Honey Trapped

Chapter Nine

It took a moment for his words to sink in.

"A bodyguard?" Pria raged. "Are you out of your mind?"

He was completely unapologetic as he gestured to his friend. "Tony will be here to take care of you when I can't."

Pria looked between the two men. Both wore implacable expressions. "I don't need a babysitter!"

Drew's expression clouded. "Then you should have listened to me, brat. I told you. I don't want you around Sal when I'm not with you. But you decided you were going to do whatever the hell you wanted. Did you think I wouldn't find out you were hanging out with him?"

"He's my brother!"

"He's dangerous, Pria," Drew shouted. Mr. Borks growled out a warning from his spot on the couch. Drew glared at the dog, then back at Pria, but he lowered his voice to a reasonable decibel. "Why can't you see that?"

Pria clamped her mouth shut before she said something she'd regret. "Tony, it's nice to meet you, now take your ass outside while I tell this idiot what I think of him."

Tony was watching the exchange with interest, but Pria's demand brought a disappointed frown as he left out the back door.

"Explain yourself," she demanded.

"I have. A thousand times, but you don't listen. Now, I'm making sure you do."

Pria was speechless. Sal was her brother. Her teddy bear. Sometimes she needed to be with him. Tears threatened, but she held them back. "If you do this, Drew ... I can't stay with you."

Drew shrugged, expressionless.

Her words wavered before she finally met his eyes. "I won't allow you to keep me from my family."

He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm doing this for you. If you're so set on spending time with Sal, then I need to make sure you're safe. Tony is always going to be with you, Pria. You need to understand that. And I'll allow you to visit with Sal, as long as Tony is with you."

Pria shrugged off his hands. "Allow? Allow? Do you hear yourself? How can you even afford a bodyguard? You live in your friend's basement. You work in construction. Now all of a sudden you ... you're capable of hiring a bodyguard?"

Drew's lips curved. "I don't live here because I have to. I live here because it helps Enzo and Erina. Because I like the neighborhood. And now we live here because it keeps us close to your Mama. I'm not trying to keep you from family, brat. I just work so much, I can't always look out for you. Tony is a good man. He's even kicked my ass a time or two, so I know he can protect you. Let me keep you safe."

He sounded so sincere, his expression concerned.

"If you dislike Sal so much, why do you spend so much time with him?"

Drew sighed. "I don't dislike him. He's just reckless. I didn't like seeing you with a black eye because of him. I won't let it happen again."

"That was forever ago! I don't even know what to say right now."

He pulled her to him and rested his chin on the top of her head. "There's nothing to say. Tony stays. Even if you walk out on me, Tony will be with you for as long as I need him to be."

Pria turned her face into his chest, inhaling the scent of his favorite cologne and body chemistry. A thought came to her and she hid her sudden smile in his chest. "You told me not to fall for you. Maybe you should have given yourself the same warning."

Drew grunted, staring at something over the top of her head.

***

Pria leaned against the counter in the kitchenette at work as Donna, her work bestie and boss, stood across from her, holding a steaming mug of coffee. The company they worked for eschewed the usual hierarchy. They encouraged employees and management alike to treat each other as equals, making for a pleasant place to work. Often the two women would go to dinner after work and enjoy a little gossip.