“Okay. I’ll get someone to help you.”
“Fine.”
He stares at me and I sense he has something else on his mind. “I do have one more condition.”
“What?”
“Jax is going to be busy on this for the next week or so.” He looks at Jax who nods his understanding, but I don’t know where this is going yet. I do know that the thought of not spending every day with Jax makes me feel like my heart has been ripped from my chest. It feels like a punishment, even though my father cannot possibly know that. “So, while you’re not working with him, you’ll need a bodyguard.”
“Papi!”
“Yes, Lucia. This is non negotiable.”
“So moving back home was?”
“Yes, but you’ve agreed to that now, so—” He shrugs and grins at me.
“Why do I feel like I’ve just been completely played?”
Jax laughs softly. “You know better than to give in to his initial demands, because there’s always more.”
“How could I forget?”
“Hey!” My father laughs too. “Is it so bad to live with your parents and be spoiled for a few weeks? And to have a father who worries about you so much?”
“No.” I roll my eyes because he speaks the truth.
“Why don’t you go get your stuff now and take it home? Your mama is working from home today and then you can surprise Matthias when you pick him up from kindergarten later.”
“But what about work?”
“Jax is going to be busy today and I have nothing for you to do,mija. Just take a day off.”
“Okay,” I agree because this is another argument I’m not going to win.
“Take my car. Raoul is downstairs.”
“Raoul?” I arch an eyebrow at him. Raoul is one of my father’s most highly trained men. A skilled assassin, but he barely speaks.
“I told you you’d be having a bodyguard,mija.”
“But Raoul though?” I pout and I see Jax chuckling to himself from the corner of my eye.
“He’s the best,” he replies with a shrug.
“He’s mute,” I reply.
“He’s not there for conversation, Lucia. He’s there to stop a bullet from entering your body or some psychopath from running away with you.”
“You’re so dramatic,” I sigh and then I kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Bye,mija.”
“Bye, Lucia,” Jax adds.
I give him a faint smile and a wave of my hand. Why does it feel like I’ll never see him again? That’s ridiculous, right? I’ll still see him all the time. So, why does my heart ache like this, just because we’re not working together for a while?
Itake the elevator down to the lobby and see Raoul waiting in the huge black sedan. It’s the armored one and it makes me wonder if there is something else going on that I should know about. Upon seeing me, Raoul jumps out and opens the door for me.
“Thank you,” I smile.
He nods and grunts in response.
“I see you’ll be my babysitter for the foreseeable future,” I say once we’re both seated and he pulls the car away from the curbside.
Nothing. Not even the hint of a smile.
I miss Jax already.