Page 28 of Wrecked

I step in front of Erin and walk down the stairs ahead of her so if she does topple over, I can catch her.

I’m trying not to laugh, because it looks an awful lot like my first bodyguard job is more like a high school hall monitor job—trying to keep the peace and keep the kids out of trouble.

The rest of the morning amounts to Erin showing Beth the ropes and explaining how the store is run. I follow them around, trying not to be too obvious about it, but ready in case anything goes wrong.

I notice Beth eyeing me warily, as if she’s worried about me. “You don’t have to hover, Sam. Go do something. Walk around, take a break. Read a book—we have plenty.”

It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes at her. In the Army, I lived rough for days, sometimes weeks on end, under wet, cold, and hungry conditions, often with little to no shelter. After crawling through mud and sleeping under bushes, working in an upscale bookstore is a cakewalk. I could get used to this real quick. “I’m fine, boss.”

“Beth,” she says, giving me a gentle reminder to call her by her name.

I nod.My bad.“Beth.”

Later, we all trudge back upstairs to the administrative offices so Erin can show Beth her desk.

Beth seems surprised she gets one. But when we see it, her surprise quickly transforms into disappointment. It’s the ugliest utilitarian desk I’ve ever seen. It makes Army surplus desks chic—they’re not. Beth gets a desk and a chair, and nothing else.

“There’s a supply cabinet over there,” Erin tells her, pointing at a metal cupboard across the room. “With pens, pads of paper, and staplers. Stuff like that.” Erin winces as if she’s embarrassed to even show it to Beth.

There’s a lot more back-and-forth stuff as Beth settles in to her new job. I give Beth a week before she loses it.

* * *

At two-thirty, my replacement shows up—Lia McIntyre, one of Shane’s sisters and a McIntyre Security bodyguard. At five-two, with blonde hair in braids and big blue eyes, she looks hardly more than a kid. She maybe weighs a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet.

Lia stalks into the business office like she owns the joint and hops up to sit on the corner of Beth’s ugly desk. “Hey, Princess. I like what you’ve done with the place—very industrial chic.”

Princess?I guess that’s a fitting nickname.

Beth looks so relieved to see Lia. I take it these two are friends.

“I’m starving,” Beth tells her. “Please feed me.”

Lia smiles. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

It’s time for Beth to head out. Erin and I walk her and Lia downstairs to the door. Erin hugs Beth.

I give her another fist bump. “See you tomorrow, boss.” This time she doesn’t correct me.

After Beth leaves with Lia, I’m done for the day. It’s still early, and I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t dare go to the shooting range and risk running into Cooper again. I don’t want to put myself through the torture of yet another disappointment.

I end up heading back to the apartment building. After I change into workout gear, I go to the fitness center to do some strength training. Maybe I’ll lift some weights and run a few miles on the indoor track.

After about ninety minutes of sweating my ass off, I head up to my apartment and take a shower. I nuke one of those Hungry Man fried chicken and mashed potatoes microwavable dinners and eat it in front of the TV.

When there’s a knock on my door, I freeze with the fork halfway to my mouth. There’s really only one person it could be—Cooper, coming down here to rub what happened last night in my face.

I ignore him.

He knocks again. “Sam? Please open up.” His voice sounds muffled coming through the door.

Still, I ignore him. He doesn’t even know for sure I’m home.

“Sam, your truck is in the garage, so I assume you’re home. Please open the door. We need to talk.”

“Go away!”

“I owe you an apology.”