Body Guard

Julie:
I smiled and stood. "You're right, I havent had any fun at all today," I said, sarcastically. It had actually been one of the best days I had had in a while. "We have to find Ryan first. Dont think I didn't notice you checking for threats..." I shook my finger at him.

"Habit alright. You can't fault me for doing what I've spent everyday for years doing." I raised both hands in defense while leading the way out of the restaurant. I took a look around then gestured down the way. "He'd said he wanted to grab something to eat down that way."

Julie:
I followed his gesture and looked around the various food courts but couldn't see Ryan anywhere. "Are you sure he said he was going this way?" I asked, standing on my tip toes to look over peoples heads.

"He did, and he even went this way..." A frown touched my lips as I searched with her. That Ryan was gone didn't make me happy, but at the same time I had agreed to keep an eye on Jules while we went into the restaurant together.

Julie:
He didn't seem to be anywhere on this side of the mall. "Maybe he got turned around or distracted?" I offered, shrugging. "Let me try to call his phone." I said, pulling out my cell. I dialed his number and put the phone to my ear only to be transferred immediately to his voicemail. I frowned. Why would his phone be off while he was working?

I frowned and looked around more closely. I started to feel like something was off, I only needed to look at Jule's to know she hadn't gotten a hold of him. "Come on...let's start heading this way..." I put a hand at the small of her back to get her moving.

Julie:
I followed his lead, still hoping to see Ryan somewhere close. "Maybe we should just head home?" I asked. I didnt want Cody working today so if we had to cut the day short so he could relax at home, that was fine.

"I would say that is going to happen even if we find Ryan. I don't like this." I kept my eyes roaming even while speaking to her and the direction I'd started her going was the direction of the car.

Julie:
"Yeah, its a little weird, but everything is probably fine," I said, trying to be convincing. Usually, when Cody was on the clock, he had gear with him. A headset, a weapon of some kind, whatever he needed. But today was his day off and I doubted he was packing heat to go to the mall.

“I will feel better once we are in the car.” I wished I had my gun, my vest, my phone. But I had none of those things. It was just me and if I felt vulnerable now I couldn’t even begin to guess what that would make Jules feel.

Julie:
I nodded once and grabbed his hand for the second time that day. "You dont think anything happened to him, right?" I asked. If he was hurt, it would be my fault. Im the reaon he was here. Im the reason Cody had a day off. Why had I thought this would be a good idea?

I almost lied to her, that he was probably fine and just in the bathroom. But in reality I didn’t know anything about what had happened to Ryan. “I don’t know.” I squeezed her hand. “Come on. Let’s pick up the pace a little.”

I didn't climb in right away. Instead I murmured softly to Ed what was going on. With a solemn nod he promised to notify the other guards and to send someone to collect Ryan. I then slid into the backseat beside Jules.

Julie:
I watched him slide into the car and couldnt keep the frown off my face. I stared out the window as Ed got in the front and started to drive. I couldnt help but feel responsible. This was my stupid idea. Perhaps my fathers fame has just gotten to a point where I couldnt expect to go out on a normal day anymore. If Ryan had just wandered away from his duties, than I knew that would be the end of having body guards I didn't trust. 

But if something had happened to him... I wasn't sure I could forgive myself.

Reaching over I set my hand on top one of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. My other hand however reached over and pinched her nose shut. "Relax. Breath. This wasn't your fault."

Julie:
His hand over my nose forced my mouth to open and take a deep breath. I smiled and playfully batted his hand away. I laced our other hands together and leaned into him. I bit my lip ans shook my head. "It will be my fault if something happened to him," i said.

I sighed and peered down at her. "What part of relax and breath didn't you get? Don't make me go on the clock to make you calm down. If something happened it happened. We will deal with that when it comes. For now you are safe and worrying wont do any good."

Julie:
I rolled my eyes at him and made a show of taking another deep breath. "No need to go on the clock, Mr. Workaholic," i said, sarcastically. I knew that he knew exactly what he was doing. His words were perfectly crafted to make me stop worrying.

"I do it because I care." Once I was sure she was doing what I asked I glanced out the window to check how far we were from the mansion.

Julie:
"Yeah, well its your job to care," I told him, looking up at him. "Hence...workaholic." I finished. He was looking out the car window now, no doubt thinking about work as well. I wasnt wrong. He was a workaholic. It just worked out well for me because it kept me alive.

I cracked a faint smile. "You aren't wrong. So when we get back, I doubt I am allowed to get back to working. Which means you have to pick what we do."

Julie:
"We can just relax and put a movie in or something," I said, as we passed the gates to pull into my property line. "If thats cool with you?" I asked. If is still your day off. You can always just leave me in my room and go out if you want." I said. It would be a lot less dangerous without me there.

"No, a movie's great." I relaxed a bit after the gates closed behind us, though my mind was elsewhere. If something had happened, I wanted to get to the bottom of it. If it had been nothing, than at least I wanted to find out. If not for my sake than at least for Jules. When she crossed my mind I looked at her. If this had been something dangerous, she could have been in trouble. That bothered me more than anything else. I wanted her to be safe, not only as my job, but because I cared about her.

Julie:
As we pulled in front of my building, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket as I slid out of the car and lifted it to my ear. "Hey daddy," I greeted. I wondered if he knew about Ryan yet. 

"Where are you?" He asked, forgoing a greeting.

"I just got home. Ryan disappeared at the mall so Cody thought it was best to just leave," I told him. "Now when we find him, you know I'm not one to get people in trouble, but I dont think Ryan is cut out for this job," I told him. 

I heard a deep breath on the other end of the phone. It almost sounded like relief. "Jule, put Cody on the phone, please," my dad asked. It wasnt a question. I frowned but held the phone out to Cody. "My dad wants to talk to you," I shrugged.