His Nasty Virgin

JESSE

I got home early, around 9:00 p. m. I had a productive day, banging through my to-do list with impressive efficiency. There was an issue with payroll that I sorted out during lunch. I had a total of four client meetings in the afternoon, all of whom signed Pegasus Star as their primary security service once I was done pitching. My teams were all organized, the new hires were undergoing a strict training regime that I came up with, and all my dispatched bodyguards reported a total of zero hiccups.

Everything was running smoothly. Easy, predictable clockwork.

Just how I liked it.

I stepped off the elevator and into the penthouse, shrugging off my suit jacket from over my gun holster and loosening my tie. I was exhausted, more so than usual. Maybe Devin had a point about taking a break, though I’d rather die than admit that he was right. I could already imagine the smug look on his face.

I paused in the living room, noting a shuffling sound coming from the kitchen. From where I was, I could see that the fridge door was open, a pair of bare legs visible just below.

A pair of female bare legs.

Did Wally have a guest over? He knew the rules -no overnight guests without letting me know first. He wasn’t prohibited from bringing people over; I just wanted a little heads-up so I could avoid awkward situations like this one.

I approached the stranger and cleared my throat. The woman yelped despite my caution.

“Holy shit!” she shouted, slamming the fridge door closed. “Don’t do that.”

I recognized her voice first. Soft and delicate.

“Vivian?”

She gave me a sheepish smile. “Hey, Mr. White.”

“What are you doing here?”

She was wearing one of Wally’s t-shirts. My son was by no means a large man, but he looked massive on her, practically swallowing her whole. I did my best not to stare, but it was hard not to. Her skin looked soft and warm.

I forced myself to look down the hall toward Wally’s room. “Are you two back together or something?” I wasn’t sure why I sounded so disappointed.

“Ah, no. Nothing like that.” Vivian shook her head, her long black locks swaying elegantly over her shoulders. It was the first time I’d seen her with her hair down.

“So you’re here raiding my fridge because…”

“Because I’m stressed as hell. And we can’t call it raiding because there’s nothing to raid. Why’s there so much tofu?” Vivian quickly swept her hair up into a bun, securing it atop her head with an elastic.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

I frowned. I had so many questions, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, “What’s wrong with tofu?

It’s healthy.”

She put a hand on her hip. “I can’t stress eat tofu.”

“Why are you stress eating at all?”

Vivian nibbled on her supple bottom lip. “It’s a long story. It’s actually why I’m here.”

“What’s going on, Vivian?”

“Dad?” Wally stepped out from the guest bedroom, hands busy fluffing a pillow. “I’m glad you’re back. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”

I checked my phone. There were three text messages and four missed phone calls. “I was in meetings all day,” I said with a grunt. My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario, attempting to fill in the gaps. “What’s going on? Don’t tell me you got her pregnant.”

Vivian’s face turned bright red. “What? Oh my God, no. That’s what you think this is about?”

I crossed my arms. “My son brings his ex-girlfriend home out of the blue… What am I supposed to think?”

Wally groaned. “Vivian’s in danger.”

I regarded her carefully, observing her from head to toe. Now that I had a moment to properly take her in, she did look rattled. Her shoulders were slumped, and she couldn’t stand still, toeing one foot with the other while biting her lip. She didn’t have any visible injuries, but it was obvious how shaken she was mentally.

I moved to pull up the nearest chair for her to sit down. She seemed grateful, immediately sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest. She was wearing a pair of shorts. Short shorts. I looked away out of decency, uncomfortably warm all of a sudden.

“What kind of danger?” I asked, pressing on.

Vivian took a deep breath. “I work for an investment firm with my friend, Molly. The other day, I noticed something weird about one of the accounts. Money was missing. Lots of it. Molly volunteered to bring the error up with our supervisor, and now she’s missing. They told me she transferred, but I didn’t buy it for a second. She’s not answering my texts. And then earlier today when I went to speak to Wally, we were chased-”

“Chased,” I said. “Chased by who?”

My son shrugged. “A group of men. Three of them.

Looked like thugs.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I tried.”

A pang of guilt twisted in my chest. Right. I put my phone on silent mode so I wouldn’t be disturbed.

“What did they look like?” I asked, getting back to business.

“Big, dressed all in black. They all had matching tattoos.”

“Describe them.”

She nodded. “They all had snakes that wrapped around their necks.”

A chill scraped its way down my spine. “Snakes,” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“Black ink with red eyes?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes, that’s right.”

I stared at her, both stunned and alarmed. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

“Dad?” Wally said. “Do you know who they are?”

“Have you ever heard of the Azure Cartel?” I asked, my voice low.

Vivian arched an eyebrow. “No, but the account I flagged belonged to a company called the Azuras Association. Are they connected somehow?”

“I’m not sure, but I know for a fact that you should never mess with the Azure Cartel. They’ve been running rampant in the Chicago area for years. They mostly deal with weapons and drugs, but I have it on good authority that they’ve been branching out into human trafficking.”

Vivian visibly paled. “They tried to shove Wally and me into a van. Do you think…” She shuddered. “How do you know it’s even them?”

“Those tattoos are a part of their initiation process. Recruits earn their tattoo once they’ve successfully-” I licked my lips, struggling to find a delicate way to put it.

“What?” she urged.

“It’s like a badge of honor,” I said. “One they earn after their first successful kill.”

I expected her to cry. I expected her to squirm in her seat. Any sane person would be rightly worried for their lives.

Vivian didn’t so much as flinch. “We need to go to the police,” she decided firmly. “If they have Molly… We need to get her back as soon as possible.” A fire ignited behind her eyes. Sheer determination in the face of the looming unknown. It was startling.

And sexy as hell.

The Azure Cartel meant business. If Vivian was telling the truth -and I had no reason to believe that she’d lie- this was no joke.

I knew that the smart thing to do was to let the police handle this, but I also knew from experience that if I wanted something done right, I needed to do it myself. If the cartel really was after Vivian and had already gotten their hands on her friend, there was likely next to nothing the cops could do. As grim truth as it was, people went missing under police protection all the time. Sometimes, unfortunately, with their cooperation.

“You’ve made up the guestroom for her?” I asked Wally.

He nodded. “Yep.”

“We’ll file a missing person’s report for your friend first thing in the morning. You’ll stay here until the authorities get to the bottom of this.”

Vivian’s eyes widened. “You mean… You mean I can stay here?”

“Would you rather go it alone?”

“No, I…” She inhaled through clenched teeth. “Thank you.”

“We’ll have to establish some ground rules,” I continued firmly. “Until we know that you’re out of harm’s way, you will not be permitted to return to your place of work. If your employers are somehow linked to the cartel, returning would make you an easy target.”

“Won’t people be suspicious if I don’t go?”

“Better safe than sorry. You can call in tomorrow morning and tell them you’ll be taking an extended leave of absence due to a family emergency.”

“Okay,” Vivian said slowly. “Anything else?”

“You will not be permitted to leave this penthouse without supervision.”

“Is that necessary?”

“You were almost kidnapped in broad daylight,” I pointed out. “They got within inches of you, correct?”

She nodded stiffly. “Yes.”

“It will feel restrictive at first, but it’s for your good. As far as I’m aware, the men who are after you don’t know you’re here. The penthouse is a fortress. It’s the safest place for you to be, even at the cost of your usual freedoms.”

Vivian closed her eyes and breathed deeply. At first, I thought she was going to protest. It wasn’t uncommon for me to receive a great deal of pushback from my clients when they came under my security detail. The people under my care were of a specific demographic, one used to get what they wanted when they wanted. I was no stranger to their moaning and groaning about cramping their lifestyle.

“Alright.”

That was a lot less resistance than I thought. “Good.” “How much will I owe you?” she asked, totally serious. “Do you offer payment plans? My budget’s kind of tight, but

I can probably scrape together the funds to-”

“I’m not charging you.”

“You’re not?” She eyed me suspiciously. “Why?”

The businessman in me told me I was being stupid. Pegasus Star Security was the go-to security firm for the elites, and that, therefore, came with a hefty price tag. It wasn’t just for show, either. Every penny went back into the business for funding training, upgrading equipment, and gathering reliable intel. Agreeing to protect someone pro bono wasn’t in my or my company’s best interest. It wasn’t personal, just business.

But the longer I stared at Vivian, the more I couldn’t bring myself to ask her to pay. That’d be a dick move, to be honest. She was scared. She was way in over her head. And the thought of someone nearly getting their hands on her made my blood boil.

“You need help,” I stated. “And I can provide it. It’s as simple as that.”

Wally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Get some sleep. Both of you.”

“Do you think it’d be possible to stop by my apartment?” she asked. “Just to grab a few things. Clothes and whatnot.”

“Give me your address. I’ll pick them up for you.”

Vivian grimaced. “Can’t I just come with you? You’d count as supervision, right?” And then, under her breath in embarrassment, “I’d rather not have you going through my underwear drawer.”

My mouth was suddenly dry. She had a point. The thought of rummaging through her drawers, sifting through her panties… My pulse raced at the thought.

“I… Yeah, alright. You can come with me. But we leave now. The sooner I get you back, the better.”

She nodded. “Alright. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed.”