L A Y L A   A B R A H A M 

"Jax," she called out to her second chef, an elderly man who had decided for a career change after working as an account for more than 30 years, which came in handy when it came to handling the finances and taxes for the bakery. "The chicken pie was great today. Well done." Layla smiled and patted the man on the back in a congratulatory manner.

"Thanks, Layla." He grinned at her from over his shoulder, his hands busy with kneading some dough for the bread. "Was lover boy a fan of it too?" He asked, making sure she knew that he hadn't missed her having lunch with Alejandro earlier.

She rolled her eyes and placed the empty dishes in the sink before turning on the tap to wash them. Other than Hailey who worked at the counter serving customers, Jax – short for Jaxon – who helped her out with all the cooking and baking in the kitchen, there was also James, the part-time college student who worked evenings and helped her wait tables and other miscellaneous activities around the bakery during the day, while Chris and Louis manned the bar during the evenings.

Some would say they were tight-staffed, but she preferred to think of themselves as a close knit community.

"He pretty much inhaled it." They both laughed. "I think that means he liked it."

"I think he likes more than just the food."

She finished washing and placed the dishes on the dish rack, wiping her hand on a dish towel. She then turned to stand by Jax and started twisting the proved dough into a plait.

"You play too much, Jax." She wet her fingers slightly and got to work, her fingers skilled and fast as she finished off the plait and got started on another ball of proved dough. "He's just my bodyguard."

"Seems like he'd like to be more than that."

"I don't know what you mean." She tried to play it off cool.

Alejandro flirted with her, sure, but she was pretty sure that flirting was second nature to him. However, she couldn't help but notice that he was different now that they were out in public. When they were alone, he was more open and freer with his words however, with her family the other day and especially today, he seemed more rigid and closed off. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that they were out on public and technically, on the job.

Not that she was paying attention to him, of course.

But the man was a mystery with the way he talked and behaved, and she couldn't help but be intrigued by him.

They listened to the radio as they worked on the bread. It appeared that many of the bar hoppers enjoyed sobering up with some bread and soup, or whatever other hearty meal they had prepared that day before they stumbled home.

"Layla!" She heard Alejandro called out for her a second before he came into the kitchen, his posture stiff and his stance serious. His eyes glanced around the kitchen even after he spotted her bending over to place the bread into the oven, looking for any signs of potential danger.

"Is everything okay?" She turned around, wiping her hand on a dish towel.

He nodded, his eyes doing one more perimeter around the kitchen, his hand positioned at his waist where she now knew he kept his gun hidden. "You were in here for a while."

"You don't have to check on me every time I'm in the kitchen too long."

His eyes ran up and down her body and she was unable to decipher what that meant exactly, but she couldn't help the shiver run down her spine. "It's my job."

"Well, I'm okay." She smiled.

"Right." He nodded and left.

Jax waited until he was out of earshot before he nudged Layla with his shoulder playfully. "What did you say earlier? He isn't interested?" He nudged her shoulder playfully. "If that man is not interested then I'm not a good cook."

She pursed her lips and frowned at him, though it didn't last long. He was an amazing chef and they both knew it.

"I'm going to go help Hailey out front." She informed him.

"Right where he can see you." His voice travelled as he called out from the kitchen. She couldn't help but laugh as she headed behind the till, getting started on some of the coffee and tea orders that Hailey was currently working through.

"A certain someone hasn't been able to take his eyes off you all day."

"Not you too!" The frustration in her voice was clear as she poured some coffee into two mugs and handed them over to the customer waiting patiently for his order.

More than Alejandro, she was annoyed at the situation. Jax and Hailey had been talking her ear off all day about Alejandro. It wasn't her fault is his signature look was a sexy smoulder!

She had warned him not to wear the suit! It was grabbing too much unwanted attention, but she hadn't anticipated being on the receiving end of it.

"You can't tell me you don't see the way he looks at you." She quirked a questioning brow, daring her friend to deny it.

"I'm trying to work. Something which you should be doing as well." She gestured pointedly at the few customers sitting at a table, talking quietly as their waited for their drinks, though they seemed too engrossed in their conversation to be in a hurry.

Hailey snorted and leaned against the counter. "It's always quiet at this time and we both know it."

Layla couldn't help but pout. "He's my bodyguard. That's it. It's not my fault he's the physical embodiment of Adonis."

"Adonis? So, you do you think he's handsome?"

"I can't imagine anyone not finding Alejandro handsome, man, woman or non-confirming gender."

"You could say that again." Hailey smirked. "You'd make a great couple."

She rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to say that he's just my bodyguard?"

"As many times it takes for you to genuinely believe it."

Sadly, the conversation didn't end there. "Every time he looks at you it's like he's picturing you naked. Or even better, undressing you with his eyes. Oh, what I would do to get a man to look at me like that." She fanned herself dramatically and swooned.

She tried to stop the smile that threatened to take over her face, coming up successful. Hailey did always have a knack for all things drama. "You can pay for that sort of thing."

"You dirty girl!" Hailey giggled and threw a napkin at her.

Layla resisted the urge to glance at Alejandro. She couldn't deny it. She had noticed the way he had been looking at her all day. At first, she had thought that it was just because they were in public which meant that he would have to be on high-alert, more so than they were alone or in her apartment. But after having lunch with him, she couldn't help but think that he was interested in more.

Exactly how much more, she wasn't sure.

She also wasn't sure if she was prepared to cross that line. Her life was very hectic at the moment, already and adding an undefined relationship with her sexy bodyguard was bound to make things a hell of a lot more confusing.

Mid thought, one of her regulars came up to the till to place an order for a couple slices of cake and a herbal tea. While Hailey turned around to get started on the tea, Layla smiled and got started packing up the rest of the order.

"Not to alarm you, but that man over there keeps looking at you."

Layla glanced up to lock eyes with Alejandro. He had his phone pressed to his ear and a serious look on his face as he spoke into the device, but his eyes held a soft edge as they held hers.

"He's fine." She smiled softly at the elderly lady. "A friend of mine, actually."

"Oh!" Understanding dawned on her. "He's a beautiful man. If I were you, honey. I would hold on tight and never let go."

"Oh, no. We're not together." Layla hated the way her eyes flittered towards him. "He's just a friend. Barely even that!"

When Hailey heard this, she scoffed and attempted to cover it up with a cough. Unsuccessfully, one might add. The customer giggled while Layla threw a playful glare over her shoulder.

As she accepted her change, the woman placed a hand over Layla's. "Don't let him go, honey. I see the way he looks at you. My husband used to look at me like that, still does actually, and we'll be coming up to our 40th anniversary this year."

Layla was left speechless as the customer left with her cake and tea in hand. Her lips twitched at the corners as she watched the elderly woman leave – thanking the man who held the door open for her and patiently waited to enter into the bakery himself.

She didn't dare glance back at Alejandro in fear of finding him looking at her already, the woman's words fresh and playing on her mind.

The bell chimed to indicate that a new customer had walked in. Looking up, she smiled to greet them but it soon slipped off her face.

Her eyes froze on the man stood at the entrance of her bakery, grinning at her as if they were old friends. When he took a step closer to the counter she was stood behind, she screamed.

"Alejandro!" She called out his name upon instinct, taking a few steps back to put more distance between her and the familiar man, one she couldn't quite put a name to.

He was her bodyguard. Might as well put him to some use.

Everything happened so fast. She felt like was an innocent bystander watching it all.

All she could focus on, was blue.

-

The man with the blue eyes hadn't taken his eyes off her from the moment he had dumped her there, threatening to scar her pretty little collarbone and more if she tried anything funny.

While he was rough with her, contrastingly, he was also surprisingly gentle at times which caused her to undergo all sorts of confusion. However, she refused to believe that he didn't mean every word. Even if he wouldn't hurt her for acting out, she was sure one of the other men would.

When she felt someone staring holes into the side of her head, she turned to face them. The man sat closest to her was leaned up against the wall, his face battered and bruised and his clothes bloody, a few droplets of blood surrounding him, dripping out from the open gash on his hand.

He must have put up more of a fight than she had.

Despite the situation, she found herself smiling at him. A small one, albeit weak.

Why? She had no idea.

It was ironic that out of everyone around her – including her – he was the calmest, though his brown eyes were like a window to his soul; equally tormented by a storm of worry mixed with fear for his own life; making him no different than any other hostage in the room.

They all watched as a man was brought into the room, begging for mercy. He fell to his knees and grovelled at the feet of the man with the ocean blue eyes. He did the opposite and kicked him.

They took turns to throw around what appeared to be an employee of the bank. He was tall and closer to skinny than lean, and his light hair flopped around as one of the men threw his fist at his face.

Falling to the ground, the man clutched the side of his face with fresh tears in his eyes. He attempted to get up, wheezing for air.

No one offered to help him.

Scared to look away, she found herself making eye contact with him. He pleaded for help with his eyes, the fear rolling off him in waves.

She grappled with what to do but ultimately, she was in the same position as him, as all of them. Before she could come to a decision, the man was picked up by the back of his shirt and flung against the wall as the men continued to beat him.

For what exactly? She didn't know.

-

You can read ahead on Inkitt for FREE: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Support me to read ALL OF ALEJANDRO and start reading the sequel! https://www.patreon.com/LaylaKnight

L A Y L A K N I G H T

12.05.2020