Page 3 of The Protection Agreement

“You put her on a plane and gave her my picture; how did you know I would agree?” I question.

“For starters, I know your bleeding heart can’t help but protect the innocent. I also know you will relish in my begging you, like I said, I’m not too proud to beg when it comes to her.” He states plainly.

“I’ll be damned,” I mutter. Jonah Lloyd is doing everything to keep his woman safe. “Motherfucker,” I say. Here I thought he’s a spoilt rich kid that doesn’t do his homework.

“Right back at you,” he mutters.

“What if I’d said no?” I tersely ask.

“I had Clarke’s firm on standby. He wouldn’t make me beg. I would pay less, but he wouldn’t protect her with his life, and with her, I require everything.” He gives a curt nod, turns and leaves. I watch him get in his expensive car. As soon as he drives off, I receive a text of her flight details and a reminder not to touch her. All I have is her name and a coded word. This should be interesting. Let the mystery begin.

“Are you really taking his case?” Ice asks. “Maybe it’s a trap. I don’t trust him, and you’ve always told me the Lloyds are your enemy.” He’s still not relaxing.

“He wouldn’t come to me unless he’s desperate. He may hate me, but he knows I’m the best, and he’s desperate to save his woman,” I respond to Ice’s concern.

“I hope your bleeding heart doesn’t become a problem,” Ice says.

Great, I bet he’s going to remind me of that every goddamn day.

“I have no interest in his woman. I will keep her safe and send her back to him once he finds out who’s after her,” I answer, though I still find it intriguing that Jonah was willing to beg me to protect his woman. She must be special and, quite frankly, she has me intrigued.

“So, are you going to keep the guys away from her? What bullshit request is that?” I hear the irritation in his tone.

“He can’t tell me how to do my job; I put the best men on. Period,” I gruff, and Ice chuckles.

We head back to my unit.

“I’m going back to sleep. Send Smith to check out that apartment and have Malik be ready to check for any spyware in that building. Wake me up an hour before we have to leave for her pick up.”

“Yes, boss.”

I return to my unit to sleep. I don’t want to think about what just transpired between Jonah and me, but it was a beautiful sight to see him on his knees. It won’t cost me anything to watch her, but to have Jonah pay double was well worth it, which also begs the question why he would pay me double for her. He can keep round the clock guards on her and still pay less, but he insisted on paying me double. Much as we are not friends. What he stands to gain here has my mind boggled.

I’ll find out soon enough, nothing hides forever.

I get in bed, but sleep eludes me. I try to think about why someone is trying to kill Jonah’s woman or if there is a different agenda here that I’m missing.

With sleep out of the picture, I decide to shower and get some work done. As I’d instructed, Ice is at my door right on time. He lets himself in and gets right to business.

“Smith said the building and unit is safe but…” He shrugs.

“But?” I ask.

“His gut isn’t checking on the building, ‘something feels off,’ his words not mine, but you know Smithy and his guts,” he mocks.

“His guts,” I warn, “saved us several times before. When we pick her up, I’ll check it out myself. Is Malik ready?”

“He said one unit had a firewall that even he couldn’t penetrate right away, but he can with more time.”

“Interesting. Tell him to hold off for now. You and I will pick her up and do our own assessment when we get there,” I say, picking up my shoe.

“Let’s head out, one of the guys delivered a similar yellow scarf I requested. Let’s see if she will come to you or find me,” I dryly say to Ice.

We head out to the airport.

Chapter three

Lexi