Her Bodyguard

Chapter Twenty-Five

Izar slept off on the couch after a long back and forth with Calida. Her bodyguard had to carry her up the stairs, bridal style until she got to her room. After tucking her in, Calida left for the basement, where there was a makeshift gym.

Everything had worked out for good. She hadn't planned any of this, but it had happened anyway. She closed her eyes as she did her push ups, her mass of curly black hair falling around her and dropping beads of sweat on the mat. It was beginning to haunt her again, her past. All she could see was red. She could hear the screams, she felt the soft, sticky palm that she had grabbed and then Calida collapsed on the cold floor.

She was dripping sweat on the floor. Calida got up. All of her memories were coming back for some reason. Izar triggered things, feelings that she'd never had before. Those feelings were opening pathways and unlocking memories she had locked up. Things she left in the dark.

Calida had gone through every type of training. She had gotten so good that she was sent off on a mission before the other people at the agency. She'd been given a badge, something law officials would recognize. It meant that she worked with the government no matter what the situation was. Calida hadn't achieved all of this by being weak. She was the girl who had killed a man ten times her size. So, why did Izar bother her so much?

A long shower and then sleep was the only thing on her mind after her workout session. She did that and immediately hit the hay. They had a long day tomorrow. And Calida needed to get new suits.

"Why exactly do you need new suits?" Izar asked the next morning while they had breakfast.

"Because two out of my collection are ruined. One was ruined with my blood stain. The other got ripped. I need five more to replace them if we're going to Italy. But first, we will wait for the new passports and our flight tickets," Calida told Izar.

She shoved chunks of pancakes into her mouth. It tasted like cardboard even though she knew it tasted good.

"I want new clothes too," Izar grumbled.

"Like you don't have enough already," Calida muttered.

"I do. But I need new clothes for Italy, I mean, that's where we're headed, right?" Izar asked, rolling her eyes at Calida.

Her bodyguard frowned. What had she gotten herself into? She could have been way happier without this drama in her life. But now she had to deal with it.

Calida sighed heavily. "I know your size. I'll get you everything you want. But you're not leaving the safety of this house."

Izar gasped. "You'll do my shopping? Do you even know my size?"

Calida massaged her forehead. "I have your details. I know everything about you. So, of course I'll do your shopping —as long as you don't have to leave this house. Make a list of everything you need. I'll get them."

Calida left the dinning after she'd gotten the list of things Izar needed from Izar and headed to her room. She stayed in there for a long time before coming out.When she came out of the room, Izar's mouth hung open. Calida was dressed like someone out of a 90's mafia movie and that made Izar's mouth water. Calida looked good. She was already graceful, and so were her mannerisms, but today was different. She looked different.

"Um, where are you going dressed like that?" Izar asked out of the blue.

"The mall." Calida shrugged.

"Why are you dressed like that?" She asked again.

Calida rubbed her forehead. Her black curls were combed back, only a small bit of it fell in front of her face. She was in a grey three piece tweed suit. Her jacket hung open so Izar could see her waistcoat and a silver chain hanging out of her pocket. Calida had a tie on too. She always wore suits, but this was different. Izar swallowed hard. Calida was hot and the room had grown warmer.

"I'll be back in a few hours. Don't leave the house. It's safer with you indoors, so don't leave, okay?"

Izar just nodded, unsure that her mouth could produce any sound.

Calida left the house. Outside, two black cars were parked not too far away from the house. Calida ignored them both as she jumped into her car. She'd told her mentor she didn't need protection. Of course, she didn't. But Izar would need one. They needed to end this as soon as they could so they could go back to their lives and this was the only way. Going to Italy, where it all began was the only way to end this.

She stared at the burner phone as she started the car. Black letters filled the screen.

Quanto ci metterai ad arrivare qui? Ti aspetto da giorni. Doveva andare come previsto. Non stai seguendo il piano. Devi portare qui Diablo e suo padre!

She had been ignoring that text since she saw it. Yes, everything had been a plan, but this wasn't how she had expected it to go either. Leading Diablo to Italy had been the initial plan. But Izar Sterling had come into the mix when Alyssa found out about their human trafficking ring and Calida had to change her plans.

Calida parked the car and got out. Across her, a man held two bags. One contained the things Izar had asked for and the other contained the fake passports and other travelling documents that she had asked the agency to send.

"And my suits?" Calida asked, going through the documents.

"In my car," the man replied.

Calida dropped the other bags in her car before walking with him to his car. She grabbed the five bags there and refused the help the driver offered her. She stopped before turning around.

"Will you take a message back to him for me, Mikael?" She asked him.

"Sure thing. What do you want to tell him?"

"Tell him I'm doing everything right and I'll see him in Italy. And one more thing, thank you for bringing the papers to me." Calida told him.

Mikael just gave her a small smile before turning around and leaving her. Calida sighed. She needed a long deep tissue massage. She dropped everything inside the car and got into the car. She took one more glance at the phone and frowned.

On the drive back, Calida stopped at a restaurant to get take out. Once she was back at the safe house, she would help Izar pack up so they could leave for the airport early the next morning.

With a deep sigh, Calida packed the car. One look at the building and she knew something was wrong.