2
Silas didn’t waste a damn second.
He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door, heart pounding the whole way. His boots hit the pavement hard. The night air was sharp, but he barely felt it.
He wasn’t the bar type. Never had been. But he liked his alcohol—strong and silent. The kind that burned and kept him quiet.
When he got to 54th Bar, the neon lights flashed above the door. Music thumped inside.
He stepped in—and it hit him all at once. Smoke. Sweat. Booze.
He scanned the room fast.
Two bulky men by the bar noticed him instantly.
One of them, a bouncer in all black, nudged the other. Their eyes locked on him.
Before Silas could move, they were in front of him.
“Silas Reed?” one asked.
He didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
They grabbed his arms—not rough, but firm. Controlling. Not giving him a chance to run.
“Come with us.”
He didn’t fight. Just clenched his jaw as they led him past the crowd, past the flashing lights, through a dark hallway lined with velvet rope.
They stopped at a blacked-out glass door.
One of them opened it.
VIP booth.
Silas was shoved in.
And the door shut behind him.
At the center sat a man with fox-red hair, sharp eyes, and a cigarette dangling from his lips. His legs were crossed, and smoke curled around his face like he owned the air itself.
Beside him—
Isabel.
She was on the couch, curled in on herself, barefoot, her hands shaking where they clutched her knees. Her eyes met Silas’s.
Red. Terrified. Silent.
“Come here, Silas,” the man said without raising his voice.
Silas didn’t move.
The redhead took a long drag from his cigarette, then flicked the ash off with one finger.
“Take the card he gave you. Call him. Accept the job,” he said calmly. “Or I blow off your head.”
He tapped the side of the couch with the barrel of a small black gun.
“Then hers.”
Silas’s heart slammed against his chest. He swallowed hard, fists clenched. His eyes didn’t leave Isabel—her small frame, her trembling shoulders.
She was trying not to cry.
“If it wasn’t for her…” he muttered under his breath.
But he stepped forward.
Shaky.
His hand slid into his back pocket and pulled out the card.
Silas stared at the card in his hand.
His thumb hovered over the number.
He didn’t want to do this. Every part of him screamed not to. But Isabel—
He looked at her. She was still shaking, her eyes pleading.
He took a breath.
And called.
It rang once. Then again.
“Hello, Mr. Woods’ office,” a woman’s voice answered, polite and sharp. “This is his secretary speaking.”
Silas hesitated for a second. Then spoke quietly.
“Tell him I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take the job.”
There was a pause.
Then a smile in her voice. “Congratulations. He’ll be pleased. You can come in tomorrow morning for onboarding. I’ll forward the message to Mr. Woods—he’s in a meeting tonight.”
The call ended.
Silas lowered the phone.
He looked at the red-haired man across the room.
“Can I have my sister back now?”
The man laughed. Slow. Dry. Smoke curling out of his nose.
“Of course you can,” he said with a smirk. “You work for us now.”
Silas’s jaw clenched.
“You’ll stay close to Mateo Woods,” the man continued. “Protect him. Learn him. Report back to us. He’s got big BAD secrets. And now… you’re in the middle of all of it.......”
Silas sat on the couch, Isabel curled against him, her small frame wrapped in a blanket.
He dipped the cotton into warm water and gently dabbed the corner of her mouth where it had split.
She winced, but didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice low.
She looked up at him with glassy eyes. Her lips trembled, but she didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried in years. Not since the fire.
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll never leave you. Ever,” he said. “No matter what I have to do.”
She nodded weakly and held onto his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Silas stood and went to grab the food he had dropped earlier. Still warm. He came back, sat beside her, and opened the box.
“Come on. You need to eat.”
She opened her mouth slowly, letting him feed her one spoon at a time.
He watched her carefully, brushing her hair back between bites. This—this was all he had left. After that night. After the fire.
After his parents were gone. After she lost her legs and everything they knew burned to the ground.
Isabel was all he had.
And now he was going to protect her with everything he had left.
Morning came as fast as ever,Silas stood outside his home, phone pressed to his ear.
His boss from the garage picked up on the second ring.
“I’m done,” Silas said, voice firm. “I quit.”
There was silence on the other end. Then a heavy sigh.
“Alright, kid. Take care of yourself.”
Silas ended the call and stared down at the card in his hand.
No turning back now.
He dialed the number again—Mateo Woods.
This time, it didn’t go to his secretary.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then a smooth voice answered. Deep. Too confident.
“I knew it,” Mateo said without a hello. “I was too hot to resist.”
Silas blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You tried to fight it,” Mateo continued, sounding amused. “But you came crawling back to guard me. I mean, look at me—who wouldn’t?”
Silas rolled his eyes, heat crawling up the back of his neck. “I didn’t come crawling.”
“Mmm. Sure,” Mateo said, voice teasing. “Be ready in ten.”
Before Silas could respond, the call ended.
Exactly ten minutes later, the roar of engines echoed through his street.
Two black exotic cars—sleek, tinted, and clearly expensive—pulled up to the curb.
License plate: MATEO WOODS.
Silas stared at them, jaw tightening.
This was really happening.
The doors to the exotic cars opened at the same time.
Two suited men stepped out first.
Silas climbed in, and they drove off.
It didn’t take long to get there.
The car pulled through two tall silver gates, guarded by men in black, each one armed and alert.
The house—or mansion—was huge. Glass walls, marble steps, and a rooftop helipad. Security cameras followed every step.
As soon as Silas stepped through the front doors, a loud ding echoed through the entrance.
“ALERT. ALERT. NEW BODYGUARD REGISTERED.”
A screen flashed on the wall above the ha
llway:
BODYGUARD PROJECT 500: ACTIVE
NAME: SILAS REED
Silas stared at the screen. His name, his future... already uploaded into a system he didn’t understand.
The doors closed behind him with a soft hiss.
