Her man. Yasmin kind of liked the sound of that. She finished her shower and found some of her clothes in the closet, hanging next to Carver’s. Yasmin bit her bottom lip. The cocky bastard really saw them living together, like some kind of normal vanilla couple, didn’t he? Except nothing about this situation felt normal.
Her chest tightened. Suddenly, it felt hard to breathe. Yasmin didn’t like the strange furniture that all screamed of Carver. It hit her that she’d no longer be able to wake up in her shitty little room in the apartment she shared with her father. Her clothes might be in Carver’s closet, but nothing about this apartment screamed her.
Needing a hint of the familiar, she put on her favorite black skinny jeans, ripped at the left knee, and her well-used salmon-colored tee. Yasmin slipped her feet into her battered, dirty white Converse.
Grabbing her phone and purse, she took one step out of the front door only to bump into a muscle in a suit. She didn’t recognize this particular bodyguard, but like the other men Carver surrounded himself with, one look at his frowning scarred face told her she wouldn’t be able to slip out easily. Yasmin refused to be intimidated. If she planned on agreeing to Carver’s crazy plan, to become part of the kingpin’s life, she had to show Carver’s men she wasn’t some fragile flower, but a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m heading out,” she announced, glad her voice came out firm, confident.
“Mr. Edwards—” The guy began.
“Never mentioned I’m a prisoner,” she interrupted.
The bodyguard regarded her for a few seconds. She crossed her arms. Yasmin had no idea where she wanted to go, but one thing was certain. She needed fresh air. To breathe easy.
“I never implied you were,” the man answered slowly.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Jake, ma’am.”
“Then, Jake, nothing’s going to get in my way. I’m not running, but I need to get out of the apartment, you understand?”
“I won’t get in your way, but it’s also my job to keep you safe. I’ll tail you.”
She began to protest. This was crazy. Yasmin didn’t need a bodyguard, but Jake wasn’t done.
“You should know by now, but Mr. Edwards has plenty of enemies in the city. You can leave the premises under two conditions.”
She glared at Jake but no give. The bodyguard continued blocking the way to the lift. She couldn’t muscle her way past him either. Knowing defeat when she saw it, she said, “Let’s hear it.”
“I’ll drive you to wherever you need to go. Number two, once you get off and continue on foot, I’ll tail you at a discreet distance. You won’t even notice I’m there.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. Goosebumps appeared across her arms though. Jake’s words about Carver having plenty of powerful people pissed off at him spooked her a little, but she knew them to be true. “Fine.”
“I’ll just inform Mr. Edwards and we can be on our way.”