Falling For The Billionaire I Was Hired To Protect

"Don't move."

Jace Maddox froze when he heard the voice behind him. His hand hovered over the espresso machine. It was just past four in the morning, his usual hour for coffee. But the night had been ruined, and so had his routine.

He turned slowly, eyes meeting the masked man standing in his kitchen. The intruder was tall, dressed in black, holding a knife like he knew how to use it. Jace stayed calm. He always did.

"I don't keep money here," he said. "And I don't panic. So whatever you want, say it now."

The man didn't answer. He stepped forward, blade raised.

But before the knife could reach Jace, someone slammed into the attacker from the side. The man was pinned down with brutal force. The knife clattered to the marble floor. Grunts filled the room as the two men struggled, but it ended quickly.

The masked man didn't get back up.

Jace stood frozen for a second before the other man rose to his feet, breathing heavily.

He was taller than Jace. Strong. Sharp hazel-green eyes locked onto him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

Jace stared at him. "Who are you?"

"River Hale. Private security. Your team hired me."

"You weren't supposed to start until Friday."

River's face stayed unreadable. "I started early."

Jace's gaze dropped to the unconscious man on the floor. "You think this was random?"

"No," River said. "I think someone's coming after you."

The police showed up twenty minutes later. So did Sasha Lin, Jace's PR manager. She looked like she hadn't slept, which she hadn't, and cursed all the way into the living room.

"Jesus, Jace, you couldn't just stick to boring scandals?"

Jace sat on the arm of his leather chair, sipping his untouched espresso. "I didn't invite him in."

"You know what's worse than a break-in at 4 a.m.? A viral video of your bodyguard tackling someone in your penthouse, and covering your body like he's protecting his boyfriend."

Jace blinked. "What?"

"Yeah. That neighbor from the building across yours? They filmed the whole thing. It's everywhere. Twitter. TikTok. YouTube. People are shipping you two already."

"I don't even know him," Jace muttered.

River, standing by the wall, didn't react.

Sasha flipped her laptop around and hit play. A grainy video showed River lunging, tackling the masked man, then bracing one arm protectively across Jace's chest as he shielded him. The frame froze on that image.

"Look at this," Sasha said. "It's gold for drama. Bad for your image."

"It's a misunderstanding," Jace said flatly.

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "To you, sure. But to the internet? It's a romance novel in motion."

"I'm not interested in playing pretend."

"You don't have much of a choice," Sasha snapped. "Crane's been circling for months. He'll use this to raise hell at the board meeting. He'll call you reckless, unstable, secretive...."

"I am secretive," Jace muttered.

"Exactly! That's the problem. People fear what they don't understand. Right now, you look like a