Guarding His Fortune. Stella Bagwell
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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 inclined his dark head. “That’s right. Carlo is my brother. My family owns and operates the Mendoza Winery.”
“And the La Viña restaurant. Which, by the way, serves delicious food,” Nolan spoke up. “Maybe you can talk Chaz into taking you there some evening. Trust me, sis, it would be a treat.”
A treat? Savannah stared at her brother, while wondering what he could possibly be thinking to suggest such a thing. In the first place, Savannah rarely went out on dates. Period. And even if she did decide to have dinner with a man, it certainly wouldn’t be with Chaz Mendoza. He was a bodyguard! A big hunk of muscles with a dazzling smile. He wasn’t her type at all!
Rising to her feet, Savannah began to move restlessly around the room. Learning that Chaz was her cousin Schuyler’s brother-in-law made things even more awkward. Had her father been aware that Chaz had a connection to the Fortune family? Was that why he’d hired him to be her bodyguard?
“There’s a troubled frown on your face, Savannah,” Nolan remarked after a moment. “And it doesn’t look good on you.”
She paused to glance at her brother. “Exactly why are you here? Dad send you to bolster his case?”
Nolan grimaced, then made a palms up gesture with both hands. “Dad figured you were probably going to give Chaz a few problems. And he wanted me to be here to point out the reasons you need to have a bodyguard around.”
Her father had definitely figured right, Savannah thought. For a number of reasons, many of which she didn’t want to examine, she wanted to usher Chaz right out the door and out of her life.
“Okay, so there was a fire and Ben was injured,” she said. “I’ll concede that much. But—”
“And there was cyber hacking at Robinson Tech, along with the sabotage on the Fortunado Real Estate business,” Nolan interrupted. “That should remind you that an evil mind is out to destroy the Fortune family. And with Charlotte reportedly digging into our family in New Orleans that could only mean one thing. We’re next on her radar.”
As Savannah’s gaze vacillated between the two grim-faced men, she realized there was no way she could win this argument. At least, not on this first day in the city. But that didn’t mean she was going to cave-in completely. After she was here a few days, safely going about her business, she could surely make her father and Chaz see that having a bodyguard was overkill.
Releasing a long, weary breath, she returned to the couch and sank down next to her brother. “Okay. I’m not happy about this situation,” she said grudgingly. “But to keep Dad happy I suppose I can go along with it—for a while.”
Her concession put a look of immense relief on her brother’s face. “I assured Dad that you were far too intelligent to put up much of a fuss. Thanks for proving me right.”
Intelligent? Not hardly. At this very moment, she could hardly dare herself to glance in Chaz’s direction. She didn’t like the way the sight of him caused her breath to catch in her throat. But hopefully she’d get used to him and his big masculine presence and he’d be no more of a distraction than a sleeping cat.
Sure, she thought wryly. Like she’d pay no attention at all to a sleeping tiger.
Nolan pushed back the cuff of his white shirt to glance at his watch. “Now that we have that settled I can spare a few more minutes. Why don’t we all have a cup of coffee or something?”
“Sorry. I’d be glad to offer you and Mr. Mendoza something to drink, but I’m afraid I’ve not had time to stock the apartment with food. Or anything else for that matter.”
Nolan’s expression was incredulous. “Savannah! I realize you’ve never lived away from home before—other than extended vacations. And we both know that you’ve never dealt with household or kitchen duties. But you should’ve already hired someone to furnish the apartment with everything. Groceries, linens—all the necessities. Are you expecting maid service to come in and do everything for you?”
Damn it! He was making her sound like some sort of pampered princess who didn’t have enough sense to get out of the rain, Savannah thought. Wondering what Chaz could possibly be thinking about her, she glanced at him.
As her gaze clashed with his, he didn’t hold back in expressing his thoughts on the subject.
He said, “If you’re planning on hiring help, then I’ll have to do a thorough background check before the person arrives. And the maid service will need to supply several legitimate references. I can’t take a chance that someone with ill intent might try to gain access to your apartment by posing as a maid or house servant.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes, you two are making this whole thing sound like a scene from a spy movie!” she exclaimed. “And anyway, you’re both wasting your breath. I’m not hiring maid service. I’ll be doing everything for myself. And that includes going shopping for everything I need.”
Nolan let out a scoffing laugh. “My little sister in a grocery store? That’ll be a first!”
Savannah glared at him. “What would you know about it? You’ve not lived at home in ages. You have no idea if I go into food markets or discount stores.”
He smothered a laugh behind his hand. “Sure, Savannah. That skirt and blouse look like you grabbed them straight off a discount rack. And those heels—I’ll bet you found those in a clearance bin.”
She wasn’t sure if it was anger at her brother or being embarrassed in front of Chaz that was causing a wave of heat to sweep across her