ALEJANDRO SERRANO

Alejandro closed the bedroom door quietly in hopes that he didn't wake her up. Well, if the incessant knocking didn't do the job instead.

"I'm coming." He called out as he trudged his way to the front door where the sound of the knocking was coming from.

Alejandro was in the right mind to give whoever had woken him up, a piece of his mind. It was way too early for house calls and if he opened the door to reveal Kevin again, he was going to do more than just threaten that impish man's life.

Glancing through the peep hole which Layla and her family always seemed to forget to use, his body stilled as he eyed the familiar man on the other side of the door.

When another knock sounded from the other side of the door, Alejandro stepped back and sprang into action. He grabbed the blanket over the back of the sofa and opened it up, all but throwing it over the sofa before picking up a pillow and punching it a few times to make it look like someone had rested their head on it all night.

Returning to the door, he opened it and feigned a perfectly timed yawn.

"Hardy. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Did I wake you?" He asked, unapologetic.

Detective Hardy pushed past Alejandro and walked in. He stopped briefly and scanned the apartment, his eyes lingering on the mess on the sofa. When he came up short, he turned around to face him. "Where's Layla?"

Alejandro shrugged and gestured towards her closed bedroom door. "She must still be asleep. Not everyone wakes up at the crack of dawn."

Hardy frowned; the joke lost on him.

From day one, there had been something about Alejandro that rubbed him up the wrong way but as they worked through the police academy together, they had been able to put their issues aside momentarily and work together, even be civil to each other at times. The difference was that while Alejandro quit, Hardy had stuck it out, become a police officer and then been promoted to a detective.

To Hardy, Alejandro was a failure; a quitter. He appreciated perseverance and hard work, both qualities he believed the bodyguard to have never displayed.

"You slept on the sofa?"

Alejandro nodded and stretched his arms out in front of him. "I make do with what's available."

"What happened to the waterbed the department paid for?" He asked suspiciously, having not been able to spot a large mattress anywhere. It would be hard to miss, especially since this was a one-bedroom apartment.

The bodyguard froze, having completely forgotten about the waterbed since he had spent every single night in Layla's bed with her for over a month now. After their new sleeping arrangement had been discussed, he had deflated the waterbed and put it back in its box, shoving it in the storage room as there was no longer a need for it.

"I haven't had time to set it up."

Hardy turned his nose up at that. This was expected behaviour from Alejandro Serrano. Lazy and unbothered, never taking anything too seriously.

He hated the fact that Alejandro was a great bodyguard and an even better a business man. Serrano Bodyguards had quickly become the best bodyguard agency in New York as well as the neighbouring towns and cities.

If he had a choice, Alejandro Serrano would have been the last man he would have approached or chosen to have work on the case, but the chief of police had put pressure on him to get Alejandro to work on this case as well as some of his employees as the chief knew that both Hardy and Serrano had been enrolled at the police academy at the same time, even if Alejandro had quit.

As much as he tried to protest it, his chief wanted the absolute best protection detail for the victims and frankly, she was right.

Alejandro Serrano was the best man for the job.

Alejandro knew that he and Hardy had never been the best of friends, though once upon a time, they did manage to work out some sort of mutual respect for each other. But after he quit the police academy to go stay with his parents after his dad had suffered from a heart attack, Hardy had been even worse than when they had first met.

"Can I make you a coffee?" Alejandro asked awkwardly when Hardy remained standing in his spot, just staring at him.

Detective Hardy nodded and followed him into the kitchen area of the living space, seating himself on one of the bar stools. "Black with 1 sugar."

Alejandro nodded and got started on a cup of coffee for the both of them. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's brought around this house call, and this early too?"

"It's standard protocol."

"Protocol?"

Hardy snorted. "You would know if you hadn't quit being an officer." The jab was uncalled for but he couldn't help it. There was just something about this man that rubbed him up the wrong way.

Alejandro clenched his jaw but let the comment slide. He didn't want to explain why he quit the academy and frankly, Hardy didn't deserve it. His dad's heart attack was a sensitive topic for him and he didn't want to air out his dirty laundry for the whole world to know.

"I know early morning house calls aren't protocol." He fired back and placed a mug in front of each of them before he sat across from Hardy at the kitchen island. "You must have made some progress on the case."

"I was hoping Layla would be here for this conversation." Hardy nodded and sighed.

Alejandro's eyebrows shot up in surprise, mostly because of the honesty. "You want me to go wake her up?"

The detective nodded. "I think that would be a good idea."

Just to keep up appearances, Alejandro made a show of knocking on the door and waiting a moment before opening it up and letting himself in. He didn't need to look back to know that Hardy was watching.

He made sure to close the door behind him before he stalked up to the bed where she was sleeping. He sat down and brushed her hair away from her face. In his absence, she must have reached out for him as now, she was laid on her stomach with her head turned to the side and her arm curled under his pillow.

Alejandro wanted nothing more to crawl into bed, wrap himself around her and pull the sheets up over them, but they had someone waiting on them. He didn't exactly want the detective to let himself into the room because they were taking too long and find them in this compromising position.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against her cheek. When she stirred, he grinned.

"Beautiful, I need you to wake up."

Layla frowned as she began to drift out of sleep.

He continued to trail kisses down the side of her face and the curve of her jaw.

"Why are you not in bed?" She asked with a small pout on her lips, finally opening her eyes. When she glanced at the clock on the wall, she groaned and closed them again. "And why are you waking me up so early?"

A chuckle escaped him at her antics and trailed his mouth up to place a soft, chaste kiss against her lips. "I need you to wake up."

She frowned and tilted her head up, searching for his mouth. "Why?"

He kissed her again and rolled themselves over so she was now lying on her back and he was hovering over her, his arms braced on the pillow by her head.

This would be the worst time for detective Hardy to let himself in.

That caught her attention. Layla opened her eyes and stared at him in surprise. "What? Why?" She groaned and pressed her head further back into her pillow. "Does he not know what time it is?"

He chuckled and nuzzled his face into her neck. "Come on, beautiful. You need to get out of bed. He wants to speak to both of us."

"And there's no chance of him coming back later?"

He shook his head and held back his grin as she scowled. Letting up, he allowed her to sit up in bed and rub the sleep from her eyes. He couldn't help but reach out and brush his fingers through her hair to tame the blonde locks slightly. More so for her sake than his. He liked knowing that he was the cause of her messy, dishevelled hair.

"Come on, let's get this over with." She mumbled quietly as she slipped out of bed and threw a large hoodie over her otherwise naked attire. Going out to talk with the detective while commando didn't quiet sit well with her so she made sure to grab a pair of panties and pull them up her legs.

"Good morning, detective Hardy." Layla smiled as she walked into the kitchen. "Is everything okay?"

The detective nodded and watched as she took a seat next to Alejandro at the kitchen island, both of them sitting across from him.

Hardy shot her a small smile. "There's been an update in the case."

She nodded and waited patiently to hear more. Even Alejandro had his ears peeled for this newfound information.

"I mentioned about a week ago that we have taken a man whom we suspected to be involved in the case into police custody?"

She nodded and her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. "He was staking out the bank." She stated, having remembered.

"Yes," he nodded. "He committed suicide last night." He stated simply, choosing not to go into detail with how he had slit open his own throat with a knife that was illegally smuggled into the penitentiary he had been kept in while they continued to work through the case.

Layla was grateful that she hadn't had breakfast yet. If she had anything but water in her stomach right now, she was sure that she would have thrown up.

"He killed himself?"

He nodded.

"You think he killed himself so the police wouldn't get any information out of him?" Alejandro asked when he noticed Layla struggle to get the words out.

"Yes, we do. We think they gave him no choice." Hardy sighed and ran a hand down his face in frustration.

"Wasn't he your biggest lead in the case?"

He scowled at the bodyguard.

"Yes, he was." Then he turned to face Layla who was clearly struggling to process this information. He locked eyes with her. "I don't want you to worry, Layla. We will solve this case and capture those who hurt you." He promised. "These things just take time."

She nodded and sighed, reaching up to brush away a few tears from her eyes. Just when things were starting to get better and calm down, it all came rushing back to catch up with her. "Is that all?" She asked, hoping that he didn't have any other bad, sombre news to share with her.

Taking that as his cue to leave, detective Hardy finished the rest of his coffee and stood up. "Yes, it is. I'll take your leave now." He walked over to the door but when he reached it, he turned around to spot Alejandro rubbing a hand up and down her arm in a comforting manner, whispering something to her.

"Alejandro." Hardy called out to him just before he left. "Can I have a word with you?"

He nodded and stood up, smiling softly at Layla before he followed the detective and stepped outside of her apartment.

When the door closed behind him, he turned to Hardy. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I need you to be truthful with me." That didn't sound promising.

He nodded but made no promises.

"Is there something going on between you and Layla?"

He scoffed. "No, of course not." He lied effortlessly. "Having a relationship with a client is a definite no-go. Even I know that."

"Just making sure." Detective Hardy pressed his lips together and assessed the bodyguard closely. There was no doubt of the chemistry between both Alejandro and Layla, but he couldn't prove that they were involved or that they had acted on that chemistry. Other than suspicion, he had nothing else to go off of.

He had no doubt that if the situation was different and less complicated, the pair would be a couple, and a beautifully matched one at that, too, but they couldn't afford to have things get messy now. Having a relationship, even if just a sexual one, usually clouded people's mind and played with their feelings, and that would change how the bodyguard would approach the situation. That, and the fact that it was unprofessional and gave the bodyguard an added stake in the situation, making them more invested in it than they should be.

That usually resulted in a sticky situation and most of the time, proved to be quite dangerous for the client if the case took a wrong turn.

It was always worth not taking the risk.

Ever since he spotted them having what seemed to be an intimate dinner at the diner a few days ago, Hardy couldn't shake the thought that there was more to Layla and Alejandro than the standard bodyguard-client relationship.

"Okay." He finally sounded aloud. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I can't promise that." He grinned, inwardly relieved that Hardy had dropped the conversation and stepped back into the apartment.

"What did detective Hardy want to talk about?" Layla called, looking up from her phone which she was scrolling through as she finished off the little that remained of his coffee.

"You want me to pour you another cup?" He gestured to the coffee as he walked back into the kitchen, hoping to distract her.

She frowned. "You're not going to tell me?"

A ghost of a small played on his lips and he leaned down to press a chaste kiss against her mouth. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm right here. I'll keep you safe."

She sighed and leaned into him, taking a moment to pause and attempt to take it all in.

"What do you want for breakfast?" He hummed quietly.

"Eggs?" She asked with a cheeky grin, her mood already beginning to lift.

He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss against her mouth. "They'll be ready by the time you finish your shower."

"Is that your way of saying I smell?"

His lips upturned into a dangerous grin. "I'm saying you smell like sex. I'm surprised Hardy couldn't smell it on us."

She threw her head back and laughed. "A shower it is then." She jumped off the stool and headed off into the direction of the bathroom.

"Want me to join you?"

"What about my eggs?" She pouted.

"I could make them once we finish." He offered suggestively, his eyes not once wavering from her or her body. His eyes trailed up to meet hers once she turned around to face him.

"If we shower together then we'd fail in getting rid of the sex smell." She pointed out, quirking an eyebrow suggestively.

"I didn't say it smelt bad."

She giggled and rushed into the bathroom, quick to close the door behind her.

Alejandro groaned when he heard the lock click into place. What a tease.

As promised, breakfast was ready by the time she finished her shower. Once they finished their food, she washed the dishes and got dressed while he showered.

She was in the middle of applying a light coat of mascara when her phone vibrated next to her. Seeing as she was in the middle of doing her makeup, she slid her finger across the screen and placed the call on speaker.

"Hey, dad." She smiled warmly. "How are you this fine morning?

"I'm great, honey. How's my favourite daughter?"

Layla rolled her eyes. "I'm your only daughter."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "That doesn't change things. You're still my favourite."

"Don't let Levi hear that."

He laughed. "He's my favourite son."

"I know you didn't call me to tell me who your favourite son and daughter were."

"I think you should go back to the bank for that loan." Her father said, cutting straight to the chase.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She hadn't expected that.

"What?"

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you've been burying yourself in the bakery and work since the incident. You've wanted to extend the bakery and open up a restaurant for so long and I don't want you to let this opportunity slip through your fingers because you're scared."

"It's too soon." Her argument was weak even to her own ears.

"Or maybe it's just the right time." Her father would feel her hesitancy through her phone. "If you're scared to go alone, I could go with you. Or even Levi. Alejandro will have to be there, anyway."

She couldn't help but chew her bottom lip, stuck in thought. "I'll think about it, dad. But no promises."

"That's all I wanted to hear, honey. I'll call you later. I love you."

"I love you too."

Layla sighed and ended the call, finishing off her mascara before adding a light layer of bronzer to her to her cheeks and temples.

Maybe her dad was right.

She was always going on about how she wanted her life to go back to normal. Perhaps it was time to finally put some meaning behind those words.

-

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Layla Knight

30.05.2020