The Mafia Boss Is My Bodyguard

Chapter 2 — The Man from the Rivas Family

THE MAFIA BOSS IS MY BODYGUARD

Chapter 2 — The Man from the Rivas Family

The first gunshot shattered the night.

Victoria ducked instinctively.

Sebastian didn’t.

He stood in front of her as if bullets were nothing more than an inconvenience.

“Stay down.”

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

Victoria crouched behind the open car door, her heart pounding against her ribs.

Across the street, the armed men had taken positions behind their vehicles.

At least eight of them.

Maybe more.

She couldn’t tell.

Everything happened too quickly.

Sebastian lifted one hand.

His men moved.

No shouting.

No hesitation.

They simply obeyed.

Three men spread toward the left.

Two moved behind the sedan.

Another crouched beside Victoria’s wrecked car.

Then Sebastian pulled a gun from beneath his jacket.

Victoria stared at him.

He didn’t look like a bodyguard.

He looked like something far more dangerous.

“Who are those men?” she whispered.

Sebastian didn’t look at her.

“People who want you dead.”

“I already figured that out.”

“Then stay quiet.”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t order me around.”

His gaze finally met hers.

Even in the middle of a gunfight, his expression remained infuriatingly composed.

“You can argue with me after we survive.”

Another bullet struck the car.

Victoria flinched.

Sebastian fired.

One of the attackers dropped.

Victoria stared.

He hadn’t even looked directly at the man.

How was that possible?

Sebastian moved forward.

His men followed.

The attackers began retreating.

“Why are they running?” Victoria asked.

Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

“Because they recognize me.”

“Who are you?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he raised his gun again.

Another shot.

Another attacker fell.

Within less than a minute, the street went silent.

The remaining men had fled.

Victoria slowly stood.

Her breathing was uneven.

She looked at the bodies scattered across the road.

Then she looked at Sebastian.

He lowered his gun.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“You hit your head.”

“I’m aware.”

“Your shoulder?”

“Also aware.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You need a doctor.”

“I need answers.”

“You’re getting both.”

Victoria folded her arms.

“From you?”

“Yes.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?”

Sebastian walked toward her.

He stopped only a few feet away.

“Because I’m the only reason you’re still alive.”

Victoria hated that he was right.

She hated even more that she couldn’t stop noticing how calm he was.

Everyone else around him looked tense.

Sebastian didn’t.

It was as if violence was simply another language he spoke fluently.

“Get in the car,” he said.

“No.”

His eyebrow lifted.

“No?”

“I have my own car.”

Sebastian glanced toward her wrecked vehicle.

“It’s totaled.”

“I can call someone.”

“Who?”

“My security team.”

“They’re already on their way.”

Victoria froze.

“What?”

Sebastian looked at her.

“I called them.”

“You what?”

“I told them to secure your office and your home.”

Victoria stared at him.

“You had no right.”

“You’re right.”

The unexpected admission caught her off guard.

Sebastian continued.

“But if I hadn’t done it, you’d probably be dead.”

Victoria clenched her jaw.

“Stop using that argument.”

“It’s not an argument.”

“Then what is it?”

“The truth.”

For several seconds, they stared at each other.

Victoria finally looked away.

“Fine.”

She walked toward his sedan.

But before she could reach the door, Sebastian caught her arm.

Victoria immediately turned.

“Don’t touch me.”

He released her.

His eyes dropped toward her hand.

Blood was dripping from her palm.

“You cut yourself.”

Victoria looked down.

A piece of glass was embedded near the base of her thumb.

She hadn’t even noticed.

Sebastian reached into his jacket and pulled out a clean handkerchief.

“Give me your hand.”

“I can handle it.”

“I know.”

He held out the cloth.

“But you’re bleeding.”

Victoria hesitated.

Then she took it.

Their fingers brushed.

Something strange happened.

A tiny spark.

Nothing more.

But enough to make Victoria pull her hand away.

Sebastian noticed.

Of course he did.

His expression didn’t change.

“Get in.”

Victoria walked around him.

“You’re incredibly bossy.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Frequently?”

“Usually.”

She opened the car door.

Before getting inside, she looked at him.

“Where are you taking me?”

“My house.”

Victoria stared.

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s secure.”

“So is my house.”

“Your house has already been compromised.”

“My office?”

“Compromised.”

“My hotel?”

“Probably.”

She frowned.

“How do you know?”

Sebastian’s gaze became unreadable.

“I have sources.”

“What kind of sources?”

“The useful kind.”

Victoria climbed into the car.

“You’re annoying.”

Sebastian closed the door.

“I’ve heard that too.”

The drive was silent.

Victoria sat in the back seat.

Sebastian sat beside her.

Two men occupied the front.

She kept glancing at him.

He noticed every time.

Eventually, he spoke.

“If you’re going to keep staring at me, you might as well ask the question.”

Victoria looked out the window.

“What question?”

“Who I am.”

She turned toward him.

“Fine.”

“Ask.”

“Who are you?”

“Sebastian Rivas.”

“I know your name.”

“Then we’re making progress.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What do you do?”

“Security.”

“For whom?”

“My family.”

“Your family owns a security company?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

He looked at her.

“Businesses.”

“What kind?”

“Several.”

Victoria studied him.

There was something deliberately vague about every answer.

“You’re lying.”

Sebastian didn’t react.

“About what?”

“Everything.”

His mouth curved slightly.

“Not everything.”

“Most things?”

“Possibly.”

Victoria stared at him.

“You expect me to trust you after admitting that?”

“No.”

That answer surprised her.

“No?”

“I don’t expect your trust.”

“Then what do you expect?”

Sebastian looked ahead.

“For you to stay alive long enough to make your own decisions.”

Victoria went quiet.

That was the first thing he had said all night that didn’t sound like an order.

The gates opened before the car even reached them.

Victoria looked through the window.

The property was enormous.

Black iron gates.

Security cameras.

Men stationed around the perimeter.

A massive modern house stood beyond a long driveway.

Victoria frowned.

“This is your house?”

“Yes.”

“You said you were security.”

“I am.”

She turned toward him.

“Do bodyguards usually live in mansions?”

“Some do.”

“With armed guards?”

“Some.”

“How many?”

Sebastian looked at her.

“Enough.”

Victoria sighed.

“You’re impossible.”

The car stopped.

Sebastian got out first.

He walked around and opened her door.

Victoria stepped out.

The moment she entered the house, she realized something.

This wasn’t simply a wealthy man’s home.

It felt like a fortress.

Men stood at strategic points.

There were cameras everywhere.

Encrypted security panels.

Locked doors.

Even the windows appeared reinforced.

Victoria slowly turned toward Sebastian.

“What exactly do you do?”

He removed his jacket.

“Tonight?”

“Sebastian.”

He looked at her.

She stepped closer.

“Who are you?”

For the first time, something changed in his face.

Not fear.

Something darker.

A warning.

“You don’t want to know.”

Victoria laughed bitterly.

“That’s exactly what criminals say.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Careful.”

She froze.

There was something in his voice.

A coldness she hadn’t heard before.

Then it disappeared.

Sebastian turned away.

“Your room is upstairs.”

“You’re giving me a room?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re staying here.”

“I never agreed to that.”

“No.”

He looked over his shoulder.

“But you’re going to.”

Victoria crossed her arms.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll have one of my men escort you somewhere else.”

She blinked.

“You’re not going to force me?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Sebastian stared at her for several seconds.

“Because protection without choice isn’t protection.”

Victoria didn’t know what to say.

He walked away.

She watched him disappear down the hallway.

For the first time that night, Victoria wondered if perhaps there was more to Sebastian Rivas than the intimidating man she’d met on the road.

She didn’t trust him.

But she was beginning to understand him.

At least a little.

Three hours later, Victoria couldn’t sleep.

She had showered.

Her wounds had been cleaned.

A doctor had examined her and assured her she had no serious injuries.

But sleep refused to come.

Too many questions filled her mind.

Her father.

The stolen Aegis project.

The attacks.

Elena’s strange phone call.

And Sebastian.

Especially Sebastian.

Victoria got out of bed.

She quietly opened her door.

The hallway was empty.

She walked downstairs.

The house was strangely silent.

Then she heard voices.

She followed them.

The sound came from behind a partially closed door.

Victoria stopped.

She recognized Sebastian’s voice.

“How many?”

A man answered.

“Six confirmed. Three escaped.”

“Names?”

“We’re still working on that.”

“And the Reyes Technologies breach?”

“Confirmed.”

Victoria’s breath caught.

Sebastian continued.

“Someone inside the company is feeding them information.”

“Do you think it’s one of the executives?”

“I know it is.”

“Which one?”

“Not yet.”

Victoria moved closer.

The man spoke again.

“What about Project Aegis?”

Sebastian’s voice hardened.

“The stolen data hasn’t been recovered.”

“We’re searching.”

“Search faster.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Victoria froze.

Boss?

She leaned closer.

Sebastian spoke again.

“I want every person connected to the Reyes board investigated.”

“Already done.”

“And the message?”

“We traced the number.”

“Where?”

A pause.

“To an encrypted network.”

Sebastian cursed under his breath.

“Keep digging.”

“Yes, Don Sebastian.”

Victoria’s heart stopped.

Don?

Sebastian?

She slowly stepped backward.

Her foot hit the floorboard.

It creaked.

Silence.

Victoria’s eyes widened.

Inside the room, a chair scraped against the floor.

The door opened.

Sebastian stood there.

His eyes immediately found hers.

Neither spoke.

Then Sebastian looked at the man behind him.

“Leave.”

The man bowed his head.

“Yes, Don Sebastian.”

He walked past Victoria without looking at her.

Victoria waited until he disappeared.

Then she looked at Sebastian.

“Don Sebastian?”

His expression was completely unreadable.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

“Victoria—”

“Don’t.”

She stepped toward him.

“You lied to me.”

“I didn’t tell you everything.”

“That’s not the same thing?”

“No.”

“Then tell me.”

Sebastian said nothing.

Victoria’s anger grew.

“Who are you?”

“Sebastian Rivas.”

“Stop saying your name!”

Her voice echoed through the hallway.

“I know your name.”

She pointed toward the closed door.

“I want to know why that man called you Don Sebastian.”

Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

“Because he respects me.”

“Why?”

Silence.

Victoria stared at him.

“Are you a businessman?”

“No.”

“A politician?”

“No.”

“A security executive?”

“No.”

Her voice became quieter.

“Then what are you?”

Sebastian looked at her for a long moment.

“I told you that you didn’t want to know.”

Victoria’s heart pounded.

“I decide what I want.”

He stepped closer.

“So do I.”

They stood only inches apart.

Victoria refused to move.

Sebastian’s eyes dropped briefly toward her lips before returning to her eyes.

The moment lasted less than a second.

But Victoria noticed.

And so did he.

Neither acknowledged it.

Finally, Sebastian stepped back.

“Go to bed.”

“No.”

“Victoria.”

“I won’t sleep until you tell me the truth.”

Sebastian’s expression hardened.

“You don’t understand the world you’re standing in.”

“Then explain it.”

“I can’t.”

“Or you won’t?”

He didn’t answer.

Victoria shook her head.

“You’re protecting me, but you’re keeping me in the dark.”

“Because knowing too much will put you in more danger.”

“I’m already being hunted.”

“I know.”

“Then stop treating me like a child.”

Sebastian stared at her.

Something softened in his eyes.

“You don’t look like one.”

Victoria’s heart skipped.

He continued quietly.

“That’s the problem.”

She swallowed.

“What does that mean?”

Sebastian walked past her.

“It means you’re going to keep asking questions.”

Victoria turned.

“And?”

He looked back.

“And eventually, you’re going to find answers you wish you hadn’t.”

Then he disappeared down the hallway.

Victoria remained there.

Her heart was still racing.

But now she knew one thing.

Sebastian Rivas wasn’t simply a bodyguard.

He had people who obeyed him.

He had enemies who feared him.

And men called him Boss.

Victoria returned to her room.

She closed the door.

Then she noticed something sitting on the bedside table.

A black envelope.

Her name was written across it.

VICTORIA REYES

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

Her father.

Manuel Reyes.

Standing beside another man.

Victoria recognized the second man immediately.

Sebastian Rivas.

But the photograph was old.

Very old.

Her father looked younger.

And beside him stood a man who looked almost exactly like Sebastian.

Victoria turned the photograph over.

There was a handwritten message on the back.

Your father knew the Rivas family.

Below it was another sentence.

And Sebastian knows why your father died.

Victoria’s breath caught.

She stared at the photograph.

Then toward the closed bedroom door.

For the first time, she understood the terrifying truth.

Sebastian hadn’t rescued her by accident.

He had been looking for her.

And whatever connected their fathers—

was the reason someone wanted her dead.

Victoria gripped the photograph.

“Who are you, Sebastian Rivas?”

Outside her room, footsteps stopped.

A shadow appeared beneath the door.

Then Sebastian’s voice came quietly from the other side.

“Victoria.”

She froze.

“Open the door.”

She didn’t move.

His voice became lower.

“There’s something you need to know.”

Victoria slowly approached the door.

“What?”

Silence.

Then—

“Your father’s death wasn’t an accident.”

Victoria’s hand froze on the doorknob.

And suddenly, the entire world she thought she knew began to fall apart.