CHAPTER 53 - He’s Sorry

Luca is beside me within seconds, pushing me behind him and pointing his gun at the two hefty men. They, in turn, aim their guns back at him.

Oh no. Fear grips me. We’re all going to die.

“Who the fuck are you?” Luca growls.

“Ivory Hastings?” one of them asks, standing on his tiptoes, trying to peer around Luca to catch a glimpse of me.

“What do you want with her?” Luca shouts. “Talk now, or I’ll shoot!”

Suddenly, the men carefully place their guns on the floor and raise their hands in surrender. Marie gasps in surprise. To say I’m shocked by their actions is an understatement. But this gives me the confidence to step out from behind Luca. Hopefully, they don’t have another weapon hidden somewhere.

“Are you here for me?” I ask cautiously.

“Yes,” one of them replies. He has blonde hair and a tattoo on his arm, half hidden by his white shirt, making it impossible for me to make out what it is.

“Why?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

“We were hired to protect you,” the other man with jet-black hair says.

Confusion crosses my face, but before I can ask more, Luca beats me to it.

“By who?” he demands, his gun still trained on them.

“Bryant,” the blonde one replies.

“Bryant?” I echo, my voice barely a whisper.

“Yes. We’re your bodyguards. We’re supposed to follow you wherever you go and never leave your side,” the man with black hair explains.

“And what if I say no?” I challenge.

“We must not leave. He made us promise him that,” Blondie says. A small smile curls on my lips. My sweet Bryant. He’s making sure I’m protected, even when he can’t be with me. But what if they’re lying and this is all a ruse to kidnap me?

I slip my phone out of my pocket and quickly dial Bryant’s number, but it’s unreachable. I try again a few more times, hoping for confirmation that he really sent these men, but there’s no answer.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I eye them suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“He thought you’d say that, so he told us to remind you about the last time you were with him—eating hot dogs with eggs while he was sipping—”

“Okay, okay, stop!” I interrupt quickly, my face heating up with embarrassment as I remember the moment. Damn, I can’t believe Bryant actually told them that. And they were about to say it in front of Marie, Frank, and even Luca.

“What are your names?” I ask, realizing that if they’re going to be with me all the time, I’ll need to know who they are.

“Victor,” the blonde one says.

“Baron,” the man with black hair adds.

Luca stares at me incredulously, as if I’ve suddenly grown a second head. “Are you seriously going to trust them?” he asks, his tone disbelieving.

“Bryant sent them here, so... yes,” I reply bluntly.

“He fucking drugged you,” he points out angrily.

“He’s sorry.”

“Have you been fucking spelled?”

I know exactly what I’m doing. I trust Bryant, and that’s that. “No,” I reply firmly.

Luca doesn’t say anything more, just stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. Ignoring the look he’s giving me, I walk over to Marie and Frank.

“Can you really trust them?” Marie asks, her voice filled with concern.

I smile softly. “Yes, Marie,” I sigh, preparing myself to say goodbye. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me since I was a child. I wish you could stay here forever so I could wake up to your beautiful face every day, eating your delicious meals. But—”

“No, no, I’m not leaving you,” she interrupts, shaking her head firmly.

“But you have to. It’s not safe here,” I say, my voice cracking as tears begin to fall down my face. I turn to Frank, my voice breaking. “You’ve been the absolute best, and—”

Before I can finish, he pulls me into his arms, tears streaming down his face as well. We stay like that for a while before he finally pulls away.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you. And thank you for everything,” I continue, handing him his own share of the money. “Take this with you.”

He tries to refuse it, but I push it into his hands. “Please, I’m begging you. Just take it.”

He accepts the envelope hesitantly. “Thank you, Ivory,” he says softly.

I nod with a tight smile before turning to Marie. Without saying a word, I pull her into a tight embrace.

“Please take care of yourself,” she sobs into my shoulder. “Be careful.”

“I will,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. Giving her a pat on the back, I pull away and hand her the envelope. Just like Frank, she starts to reject it too, but I insist.

“Please, Marie. Please,” I plead.

She sighs and finally takes it. Hope fills her eyes as she asks. “I’ll see you again, right? This isn’t goodbye forever.”

I nod, forcing a sad smile. “We’ll see each other again. I’ll visit you.”

Hopefully, I don’t die soon. It breaks my heart to let them go—these two literally raised me. But their safety is more important to me than their presence. I miss them already.

“Luca will drive you wherever you need to go,” I say, turning to him with a cheeky smile. “Right?”

He looks at me wide-eyed before giving a hesitant, “Of course.”

Now that this is out of the way, it’s time to plan how to win the damn election that’s meant to ruin me.