Guarding His Fortune Read online

  Dropping the bags she’d been carrying onto the hardwood floor, she plucked her cell phone from her handbag and punched in her father’s private number.

  As she waited for him to answer, she heard Chaz Mendoza’s footsteps entering the room. A second later, he walked past her and she watched him place her suitcases near a doorway leading out of the spacious living area.

  She was trying to pull her gaze off his bulging biceps when her father’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

  “Hello, Savannah. I’m assuming that you’ve landed safely in Austin and have met Mr. Mendoza.”

  Savannah wanted to yell at him. But the anger coursing through her was not enough to override the respect she’d always shown her mother and her father.

  Shoving out a long pent-up breath, she unconsciously gravitated toward the window. “Yes, I’m safely here in Austin. At my apartment. I’m calling because I want to know what you were thinking, Dad. I can’t have a bodyguard tagging along after me! Not only would it be embarrassing, it’s impractical, illogical and—”

  “And very necessary, Savannah.”

  Savannah never cursed, but she found herself having to bite down on her tongue to keep from spouting a few choice words into the phone.

  “Necessary? I hardly think so, Dad! My time here is going to be very low-key. How—”

  “Low-key or not, I want Chaz with you. And no amount of arguing or pleading is going to change my mind, Savannah.”

  “But, Dad, I can’t—”

  “Look, Savannah, you are the one who went ahead with this trip in spite of my disapproval. You want to be independent? Then act grown up and accept that having protection close by is a smart thing, not an encumbrance.”

  For the past four years, ever since Savannah had turned twenty-one, she’d wanted her parents to see her as a self-sufficient adult, a smart woman who could handle the daily problems that life threw at her. Since then, she’d acquired her bachelor degree and moved on to her graduate studies. Yet, in spite of those hard-earned achievements, her father believed she still had a lot to learn.

  She drew in a deep breath and blew it out, while from the corner of her right eye she watched Chaz come to stand at the opposite end of the large window. He was either taking in the view or listening in on her conversation, she thought crossly.

  “Dad, I want my privacy. It’s essential that my studies not be distracted—”

  “I’m positive that you and Mr. Mendoza will work out some type of house rules to suit your needs.”

  House rules! She wanted to ask him how he’d like some stranger creeping through the house while he tried to focus on his work. Instead, she said, “Listen, Dad, I’m going to tell Mr. Mendoza that his services aren’t needed. I—”

  “I’m the only person who can fire the guy,” Miles bluntly interrupted. “And right now, I have no intentions of doing such a thing. So make the most of your time there, Savannah. It could end sooner than you think.”

  She started to ask him what he meant by that remark when the doorbell suddenly rang. Completely exasperated, she said, “There’s someone at the door, Dad. We’ll talk about this again. Soon!”

  By the time she ended the call, Chaz had already left his spot at the window to go answer the door. Savannah followed, while trying to imagine who at the university might’ve taken it upon themselves to visit her today.

  As she turned the corner leading into the foyer, she could see Chaz pushing the door wide and her brother Nolan stepping over the threshold. Since he was dressed in a business suit, Savannah assumed he’d taken a break from work to see her. But why? He could’ve waited until tonight, or any opportune time to welcome her to Austin.

  “Hello, Chaz,” her brother greeted the bodyguard. “Nice to see you again.”

  The two men finished shaking hands and from the easy way they greeted each other, it was obvious they’d met before. Which only proved that Nolan had to be in on this whole bodyguard matter.

  Just great, she thought angrily. Her family was ganging up on her.

  Spotting her, Nolan moved away from Chaz and walked over to where she stood at the end of the foyer. A wide smile creased his handsome face. “Hi, sis.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked bluntly.

  “Wow! That has to be one of the nicest greetings I’ve ever received,” he joked. “Especially from my little sister.”

  “I’m not exactly feeling nice.” She glanced at Chaz to see he was busy bolting the door behind him. Apparently, security was always on his mind.

  “I assume you’re not happy about Dad supplying you with a bodyguard.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How would you feel about someone invading your privacy? I was so looking forward to this time here in Austin and now I—”

  Nolan held up a hand. “Whoa, sis! Just a minute. I think we need to talk this out calmly and rationally.”

  Savannah drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “I am calm! Or at least I will be as soon as you tell Mr. Mendoza his services aren’t needed.”

  His expression stoic, Chaz strolled up to them. “I don’t think your sister understands the risk she’d be taking by running around Austin on her own,” he said to Nolan. “Maybe if you explained it to her, she might realize I’m a friend, not a foe.”

  “I think you’re right,” Nolan said to him, then wrapping a hand around Savannah’s upper arm, urged her out of the foyer. “Come on, sis, let’s go sit down and talk about this.”

  “I don’t want to sit. I don’t want to talk. I want to be alone! Can’t you, or Dad, or—” she turned a glare on Chaz Mendoza “—or you understand that?”

  “I do understand. More than you think.” Nolan shook his head. “This isn’t how you pictured your stay here in Austin. But since you received the invitation from UT, our family situation has changed.”

  In the living room, Savannah allowed Nolan to lead her over to a beige leather couch. As she took a seat close to her brother’s side, Chaz eased into a matching armchair directly across from them. Obviously, he had no intention of allowing her to have a private conversation with her own brother, she thought crossly.

  Doing her best to ignore Chaz’s huge presence, she said to Nolan, “I haven’t noticed anything changing with our family. It’s the other Fortunes who are having problems. We’re not a part of them. We never have been.”

  Nolan let out a weary sigh, while Chaz appeared unfazed by her protest. No doubt, both of them thought she was behaving in a childish fashion, Savannah thought. But at the moment, she didn’t care. This was her life. And she had a right to live it her way. Not the way her father wanted or expected.

  “Nolan, contrary to what Dad might think of me, I am a grown woman. I know how to take care of myself,” she argued. “It’s not like anyone has been threatening me personally. Or even stalking me. Just because I happen to have Fortune for a last name doesn’t mean I’m in some sort of dire danger.”

  As soon as her words died away, Chaz spoke. “Your father seems to think so.”

  Nolan quickly supported Chaz’s claim. “That’s right, Savannah. Dad is very concerned. Not only about you, but about the entire family.”

  Unconvinced, Savannah looked at her brother. “And what about you, Nolan? Are you concerned that Lizzie and little Stella might be in danger? Have you hired a bodyguard for them, or yourself?”

  “Not yet. But I’m seriously thinking about it. Your situation is entirely different, though. My wife and child aren’t alone. They have me.”

  And Savannah now had Chaz. So according to Nolan, and her father, that fixed everything. The idea had Savannah groaning out loud.

  “To me, this all seems blown out of proportion. Why would a crazy ex-wife of Gerald Robinson have anything against me? She doesn’t even know me. Besides, has anyone really proved that these unfortunate occurrences are connected to her?”<
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  “I’m not sure if there’s enough proof for a prosecutor to convict her in court,” Nolan answered. “At least, not yet. But Connor Fortunado has managed 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 face. One way or the other, she didn’t have to look in a mirror to know her cheeks were pink. And why? Being wealthy or privileged wasn’t a crime, or anything to feel ashamed about.

  “You’re being obnoxious. You know for a fact that I’ve never wanted or expected to be pampered. I’ve worked hard to—”

  Holding up both hands to halt her tirade, Nolan said, “Hold on, sis. I was only teasing you. Geez, you need to lighten up a bit.”

  A long sigh slipped out of her. “Sorry, Nolan, but this has not been an easy day.”

  He must have recognized just how stressed she’d been because he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry, Savannah. This was supposed to be a happy, special day for you. Instead, you’re faced with learning you now have to share your life with a bodyguard. I understand it’s not easy. But I’m sure Chaz is going to be as discreet as possible.”

  No matter if the man never said a word to her. No matter if he always did his best to keep a measurable distance between them. She would feel his presence. She would know he was nearby watching her with those dark brown eyes. The very thought made her inwardly shiver.

  Forcing herself to look at him, she said, “I’m sorry, Chaz. I don’t have anything against you personally. How could I? I don’t even know you. I’m just more than a little aggravated at my father for springing this on me. It was an underhanded thing to do to me and to you.”

  “Me?” he asked, a puzzled frown marring his forehead.

  “Yes. For putting you in such an awkward situation.”

  One of his big shoulders shrugged in a nonchalant way. “Don’t worry about me, Miss Fortune. In my line of work, I can’t worry about my feelings being hurt. And I don’t need my ego stroked. The fact that you don’t want a bodyguard is insignificant to me. Miles Fortune is the person who hired me. I’m working to please him. Not you.”