Page 3 of Rival for Rent
Dana was a genius, but sometimes, she wasn’t entirely plugged into the same world as the rest of us.
“Uh, Dane—it’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but I don’t really think the whole escort thing is for me. Especially with a guy.”
“Oh, but it’s not as an escort. That’s the whole point. This guy needs a bodyguard. That’s why you’d be perfect.”
“A bodyguard?” I’d been staring already, but my jaw hit the crabgrass at that. “I’m not remotely qualified.”
“Of course you are. You’re a big, scary-looking dude.”
“I’m scary looking?” I gestured to what I was wearing, and my dirty hands. If I was scary, it was in a wandering swamp-monster kind of way. Not actually threatening.
“You can be. You’ve got all those big muscles, and your eyebrows go all sharp when you’re angry, and you’ve got—well, you’ve got dirt on your cheek, but you’ll wash that off.” She waved her hand. “You’ll be great.”
“What’s he coming to you for, if he needs a bodyguard? Shouldn’t he be hiring a professional? Or going to the police or something? Why would he contact a dating service?”
“Because he knows Amir, and Amir recommended us.”
“Jesus. Why the hell would Amir do that?”
“You’ll have to take that up with him.”
“If this dude is in trouble, he should get actual help. Not me.”
“Yeah, except he’s probably not in trouble. From what Amir said, he’s some rich guy who’s gotten a few weird letters in the mail. He’s a little spooked, but nothing serious. You’ll probably only be there to make him feel important. And hey, you get a free theater ticket out of it. Just suit up, show up, and have fun.”
“I don’t own a suit.”
“Okay, so put on…something that isn’t this—” she gestured at my outfit “—and go meet with him. I told him you’d be at his house at six.”
“You already said yes?”
“You’re not going to say no, are you?”
This was classic Dana. She lived in her own little world, and was shocked when she realized her reality and everybody else’s weren’t the same. She made it sound like the most reasonable thing in the world that an unemployed, military veteran, college-drop-out-cum-gardener should be a bodyguard to a perfect stranger. In her world, itwasreasonable.
I looked at her, my heart sinking. She was my sister. My twin. She wasn’t just the closest person in the world to me, she was letting me stay with her for free while I figured out what to do with my life. I really didn’t have an excuse to say no, poison ivy or no poison ivy.
I sighed. “No, I guess I’m not.”
She clapped her hands together. “You’re the best. You know that? The absolute best.”
2
KAI
Ipaced through my house, feeling like an idiot for asking for a bodyguard. Bella paced beside me, looking up expectantly. She probably thought we were going for a walk—her favorite activity, bar none—but not tonight.
It had all seemed so reasonable, so normal, when I’d been chatting with Amir yesterday.
“It’s probably just some weird, online shut-in who’s jealous that you managed to make something of your life,” Amir had said, rummaging through my kitchen cabinets. “They’ll faint the first time they see you with a big, burly guy at your shoulder. That, or go home and masturbate themself senseless.”
“How can they be a shut-in if they’re out enough to see me with a bodyguard?” I’d objected.
For that matter, how could my stalker be a shut-in when they’d already tried to knock me onto the tracks of the Metro at Farragut North, and into traffic the week after that? Whoever was after me—sending the creepy notes, leaving thatpig—they clearly weren’t afraid to leave their house.
“You know what I mean,” Amir said. “Some mouth-breathing, chinless reject who always got picked last for dodgeball in elementary school.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Don’t you have any food in this house?”
“I think there’s some leftover takeout in the fridge.” I slumped dejectedly against the kitchen island. Bella, the pit bull mix I’d adopted a few days ago, nuzzled my leg. I scratched her ears absently.
