve already seen too much.”
She inhaled sharply. “Meaning…?”
“Meaning we stop pretending.”
Ava’s pulse hammered. “Pretending what?”
“That you mean nothing to me.”
Her breath faltered.
He walked toward her again with slow, deliberate steps—like a man approaching the one thing he wasn’t allowed to touch.
“You changed the rules,” he said quietly. “Now I have to live with the consequences.”
Ava stepped back until her spine hit the wall, but Adrian didn’t touch her. He just stood there, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him.
“This is a bad idea,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said. “But I’m out of good ones.”
Their eyes locked.
Then a knock broke the moment. A guard stepped in.
“Sir. We tracked the call. It came from inside the city. And not randomly.”
Adrian stiffened. “From where?”
The guard hesitated. “From someone connected to the Knight Corporation.”
Ava’s breath caught.
“Someone inside your company?” she asked.
Adrian’s eyes turned dark. “I know exactly who.”
- Writer
