I imagine any young lady would find him striking on a very basic level.”
Pretty much on any level, but Fallon said only, “Yes, so?”
“So he’s your guard. It’s not only your father he has to answer to, but also his employer. You’re a beautiful woman, Fallon, but understand that Mr. Wallington could be completely discredited if he crossed the line while on the job.”
“Mom.” Heat rushed into her face. “It wasn’t like that.”
“I’m all for you dating again,” her mother continued. “If Marcus doesn’t suit—”
“Marcus most definitely does not.” She’d see Marcus again, of course. They moved in the same social circle. But she’d never again be alone with him—and she’d never again trust him.
“If you want to talk about it—”
“No.” Her mother didn’t know the soul-crushing rejection Marcus had delivered, and Fallon hoped to keep it that way. Her way of dealing? Get out there and live without expectations. “I’m fine. Please don’t worry.”
“I’m a mother. I’m allowed to worry and I imagine I’ll be doing so the rest of my life.” She softened that with a hug. “Now, about Mr. Wallington.”
Fallon would never again delude herself. A strong, confident man like Justice Wallington wouldn’t give a woman like her a second look, except as an assignment.
And as a mere assignment, he’d never know her secrets.
“I have no illusions there.”
“That’s not at all what I’m saying,” her mother corrected. “Mr. Wallington would be lucky to have you, and since he seems like a smart man, he probably realizes it. But Fallon, getting drunk and allowing the man to carry you in will only make it more difficult for him to resist you.”
Fallon almost laughed. Her mother would be forever biased, no matter what. Justice had resisted her easily enough. “I know. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
Expression curious, her mother asked, “You think he’ll suit as your protection?”
“Yes. He was really terrific, sticking close like Dad asked, but not once getting too familiar.” Okay, that was stretching the truth just a tiny bit. She’d had guards before; none of them had been as familiar as Justice.
In fact, none of them had been anything at all like him.
Because of the circumstances, she assumed, as well as his manner, Justice was totally unique. He was far more rough-hewn than any other man she knew, and it showed in his speech, his expressions, his big gorgeous body and his naturally protective nature.
Her mother gave her a knowing look. “I would say carrying you in like an old-fashioned knight went a wee bit beyond familiar.”
“That,” Fallon assured her, “was entirely my fault.” She twisted her mouth to the side. “Apparently two beers are far more potent than a single glass of wine.” If she hadn’t been so tipsy, she’d never have let him do that, most especially not in front of her father.
“It’s late,” her mother said with a laugh. “Get some sleep and in the morning you can tell me everything.”
“Okay.” She turned to her side and burrowed into her pillow. Tomorrow she’d work it out with her dad. She had to. She wasn’t ready to let go of her new personal guard so soon. “Mom?”
“Hmm?”
Fallon closed her eyes. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“Yes,” her mother said, “we know.”
JUSTICE CALLED LEESE PHELPS on his drive home. He knew he shouldn’t; it was the middle of the night and his buddy would be sleeping, but damn it, he needed to unload. Since Leese was the one who’d gotten him involved with Body Armor, was in fact the one who’d mostly trained him, he seemed the likely person to pester now.
Proving he’d checked the caller ID, Leese answered with, “Everything okay, Justice?”
“Yeah. Sorry for waking you.”
“Cat and I went to bed late after a movie. We’ve only been asleep for a few hours.”
Cat, short for Catalina, was Leese’s new fiancée and a real peach. “Give her my apologies.”
“It’s fine. What’s up?”
“I got fired.”
There was a pause, then Leese asked, “She didn’t like you?”
He honestly didn’t know what Fallon thought or, once she got sober, if she’d mind that he was canned. “Was her dad who cut me loose.” Justice’s thoughts churned, interrupted only by the hiss of the tires over wet pavement. There were few people out this late on such a stormy night. “And maybe,” Justice admitted, “he had good reason.”
As he drove, Justice shared everything that had happened, including the skirmish in the parking lot that he hadn’t reported.
When he finished, he waited for Leese to tell him the various ways he’d fucked up the assignment.
Instead, Leese said, “Sounds like it was out of your control.”
It took Justice a second to soak that in. “You think?”
“Reporting an attempting mugging is routine, but if the client insists otherwise... I’d have done the same as you. Every so often, things go sideways and you just have to roll with it.”
Justice grinned. He knew his friend had gone off script more than a few times where Catalina was concerned. She’d been a pretty damned challenging assignment.
“I have to be at the office tomorrow,” Leese said. “Why don’t you come on in and we’ll talk with Sahara.”
“You think Mr. Wade will ask Sahara to assign someone new?” Justice hated the idea of any other guy being Fallon’s bodyguard, but still he asked Leese, “Maybe you?”
“Nah,” Leese said. “I’m already on detail at the convention center for the outdoor show. Besides, if her dad was that pissed, odds are he’ll not only switch guards, but agencies.”
Justice winced. Sahara wouldn’t be too happy about that. She prided herself on keeping clients happy. “I guess you’re right.” Having the whole agency lose out was even worse. Body Armor offered the best protection around. If Fallon’s dad switched, Fallon would have to settle for second best.
“You should get a new assignment right away,” Leese said. “Meet me tomorrow at nine and we’ll work it out with Sahara. Another job will help you put this one behind you.”
“Yeah, all right.” Justice said his farewells and disconnected the call. Hopefully the new assignment
