The smile on his face.
The feeling in my heart.
My biggest dream back then was to have a family with him.
I walk out of the house and stretch on the front stoop. I smile and wave to Dante as he slides out of the car.
“Going for a run, Miss Isabella?”
“Yep. Did you bring your running shoes this time?”
He chuckles but opens the back seat of the car and pulls out a pair of shoes. “Let’s go back inside while I change my shoes.”
I roll my eyes but agree. Once he has his shoes changed, we continue our stretches in the living room.
“Will we be going on a long run today?”
“I don’t know yet. You sure you can keep up?”
He chuckles. “I sure can, Miss Isabella.”
“Good. I was thinking Prospect Park. Run a couple of the trails then back? Is that okay?”
He smiles warmly. “Yes, that would be fine. Just remember I’m there to keep you safe, so don’t get too far ahead or behind me.”
“Of course. I’ve been a pretty compliant charge so far, haven’t I?”
He grins. “I’ve heard stories of your feistiness, Miss Isabella. Please let me keep you safe.”
My heart pings with thoughts of Johnny, my last bodyguard. I rebelled when they assigned him to me. I often fought against him. I didn’t want him to protect me. It had nothing to do with him really. I didn’t want to be connected to the organization. To Giovanni.
Then he was killed. He died trying to protect me. While I didn’t want the protection, I vowed then to not make their lives harder. It wasn’t his fault he was assigned to protect me. He was only doing his job.
The guilt eats at me just thinking about Johnny.
“Of course. I will stay close. If you can’t keep up, let me know.”
He nods.
I set off at a brisk walk before picking up into a jog. I set a steady pace before glancing over at Dante. “You okay?”
He gives me a small smile. “Yep.”
“Good.”
After that we jog in silence. I let my eyes take in the scenery around me as I let my mind clear. Running always does that for me. When I’m running, my mind isn’t contemplating the universe or going over every single mistake I made in my life.
When I’m running, I’m at peace.
We turn right into Prospect Park and head down the first running trail. I smile as I watch Dante breathing a little heavier. He puts on a brave face, but I have a feeling he doesn’t run as much as he let on.
I push on and notice him lagging a bit behind. I slow slightly to match his pace.
“Need a break?”
“No… Miss… Isabella,” he pants.
I laugh and slow to a stop. “Let’s take a break.”
