Free Dial Em for Murder by Marni Bates Page A

much for you—”
    He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I knew what he was offering.
    “Then I’ll stun them with a scathing indictment of their fashion choices.” I almost sounded like my usual snarky self as I smiled up at him. “They’ll be defenseless in the face of my wit.”
    “Wit, huh?” Ben didn’t look impressed.
    “Oh yeah. Sarcasm is always the best defense.”
    “Well, if you need something a bit stronger, I know somebody who would
love
to test his swing with a baseball bat on a moving target.”
    The image of Ben’s little brother Cameron screwing up his face in concentration while he aimed to knock Sebastian St. James right in the kneecap had my weak smile turning into a full-fledged grin. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    “And you’ll text us later tonight, right?” Audrey cut in. “No more of this
I don’t want to bother you guys
bullshit, Emmy.”
    I nodded. “Promise.”
    A sleek-looking black Town Car pulled up to the curb and an enormous man who looked like he shared genetics with a granite boulder stepped out of the driver’s side door and surveyed the three of us with a calm air of detachment.
    “Emmy Danvers?”
    “That’s, uh . . . me,” I gulped, suddenly wishing that I had insisted on transporting myself to the stupid school. I really hoped I wasn’t making some deranged psychopath’s job a million times easier by sliding into the backseat of this car. Not that the competitive-weightlifter-turned-chauffeur seemed to notice my nerves. He smoothly deposited my suitcase into the trunk with a single hand, his eyes scanning our surroundings the whole time.
    “Holy crap,” Audrey murmured. “If this were a romance novel—”
    “I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be my line.”
    Audrey continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “He’d be the dragon who guards the castle.”
    It absolutely wasn’t the right time to explain the difference between fairytales and romance novels, so I merely nodded. Then I wrapped my arms around her for a quick hug before turning to Ben. My breath caught in my throat.
    His eyes were unbearably intense as they raked over my face. I’d never been any good at keeping secrets and Ben didn’t appear to have any trouble reading my fear.
    “Em—” he whispered and the rest of the world disappeared. It was pathetic, but my name on his lips had my heart pounding outrageously hard. I was too afraid of screwing up the moment to speak, so I waited silently for him to continue.
    I love you. I’ll miss you. Promise that you’ll come back to me.
    I’m only a phone call away.
    “Don’t do anything stupid.”
    Too late.

Chapter 10
    Either the enormous driver was under orders to be taciturn or he preferred keeping to himself, but the ride was a quiet one. He didn’t ask if I wanted to make any stops before heading to Emptor Academy. He didn’t recommend any detours or pry into my personal life, and I found myself wishing that he would provide a distraction. My imagination was spinning through worse-case scenarios and his silence wasn’t exactly helping.
    “So how long have you worked for the school?”
    No answer.
    “Do you like your job?”
    He grunted. It wasn’t much, but I chose to see it as progress.
    “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a chauffeur,” I lied. It wasn’t a sexy profession for a hero. At least not when compared with a billionaire Brazilian corporate tycoon, for example. “I suppose the hours can be pretty unpredictable. Do you get to pick and choose your clients or—”
    “I’m not a chauffeur.”
    Four whole words. I could hardly believe that I’d gotten so much out of him, although I was willing to bet that he’d only spoken to make me shut up.
    Ben could’ve warned him against trying that technique with me.
    “So, um . . . are you a butler? Wait, that isn’t right. Butlers open doors and stuff. You’re a bodyguard, right?” Now
that
was a job fit for a romance novel. “Do you usually work for