“Glad you’ve met someone, Brax,” Jackson tells me.
“Oh, Eliana, no, we’re not together. Between you and me, I’m her detail. We’re just playing the couple card with her colleagues ’cause she doesn’t want them to know.”
He smirks at me knowingly. “And that’s the story you’re sticking to.”
I shake my head. “She’s out of my league, man.”
“That’s pretty much how I felt about Cat when we met, but here we are.”
“It’s not just the fact that I’m her bodyguard. I just don’t know if I can give her what she needs. She’s twenty-one, has her whole life ahead of her. I, on the other hand, have seen too many lifetimes to count.”
“I hear you, man. But we can’t let the past hold us prisoner. I learned that the hard way, and it almost cost me the life I have now. Think about that.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And while you’re at it, how about checking out the new Cole Security branch in LA? I could use a man like you on my team,” he hands me a card.
I hadn’t thought about finding a full-time job for a while. I guess there was no harm in keeping my options open. “Sounds like a plan.”
I look over to where Eliana and Catherine are standing. Catherine is talking to a group of women, but Eliana isn’t one of them.
“Will you excuse me? I’ll be right back,” I tell Jackson.
“Sure thing.”
I scan the crowd, but I don’t see her. I look to the dance floor and spot her dancing with a man. By her stiff posture and set jaw, I can tell she’s uncomfortable.
I head in that direction, my blood pumping. Whoever that fucker is needs to get his hands off her before I do it for him.
