The Nameless Man With A Thousand Legacies

003 Lucky Guy

Five minutes later, Jack was seated beside Juliet in a Bentley Continental, with two black SUVs from her security team leading the way.

Jack didn't find the car anything special. He owned a dozen newer models himself. He was watching the woman next to him instead.

Up close, Juliet Forbes was even more breathtaking than she had been in the cafe.

He noted the perfect curve of her cheekbones, the full swell of her lips, and the elegant way she wore an expensive dress. Her long dark hair fell slightly forward, framing her face like a halo.

Jack wondered whether God had sent this angel to tempt him. How lucky am I that this goddess is about to become my wife!

Juliet caught him staring, and her hazel-green eyes narrowed.

"Stop looking at me with your perverted gaze," she said sharply. "Or I'll have the driver pull over and poke your eyes out."

Jack's lips curved into an annoying grin, and he did not look away.

"I'm just admiring the view. If I'm going to be your husband, I might as well look at my property."

Juliet's mouth fell open. "Did you just say I am your property? What kind of husband do you plan to be?"

He leaned back against the seat and stretched his arms along the backrest.

"I'll live off the family riches, enjoy gourmet delicacies and drinks, and have a romp in a luxurious bedroom with my gorgeous wife. All of it sounds like a sweet deal to me."

Juliet's cheeks went red with anger and disgust. She reached into her briefcase, pulled out a thick folder, and slapped it onto his lap.

"You are disgusting!" she snapped. "Before you get any more sick ideas, read the marriage agreement you agreed to!"

The chauffeur's eyes flicked to the mirror and went straight back to the road.

Jack opened the folder and flipped through the pages casually.

It offered a monthly allowance of fifty thousand dollars. In exchange, he would have to perform public duties as a husband and paint the picture of a happy couple.

Their private life would be the exact opposite. Separate bedrooms. No physical relationship between them under any circumstances.

Jack read that line twice.

He had walked away from a powerful army, a feared name, and a life of violence just to get an ordinary life. A wife. A kitchen. Somebody to come home to.

All of it was right here on the page before him at fifty thousand a month, and it was a performance.

He closed the folder and let out a low whistle, faking heartbreak.

"You're killing me here. How am I supposed to survive without love?"

Juliet snatched the folder back and glared at him. "It is not too late to back out. Your choice."

Jack chuckled and winked at her.

"Fifty grand a month to play pretend husband is fine with me. However, to force me to practice celibacy…"

Juliet's face softened a little. Did he change his mind?

"You can date whoever you want as long as you keep it a secret," she said. "I don't care. On my end, I won't cheat on you."

Jack tilted his head, curious now.

"Why not? A gorgeous woman like you probably has a hundred eligible bachelors waiting in a queue."

She looked out the window, and her voice turned colder.

"I don't trust men. They're all liars, manipulators, and exploiters. I'll never let a man control my life. That's why this marriage is on paper only. I'm hiring a husband, not taking a lover."

Jack studied her profile and the way her fingers gripped the folder. There was something real under the hard shell, and it made him want to look longer.

"Where do I sign?"

Juliet hesitated and watched him. She had expected him to push back, to haggle, or at least to be pleased about the money. The calm was what worried her.

She thought she held all the power in this deal, but something about Jack Hardy told her he was in charge.

The driver hit the brakes and the Bentley slowed to a halt. Up ahead, the road was blocked.

There had been a serious accident.

A large truck lay on its side with cargo spilled across the lanes. Police cars flashed their lights everywhere, and officers waved traffic onto other roads.

"That truck's been there a while, ma'am," the chauffeur said. "There's no fire crew."

An officer walked up to the Forbes motorcade and waved them down hard.

"Everyone out!" he shouted. "We need to see everyone's identification, or you'll be detained!"

The bodyguards and the chauffeur climbed out at once to deal with it. Juliet reached for her door handle to join them.

"I'll deal with this. The Commissioner owes my family favors. We'll be through this mess in minutes."

Before she could open the door, Jack's hand shot out and grabbed her arm. "Don't," he said. "Something smells fishy."

Juliet tried to pull away. "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

His grip did not budge, and she squirmed harder.

Is he making a move on me, now that the chauffeur was gone?

She struggled so hard that her Rolex's metal band broke and the watch fell to the floor.

"You're hurting me!" she screamed.

The broken watch made Jack realize he was holding her too tightly, and he released her arm.

Juliet threw the door open and stepped out, marching toward the officers with her head held high.

"I'm Juliet Forbes," she announced loudly. "Let us go, or you'll have to explain yourself to the Commissioner."

The lead officer heard the name and turned. His face changed in an instant.

In one smooth motion, he raised his weapon and fired point-blank into the nearest bodyguard's head.

Then another shot. And another.

"GUN! GET DOWN!" A Forbes guard hollered.

"They're not cops! They're assassins!"

Screams erupted along the line of stopped cars. A woman two vehicles back was shrieking her husband's name over and over, and somebody was blowing a car horn that would not stop.

Juliet's bodyguards drew their weapons too late. They were taken by surprise and already falling. Four of the twelve were dead before the sound reached the Bentley.

"Get Miss Forbes back in the car—"

Juliet froze. The assassins had cleared the path and had a straight shot at her.

Every weapon swung toward her. She gasped and closed her eyes, her heart stopping in its tracks.

This is it. Death.

The gunfire roared in her ears.

Then the world blurred.

Juliet's eyes snapped open. She was inside the Bentley again.

Jack's arms were around her, one cradling her torso, the other wrapped around her thighs. Her body was settled in his lap, her soft curves pressed against his frame.

Outside, bullets thudded off the bulletproof car. A line of holes ripped itself across the asphalt where she had been standing just a second ago.

The lead assassin looked at the empty tarmac in front of his muzzle.

"She was right there," he said, blinking. "How did she disappear?"

Inside the Bentley, Juliet was just as shocked.

"What happened? How am I here?" she sputtered.

Jack looked down at her with a grin, though his eyes were sharp and focused now.

"Hi, darling," he said softly, his voice teasing. "How heartless of you to leave your fiancé behind and talk to strangers…"