“Yes,” Pilar said, her voice catching a little. She finished with the last dish, letting the water out of the sink and watching it swirl down the drain.
“Are you okay?” he asked, putting the final dish into the stack. She nodded, turning to look at him with wide, shimmering eyes. They’d run into an emotional subject, he could tell.
Pilar nodded. “I’m okay. Well, I will be okay. I’m a bit nervous leaving her on her own, but I’ve got to give her some space. It’s just hard to look after someone so much and then … just stop.”
“That must be why you decided to become a bodyguard,” Maverick said, seeing it all as if it made perfect sense. “Because you like taking care of people.”
Pilar laughed. The shadows vanished from her eyes as she indulged in humor.
“No, no. I just like kicking ass. It’s the fighting part I like more than the bodyguarding part.”
Maverick wasn’t so sure, but he let it slide. He hadn’t expected to see a vulnerable side to Pilar, and now he was even more fascinated than before.
Pilar packed the garbage into one bag, and by the time she turned back, her face was composed, and he couldn’t see any softness … or humor … in her eyes.
Back to business, I guess. I am just a job to her. I can’t forget that.
“Where’s the garbage chute?” she asked. Maverick groaned.
“It’s in the hall, but it’s broken. We’ll have to take it downstairs ourselves.”
“Are you kidding me? In an expensive place like this?” Pilar was clearly shocked.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he sighed, waving a hand in exasperation. “It recently broke, so they haven’t had much time to call for repairs. I could have had someone in myself, but that’s not how the condo system works.”
“Well. That blows,” she said, gathering up the bag. “I’ll go out. You stay here.”
“Aren’t I supposed to stay with you at all times?” Maverick said, joking. “It might be dangerous for me to wait up here by myself.”
“All right, smart guy,” Pilar giggled. “Grab some garbage, and let’s march.”
“Thank you,” he said, collecting a few other trash bags. “I really need a change of scenery. I felt like I was going mad stuck in here before you came along.”
“Hmm,” Pilar muttered, blinking at him. Maverick felt a moment of warmth flow between them, and for an instant, it was as if Pilar was going to make a suggestive comment.
She turned away to head to the door, and Maverick gathered up his garbage bag and followed. He shook his head, berating himself.
I have to stop thinking that she’s going to fall for me. I’m going to give myself a heart attack with all these ups and downs!
They went down in the elevator, and the silence began to stretch out into something truly awkward. Maverick struggled for something to say, finally deciding that he was only going to embarrass himself further and that he should wait for Pilar to lead the conversation.
They headed out the back of the building to the big dumpster. Maverick walked ahead of Pilar, tossing his trash up to the top of the open bin. He had barely taken two steps away when
two dark figures emerged from the shadows.
“It’s him!” one of them cried.
“I knew if we fucked up the garbage chute, he’d have to come out!” the other one yelled.
Maverick backed up, seeing the shadows coalesce into two very big, burly men. They lunged at him, and Maverick stumbled backward, almost falling on his ass in a moment of blind panic.
A bright gold flash crossed his vision. The glittering ray of light passed him just as a shattering roar echoed through the alley. Maverick stumbled over his own feet, barely saving himself from a nasty fall onto the concrete, and whipped around to see why the goons hadn’t yet grabbed his clumsy ass.
Right in front of him was the biggest lioness he had ever seen. Her coat was pale gold, silk, and satin over ripples of hard muscle. She crouched and roared again, the sound awakening primal terror in his soul.
Then, the big cat looked back at him. Her eyes were blue.
Blue like a midday sky. Blue like the lagoon where enchanted mermaids play. Blue like the farthest reaches of the most beautiful stars.