LAYLA ABRAHAM

A COUPLE DAYS AGO

Layla turned to Alejandro before throwing herself into his arms, pushing her face into his chest. "What are we going to do?"

Alejandro didn't answer. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on the top of her head, cocooning her from the rest of the world.

She sighed into his chest, pulling away slightly to lock eyes with him. "We can't just do nothing."

"We're not." He murmured quietly. "We're going to get on top of the situation."

Her body froze in his arms as she processed his words. "You're going to tell Hardy about us before Byron does?"

Alejandro nodded and sighed. He rested his hand against the back of her head and guided her head back to lay on his chest above his heart. She sighed and relaxed as she listened to it thump quickly, the beats strong and powerful under her hand. Just like him.

"I'm not going to let Byron ruin us." He promised her with every intent of seeing his words through. No one would ruin them and especially not that pathetic excuse of a man; Byron. No one would be able to pry them apart. There was no way he was going to ease up and let her go. Seeing her in another's arms would kill him.

Alejandro scowled and scoffed at the thought. Over his dead body. And he meant that in the literal sense of the term. He would rather die than see Layla in another man's arms, for she belonged in his and his only.

He just hoped, for her sake, it didn't have to come to that.

When they got into his car to head home to her apartment for the evening, Layla sat tense in her seat, her head turned to the side as she looked out the window with blank eyes.

He wanted her luscious green eyes to sparkle.

Sighing, he reached over and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a small squeeze. "Everything's going to be okay." He kept his eyes on the road.

Turning her head, she gazed at him with worried eyes. "How can you be sure of that?"

He hated to see her like that. "As long as I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you. I'm not going to ease up just because Byron is threatening to expose us. I'm not scared."

"I don't want you to lose your job, or for this to ruin your company."

"Layla." His voice was soft, caressing her. "You have every part of me. My heart beats for you, and you only. I refuse to let this come between us."

"But you've worked so hard." She protested, starting to get angry. This was not fair.

"And I'll continue to do so." He persisted. "You're more important to me than my job or business."

Placing her hand over his, she turned her head and allowed her hair to cover her face, shielding her from him. "Maybe we should break up."

If he wasn't driving, he didn't know what he would have done.

His heart skipped several beats as her words lingered in the air surrounding them. The words threatened to put a bridge between them, pushing them apart and away for each other.

"That's not an option." He replied firmly, his eyes blazing in anger. Just 5 more minutes and they would be home. If he stopped the car now, then it would most likely result in a car accident and that would put both of their lives at risk. That thought was the only thing keeping him sane in that moment, and the fact that she was still holding his hand despite her ridiculous suggestion.

When he reached out to brush her hair from her face so he could get a look at her, she jerked away and pressed herself further into her seat.

When his hand dropped, she didn't reach out for it.

Those 5 minutes were the longest 5 minutes of his life, feeling like 5 hours instead. When he pulled up outside her apartment building, he was quick to put it in park and turn off the engine.

Alejandro reached over and pressed down on the button to release her seatbelt. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hauled her over the middle console and pulled her into his lap. When she didn't protest, he wrapped his arms around her and moulded her body against hers, finally feeling calm after such an excruciating car ride, holding himself back from doing just this.

His heart ached painfully as he heard her sniff softly before burying her face in the crook of his neck, again hiding her beautiful face from him. He had no doubt that she was crying. He could feel the wet tears on his neck and he reached up to rub a soothing hand down her back.

"You want to break up with me?"

She refused to meet his eyes and pressed herself further into him, clutching his shirt between her fingers. "I don't want you to lose your job."

He rubbed a hand down her back, hoping to comfort her. "It's just a job. I'll still have my company."

"But this would be bad publicity for you. I don't want for you to get a bad reputation."

"I don't care what others think of me." He paused when a sob escaped her, and he bowed his head to bury his face in her hair. "All I care about is that you're by my side."

Pulling away from him slightly, she smoothed out the collar of his shirt which she had wet with her tears. "I got your shirt wet." She stated simply, finally raising her eyes to meet his, still shining with unshed tears.

He looked at her with so much love it took her breath away. Never had she felt so connected to someone before. Alejandro Serrano was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and now Byron was threatening to take him away from her.

How was she supposed to give that up? Give him up?

"That's the least of my worries."

She smiled softly and blinked away the tears. A choked sob escaped her as he ran his thumbs under her eyes, wiping her tears away for her. They then travelled down her cheeks to caress her face, pulling her closer to rest his forehead against hers.

"I love you." Her admission was so quiet and soft, the sound so fast and fleeting, but in that moment, she spoke her biggest truth.

"What did you say?" He was almost too afraid to ask, afraid that he had heard wrong or his mind was playing tricks on him. Surely she did not just admit what he thought she had.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, at the way his eyes widened and the way it appeared as if he was holding his breath, almost scared that he had heard wrong.

Layla teased him with a soft smile and a gentle peck to his mouth.

"I said I love you, Alejandro." She pressed her words of love against his mouth, biting and sucking his plump bottom lip into her mouth. "So much."

A relieved groan passed his lips as he caressed her face with one hand and pressed the other against her back, leaving no room to escape. Not that she would ever want to. He would make sure of that.

"I love you more." He moaned at her sweet taste, his tongue toying with hers before winning in the battle of dominance.

"That's debatable." She whispered as they pulled away from the kiss, large smiles on both of their faces.

"I take it you don't want to break up with me anymore."

She laughed softly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss.

"We need to tell detective Hardy the truth." She mumbled as they pulled away from each other.

He nodded and sighed. "I don't want him hearing this first from Byron. That won't help us at all and I doubt he would paint us in a very good light."

Layla reached over and reached into her purse to grab her phone.

He quirked an eyebrow in amusement, a teasing smile on his face. "You don't want to wait until we get inside?"

She shook her head, already scrolling through her contacts in search for the detective's phone number. When he had given her his business card when they first met, she had never thought that she would actually be using it, and certainly not for this kind of situation either, but life had a funny way of making things happen.

Placing the phone on speaker, she held it up between them and laid her head against his chest, his heartbeat calming her.

Detective Hardy picked up on the third ring.

"Layla? Is everything okay?"

When she struggled with her words, Alejandro stepped in and for that, she was grateful.

"Hardy." He addressed the detective in a sombre tone. "I'm with Layla."

A pause of silence sounded. "Did something happen?"

"Byron paid us another visit."

"That man just never learns." Detective Hardy groaned, clearly very annoyed. "I'll speak to him again, but what did he want this time?"

"We actually wanted to talk to you about that." Layla and Alejandro shared knowing looks. "Layla?" He asked, knowing that she probably wanted to be the one to tell him. Also, it would probably numb the blow a little bit, though Alejandro suspected that detective Hardy knew exactly what was going on between them but just couldn't prove it. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't done something about it earlier. As far as he knew, the man absolutely despised him and he knew that Hardy would get a kick out of him seeing him fall like that.

But he was also an honourable man and a good detective, always doing what was best for the victims and the case. That much he deserved respect for, at least.

"Alejandro and I have been dating for about a month now."

The detective chuckled at her confession, which caught her off guard. "I suspected as much but why are you telling me this? I assume this is exactly the kind of information you'd want to conceal from me, the lead detective on the case."

Alejandro laughed. "Byron walked in on us making out at the bakery today."

"Ah, so you got caught and now you're trying to cover your asses?"

"Pretty much."

Layla slapped his shoulder and frowned at him. "It isn't like that. We just wanted you to hear it from us first."

"I'm sure you did." Hardy chuckled.

Alejandro rubbed a reassuring hand down her back, enjoying the way she leaned into him for comfort.

"Where do we go from here, detective?"

Detective Hardy hummed aloud. "Funnily enough, I'm actually in your neighbourhood. I'll swing by in about 5 minutes and we can talk more about this."

Even though he said 5, it was exactly 8 minutes and 49 seconds later when a sharp knock sounded on her front door. Clearly nervous of what the outcome of their conversation would be, Layla jumped up from the stool she was sat on and rushed to open it.

"Detective Hardy," she forced a large smile on her face. Perhaps it would help fight their case.

She couldn't imagine losing Alejandro, both as a lover or bodyguard. She so desperately needed this conversation to have a good outcome. "It's great seeing you again!" She said, her words too enthusiastic and her voice a higher pitch than normal. Immediately, she cringed at the sound of her own voice, having laid it on too thick.

Detective Hardy snorted and closed the door behind him before she led him into the kitchen where Alejandro was pouring 3 cups of coffee.

"Other than my wife and kids, you're the only person to think that."

She was so nervous she couldn't even laugh at his joke.

They all took their seats, sat exactly the same way they were that same morning, and detective Hardy thanked them for the coffee. A warm cup of coffee after a long day at work never failed to feel heavenly.

After he took a large gulp, he looked up at the couple. This time, Alejandro didn't have to hold him back and held Layla's hand on the table, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb because he knew she was feeling anxious.

He couldn't blame them. This was a very sticky situation to be in.

"I'm willing to overlook the fact that you two are romantically involved." His voice trailed off.

"What?" They both asked, a mixture of shock and surprise on their faces.

"But I'm going to need a favour."

Alejandro scowled. "You're blackmailing us? I won't stand for this!" This time, it was Layla who had to calm him down by placing a hand on his arm.

"Oh, calm down. Don't be so dramatic." Detective Hardy rolled his eyes. "Hear me out first."

"Go on." Alejandro all but growled, enraged.

Hardy turned to look directedly at Layla. "I need you to go undercover for me. Ask out Byron, pretend you're dating him for a bit and see if you can get some information out of him."

"What? Byron? How is he involved with this?" She asked, shocked.

"Absolutely not!" Alejandro growled at the same time at her. "There is no way in hell that's happening."

They both ignored him. Hardy knew that Alejandro would be against this.

"Speaking to some of the other victims, it appears that you're not the only one he keeps bothering. Quite a few of them have said that he's tried to contact them on more than one occasion, even after being warned not to." He explained. "That raises a lot of red flags so we've been keeping an eye on him for a little while now, but haven't found anything yet."

"Are you saying that Byron is involved in the bank robbery?" Alejandro asked, having calmed down a little, or perhaps his curiosity overpowered.

"We suspect he is, but we haven't got anything to prove it. Hopefully that's where you come in."

"But he was in the vault with us. And he was taken as one of the hostages too. I saw them beat him up." She pointed out.

Detective Hardy nodded. "We're thinking that maybe, that was all just for show. It can't just be a coincidence that he's everywhere, asking everyone what they remember."

Alejandro finally spoke. "By getting Layla involved, you're risking her life!"

Detective Hardy pursed his lips. "She will be protected at all times, and you'll be there with her. too, of course."

"What if that isn't enough?" He challenged, his pale greys growing darker by the second. It wouldn't be long before they resembled a stormy black.

"It will be." He confirmed, confident in her safety. "It won't be for long." He pressed further. While she didn't have a choice, it would be more effective if she was actually willing and cooperative. "Just a few dates to get some information out of him. It may even be the case that he isn't involved and actually doesn't know anything. After that, you can let him down gently and pretend it never even happened."

Layla frowned as she mulled over the thought. "What about if I say no?"

Hardy chuckled and gestured to the both of them or more specifically, their joined hands on the kitchen island.

Layla pursed her lips and frowned.

"Why me?" Layla finally asked. "Is this just because you've got something to hold over our heads?"

The detective chuckled. "I've actually been thinking about this for a few days, even before I suspected that you two were involved." He chuckled. "I've spoken enough with Byron to realise that he's interested in you. I've actually discussed with my partner, Shanker, and he's behind this too. I've just been trying to think of the best way to get you to agree. The fact that I now have some leverage over you just sweetens the deal for me."

Alejandro scowled menacingly and sat up straight. "There's no way she's doing this." He turned his attention towards her. "There's no way you're doing this."

She met his anger with a deep scowl of her own. "You can't stop me." She denied, rebelling. "But you can stand by my side."

Alejandro sighed, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle. "You can't meet with him alone. I have to be there at all times." He said before laying out the remainder of his rules.

She rolled her eyes but accepted his terms with a smile. She knew that he was worried and was just being overprotective. There was no doubt that his heart was in the right place.

"As soon as I even think that you've let your relationship cloud your judgement, Alejandro, I'm going to take you off this case and Layla will be assigned a new bodyguard." The detective warned, his tone serious and the threat crystal clear.

Alejandro nodded, unsmiling. He was shocked that Hardy hadn't tried to take him off the case or even demanded that they break up, so he bit his tongue.

However, he was absolutely livid that they were sending Layla, a civilian, undercover in a potentially dangerous situation. Countless possibilities ran through his head of all the things that could go wrong and how she could get hurt but ultimately, this was her decision to make. When he saw the look of determination on her, he knew nothing he could do or say could persuade her otherwise and so, instead of fighting and falling out with her over it, he chose to support her instead.

If she was doing this, then he would be there at all times, ensuring her safety. Not for one second would he let her out of his sight.

Alejandro understood the severity of the situation and that he had broken the most important rule in the book by falling in love with Layla, but he didn't regret anything.

She was the exception to all his rules, there was no denying it.

-

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Layla Knight

31.05.2020