Rick's POV

"Are you okay, angel?" I asked, worried, hugging her back, caressing her back.

Vanessa pulled back and nodded, wiping her tears off her cheeks. "Yes. And you? Your lips are bleeding," she asked, concerned and placed her fingertip on my wound, making me wince. "I am sorry," she said sadly, pulling her hand away.

"Don't worry. Nothing serious," I gave her a reassuring smile. "Who were they? What did they want from you?" I asked, worried.

She sighed, averting her gaze, and ruffled her hair. "Not from me," Vanessa mumbled. "It will be better if I go home. Thank you so much for everything you did for me tonight. I gave you a lot of trouble. You saved me twice in a day. I owe you." She gave me a grateful look.

"I will take you home."

"No need. I already gave you enough trouble. I will take a taxi," she refused, giving me a sad look.

"No, I will not let you go alone," I stated firmly and took off my leather jacket. "Put it on." I extended the jacket towards her. She nodded and took the jacket.

I walked towards my motorcycle and get on it. Vanessa approached me after putting on the jacket. I extended the helmet towards her, giving her a warm smile.

"Hold tight!" I said firmly as she got on the motorcycle.

She wrapped her arms around my waist tightly and leaned her head against my back. Feeling her against my body created different sensation in my body. Delicious sensation.

As I accelerated, she tightened her grip around me, making me smile. Sometimes I purposely did it to tease her.

As we arrived at the destination, I parked my car in front of a big luxurious mansion. So I was right, she was a billionaire princess.

"Thank you for everything." Vanessa gave me a grateful smile, extending the helmet towards me as she got off the motorcycle.

"You are welcome, angel." I winked at her playfully.
​
"By the way, you handled them easily," she commented, amazed.

"I did martial art," I informed nonchalantly.

"Impressive!" Vanessa exclaimed, fascinated. "Well... I would like to thank you. How about dinner? It is on me," she added hopefully and bit her lower lip nervously.

"You don't have to thank me. As I told you earlier everyone would do it. But... I wouldn't mind to have dinner with you," I said honestly.

"Great!" Vanessa smiled happily. "I will give you my number." She nodded, looking excited. Then she pulled her phone out of her bag quickly and saved my number. "Sweet dreams, angel." I gave her a warm smile.

"Sweet dreams, my hero." She winked at me playfully and grinned before walking towards the gate.

Once she walked into the property, I started the engine and drove away, feeling happy for the first time after a long time. She was a breath of fresh air.

***

When I was leaving my apartment, two men wearing black suits approached me.

"Rick Adams?" the blond one asked me firmly.

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

"Mr. Campbell sent us here to accompany you. He wants to see you and thank you for helping his daughter."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Vanessa's father?"

"Yes, Ms. Vanessa Campbell's father." He nodded.

"Thank you for invitation, but it isn't necessary. Everyone would do what I had done if they were in my place," I stated firmly and tried to walk away, but he stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

"Mr. Campbell wants to thank you in person. Please follow us," he stated in an authoritative tone and gestured to the black Mercedes.

I heaved a loud sigh and nodded as I understood refusing was meaningless.

***

I looked around while we were walking towards the garden behind the mansion. I hoped to see Vanessa, but she was nowhere seen. We had been texting each other the last three days, but we couldn't meet again because of her schedule. She had an exam this week.

"Please wait here," the blond guy told me before saying something to another man who had an earpiece and walked away, leaving me with the other two men.

I sighed, annoyed and ran my hand through my hair. Suddenly, I noticed the men with earpiece staring at my tattoo on my inner forearm. Fortunately, he couldn't see it fully because my shirt covered it partially. I cleared my throat and gave him a slight smile.

"Come with me," the blond guy told me as he came back.

I nodded and followed him in quick steps while unrolling my sleeves.

I gulped nervously as two piercing blue eyes focused on me. Vanessa's father stood up and extended his hand towards me. He looked quite intimidating. There were two men standing behind him. They were probably his bodyguards.

"Welcome, Rick," the man greeted me, extending his hand towards me. "I am Vincent Campbell."

I gulped as soon as I heard his name. His surname rang a bell, but I wasn't sure where I heard it. Now I remembered who this man was. I hadn't met him in person, but I heard his name a few times.

Damn it!

I cleared my throat, trying to pull myself together. "Nice to meet you, sir."

I sat down on the chair as he suggested to me to sit down. I entwined my hands nervously.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. She is so precious to me. If something happened to her, I would burn this world," he said firmly, clenching his fist.

"Everyone would..."

"Not everyone. And I saw the CCTV video; you were quite good. Would you like to work for me? You can earn more money than you earn from working at that nightclub," he suggested firmly, leaning back against his chair.

Working for him? He has got to be kidding me.

I would never work for him. Despite the fact most people thought he was a normal businessman, I knew who he and his shady guys were really.

"Thank you, sir, but I like my job."

He raised his eyebrow, surprised. "Are you sure? You won't regret accepting my offer. You will be Vanessa's bodyguard. I fired his former bodyguard after my daughter gave him a slip a few days ago."

"Thank you for your trust, sir. I am sorry, but I have to refuse," I stated, determined.

"Fine as you wish." He sighed, waving his hand in the air dismissively, looking unhappy because of my refusal.

"I won't take your time anymore," I said, giving him a polite smile, and stood up quickly.

"Goodbye, Rick. And thank you again," he said, shaking my hand as he stood up.

"Goodbye, sir." I nodded and left quickly. I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible as I felt like I couldn't breathe properly.

***

"No... No.... Open your eyes...." I screamed and woke up drenched in sweat.

I looked around in daze, running my hand through my hair. I breathed deeply, trying to calm down as I understood I was alone in my bedroom.

I pulled the cover away and got up, still in the influence of my nightmare. There wasn't any day I didn't wake up without seeing these kinds of nightmares. However, today was worse; it felt like I lived that awful day again. Probably, last morning's event triggered it.

I checked the time and went to take a shower before going to work.

Tonight the nightclub was crowded; working helped me to forget about the nightmare for a while. Almost.

I closed my eyes, cursing under my breath without turning back as I heard a familiar voice calling me from behind. I heaved a loud sigh and turned around, facing Vanessa.

"Hey!" She beamed at me, leaning her forearm against the bar counter.

"Hi," I mumbled dryly. "Would you like something to drink?"

She looked at me, confused. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I replied curtly.

"Did I do something wrong unintentionally?" she asked, puzzled, ruffling her hair.

"No."

Vanessa sighed and bit her lower lip, looking uneasily. "Is it because of my father?" I averted my gaze, rubbing the back of my neck. "I didn't know he asked you to come to the mansion. If I knew..."

"He didn't ask. It was more like an order," I commented sarcastically.

She shook her head sadly. "I am sorry. My father... He likes to boss everyone around." She gave me an apologetic look. "How about dinner tomorrow? It seems I have to apologize as well," she added, looking at me hopefully.

"Sorry, but I am busy," I lied. It would be better if we stayed away from each other. I didn't run away from everything to get myself trouble again.

"Umm... Then Saturday evening?"

"I am busy this weekend as well. And don't worry you don't have to," I said nonchalantly. "Excuse me. I have to work," I added when she wanted to insist and I walked away without letting her say anything.