Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) (45 page)

Shane nodded. “Beth’s mother, Ingrid Jamison, is on her way here. So is Beth’s housemate, Gabrielle Hunter. Watch for them and give them Beth’s room number, once we know what it is.”

Shane looked at his sister. “Lia, I’m assigning you to Beth full time. Close personal protection, effective immediately.”

“Sure thing,” Lia said, coming to her feet.

Shane glanced at Cooper. “Once we get Beth’s room number, I want someone posted outside her door 24/7.”

“You got it,” Cooper said.

“I’ll go talk to the nurse and see if I can find out which room they’re moving her to,” Shane said. “We might as well relocate to her new location.”

* * *

Shane and Lia were seated in Beth’s new room, and Cooper was standing guard at the door, when the orderly brought Beth and Tyler back from Radiology.

Shane jumped to his feet when the orderly wheeled Beth’s bed into the room. She was awake, and she smiled tremulously at him.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, gently brushing his hand over the top of her head. “How’d it go?”

“Okay,” she said. Her expression grew wary. “My brother’s here.”

“Yes,” Shane said, smiling at her. “I saw him earlier.”

Tyler remained rooted in the open doorway, his eyes locked on Shane. When Tyler motioned for Shane to come out into the hall with him, Shane nodded.

Shane kissed Beth’s forehead. “How did the scans go?”

“Okay,” she said, cradling her broken arm with her good one. “My arm’s broken,” she said. “It really aches.”

Shane nodded. “I’m sorry. They’ll cast it soon, and that should relieve some of the pain.” He stroked her forehead. “I’m going to step out into the hallway for a few minutes,” he said. “I won’t go far.” Shane pointed at a petite blond seated in a chair across the room. “Beth, that’s my sister Lia. She’s going to hang out with you a while.”

“Oh, okay.” Beth glanced uncertainly at Lia, who was sporting a lot of facial hardware, not to mention facial tattoos.

Shane had to bite back a smile. Lia – who was currently in her punk-gothic guise – was certainly an eyeful. “You couldn’t have changed first?” he said, glancing wryly at Lia.

“Hey, I came as soon as I heard,” Lia said, shrugging. “I was working.”

Shane smiled reassuringly at Beth. “Don’t worry; Lia doesn’t bite. I’ll be right back, sweetheart.”

Shane stepped out into the hallway outside Beth’s room and faced Tyler, who was standing ramrod stiff, his hands on his hips. Tyler’s entire body was rigid with restrained violence. Cooper stood off to the side, leaning nonchalantly against a wall, his eyes locked on Tyler.

“If we weren’t standing outside my sister’s hospital room,” Tyler hissed, “I would beat the living shit out of you!”

“You could try,” Shane said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tyler fisted his hands at his sides. “Don’t push me, asshole. I’m only holding it together for Beth’s sake.”

“Hey, you’ll get your chance, I’m sure. If you want to meet me in the ring after this is over, I’m more than game.”

Tyler shook his head at Shane. “I hired you to protect my sister, not seduce her. How the hell did this happen?”

“I didn’t seduce her.”

“Bullshit! I saw the way she looked at you!” Tyler lunged forward and grabbed Shane’s shirt collar, slamming him up against the wall.

Cooper made a move toward Tyler, but Shane held him off with a hand gesture.

“She’s just a kid, Shane!” Tyler growled. “She’s no match for you, and you know it! I’m sure you had her eating out of your hand in no time.”

“Tyler, I’m sorry,” Shane said, not resisting because he knew full well that Tyler was right. “I have sisters. I know how I’d feel if I were in your place. But trust me, I never set out to seduce her.”

“Then what the fuck did you set out to do, Shane? No matter how it happened, you ended up in my sister’s bed, didn’t you? She’s too young for you, too vulnerable, and too traumatized. Your conduct is entirely unethical and unprofessional.”

“We are lovers, yes,” Shane said. “But it’s not – ”

Tyler’s hands went to Shane’s neck and he squeezed. And still, Shane didn’t fight back. He wasn’t about to lay violent hands on Beth’s brother. But apparently, Tyler didn’t have the same scruples.

This time, Cooper did step forward. “That’s enough, Tyler,” Cooper said. He grasped one of Tyler’s wrists, applying pressure in a strategic spot, causing Tyler to instantly let go.

Tyler threw up his hands and stepped back, breathing hard.

Shane came away from the wall and adjusted his shirt. “My behavior was unprofessional because I didn’t tell Beth the truth up front, and because I didn’t end the contract with you first. I’m ending it now.”

“What!” Tyler hissed, looking aghast. “You won’t protect her anymore? Kline just bought a gun!” Tyler’s eyes widened with what could only be described as fear. “Shane, I can’t protect her around the clock by myself.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to protect her, you idiot,” Shane said. “I said I’m ending my contract with you. As her boyfriend – as her
lover
– I’m taking over her protection. I’m going to do things my way now.”

“Your way!” Tyler ground out. “Look at her in there!” he growled, pointing toward Beth’s room. “Some asshole just beat the shit out of my baby sister!”

“That never would have happened if you’d let me put a bodyguard in the library with her!” Shane hissed back. “I wanted someone in the room with her from the very beginning, and you shot that down, every time. My biggest mistake was abiding by your wishes. If I’d followed my own instincts, she never would have gotten hurt.”

“You can’t know that,” Tyler said. “The kid might still have gotten to her.”

“No, he wouldn’t have,” Shane said. “If Lia had been in there like I wanted, she would have knocked Morton flat on his ass the instant he even looked at Beth wrong.”

“Lia? You’re kidding me, right? That little psycho-punk sister of yours? Give me a break!”

Shane scoffed. “I’d like to see you go five minutes with Lia in the ring. She would hand you your ass, you arrogant prick.”

At that moment, the psycho-punk herself stuck her blond spiky-haired head through the doorway and glared at both of them. “Keep it down, assholes,” she said. “Princess can hear you.”

Shane glared at his sister, who disappeared back into Beth’s room.

“Look, Tyler,” Shane said. “I plan to be around for a long time. You and I are going to have to learn to live with each other for Beth’s sake. I won’t have you upsetting her.”

“Me!” Tyler hissed. “I’m not the one who seduced her!”

“It wasn’t like that, Tyler!” Shane said stiffly.

“Then what was it like, Shane?” Tyler glared at him. “Tell me.”

“I love Beth,” Shane said. “Signed, sealed, and delivered.”

Tyler looked stunned. “What?”

“You heard me,” Shane said. “Get used to the idea. I’m not going anywhere.”

“How does she feel?” Tyler said.

Shane frowned. “We had a bit of a setback earlier this week,” he said. “But it’s nothing I can’t fix. I’m sorry, Tyler. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“She’s too young for you,” Tyler said. “She’s too... fragile for you.”

Shane shook his head. “She is young, but she’s stronger than you think, Tyler.”

Tyler leaned against the wall for support as he contemplated the fact that Shane and his sister were intimately involved.

“Tyler, I’m taking over Beth’s protection, effective immediately. As soon as she’s released from here, I’m moving her to my home in Kenilworth. She’ll have everything she needs there to recuperate.”

“She doesn’t need to move in with you,” Tyler said. “If she moves in with anyone, it should be me or our mother.”

Shane shook his head. “Tyler, understand this: Beth is mine. I will personally ensure her safety. The best way for me to do that is to move her to my estate in Kenilworth. It’s a secure location, monitored and patrolled 24/7. She’ll be perfectly safe there, and she’ll have everything she could possibly want.”

Tyler eyed Shane suspiciously. “And after she’s recuperated?”

“That will be up to her,” Shane said, “but I hope she’ll agree to stay.”

* * *

“So, where were we?” Lia said as she dropped back down into the visitor’s chair beside Beth’s bed. “Sorry about your face. It must hurt like a bitch.”

“It does,” Beth said, struggling not to smile. She was also trying hard not to stare at Lia, but it was difficult. Lia’s tongue was pierced, Beth realized, when she caught a glimpse of the silver ball attached to it. Beth wondered how much it had hurt to have that done. And she’d done it
on purpose
. Why? Why would someone do that to themselves?

“You’re Shane’s sister?” Beth said, highly skeptical. They looked nothing alike, and they couldn’t be more different in personality. Lia McIntyre was completely outrageous. She was nothing at all like her poised, restrained brother.

“One of them,” Lia said.

“I think Shane said he has three sisters?”

“Yeah,” Lia said. “Besides me, there’s Sophie and Hannah. I’m the cool one. Sophie’s a stuck-up princess, and Hannah’s a science nerd.”

Beth grinned at that, but quickly wished she hadn’t. Any facial movement was agonizing.

Lia’s blond hair was cut shorter than short and spiked with gel, the tips dyed purple. She wore an extraordinary number of tiny diamond stud earrings in both ears and a sapphire stud in her left nostril. She was dressed in black cargo pants that hung low on her lean hips and a black cropped t-shirt bearing the logo “Parental Advisory” that showed quite a lot of midriff. Lia was a couple inches shorter than Beth, lean, and muscled.

Lia’s belly button also sported some bling – a gold hoop with a charm dangling from it – was that a mermaid? On her feet were chunky, black  combat boots that looked like they’d seen better days. And then there was the most striking feature of all – the tribal tattoos on her lovely, heart-shaped face. Above and below her eyes, on her nose and cheeks, were dots and squiggles, triangles and slashes. The tattoos were surprisingly beautiful really, if not extremely unconventional – like Lia herself.

Lia looked at Beth’s arm, which was immobilized in a temporary splint. The swollen lump on her arm was an angry mixture of dark purple and red. “Aren’t they going to do something about that?”

Beth nodded. “I’m getting a cast once the orthopedic doctor reads the x-rays.”

“You don’t need an x-ray to tell that arm’s broken,” Lia said.

Lia propped her boots up on the footboard of Beth’s bed and crossed her arms, trying to get comfortable in the less-than-comfortable chair. “The cops arrested the fucker who beat you. I thought you’d want to know.”

“I didn’t know,” Beth said. “Thanks.”

“I hope they throw the book at the asswipe. If Shane’s attorney has anything to say about it, they will. Troy Spencer is a beast in the courtroom. He’ll make sure the guy rots in prison for a long time.”

A nurse came into the room and introduced herself to Beth – her name was Sherry. Sherry had brought Beth a pitcher of ice water and a plastic cup with a lid and straw. Sherry took Beth’s vitals, then administered the next scheduled dose of pain medication through Beth’s IV. She showed Beth how to operate her bed and the television set, and how to call for a nurse. Beth noticed that the nurse’s curious gaze kept sliding over to Lia.

After the nurse left, Beth finally had to ask. “Are those tattoos on your face real?” Lia had such a lovely face. Beth couldn’t understand why she’d want to mark it up like that. The tattoos were mesmerizing, yes, beautiful actually, but still... were they permanent?

“Nah, they’re fake. Shane won’t let me have real tats on my face. I do a lot of undercover work, so I can only have tats in places that people generally don’t see. You know, like on my ass.”

“Oh.” Beth nodded. “Lia, do you mind if I ask how old you are?”

“I’m 22,” Lia said.

“I’m 24,” Beth said, giving her new friend a small smile.

“I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other now, since my brother is freaking nuts about you.”

Beth blushed. “I guess so.”

Chapter 40

Shane stepped into the waiting room and a small crowd of people jumped to their feet. It was after 5 o’clock, and a few more faces from the office had appeared, including AJ and Frank from IT and Shane’s executive assignment, Diane.

Diane walked up to Shane and wrapped her arms around his waist, tears in her eyes. The top of her head barely came halfway up his chest. “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “Is she all right?”

Shane nodded as he returned Diane’s embrace and patted her back. “She will be. She’s in a lot of pain, but her injuries aren’t serious.”

“That poor child,” Diane said, wiping her wet eyes on her sleeve. “How could someone do that to such a sweet girl?”

The elevator across the hall opened its doors, and two women stepped out. Shane recognized one of them – Gabrielle Hunter. The other woman was an older blond, tall and slender. Both women seemed a little bit lost.

He knew immediately that the other woman had to be Beth’s mother, Ingrid Jamison. The resemblance between them was obvious. Ingrid Jamison was a beautiful woman. In her mid-sixties, she was tall and slender like her daughter. Her face was heart-shaped, like Beth’s, and she had clear blue eyes. Ingrid’s pale blond hair fell to her shoulder blades. When she smiled hesitantly at Shane, her face lit up with a smile that was identical to Beth’s. The sight of it made his heart contract.

“You must be Beth’s mother,” Shane said, as he approached her.

“Yes,” she said, looking hesitantly at the small crowd assembled in the waiting room. “I’m Ingrid Jamison.”

Shane offered his hand to Ingrid and they shook. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jamison. I’m Shane McIntyre.”

“How is my daughter?” Ingrid said. “Can I see her?”

“She’s in Orthopedics right now, having her arm casted,” Shane said. “Tyler’s with her. Beth’s ribs are bruised, and she has a concussion. Her face is pretty badly battered, but her doctor said she should heal fine. She’s going to be fine, Mrs. Jamison. You can see her as soon as she gets back to her room. I’ll take you there now, so you can wait for her.”