The Alpha's Bodyguard

Prologue

I was a rookie on my first day of work as a bodyguard for one of the vice presidents of a law firm, none other than the eldest son of the President of Falinni & Astor, a man for whom, from the moment I saw him from afar in one of the hallways of the offices, I felt deeply attracted, like I had never been to anyone else before.

At the time, I didn't know what to attribute that sudden and profound attraction to, similar to the impact of a lightning bolt that seemed to pierce through me from head to toe. Later, when the circumstances that were about to unfold would lead me to understand what had happened, I would understand what had caused it.

"We're leaving in five minutes, Ivania," said Valery, my best friend, head of security for the Falinni family, and the one who had gotten me this job. "Alessandro, the boss, is attending a business lunch at D'aggi restaurant downtown."

I nodded somewhat nervously for what would be my first outing as a bodyguard, without imagining for a second what would happen that afternoon.

I got into one of the auxiliary vans of the main vehicle, where Alessandro Falinni was. His family, as I had learned, had been the target of some recent threats from a criminal organization they had not yet identified. Although none of the threats had materialized, our mission was to keep things that way.

"Papa Bear is coming out. He's going through the main door," Valery said over the intercom as Alessandro exited the restaurant after a tense hour of waiting.

"Understood, I see him," I replied.

As the restaurant doorman opened the glass door, I saw the man who was not only my boss but also the one I was tasked to protect with my life. His head brushed the upper edge of the door with his nearly four feet of height. He smiled at the doorman, and the sparkle of his teeth almost eclipsed the glow of his pink lips, bordered by the shadow of a chestnut beard that always seemed freshly shaved.

As Alessandro descended the stairs to the sidewalk, I opened the rear door of the main car, and our eyes met for a second. A ray of sunlight hit them, and they sparkled with a wild green glow that made my legs tremble.

Alessandro looked at me, and even though he passed by, I knew that something had also affected him. I hadn't left him indifferent.

Following protocol, I closed the door and waited until Valery had gotten into the car. Only then did I head to the auxiliary van and took the passenger seat, where the driver looked at me and nodded.

"Green light, we're leaving," the driver said over the intercom before pressing the accelerator. I heard Valery give us the order to follow them.

As the van started moving, my mind was still reeling from the effect that Alessandro's gaze had on me. The whirlwind of pleasant sensations his eyes had triggered in my body continued to bubble with force. It was no longer just an attraction that made me bite my lower lip, but something much more intense than that, something I couldn't yet name, but I knew, after being pierced by his gaze, that he too had been impacted by that same energy.

But what could I expect, even if that were true, when he was a prestigious lawyer, vice president of a multimillion-dollar and powerful firm owned by his equally dazzling family, while I was just a bodyguard, not even with a college education, and now in this position because I had resigned from the Marines. The attraction I might have provoked in my boss could only harm me.

As these thoughts swirled in my head, I saw something unusual in the rearview mirror. It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Centaur, we've been followed by a black Yamaha since we left," Valery said over the intercom. "Let it pass."

The driver looked at me, waiting for my opinion. I nodded, and he slowed down. The motorcycle soon approached.

Through the door mirror, I saw it approaching from behind. Two men were riding the Yamaha, both wearing helmets. Thanks to my military training, I knew what the movements of someone about to draw a weapon or approach with harmful intent looked like; that wasn't the case with these individuals, but I noticed, despite the helmets covering their faces, that they were paying special attention to the van we were traveling in. That's what alerted me, and I knew we hadn't gone unnoticed by them.

"Accelerate," I told the driver as the motorcycle overtook us and approached the car carrying Alessandro and Valery.

Before the driver could accelerate the van, the motorcycle moved alongside the car Alessandro was in, and the rider sitting in the rear turned his head, looking toward the car we were supposed to protect.

"Damn it," I cursed.

It was impossible for me to see the rider's eyes, not only because of the helmet he was wearing but also because of the distance, but it was as if I had guessed the expression on his face, and there I saw confirmation of my suspicion: the man dropped, or rather threw, a package in front of Alessandro's car, forcing the driver to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting it. In doing so, the side of the car was exposed, and at that moment, the motorcycle abruptly stopped.

"Overtake those damn bastards!" I yelled at the driver, anticipating what was about to happen.

The same man who had thrown the package reached inside his jacket, from which emerged a mini uzi. Our van approached, but only managed to hit the motorcycle's rear tire and not with enough force to topple it. By that time, I had already exited through the door, taking advantage of the car's deceleration, and with a leap, I passed over the hood, rolling onto my backside.

The man with the mini uzi was only seconds away from firing, and I wouldn't be able to draw my weapon, aim, and shoot in time. Alessandro's window was right in front of him, and despite its armor, I knew it wouldn't withstand such a discharge, much less at that distance.

I only had one option left.

I lunged at the man about to shoot, from behind, and managed to grab him before he pulled the trigger. The man turned, his helmet almost hitting my face, and at that moment, I knew I was in trouble. The mini uzi was still in his hand, and now the barrel of the gun was right over my chest.

I heard a thunder in my ears and fell, not knowing what had hit me.

"Ivania!"

I heard someone shout my name, without distinguishing who it had been. The motorcycle's tires screeched on the hard pavement, and I heard it recede. In front of me, I only saw the afternoon sky, clear, while a sharp pain began to numb my body. Then, if it was his face, it was Alessandro's, who kept repeating my name.

I felt him lift me, he put my head between his arms, and he begged me not to close my eyes for anything in the world.

"The ambulance is coming, Ivania. Please, hold on. It wasn't anything serious, you'll be fine. Just don't close your eyes, I beg you."

I think I smiled and said something about it being impossible for me to close my eyes when I had his in mine, or something like that, I don't remember, because at that moment I felt so tired that even being in Alessandro's arms, the sky and everything around me eclipsed in an instant.