Guarding His Fortune. Stella Bagwell

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СКАЧАТЬ she turned the corner leading into the foyer, she could see Chaz pushing the door wide and her brother Nolan stepping over the threshold. Since he was dressed in a business suit, Savannah assumed he’d taken a break from work to see her. But why? He could’ve waited until tonight, or any opportune time to welcome her to Austin.

      “Hello, Chaz,” her brother greeted the bodyguard. “Nice to see you again.”

      The two men finished shaking hands and from the easy way they greeted each other, it was obvious they’d met before. Which only proved that Nolan had to be in on this whole bodyguard matter.

      Just great, she thought angrily. Her family was ganging up on her.

      Spotting her, Nolan moved away from Chaz and walked over to where she stood at the end of the foyer. A wide smile creased his handsome face. “Hi, sis.”

      “What are you doing here?” she asked bluntly.

      “Wow! That has to be one of the nicest greetings I’ve ever received,” he joked. “Especially from my little sister.”

      “I’m not exactly feeling nice.” She glanced at Chaz to see he was busy bolting the door behind him. Apparently, security was always on his mind.

      “I assume you’re not happy about Dad supplying you with a bodyguard.”

      She rolled her eyes. “How would you feel about someone invading your privacy? I was so looking forward to this time here in Austin and now I—”

      Nolan held up a hand. “Whoa, sis! Just a minute. I think we need to talk this out calmly and rationally.”

      Savannah drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “I am calm! Or at least I will be as soon as you tell Mr. Mendoza his services aren’t needed.”

      His expression stoic, Chaz strolled up to them. “I don’t think your sister understands the risk she’d be taking by running around Austin on her own,” he said to Nolan. “Maybe if you explained it to her, she might realize I’m a friend, not a foe.”

      “I think you’re right,” Nolan said to him, then wrapping a hand around Savannah’s upper arm, urged her out of the foyer. “Come on, sis, let’s go sit down and talk about this.”

      “I don’t want to sit. I don’t want to talk. I want to be alone! Can’t you, or Dad, or—” she turned a glare on Chaz Mendoza “—or you understand that?”

      “I do understand. More than you think.” Nolan shook his head. “This isn’t how you pictured your stay here in Austin. But since you received the invitation from UT, our family situation has changed.”

      In the living room, Savannah allowed Nolan to lead her over to a beige leather couch. As she took a seat close to her brother’s side, Chaz eased into a matching armchair directly across from them. Obviously, he had no intention of allowing her to have a private conversation with her own brother, she thought crossly.

      Doing her best to ignore Chaz’s huge presence, she said to Nolan, “I haven’t noticed anything changing with our family. It’s the other Fortunes who are having problems. We’re not a part of them. We never have been.”

      Nolan let out a weary sigh, while Chaz appeared unfazed by her protest. No doubt, both of them thought she was behaving in a childish fashion, Savannah thought. But at the moment, she didn’t care. This was her life. And she had a right to live it her way. Not the way her father wanted or expected.

      “Nolan, contrary to what Dad might think of me, I am a grown woman. I know how to take care of myself,” she argued. “It’s not like anyone has been threatening me personally. Or even stalking me. Just because I happen to have Fortune for a last name doesn’t mean I’m in some sort of dire danger.”

      As soon as her words died away, Chaz spoke. “Your father seems to think so.”

      Nolan quickly supported Chaz’s claim. “That’s right, Savannah. Dad is very concerned. Not only about you, but about the entire family.”

      Unconvinced, Savannah looked at her brother. “And what about you, Nolan? Are you concerned that Lizzie and little Stella might be in danger? Have you hired a bodyguard for them, or yourself?”

      “Not yet. But I’m seriously thinking about it. Your situation is entirely different, though. My wife and child aren’t alone. They have me.”

      And Savannah now had Chaz. So according to Nolan, and her father, that fixed everything. The idea had Savannah groaning out loud.

      “To me, this all seems blown out of proportion. Why would a crazy ex-wife of Gerald Robinson have anything against me? She doesn’t even know me. Besides, has anyone really proved that these unfortunate occurrences are connected to her?”

      “I’m not sure if there’s enough proof for a prosecutor to convict her in court,” Nolan answered. “At least, not yet. But Connor Fortunado has managed to connect enough dots to tell us that she’s the one behind these criminal incidents. And the mere fact that she’s been digging into our family background should be enough to scare you into wanting a bodyguard.”

      Maybe. But the thought of being in close proximity with Chaz on a daily basis was just as scary. She was a cerebral person and that was the sort of man she’d always been attracted to—the sort that would be compatible with her life. Even so, just looking at Chaz set her nerves on edge and pushed her pulse to an unhealthy rate. Her reaction to the man was silly and there was no way she could admit such a thing to her brother. She didn’t even want to admit it to herself.

      “When an evil person is out for revenge, he or she will usually start with the easiest, most vulnerable target. And I’d put you in that category, Miss Fortune,” Chaz said.

      “Chaz is one hundred percent right,” Nolan agreed. “And surely you’ve not forgotten what happened here in Austin earlier this year, Savannah. We were attending Schuyler Fortunado’s family reunion party when the fire broke out at Gerald Robinson’s estate. Ben was seriously injured.”

      How could Savannah have forgotten the reunion? In spite of their parents choosing to stay behind in New Orleans, she and her six siblings had decided to attend. All seven of them had traveled to Austin, believing they’d be meeting many of the Fortune family, particularly Gerald Robinson’s children, who were theoretically cousins to Savannah and her siblings. Yet, none of that branch of the family had shown at the party that night. Not until Olivia had come bursting in with the shocking news that a fire had broken out at the Robinson estate.

      “No. I’ve not forgotten. After the fire, we all went over and helped as much as we could with the cleanup.” The memory of that chilling incident caused some of the anger to drain out of her. “Everyone feared that Ben was going to die from the injuries he’d sustained in the fire.”

      “It’s a miracle he didn’t,” Nolan replied.

      As the details of that night replayed in Savannah’s mind, another thought suddenly struck her. One that should have registered with her the moment Chaz had introduced himself at the airport.

      She turned a curious look on Chaz. “If I remember correctly, Schuyler married a man by the name of Mendoza. Carlo Mendoza, I think. The reunion was held at a winery by the same name and some of his family were in attendance that night. Are those your relations?”

      He СКАЧАТЬ