Page 40 of The Guardian

Henry

The clock in my head did as it had always done…It pinged and I immediately opened my eyes. Usually, I would be on alert, on a job somewhere as this had been my life for fifteen years. I took in my surroundings and realized that I was not on a job. Turning my head, I saw her and smiled. In fact, this was an entirely new but wonderful turn in my life.

I couldn’t really call her a turn either. No, Maya was a new life for me. I never thought I would find her in the middle of the rescue Carlos had going. I did pause as I realized I might already be in love with her. No, I wasn’t hesitant because I doubted her. She might just be the purest soul I had ever met. Her actions showed this. It wasn’t that I only saw her beauty and lusted after her. No, she was genuinely sweet and caring. I simply watched her sleep and I enjoyed that as well. I intended to keep her with me. I just hoped she wanted to stay with me.

There also was no way she would go back to Mexico unprotected. This group whomever they were had killed and were willing to kill in order to accomplish what they had set out to do. I would stay with her through this then afterward, if she agreed. I knew one thing… I would help her agreement along. Like last night. If I needed to give her my all, I would do so and enjoy it. This woman would be treated like a queen. If any woman deserved that it would be Maya.

“That is creepy, you know?” she asked as she still had her eyes closed.

“You mean me watching you sleep?” I smiled at being caught out.

Her eyes popped open and she told me, “It is ma sei grullo, how they say very crazy.”

I chuckled. “Yes…it is mad. But I admit that I am insanely crazy over you. I could watch you all day. Even if all you did was sleep.”

She laughed. “I would be lazy or in a coma to do that, Henry.”

I reached out and caressed her cheek. “I don’t want to scare you away. So, I will try to behave.”

Smirking at me, she replied, “You could never scare me, Henry. You are perhaps the kindest man I have ever met.”

I gasped dramatically. “Oh, that is no bene. Do not spread that around, please. I am a bodyguard. Not a teddy bear.”

Laughing, she finally sat up. “I think you are a teddy bear. I slept so warmly while being up against you. But do not fear, I will keep it a secret.”

“Good, cause if this got out, how will I ever get onto Badass dot com?”

“You are funny too,” she added as she kept smiling. “A man who is protective, funny and…” She paused and blushed. “…has the best mouth in all the world. I never would have believed you existed. I have found that most men are just too selfish or are into their own pleasure to do the things you did last night.” She halted and seemed to realize she shared something very telling.

I took her hand and turned it over to kiss her palm. “No, I was one of those men. Selfish and only doing for me. Making money so I would be set for life. Sexing women just to get what I needed and to scratch that itch that most men have too often. I was one of those for sure.”

“I do not see that at all,” she argued.

“No, because he is not here in me anymore. I think when I met a woman who was so sweet, giving and caring? I realized that maybe good women do exist.”

“You mean me?”

I scoffed. “Yes, I mean you.”

“What about Miss Selena?” she asked. “She is those things as well, is she not?”

I slowly shook my head. “I don’t think any of us told you about her. First off, I would be too afraid to hit on her.”

She laughed. “Selena is a little abrasive, yes. But she is beautiful and a good person. Look at what she went through to find her brother’s children.”

“Yes, I know that.” I smiled at her. “But she is or was a hitwoman, Maya. Yes, she became that to eventually find the twins. But she is dangerous. Like I would be too afraid to date her. Get her angry and you might wake up with your throat cut.”

Gasping, Maya looked astonished by this claim.

“She is known in the underworld as The Blade.”

“I didn’t know this.”

I tapped her chin. “She is retiring from her line of work and so is Carlos.”

“Carlos? What job did he have?”

I slowly shook my head. “Look, I don’t want to ruin what you thought of them. I assumed you knew this but really, how could you know? They could not exactly say, ‘We are cartel members. In fact, we belong to the most notorious and dangerous organizations in the world.’ But I should add they both quit that and wish to disappear into a normal life together.”