Her Quiet Bodyguard (Lockwood Industries Book 2) Page 2

  Ms. Logan looked over at the woman beside her and Roman decided they must be sisters. The other woman was also very beautiful, and they shared several features, but she lacked something that drew Roman’s eye. He wasn’t sure what it was, but now was not the time to figure it out, either.

  When the sister nodded, Ms. Logan took a deep breath. “All right,” she said softly. “It all started about a year ago.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Rose had to keep herself from cringing as she told her story. It all sounded so dumb now. So...naive. She was an educated woman with a masters in Early Childhood Education, so how had she been so blinded by a few gifts and a fake, white smile?

  Lilly held her hand the whole time, helping Rose have the courage to speak, but it was the large man across the table that made the biggest difference. The officer had been right; the guy was huge. Not just tall, but broad and well-built. He looked like he could play professional football, but despite his size, there was something kind and gentle about him.

  Their eyes had locked when he’d come into the room and Rose had nearly lost her breath. His gaze was dark, nearly as dark as his hair, but there was nothing intimidating about it. How the heck can someone make me feel warm and protected when he didn’t even say a word? She shook her head. I think Nick broke me more than I thought.

  “Rose?” Lilly asked quietly.

  Rose jerked her head up and realized she had stopped speaking. “Sorry. My mind drifted.”

  Harlan nodded, sympathy easy to read on his face. “That’s understandable. So, you dated for one month before you found him with another woman? Was that when you broke things off?”

  Tears pricked Rose’s eyes. “Almost. He convinced me she was just a coworker.” She cleared her throat. “He’s a really smooth talker, which is why he’s so successful at his business.”

  “What does he do again?”

  “He’s the head of the biggest marketing firm in the city,” Officer Burns offered.

  Harlan nodded and turned back to Rose. “Please continue.”

  Lilly nodded encouragingly.

  Rose sighed, glancing up at Roman’s warm eyes before continuing. “About a week after seeing him at that dinner, I was on an early morning run and happened to pass by his condo. A, uh...woman was leaving.” Rose’s eyes fell to her lap. “It was easy to see she had spent the night.”

  “Was it the same woman from the restaurant?” Harlan asked.

  Rose shook her head. “No,” she said in a small voice.

  “And that’s when you broke things off?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I was super angry, but instead of confronting him, I sent him a text telling him it was over and I knew he was with other women.” Rose shrugged and looked up. “I didn’t expect to ever see him again.” She absently rubbed her sore arm, wincing a little when she touched the bruise.

  “So that was six months ago?” Harlan asked, quickly typing things down on his computer.

  “Look, Lockwood,” Officer Burns started. “We already took all this information.” He nodded toward a file on the table. “You’ll find it in there. Having her rehash it again can’t be easy for her.”

  Rose’s eyebrows went up at the officer’s concern, but for some reason, she automatically turned to the quiet giant to see what he thought.

  “Hearing it directly from her and in her tone will help us figure out what is most important,” Roman said softly. “When we read, we interpret things the way we want to, but when someone speaks, they tell us how to interpret them.” His dark gaze turned to hers. “If it’s too hard for you, we can stop. However, if you’re willing to keep going, it might help us put this guy where he belongs.”

  Rose was stupefied. The bodyguard hadn’t spoken once since they came into the room and now he just laid out a whole speech, showing that he was just as intelligent and compassionate as he was tall. Apparently, my man radar isn’t as broken as I thought.

  “He’s right,” Harlan added, also addressing Rose. “If you don’t mind going through it again, it would be a big help to us.”

  Rose glanced at Roman again, then back at Harlan. “I don’t mind. I don’t want him to win, but the police don’t know if they can help. If telling you the rest of it will help get him out of my life, then I’ll gladly tell it.” She couldn’t help that her eyes once again drifted up to Roman’s. The look of pride in his gaze was a boost to her spirits and she opened her mouth to continue.

  “He kept coming by after I broke up with him. He came to the school where I work, my house, the church I attend. I even ran into him at the grocery store, even though I know he doesn’t shop there.” She took in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. “I always told him the same thing. I wasn’t interested in getting back together. He needed to leave.”

  “And how did he handle it?” Harlan said, still taking notes.

  Rose shrugged. “At first he acted very compliant. He kept apologizing, claiming I had misunderstood whatever information I had. He said he wouldn’t go out with coworkers anymore if it bothered me so much.” She snorted, a little bit of her courage coming back as she thought of his lies. “But soon it got harder to get rid of him.”

  Lilly shook her head. “I don’t understand why you didn’t talk to the police before now,” she said in frustration.

  “I did, actually.”

  Everyone turned to Officer Burns, who looked uncomfortable. He tapped a finger rapidly on the table as he spoke. “He hadn’t harmed her in any way and unless she called while he was on her private property, refusing to leave, we had no power to help.” He jerked his chin toward the file. “We did start a file at that point though. It’s all in there.”

  Harlan nodded his thanks, then turned back to Rose. “When did it all change?”

  “Today, actually.” Once again, her hand drifted to her arm. “I had finally gotten tired of his showing up and was...a little more forceful than usual in telling him to leave,” she explained. “He didn’t take it well.” Slowly, she slid her sleeve up and showed them her bruise.

  Lilly sniffed and wiped at her eyes, the same reaction she had had the first time she had seen it. Rose noted that Harlan and Roman both clenched their jaws when they saw it, and for the first time since he’d come into the room, Roman looked dangerous. The teddy bear aura was gone and in its place was the trained soldier he had once been.

  The change in demeanor caused Rose to sink into herself a little, and when she dared look again, Roman’s anger was gone as if it had never happened.

  SEEING THE BRUISE ON Rose’s beautiful skin boiled Roman’s blood in a way he hadn’t felt since he’d been a young teenager, watching his father hurt his mother. The ache of being unable to help her still burned within him, but when Rose ducked away from him, the pain increased tenfold. He knew his emotions must be showing on his face and he blinked hard, allowing his mask to slip back into place.

  Don’t frighten her, he scolded himself. She’s been through enough without someone as scary as you scaring her even more.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Harlan murmured, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “We’ll do all we can to help you.” He turned to the officer. “Thank you, Officer Burns. I think we can take it from here.” He stood. “I’ll see you out.”

  The officer narrowed his eyes at Roman before turning to Rose. “You good? Or do you want me to stay?”

  Roman fought the temptation to pinch his lips. He had learned long ago it was better to show no emotion. Keep up the mask and keep on moving. That was the only thing that had gotten him through his teenage years and even the first few years of the military. Even though he now had a family, even his brothers hadn’t been allowed much of a glimpse under the facade. Ridge was the only one who knew Roman’s childhood had been the opposite of idyllic. Them knowing won’t change the past. Why bother them with yet another sob story? They’ve heard enough of them as it is.

  “I’ll be fine, thank you,” Rose said softly in response to Officer Burns’s question.

  He paused for a split second longer, then nodded. “Thank you, Lockwood. We’re happy to help where we can, but without more evidence, no court system is going to rule in her favor.”

  Harlan nodded. “I understand.” He opened the door and let the policeman go through first before following him down the hall.

  Roman watched them until they were out of sight, then turned back around to the two women, who were now both staring directly at him.

  “You probably get asked this a lot, but did you play football?” Mrs. Winters asked.

  Roman allowed a small smile to move his lips. He knew that smiling helped to make him less intimidating, and right now he wanted to be anything but intimidating. He shook his head. “No.”

  She waited a moment longer, then said. “You’re not a man of many words, are you?”

  “Lilly!” Rose exclaimed. “That wasn’t nice.”

  Lilly rubbed her forehead, then looked up. “She’s right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t meaning for it to be a rude question.” Her smile showed her exhaustion. “I think my filter left when Rose called to tell me all the trouble.”

  Roman nodded and shrugged. “It’s all right.”

  Rose put her clasped hands on the table. “So what do we do now?” She looked up at him with those wide, innocent eyes, and Roman found he had the strangest desire to promise her anything she wanted in that moment. She hardly knew him and yet she looked completely trusting as if she would never question his ability to take care of her.

  “We wait for Harlan. He’s our head honcho and usually helps design the plan.”

  She nodded and began to twiddle her thumbs. “But he said you were the one he was assigning to the case?”

  Roman nodded.

  “What ex
actly will that entail?”

  Before Roman could answer, Harlan waltzed back into the room. “Thank you for your patience.” He closed the door. “Now...” He sat down. “Ms. Logan, I thought it might be better if we discussed our plan without outside ears.” He looked at Mrs. Winters. “Your sister will be a good ally, but if the police are worried their hands are tied, then we probably need to work without their interference.”

  Rose and Lilly nodded understandingly.

  “I have come up with a plan...” Harlan paused and squished his lips to the side. “Please hear me out before you get upset, all right?”

  Roman felt his muscles tense. If Harlan was concerned the women wouldn’t like it, then Roman knew for sure he wouldn’t like it.

  “I asked Roman to be part of this case especially because of his size.” Harlan reached over and patted Roman’s shoulder. “I want him to play the part of your boyfriend.”

  It took every bit of Roman’s training to keep his surprise from showing in his face, especially after he heard the women gasp from across the table.

  Harlan held up a hand. “Hear me out, please!” He put his hand back on the table. “This guy thinks he has power because he has money, but my guess is, he has no physical power at all. He might be willing to take on a woman, but if it came to a physical confrontation with a man, he wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  Lilly snorted and folded her arms over her chest. “You got that right. I don’t think the sleeze has ever worked out for anything other than show.”

  Rose’s gaze dropped to her lap again and Roman wanted to pick up her chin and see what story her eyes were telling.

  “Roman’s presence alone should be a fairly decent deterrent. If your ex feels he can’t get to you physically, he might just move on.” Harlan frowned. “Please understand that’s not a guarantee. I’ve dealt with men like this before and it can go either way. Some tuck tail and run when confronted with an entity stronger than themselves and some simply change tactics.” He sighed. “It’s always best to try and handle these things with the least invasiveness possible, but if...” Harlan glanced at his computer, “Nick refuses to back down, then we’ll take more intensive measures.”

  “What’s considered an intensive measure?” Lilly asked, leaning forward in her seat.

  Roman glanced at Harlan, who continued to look calm and cool, while Roman felt like he was burning up. The idea of being so close to Rose was wreaking havoc with his senses. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since he was a teenager. Roman’s life had become one continuous circle of work and keeping himself from being his dad. There was no room for love in there, nor had there been a chance while he was in the service.

  “Roman might have to move in with Rose, or we might have to move Rose somewhere else. As it is, we’ll set up security around your house.” Harlan’s comments were now directed specifically toward Rose. “If we can catch Nick on camera doing something illegal, we should be able to get you that restraining order and get him arrested immediately. Between that and Roman, hopefully this will all go away very soon.”

  Roman continued to watch Rose, curious as to her thoughts on the matter. Does it freak her out to think of me pretending I’m her boyfriend? It’s pretty obvious I’m not her type. Is she willing to pretend though?

  Rose looked to Lilly and then to Roman. “Are you okay with this?” she asked softly.

  Roman froze. It was rare that anyone ever asked how he felt about things. Since he was so quiet, he was usually just expected to go along with whatever the plan was. Realizing she was still waiting for an answer, he forced his head into motion. “I’m here to keep you safe. If being your boyfriend will do that, then I have no qualms about it.”

  She studied him closely and Roman held very still, praying she didn’t see the slight panic in his head. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, then.” She turned to Harlan. “It looks like Mr. Roman and I are officially ‘dating’.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Rose glanced through the peephole in her door, sighing in relief when she saw Roman and Harlan on the other side. “What is it about him?” she muttered as she reached for the door handle. Despite the fact that Roman’s very presence made her feel safer, her hand was trembling and it took a moment to turn the knob.

  “Hey,” she said softly, opening the door wide. “Come on in.” Rose tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, suddenly self-conscious at her casual attire. After arriving home from Lockwood Industries, Lilly had insisted Rose take a long bath full of oils and salts, while Lilly went home to her kids and husband. It had felt heavenly, but when she was done, Rose hadn’t wanted to take the time to dress up again. She opted for sweats and a tank top instead.

  Roman nodded as he stepped inside. “Ms. Logan,” he said in his deep, quiet tone. “This is Ridge Lockwood. He’s here to help me set up the security system.”

  Rose’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were Harlan.”

  The man named Ridge smiled and shrugged. “No worries. We’re brothers...obviously.” He winked playfully. “There are three of us total.”

  Rose frowned. “Three brothers? Or do you mean triplets?”

  Ridge nodded. “Identical triplets.”

  Her hand went over her mouth. “Oh my gosh! I’ve never met identical triplets before.”

  Ridge chuckled. “Now you have. Well, two of us, anyway.”

  Rose looked at Roman’s amused expression. “Do you have trouble telling them apart?”

  He shook his head. “I served with Ridge.” He shrugged. “I must’ve spent enough time stuck with him because it’s pretty rare for me to mix them up.”

  Ridge punched his shoulder. “Old Eagle Eye here is one of an elite few.”

  “Eagle Eye? Was that your nickname in the military?” Rose asked, extremely curious to know more about him. The man intrigued her. She definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship right now—after all, she had a fake one to deal with—but there was something about the gentle giant that drew her. She wanted to get to know him more and find out what made him tick.

  Roman’s tan cheeks turned a light shade of pink and the effect was so adorable, Rose nearly sighed. He shook his head to answer her question.

  “Don’t let him fool you!” Ridge crowed. “This guy has an uncanny ability to pick up on patterns and anything even the least bit out of the ordinary. If you ever find yourself up all night watching security footage, he’s the dude you want with you.”

  Rose smiled at Roman’s obvious discomfort for the praise. “I feel safer already,” she said encouragingly, only to realize she really did. The weight that had settled on her shoulders earlier in the day felt much lighter now that Roman was with her. Deciding her thoughts were getting into dangerous territory, Rose clapped her hands. “Now, what do you need me to do?”

  The light conversation of a moment before disappeared and both Ridge and Roman turned into businessmen.

  “First, we’ll be doing a perimeter check,” Roman said. “After we’ve mapped out the best places for the cameras, we’ll set them up, then I’ll come inside and start hooking up the electrical part of it. I’ll be able to monitor all the cameras from both my computer and my phone. Any movement will set off alarms and I can immediately see what’s happening.”

  Rose nodded, impressed. “Do you...” She bit back her fear and took a deep breath. “Do you think that he’ll try something? I mean, I know he hurt me today, but will he really come sneaking around my house and vandalize something?” Rose held her breath as she waited for them to answer. She desperately hoped that Nick had just lost his temper today and that nothing would come of his infatuation with her, but her logical side was screaming that she was underestimating the situation.

  Roman and Ridge looked at each other for a moment as if communicating telepathically. When Roman’s dark eyes met hers, they held a touch of sorrow in them. “I don’t know if he’ll come around or not, but I do know that I’d rather be overprepared than under. In my line of work, those who are underprepared end up hurt...or dead.”

  Rose felt the blood drain from her head and she swayed for a moment before putting her hand on the wall for support.