Hero Duty by Jenny Schwartz Read Free Book Online

She’s vulnerable right now and I won’t let you or anyone take advantage of her.’
    No, that was his privilege.
    The papers crumpled in her hands. From somewhere she had to find the strength to take on the burden she’d inherited. Pops hadn’t meant his wealth to hurt, but it had.
    Poor little rich girl, all alone. And Derek meant to keep her that way.

Chapter 3
    Derek Olsen was a jerk.
    Brodie took his time to reach that decision. A whole two seconds, and after that, every word out of the jerk’s arrogant mouth confirmed the assessment. ‘Friends don’t need credentials,’ Brodie pointed out the obvious, although he shut his mouth on the rest of the sentence. Undoubtedly Derek did vet his friends for their usefulness.
    ‘Where on earth would Jessica have met a “friend” like you?’
    The contemptuous look at Brodie’s T-shirt and jeans would have worked better if Brodie had cared. Sure, he didn’t match the polished floors, embossed wallpaper and fancy art of the house. Good for him. His lip curled. The exotic scent of a crystal bowl of pot pourri standing on a delicate hall table made him want to sneeze. He exaggerated his drawl. ‘This is Australia, mate. You can meet all sorts if you step out of your bubble.’
    ‘My daughter has nothing in common with a man like you.’ ‘Like you’ appeared to be mother and son’s favourite put down.
    Brodie studied the middle-aged woman whose shoulder-length blonde hair framed a bony face above a body that had been starved into submission. He reminded himself that she was owed the respect due a recently-widowed woman. It didn’t mean he liked her. Behind him, through the door, he heard faint sounds of Jessica moving about. Whatever was said out here, she’d hear.
    ‘Out of interest, what sort of man do you think I am?’ All right, so that was simply indulging his curiosity, but in this day and age, T-shirts and jeans could be worn by anyone. He could be a university colleague of Jessica’s or her gardener, if she had a garden. He had no idea how she lived.
    ‘You’re obviously hired muscle. Probably ex-military or a wannabe, from the way you stand.’ Derek was smart.
    Brodie stood at parade rest, out of habit. He kept the position, merely raising an eyebrow.
    ‘Jessica’s just lost her father.’ Derek lowered his voice, but not enough to prevent Jessica overhearing. ‘Obviously she’s looking around for another male authority figure to lean on. In this case, she’s mistaken brawn for brain. Just don’t think that you can exploit her unbalanced emotions. Her father had her power of attorney because she couldn’t manage her affairs. Now it’s my turn to look after her. I’ll go to court rather than let anyone take advantage of her.’ His passion was convincing.
    ‘Poor Jessica. So fragile,’ Portia said.
    Derek nodded approval.
    They were a piece of work. First, they’d attacked Jessica, now they undermined her. And all this with only him, a bodyguard, in their eyes, as an audience. Were they really that scared of other influences in Jessica’s life, or was this part of an established pattern of behaviour. Worse, was it practice for the weekend’s memorial party?
    Back in Jardin Bay, he’d agreed to accompany Jessica because he could believe that with so much money involved, family affairs could get nasty, and she was obviously vulnerable. Now that he’d met her family, their concentrated venom made him rethink her story. She thought she was a coward, but if she’d survived this precious pair for years, then she deserved a medal for courage under fire.
    Her bedroom door opened. ‘Brodie, would you mind carrying the folders, please?’
    ‘No problem.’ He slung his duffel over a shoulder and scooped the folders up from the white-painted desk in the corner. It was a sizeable stack. ‘I’ll come back for your suitcase and backpack.’
    ‘No need.’ She picked up both.
    Since he couldn’t blame her for wanting to get out of the house as