I laughed at how little he knew. Hell, I didn’t know much more. I had been looking online at all these baby stores and was completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of everything. I didn’t know the purpose behind half the stuff. I thought all I’d need would be a stroller, a car seat, and some diapers. I soon found out how wrong I was. For something so small, babies required a ton of stuff.
“I’m serious,” he insisted. “You need to start thinking about getting some things for that little guy.”
“It could be a girl.”
“Whatever,” he said, brushing me off. “Let me take you shopping this weekend.”
“Brayden, I–”
“If you don’t want me to buy you anything, I won’t. But you should at least have a registry so people can buy your baby things he’s going to need.”
I rolled my eyes, sitting in the chair across from him. “Like who? You and Jenna are the only people who give a shit about me.”
He glared at me. “That’s not true and you know it. Stop with the pity party, Mack. It’s getting old.” His normally light and buoyant voice turned harsh. My spine straightened and I did a double take.
“What do you–”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” he shot back. “I get it. You’re pissed. You’re angry. You’re hurt. But don’t let what happened between you and Tyler become who…you…are.”
I slouched into the lush chair, placing a hand on my stomach. “But it has, and I don’t know how to change it.”
“You don’t have to change who you are, Mack. You know the best revenge, don’t you?”
“What’s that?” I tilted my head and his eyes softened, reminding me of the special bond we had that I didn’t have with anyone else in my life…Jenna included.
“Living a happy life, Mack. People love you. Your employees. Your friends from college, who you’ve cut out of your life. You’d be surprised how many people will be at your side to support you if you’d just let them. I know you love the challenge of trying to prove you can overcome any obstacle, but it’s okay to let other people do things for you once in a while.”
I eyed him, the sincerity in his gaze warming my heart. “Fine. We can go shopping. I know how much you love it.” I winked, easing the tension between us.
“You know me so well, baby girl.”
Spying the time on the clock behind Brayden, I stood up from the chair and grabbed my purse. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll drop your car off before my doctor’s appointment tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Call me when you get to wherever you’re going.”
“I will.” I placed one more kiss on his cheek and left his office. Taking the elevator down to the garage beneath the building, I found his mid-size SUV, hoping the change in vehicle would throw off my mysterious tail.
Getting behind the wheel, I checked my rearview mirror as I pulled out of the garage and onto the street, relieved when the dark sedan idling against the curb didn’t follow. However, almost immediately, a nondescript gray compact car pulled out from beyond the sedan and came to a stop behind me at a light. I squinted my eyes to see the man driving the car bore a striking resemblance to Wyatt, one of the security guards at my condo building. Was he following me, too? I hated that I was paranoid, but I couldn’t risk anyone finding out about my father.
A horn sounded, snapping me back to reality, and I looked up to see the light had turned green. Instead of taking a right, as my turn signal indicated, I pressed my foot to the accelerator and took a quick left, my heart racing in my chest as I waited to see if the car followed. Several anxious miles passed as I constantly looked into my rearview mirror, seeing no sign of it.
Beginning to relax, I pulled up to a stoplight, getting ready to make a left onto the interstate. As the light turned green, I spied the gray car a few yards behind me, Wyatt at the wheel. Irritated, I pulled a U-turn. He swung his car around, as well, tailing me down the street. Swerving into a nearby gas station, I parked Brayden’s car, and stormed up the street toward him.
Slowing to a stop on the side of the road, Wyatt quickly opened the driver’s side door and looked over his shoulder in a frantic manner. “Get in the car, Mackenzie,” he said, his voice grave. He ran around to the rear passenger side and opened the door.
“I don’t think so,” I scoffed. “Not until you tell me why you’re following me.”
“I’ll tell you after you get in the car!” he ordered in an agitated manner.
“I wasn’t born yesterday. There’s no way in hell I’m getting in the car of a man who’s following me!”
He opened his mouth, but must have noticed something in the distance. Moving swiftly, he covered my mouth with his hand and lifted me up. I struggled against him, my screams muffled as he placed me in the back seat. He slammed the door and ran around to the driver’s side, the entire time my mind racing as I attempted to open the door…to no avail.
Once he was situated, he turned around to face me. “I’m not following you,” he said finally, insinuating someone was following me. His expression was soft and compassionate, making him look…human, and not like some former military guy with a stick permanently shoved up his ass.
“Then who is? The guy in the dark sedan that’s been parked outside my condo building the past few nights?”
“You mean him?” He gestured up the street and my spine stiffened. I watched the dark sedan pull up next to Brayden’s car, the sole occupant getting out. He peered into the SUV, circled it, then paused briefly before looking beneath it.
“Who is he?” I asked, my voice soft as I observed him scanning the area for what I assumed was my location. He fished his phone out of his pocket and made a call. After a brief exchange, he got back into his car and peeled out of the gas station. As he drove by, I crouched in my seat, trying to hide.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Wyatt said, “but I’m treating him as a potential threat to your safety.”
“Taking your new position a bit seriously, aren’t you? Or did Paul not tell you that your job was to simply look out for anything suspicious occurring in the building, not follow me to see my friend.” I climbed into the passenger seat, hoping the childproof locks were only installed in the back. As I was about to open the door, a strong, calloused hand clutched my arm and I was once again facing Wyatt’s concerned gray eyes.
“That’s not my real job,” he admitted through clenched teeth.
“Then what is?” I hissed.
“That’s confidential, ma’am.” He released his hold on me. “All you need to know is it’s my job to make sure nothing happens to you.”
I raised my eyebrows in a somewhat contemptuous manner. For years, I put up with vague declarations that I was in need of protection. I still didn’t really know from what.
“I’m twenty-six, almost twenty-seven!” I shouted. “Nothing’s happened to me yet. I’d appreciate it if people would finally be honest with me and tell me what the hell is really going on. Are you willing to do that?”
“Miss Delano…,” he began, his eyes still stern. I knew there was no way I was going to get any information out of him. My guess was he would carry any secret to his death before putting his job in jeopardy. I knew his type. I fell in love with his type…twice.
I threw open the door and walked at a fast clip back toward the gas station.
“If you get in that car,” he shouted after me, “you’ll lead whomever it is straight to your father. Is that something you’re willing to do?”
My breath hitched and I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning around to face him. I craned my neck to stare at him, my mouth agape in shock.
“I told you,” he said. “It’s my job to protect you. I can only do that if I know everything about you, including who I need to protect you from.”