Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Scott snapped his mouth shut.
“Gadiel is pinning his hopes on you,” Will said. “Don’t let him down.”
“You sound like you like him more than you like me.”
Will chuckled, raking a hand through his hair. “I just know how passing your infatuations can be—”
“It’s not an infatuation this time!”
“Then prove it,” Will said. “Try to get to know him instead of flirting your way into his pants.”
“He doesn’t mind! Why can’t I do both?”
“He’s a horny nineteen-year-old boy,” Will said flatly. “Of course he wouldn’t mind. But you should know better. You aren’t a teenager. If you insist on dating a barely legal guy, at least try to be responsible about it.”
That shut Scott up.
“All right,” he said at last. “I’ll take it slow. I can be responsible, no matter what you think of me.” He chuckled. “Seriously, you scold me more than my parents do.”
And that’s the problem, Will nearly said. Scott had been spoiled rotten all his life. Had he been born into a normal family, he would have been more mature and responsible. It wasn’t really his fault that he had turned out this way.
Will made an effort to soften his voice when he spoke. “You know I do it because I give a damn. You’re my brother in all the ways that matter.”
Scott didn’t say anything for a moment.
And then he laughed a little. “Back at ya. Hey, let’s go get a drink or something. I need it after that terrible movie.”
“I can’t. My job is 24/7. I feel uneasy that I left Gadiel alone. I’d better return to his place.” Strictly speaking, it was still his day off, but Gadiel refused to let the other bodyguard stay inside the apartment.
Scott rolled his eyes. “You’re so damn responsible. Doesn’t it get boring to always do the right thing?”
Will’s fingers gripped the steering wheel harder.
Sometimes it did get boring.
Sometimes he wanted to shake things up. But unlike Scott, he didn’t have the luxury of doing whatever he wanted. He’d always had to do the smart thing. The safe thing. The boring thing.
It was fine. Not all people had exciting lives full of drama and romance.
Will was… content with what he had.
***
When he returned to Gadiel’s penthouse, it was nearly midnight. The apartment was dark and quiet.
Will walked over to Gadiel’s bedroom and cracked the door open, to check that his charge was safely in bed.
He was.
The kid was lying on his side, curled up around...
Frowning, Will stepped into the room to get a better look.
He smiled involuntarily when he did.
Gadiel was snuggled up with a big plush cat. It was ridiculously fat and ugly, and even in the dim light coming from the hallway it was obvious that it had seen better days.
Looking at the way Gadiel was clutching the old toy, Will was suddenly hit with an unsettling thought: had he ever been hugged by anyone? From everything Gadiel had told him, his mother had been distant and his father wasn’t any better. Although Zain seemed to care for his younger brother, he didn’t seem like the hugging type, and it was unlikely that the other brother was any different.
It was none of his business. It didn’t matter.
But the thought kept coming back even after Will left the room. And he couldn’t help but wonder why Gadiel had felt like sleeping with that old toy. What had upset him so? He’d seemed all right when Will had dropped him off. Unless it was about the upcoming family dinner. It had clearly made Gadiel anxious. He seemed—
Enough, Will snapped at himself, grimacing. What the hell was wrong with him? He spent too much time worrying and thinking about that kid. Gadiel was just his client. Nothing more.
Professional distance. He seemed to have forgotten what it was.
Chapter 12
Will wasn’t a stranger to strained family dinners. During the course of his career, he’d seen his share of them.
But this one had to be one of the most uncomfortable, tense family evenings he’d ever seen.
Like all the other bodyguards, Will was stationed some distance away from the table the Al Rahim family was seated at. Since they were dining on the patio of Gadiel’s father’s mansion, the bodyguards hadn’t been dismissed. One could be assassinated even in the privacy of one’s garden, after all.
Will didn’t understand the conversations in Arabic, but he didn’t need to. It was obvious that there was nothing pleasant being said.
Sheikh Mustafa ibn Mohammed Al Rahim wasn’t a likable man. His dark, heavy gaze flicked between his three sons, not a shade of affection on his face as he addressed them. His tone was hard, ranging from dismissive to critical.
Gadiel seemed to become smaller every time his father as much as glanced at him. His face was pale and tense, his shoulders stiff. He held his body like someone who was bracing himself for a hit.