She laughs, and it almost sounds genuine. “I will. I love you. Take care.”
Mom hangs up, and I immediately search on my phone for bodyguards in Ireland. Maybe that’s a bit crazy, but I hate that my mom is so afraid, and I want her to be protected. I can’t do much from so far away, but I can do this.
The price for a bodyguard isn’t cheap at all. In fact, it’s going to take just about every cent I have, and I’m not sure how I’ll be able to afford it next month. I’ll need a job ASAP, but if this gives my mom peace of mind… if it gives me peace of mind… you can’t put a price tag on that, and I won’t allow my father to come anywhere near her.
Declan Fergus is the guy I end up hiring. He used to be a military man, and then he worked as a PI for a bit before becoming a bodyguard. It sounds like he’ll have the skills and drive to keep my mom protected and alive.
That’s all I want. That has to be enough.
My father won’t get to her, not to force her back into a loveless marriage, not to kill her. She’ll be fine.
Fuck, I hope I’m right and not lying to myself.
CHAPTER30
After I talkto my mom and calm her down once I’ve explained to her about the bodyguard who she most certainly doesn’t want but it’s too late, I finally leave the café. The campus is dead. Most everyone else is either in their rooms or at parties, but I feel like I’m all alone, isolated, detached from everyone.
Which is saying something, considering how close I felt to Rob while we had been intimate. I’m not sure that calling it sex is accurate, but I’m so not ready to call it making love. No way, no how.
But it might’ve been. Shit, am I in trouble.
And he came over to talk. To talk! Not for sex. And what we talked about how been important, not shooting the breeze kind of shit. His talking about his parents had been huge and terrifying because if he’s willing to share those kind of details about his life with me, that’s both a good sign and a bad one.
Because Rob might claim he doesn’t want to date me, but he’s certainly acting like he does, like he is.
A shadow appears, and I glance over to see a guy with a slightly crooked nose. I give him a slight smile and move to the side so he can bypass me since I’m not in a hurry to get anywhere, but he turns to face me.
“Hello there,” he says.
I look at him skeptically. “Um, do I know you?”
“If not, you should,” he says smugly.
I roll my eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
I go to walk past him, but he grabs my arm.
“I’m not done talking to you,” he snaps.
I drop my gaze to where his hand is on my arm. “Get your hand off me,” I snap right back.
If anything, he squeezes my arm, tightening his hold. “I don’t take orders from anyone,” he hisses.
“Well, you’re going to listen to me.”
“Or else?” he asks, snickering.
I just stare at him, unamused. This asshole is going to get decked if he’s not careful.
“That’s what I thought,” he says, his tone as smug as could be. He lifts his nose into the air. “You’re even more beautiful up close.”
“I don’t care what you think about my appearance. You need to release me.”
“I’ll help you find release all right.” His other hand reaches toward my waist.
Fuck that.
I grab his shoulder, bring back my right foot, and then knee him as hard as I can in the balls. He lets out a strangled shriek, releasing my arm, and he ducks his head right into my waiting fist. A sickening crunch sounds, and he falls to the ground. Blood sprays everywhere, and he curls up into a ball, shouting and crying, and I don’t feel sorry for him at all.