Her mom’s comments also made sense considering who she worked for and what they did. Mom hadn’t come out and said that Alliez did things like search for missing girls, but the setup she’d seen in this conference room suggested they did more than act as bodyguards to the rich and famous.
“I’ll consider it, but how else am I supposed to get around, Mom?” She hadn’t purchased a car again. Her ex had taken their one and only vehicle in the divorce. Prior to her stint in Guatemala, she’d relied on the rideshare apps to get her to wherever she wanted to go. Not once had she felt unsafe. Now though, would she even be comfortable getting in one?
Throughout this exchange, Isaac still stood in front of her, his posture hadn’t changed and he hadn’t moved. It should’ve felt intimidating, but like when she’d been in his arms, she felt safe.
“We’ll work something out,” Isaac said into the silence that had fallen around them.
“What? Are you going to chauffeur me around?” she said sarcastically.
“If that’s what it takes, yes.”
His reply was said in such an off-hand manner that it took a few seconds before it sunk in. “You can’t be serious. I’m about to start my job in a few days. A job that requires me starting and finishing at all hours of the day. Are you really saying that you’re prepared to come and pick me up from the hospital at three in the morning?”
There was no way Isaac was going to do that. Not to mention she wouldn’t expect that of him. The easiest thing to do would be to go get a rental car, or buy a cheap one until she’d settled in her job and then look at getting something better.
“I repeat again. If that’s what it takes to keep you safe, then that’s what I’ll do. We don’t know who or why you were targeted, and until we do, I want to make sure that you’re protected.”
He was serious. He wasn’t just saying the words to appease her mom who was still in the room.
Marie grabbed a chair and sat down, everything that had happened in the last hour settling heavy on her shoulders. “This doesn’t make sense. Why wouldyou do this? Is it out of some sense of loyalty to my mom?”
That she could understand. This may have been the first time she’d been at her mom’s place of work, but she could tell that everyone respected her. Yet, part of her was annoyed that it wasn’t being done for her—which was totally irrational. She didn’t know any of them, apart from Isaac, and she couldn’t say she knew him well enough for him to commit to helping her in that manner.
“Not totally,” Isaac answered, pulling her from her thoughts. “Yes, because you are Yolanda’s daughter you are automatically part of the Alliez family and we protect our own. But also becauseIdon’t want anything to happen to you.”
Marie met his gaze and was held captive by the honesty and … attraction she could see blazing in their brown depths. A flicker of warmth curled to life in her belly. No longer could she deny or protest the help he was offering, because when he was near she felt safe. “Okay,” she whispered.
He didn’t smile, but the desire in his eyes flared a little brighter, and that flicker of warmth from seconds ago became an inferno, and she wanted him to hold her again. Keep her close so that she could hear the reassuring sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear.
But he didn’t do that, he stepped back, and Marie wished she was brave enough to grasp it. After constantly being shunned every time she showed her former husband any type of affection, she shied away from chasing what she wanted.
“How about I see you home now?” Isaac said softly, his head canted to the side a little as if he was trying to read her thoughts.
“That would be good.” The events of the day, the last few months, all weighed down on her, and all she wanted to do was curl up in the corner of her couch, snuggled in a fluffy blanket, hot chocolate in hand while watching her favorite home renovation channel. Forget about the boxes that she still needed to unpack. They could wait, they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Are you sure you don’t want me and Dad to come over? It’s not a problem canceling our plans.” Her mom asked again. As much as she loved her parents, she didn’t want them to.
“Thank you, but nothing’s changed since the first time you suggested it. My building is safe. Once Isaac drops me home, I have no plans on leaving until I have to get to the hospital for another meeting before my first shift in the afternoon.”
Marie withstood her mother’sscrutiny, and when she nodded, Marie knew that she’d passed whatever test her mother had just given her. “Okay, but know that all it takes is one phone call and we’ll be there.”
“I know.” She went over and gave her mom a hug. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” With one last squeeze, her mom nodded at Isaac before she left the room, leaving just the two of them.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Isaac asked. “It’s just the two of us now.”
Marie understood where his question was coming from, but she’d had enough of people doubting how she was feeling. “I’m fine. I’d like to go now,” she ground out. If she thought putting her hands on her hips would help to get her point across she would, but she suspected it wouldn’t make a dent in the armor of protection that shrouded Isaac.
“Got it,” he said with a short, sharp nod. “I just need to collect a couple of things from my desk and then we can go.”
“I’ll meet you at Mom’s desk.”
“That works.”
They headed for the door, Isaac took a step back so that she could precede him out the door, his hand low on her back, and she welcomed the heat from his touch.
What would happen when they got to her apartment?Would he insist on seeing her up, or would he drop her at the door and drive away.
