*Knox*

A scrawny little kid approaches Tessa with something that could make a measly pass for anger etched on his face. He looks pathetic and desperate. Maybe that is what girls like Tessa like, because her face breaks into one of worry, like she is about to hand him a five-page essay on apology. 

"Wes," she says in a high-pitched tone. "Oh my God! I am so sorry. I totally forgot."

"You forgot?" 

Marin slips away from view, refusing to be caught in the crossfire. Watching her is hilarious. 

"I know how this sounds, Wes, but a lot happened yesterday, okay? I tried running away from my security, and I would have joined you if some lousy bastards hadn't delayed me. He tried harassing me, and it got the attention of the very people I was trying to run away from."

Any other man will be immediately concerned for her safety. They will ask her if she was hurt in any way. Tessa just mentioned she was harassed, but Wes doesn't even bother with that. 

"This is why it stresses me out being with you."

"Wes!" 

He sighs, pressing two fingers against his temples. "I'm sorry," he sighs. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just that I actually spent a lot getting us VIP tickets into that party at the club yesterday. They were non-refundable, and I spent the night all alone. It was worse that you didn't pick up my calls and didn't even try to call me back."

And then, the scrawny kid decides it is the right time to play the worry card. "You don't know how worried I was, Tessa. I thought something bad had happened to you."

I roll my eyes. It is in this moment that Wes notices me. He looks at me longer than necessary, from where I sit behind them.

"Do we have a new student?" Wes whispers to Tessa. What a dumb question. What kind of guys does Tessa like?

Dumb dudes?

"New student?" she turns to look at me and then sighs, returning her gaze to her boyfriend. 

"He's my new bodyguard from the security company. Knox Pierce."

"New security?" The surprise in his voice is evident, and almost borders on panic. "Along with all the others?"

Tessa shakes her head. "The deal was that I get to keep him and let go of all the others. So, I am stuck with Mr. broody until my brother decides we have both had enough of him. And to be honest, I don't think that is happening anytime soon."

"Damn!" He sighs, leaning further into the seat. "I never get you alone, do I?"

Prick. He doesn't even care for her safety. I lift myself out of the seat and stride out of the classroom just as the Professor gets in. Picking a spot by the window that gives me a large view of everything happening inside, I hit my headphones and connect with Kara.

She picks up the first ring. 

"How is your first official day as a bodyguard, K?"

"The child is an ass," I reply, my eyes still on her. Now, she has given up on the lectures altogether, getting into an animated conversation with Wes, who, like her, doesn't seem keen on the whole idea of education.

This is the kind of people the Lane family is made of, yet they think they are better than others, working so hard to make an honest living. 

"She is rich and spoiled," Kara laughs. "What else did you expect?"'

"Some level of intelligence, but I guess that is asking for too much."

"Any information so far?"

"Everything inside the house is encrypted. My key card only gives me access to a few rooms, where I have business. That means I have to find some other way to gain access to his study."

"What about the kid?"

I look back at her again. She is no longer talking to Wes. Our eyes meet for a brief moment. She frowns and looks in the other direction. 

"What about her, Kara?"

"She has to have access to the study. She is Marcus' only sister."

"She is just a kid."

"That did not stop her brother from throwing you under the bus, and neither should it stop you." Kara has always been with me from the beginning of this journey, and sometimes, I think her anger runs deeper than mine. 

"I need you to look into something for me," I murmur, changing the topic. "There's a kid who attaches himself to Tessa. His name is Wes. Surname unknown. I need to know what he is on about. His family, his motivations, everything."

Kara pauses. "K, don't you think you are taking the bodyguard role a little too seriously? Back at the company, you have a million and one men at your beck and call, doing the very thing you are doing right now. This is cosplay. It isn't real."

"Do the task, Kara, and report back to me."

She knows when I am serious with business, because despite the fact that I give her liberty to joke around with me, she understands that I am still her boss. She still owes me her life from years ago, when she was kidnapped by a bunch of drug dealers and was on the verge of getting raped and killed.

I enlisted her from that day, and she has been my most trusted personnel. 

"Okay, K. You'll get the report before the end of the day."

The professor must have rounded the class up earlier than he planned, as the kids get up and walk out. I move too, intercepting Tessa on her way out.

"Going somewhere?"

She groans. "Why are you always everywhere?"

"That's sort of my job." My eyes flicker to my watch. "Your next class is in three hours. What do you want to do till then?"

"Stay away from you?"

"Funny, but you can't have that. But if you could, I would happily grant it to you since I have no desire to be with you ...."

The rest of my words trail off when I hear the unmistakable cock of a gun. 

"Tessa! Down now!"

*Tessa*

I hear the ringing in my head, so loud that I am sure it will live with me for months. Knox acts fast, pulling me with him. I try to turn around, searching for my friends, but he doesn't give me the liberty as he keeps moving farther away from the sound.

At the end of the hallway, he stops and pushes me behind his body. A gun appears in his hands. "The attacker is shooting from the parking lot," he explains. "You are safe here, unless there is more than one of them."

Fear works its way through me. "What happens if there is more than one?"

He shrugs. "You pray you don't die yet."

"Knox," I whisper. "My brother pays you to guard me, and that includes keeping me from death."

He gives me a look. "So, now you are willing to recognize that."

Another bullet rings through the air, and I flinch. "My friends, Wes..."

"Your little boyfriend is going to be fine," he says a little too harshly. "I don't want you going out looking for him. Stay put until you are absolutely certain it is all right to come out. Are we clear?"

"But Knox..."

"Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Perfect." He touches my chin lightly before racing towards the direction of the shooter, leaving me trembling, partially from fright and partially from the absolutely platonic touch of my chin.

But I still feel his fingers there minutes after he leaves, tingling me despite the situation. 

The gunshots get louder and more insistent, and I slide to the floor, covering my ears with my hands. I hear a loud groan, and my heart squeezes. I hope it isn't someone I know. It can't be someone I know. 

After what feels like an eternity, the ringing in the air stops. With a whimper escaping my lips, I pull myself to my feet and gaze around warily. Knox asked me not to come out until I am entirely certain it is safe to, so I linger a few more minutes before stepping out.

A crowd has gathered in the parking lot around something, and I find myself running in that direction, dread finding its way through me. I push my way through the crowd until I am at the front of the circle.

There, I see Knox on top of a man, pinning him to the ground. The man looks like he has a bullet wound on his calf, as he is bleeding from that point. His gun has been knocked out of his hands, and everyone is staring at Knox like a hero.

The cops arrive on the scene, and the crowd pushes back to let them through. Knox gets on his feet and leaves the man with them, taking the faces of those around him. And when our eyes meet, he heads in my direction. 

"You good?"

I nod, unable to find my voice. 

"The school has cancelled all classes for the day. Let's get you home."

"I have to find Wes and Marin first," I whisper, still not recovered from the incident. 

"The man didn't come for your friends. He came for you."

"What?"

"Marcus will get a lot of enemies naturally since the position he is running for is quite coveted. It is the reason you cannot run away as you please, Tessa. He only came in here because the instructions left him no choice. He was supposed to make the attack look like a random school shooting."

It is hard to wrap my head around it. Nodding slowly, I allow him to lead me to the car. The cops stop him for a few minutes to talk to him while I continue to the car. For the first time in a while, I do not feel like running away.

Seated in the back seat, Marin walks over to me. "Oh my God! Thank God!" she gushes, pulling me into her arms. "I looked everywhere for you. I just found your hot bodyguard, and he told me where you were."

"Can you stop calling him that?"

"But he is hot," she maintains, eyeing him from the window. "I am just so glad that he was here on time to save everyone, because I don't know what would have happened if someone had gotten hurt."

"Me too," I sigh. "What about Wes? I haven't seen him anywhere."

"Fucking coward," Marin mutters. "He ran off the minute the shooting started. The fucker didn't even bother checking on either of us. You see what I have been telling you for ages? Wes isn't in love with you. He only likes the idea of you. Break up with him."

I shake my head insistently. "Just because he ran away doesn't mean he doesn't love me. Maybe he just panicked."

"What if your hot bodyguard had panicked too?"

I roll my eyes at her choice of words again, but refrain from talking about it. "That is different. It is his job to protect me, and that was what he did today."

"Whatever you say, honey," she murmurs. "Scoot over. The handsome hunk has allowed me to hitch a ride with you guys today. My driver isn't picking up his calls."

"So we are dropping you off?"  I ask as I move inside.

"No," she answers. "I am going home with you. My driver will come to get me later in the evening. You need someone to talk to after what happened today, and I think I need that too."

We wait a few more minutes for Knox before he appears around the corner, dark shades shielding his eyes. I find myself swallowing just as my best friend's mouth hangs open. 

"He is one sexy Greek god," she whispers beside me, not bothering to hide her drool. "The things I have imagined him doing to me already."

"Ladies, are we set to go?" he asks as he gets into the car.

"We are," Marin chirps with an unfounded excitement. Nodding, Knox pulls out of the parking lot and heads in the direction of our house.

His phone rings halfway into the journey, and he taps on the receiver attached to his ear.

"K."

I cannot hear the person on the other side, but I am certain that his expression falters. 

"Okay," he says. "I will be right there."

*Knox*

Kara's call changes the plan for me to drive Tessa and Marin home because I can't let Tessa leave my sight for a moment. 

I drive both of them to an open field, where Kara and I are to meet. I ensure to stop in a space open enough for me to keep a close eye on the girls while they stay in the car.

"I'd be back in no time," I say before getting out of the car. 

Kara stands ahead in a black body suit. Her wavy hair was packed up in a bun, making her tall posture look alluring.

"Gosh, that lady is beautiful!" Marin exclaims as I get down from the car. 

I hear whispers from both of them as they discuss her. They could see her but she couldn't see them. Despite being unable to see them, she glared at the car like she was up for a fight.

"Here's the document of what you asked. There's nothing much about his family. They are stupid rich and are breeds of generational wealth. The rest is in the file." Kara hands the file to me, but something is still off about her.

"This can't be why you called me to come," I ask as I slowly take the file from her hand, with my gaze fixed on I notice dull looks on her face.

"Davis died." 

David is one of the trusted ex-military friends we had on our team of pulling down evil senior officers.

I had not seen him in a while, as he was away on a mission to hunt down the man who labelled him for a crime he didn't commit, also got him imprisoned and eventually removed him from the military.

"How did this happen?" 

Kara use her hand to brush over her hair from front to back, letting down her bun by mistake. 

"That fucker got to him first." She groans.

This is a really sad thing to note, and I know how this must feel to everyone in the team. 

It saddens me more because I know how much my presence with the team will strengthen everyone in a time like this, but I've been away being a bodyguard to Tessa and I can't see them anytime soon.

"That's why I need you to remember why you're here. I feel strongly that you're getting carried away and being too protective of this girl. I'm sure she's inside the damn car right now!" She growls, panting back and forth.

"This has nothing to do with Tessa. Don't worry about me, I'm still on track."

"I don't think you see it, that's the problem. You're securing her too much, and if you are making her too secure, you're also doing so indirectly for Marcus!" 

What Kara said was true about caring for Marcus indirectly, and I know it. But I don't think now is the time to let anything happen to Tessa. I need to gain her trust to get access to Marcus the way I need.  I can't just loose sight and behave irrationally because of my emotions.

"I have this under control," I say firmly.

"Are we still going because I'm hungry?" 

I didn't know when Tessa stepped out of the car. Her voice catches our attention, and Kara turns away from her direction so she won't have a clearer look at her face. 

"I need to leave now. I'd see you some other time." I say to Kara. I know she wasn't satisfied by the fact that Tessa interrupts our opportunity to spend time discussing in person like we used to.

She turns and takes a much closer look at Tessa, who didn't go inside. 

Her green eyes look closely, as though she could scan through her inner self.

"I'm sure this girl will bring you so many problems. I can see it all over her." She says in an irritable way. 

It's clear Kara cannot like Tessa. I don't know why anyway. But I know if she gets to know her a little more, she might as well just see that she's a soft girl who can cause no harm.

I know the thought can't be the same for Kara so I don't bother pushing. 

"A minute," I yell back to Tessa. Otherwise, I know she will start to groan.

"Have fun dealing with all that," Kara says at the same time and walks off.

"It's nice seeing you," I say aloud as I watch her swing her hips in a very sexy way.

I know I miss being around her so much. 

Taking long strides, I reach the car as fast as I didn't want to delay them any further.

"Sorry. I had to have that meeting." I hop into the car, tucking the file I received from Kara into my bag, and I zip it in place before igniting the vehicle.

"Is she your girlfriend? Why does she seem so mad at you?" Marin asks.

I laugh. 

Why would they think K is my girlfriend? K is too cold to be in a relationship with anyone. I don't even think she has ever been.

"No, she's not my girlfriend," I say, almost bursting into a laugh.

"She's real cute though. She definitely likes you. I mean, you're a hot body, she's a hot body, the both of you would be a hit together." Marin assures. 

I shake my head. I wonder what kinds of discussion they must have had for her to make up that assumption.

"I'd let her know you think she's hot." 

"Oh, no. Please."

I can see her reaction in the rearview mirror as she acts irked by what I said.

"I knew she couldn't be your girlfriend. A full-time bodyguard sure isn't allowed to have relationships. That even makes sense because how will the care for someone when all they do is follow someone else around?" Tessa says roughly and shrugs.

The air in the car thins out after she said that. 

I didn't even know what to use in responding to what she said.