Burning Soul

One

🌸Everlee🌸

"I'm hiring a bodyguard for you." My father storms into my office, and I raise my eyebrows at his abrupt entrance. No, hello, how are you? How's your day? Just, 'I'm hiring a bodyguard for you.' My father, Samuel, stands in front of me in his usual white lab coat, telling me he's come straight from his lab. I have no idea what he experiments on, seeing as he refuses to tell me for my own 'safety'.

"I don't need a bodyguard." I protest, typing the last of my email to my assistant before I decide to call it a day.

"I'm not asking you, Everlee, I'm telling you. I'll be hiring you a bodyguard, and I don't need you arguing with me." I huff and let him continue. "His name is Blaze, and you will meet him tomorrow morning. He's also going to be full-time. It won't just be for when you're in the office." My eyes widen at his words. Who the hell gives birth to a child and calls it Blaze?! And full-time? Certainly not!

"You can't just throw all this on me at the last minute. Has something happened?" I tilt my head, nervously clicking my pen as I watch my father pace up and down my office with a troubled look on his face.

"I've known Blaze for a while. He can be trusted. He will protect you with his life, and there will be consequences if he cannot do so." There's no point in me arguing with the man — he's one of the most stubborn people I know. But it worries me that something terrible is happening as I observe my dad's body language.

"Are you going to tell me what's happened?" I repeat, and he stops his frantic pacing and stands in front of me with a stiff posture.

"You know I can't do that, sweetie." His face relaxes and he gives me a small smile. "You just have to trust me. Be prepared to meet him. I warn you, Blaze is not the friendliest, but he's very good at his job. He knows what he's doing, and that's all that matters. He's not here to be your friend; he's here to protect you."

"Jeez, that sounds lovely," I whisper sarcastically. That's all I want, a grumpy man following my every move all day and hovering over me like there's a danger that I'm unaware of coming from every direction.

"How long will I need him for?" I question.

"Until I say otherwise." Of course. I purse my lips and release a tired sigh. "I won't be happy, Everlee, if you choose to go against me. You're my only daughter, and I'm only trying to keep you safe."

"I know," I mumble, looking down at my keyboard, avoiding eye contact with him. "I won't go against you."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow." I finally look up after I hear the door close. Resting back against my office chair, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I love my father; I do. But sometimes I wonder what it is he hides from me. Even my mother is unaware of what he does when he's at work. He tells us it's top secret, and if it were to get out to the public, he could be sued for a lot of money. So it can't be good, what he's doing. It has tempted me, many times, to understand what it is he's hiding, but I get shut down at every turn, so eventually, I gave up.

A knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts, and a huge smile etches onto my face when my best friend and assistant, Lottie, pokes her head through the small gap.

"You okay?" She questions, closing the door gently behind her, and I shake my head.

"I'm getting a bodyguard." Her eyes widen and she takes a seat in front of me.

"Simon, the security man isn't enough downstairs." She jokes, and I can't help but release a laugh at my beautiful friend. Her long ginger hair cascades down her back, and her bright green eyes always catch the attention of people who are in her presence. Lottie came from an abusive household and had struggled a lot in life, so when I offered her the opportunity to work for me, she didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity. My best friend is much happier now, and that's all that matters to me. She's one of my favourite people.

"He's going to be full-time, which means the man is going to be following me everywhere, Lottie, and his name is Blaze!"

"Blaze? He sounds sexy and dangerous." Lottie smirks, and I roll my eyes.

"Lottie, please. We need to have a serious conversation," I whine, and she giggles, nodding her head.

"Okay, the serious face is on." We both look at each other and then seconds later, burst out laughing. "Okay, no serious face, just a serious conversation."

"I asked my father why, but he wouldn't tell me anything. He just said it's for my safety." Lottie rolls her eyes as I continue to inform her of the conversation my father and I had less than ten minutes ago.

"You know I'm always going to be honest, Ev. Your dad is so sketchy." I rub my face in frustration because I completely agree. "Do you think he experiments on people?"

I gasp a little.

"What? No, Lottie! Of course, he doesn't." There is no way he'd experiment with human beings. He's not that sick. He's a well-known scientist who has created medicines that have cured many diseases.

"It's probably something that's been said in the media, so he's upped security." Lottie slowly nods her head, and the glint in her eyes tells me she doesn't fully agree with the excuse I've come up with.

"Well, moving on, I actually came here to tell you that Leona and her husband will be here in a couple of days. She said on the phone that she has some news to tell you." My entire mood brightens at the mention of my mentor, Leona.

She's such an amazing woman who helped me on my journey to becoming a successful businesswoman. She invested in my business and helped it become a multi-million-pound company. I wouldn't have done it without her. She's also another one of my favourite people.

"That's fine."

•••

It's the following day, or evening, more like. I've been expecting the arrival of my new bodyguard, but he has yet to arrive. Maybe my father has changed his mind and decided that I don't need one.

However, I speak too soon when I watch the door handle turn down and my father steps through the threshold. Only he's not alone. Trailing behind is a man, a very tall, very muscular man. Holy fucking shit.

He doesn't look real.

His dark hair has been shaved down to a buzz cut, and as my eyes move further down his face, I notice his high cheekbones and his jawline, which is the sharpest I've ever seen. But what stands out and has my heart skipping a beat are his emerald green eyes with a hint of chocolate brown swirling in them. They're so beautiful, and they're looking right at me. Oh my fuck. It's like he's staring into my soul.

The man is dressed in all black. Black cargo trousers and a black t-shirt which fits tight on his muscular, tanned arms. There's also a gold chain wrapped around his neck, and it has my body heating up at how good he looks.

His hands are clasped in front of him, and I see that they are dotted with random tattoos. I swallow hard and look back at him, but he is now glaring down at the ground, his jaw ticking.

"Everlee, this is Blaze."

I stand up from my chair and make my way toward both of the men, stopping in front of Blaze, who is even more tense than he was less than ten seconds ago.

"Hi." I greet him with a small smile, but he does nothing.

The man doesn't even move — not even an inch. He keeps his eyes on the ground and doesn't acknowledge me.

"Blaze will only speak when necessary." My dad informs me, and my eyebrows furrow.

Well then...