The Bodyguard Read online

  THE BODYGUARD

  THE NATE THROWER SERIES

  BOOK 1

  MIKE RYAN

  WWW.MIKERYANBOOKS.COM

  Copyright © 2023 by Mike Ryan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: The Cover Collection

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Also by Mike Ryan

  About the Author

  1

  Thrower walked slowly over to the bed and plopped down on it. It was a nice bed. The nicest one he’d seen in over a week. Thrower figured he’d earned it after what he’d been through over the past week. He didn’t usually care about staying in expensive and luxurious hotels, but considering he’d been sleeping on floors and old cots on his latest job, he thought it was time to splurge a little.

  Protecting people was what Thrower did best. His nickname was the Bodyguard. For some, that was all they knew him by. Especially the people that he went up against. He was a big man, with a military background, and well adept at fighting. He had to be, considering he was usually brought into situations that were not in his favor. But that was his specialty. Winning in spite of the odds. The clients who hired him usually had unique or extreme circumstances for doing so. He wasn’t brought on board just to stand around looking tough when someone could hire a team of four others to do the same thing. No, Thrower was brought in when there was an extreme likelihood of violence.

  Thrower was looking up at the ceiling and just barely closed his eyes when there was a knock on the door. He opened his eyes and lifted his head, looking over at the door. He then quickly sat up and got into defensive mode. He wasn’t expecting anyone since his job was finished earlier in the day. He didn’t call for room service. And he had no friends in the area that he was aware of.

  He got off the bed and started walking toward the door, putting his hand on his waist to feel the gun that was attached to his leg. Maybe there was some unfinished business from his last job.

  Thrower stood next to the door, making sure he wasn’t in the way of any bullets that may pierce through it. He’d seen that movie before. He wasn’t going to look through peepholes, and he wasn’t going to say anything, not while standing directly behind a door. There were three more knocks on the door.

  “Yes?” Thrower finally said.

  “Nate Thrower?”

  Thrower was silent for a moment, trying to quickly think of a name to match the man’s voice. It wasn’t one he recognized. “Depends on who’s asking.”

  “My name is Carlos Espinoza. I have a business proposition for you. I understand you’re for hire.”

  “Depends on the job.”

  “That is what I would like to talk to you about.”

  Thrower analyzed the man’s voice. When you were thrust into the situations that he’d been in and to be the one walking out on top, you had to pick up on things like that. Sometimes, it was the little details that were the difference between life and death. In his experience, people had a certain way of talking, depending on the situation. Sometimes people hurried their words, some people’s voices would crack, some would have their pitch go up and down, seemingly nervous about how those words would be perceived. And he usually had a pretty good indication of when people were lying.

  This guy didn’t sound like any of those. His voice seemed natural and calm. Thrower, feeling a little better about the situation, leaned over to look through the peephole. He saw a middle-aged man in a suit, and an expensive-looking one at that. There didn’t appear to be anyone else with him.

  Thrower put his hand on the door and unlocked it, then quickly pulled it open. He stayed to the side of the door for a few moments, just in case he had assessed the situation incorrectly. He hadn’t, though. The man stood there in the doorway, waiting to be invited in. He thought the man known as the Bodyguard was acting a bit strange, but he’d been around erratic behavior before, so it wasn’t exactly something new to him.

  With nothing happening, Thrower finally showed his face.

  “Nathan Thrower, I presume?”

  “How do you know my name and where I was?”

  The man grinned. “Well, when someone of your reputation arrives in an area, you should know that it doesn’t take long for word to travel. Especially when one needs the services of someone like that.”

  “I take it that’s you?”

  Espinoza shook his head. “No. I’m here acting as a third party.”

  “I don’t deal with third parties. I like to talk to the people who hire me directly.”

  “And you shall. I am only here to gauge your interest at first.”

  “You sound like a lawyer. Or a high-priced personal assistant. Which is it?”

  Espinoza smiled again. “The latter. I am here on behalf of Mr. Manuel Ortiz. He has a need for your services.”

  “Don’t know him.” Thrower’s eyes went past the man, looking into the hallway, clearly appearing like his attention was diverted. It wasn’t unnoticed.

  “Am I keeping you from something? Or am I interrupting something, perhaps?”

  “No, I just finished a job earlier today.” Thrower then flashed him a smile. “I just like to make sure there are no lingering bad feelings from anyone who might decide to get frisky.”

  “I see. In that case, would you mind if we discussed our business inside? That way I’m not feeling vulnerable out here? Just in case your fears become warranted.”

  “I suppose we could do that.”

  Thrower let him inside, closing the door and locking it behind him.

  “You have good taste in accommodations, Mr. Thrower. I have stayed here many times. Excellent service here.”

  “I wouldn’t know about that. I was more or just interested in not sleeping on the floor like I have been lately.”

  “I understand. I guess the first thing I should know is whether you’re available at the moment?”

  “Why don’t you tell me what you need me for, and I’ll tell you how available I am?”

  “Fair enough. As I said, I represent Manuel Ortiz. He is the CEO of Ortiz & Vega, a quickly growing company here.”

  “When you say quickly growing, you mean what?” Thrower asked.

  “I mean that it’s a multi-million-dollar business, with the capability of making billions in a few years.”

  “I guess it’s good work if you can find it.”

  “Indeed. As you may already know, being in charge of a company like this—that’s starting to get recognized—comes with a lot of perks and benefits. But it also comes with pitfalls.”

  “Let me guess. Threats, extortion, kidnapping, things like that?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So which is it?” Thrower asked.

  “All of it. He’s been told to pay a million dollars in a few days. If not, they threaten action.”

  “What kind of action?”

  Espinoza shrugged. “We don’t know. Nothing specific. They literally said if it wasn’t paid, that they’d take action. No mention of what that action would be.”

  “And you think they might follow through with this threat?”

  “I don’t know. But I think we have to go with the belief that they would.”

  “Any thought to just paying it?” Thrower asked.

  Espinoza made a face, indicating that wasn’t an appealing proposition. “There have been other threats before. We’ve always ignored them.”

  “So what makes this one different?”

  “This is the third one this group has made.”

  “Did they put a name on it? How do you know it’s the same group?”

  “They signed it the same way. Liberation.”

  “Liberation? What does that mean?”

  Espinoza shrugged again. “Your guess is as good as ours.”

  “Is that some kind of terrorist group here?” Thrower asked.

  “Not that we’re aware of.”

  “You said this group made two other threats? Why’d you ignore the other ones?”

  “Mr. Thrower, if you start capitulating to demands and threats all the time, you’ll eventually go broke. They’ll just keep coming back for more.”

  “Have you actually responded to any of these, or did you just put them in the trash?”

  “We’ve never replied to anything.” Espinoza reached into his pocket and removed some folded papers. He handed them to Thrower. “Here. I’ve brought the notes they sent us for you to look at. Maybe you see something we don’t.”

  Thrower carefully looked at each of the three notes.

  The first one read,

  We want $250,000 or we will slowly dismantle your business. Bring the mone
y, unmarked, to the address on the other side of this paper.

  Liberation.

  Thrower looked confused. It was an interesting way of phrasing things, he thought. He then put the note on the bottom of the pile and read the second one.

  Since you ignored our first demand, we now want $500,000. Things will only get worse if you continue to ignore us. Bring the money, unmarked, to the address on the other side of this paper.

  Liberation.

  Thrower turned the paper over and looked at the address. It was the same as the first address. He then shuffled the note to the bottom and read the latest one.

  We now want $1,000,000. Continuing to ignore us will not be good for you or your family. Their safety should be your utmost concern. We will take action if our demands are not met promptly.

  Liberation.

  Espinoza was right. There was something different about each of them. The last one seemed to have an angry tone to it. It definitely seemed to be escalating.

  “Have you gotten anything else besides these?”

  “No other letters or notes, no.”

  “What about phone calls? Knocks on the door? Flat tires? Rocks through a window? Anything like that? Anything that might be considered unusual or weirdly coincidental?”

  Espinoza shook his head. “No, nothing that I’m aware of.”

  “What is it that Mr. Ortiz wants from me?” Thrower asked.

  “Protection. That is the game you’re in, is it not? I can assure you, you will be well paid for your efforts. Money is no object.”

  Money wasn’t a chief concern for Thrower, but he usually didn’t tell people that. Especially the people who could afford it. It was usually the people who couldn’t afford him where the money was not an issue for him.

  “What about Mr. Ortiz’ family?”

  “He has a wife and two small children. It is his top priority that they’re protected.”

  “So what does he want from me? Protect him? His family? Both? What?”

  “He is willing to put himself in your hands. Whatever you deem to be most appropriate.”

  Thrower scratched his face as he read the notes again. “I assume Mr. Ortiz already has his own security team?”

  “He only employs two other men. Up until now, there has never been a need for more.”

  “You said there’s been other threats before this?”

  “Nothing that ever seemed as important as this.”

  “Is he dissatisfied with the men he’s already got?” Thrower asked.

  “He is of the belief that in a situation like this, the best should be acquired. And you do have that reputation.”

  “Lucky that I just happened to come along?”

  Espinoza smiled. “Yes. Most fortunate.”

  “What would he have done if I didn’t happen to be here?”

  “He probably would have hired more men for the moment. And then contacted you in hopes of bringing you in. Now we don’t have to go through all the trouble.”

  “He still might need to hire more men,” Thrower said.

  “You won’t take the job?”

  “Even if I do, I’m not a miracle worker. And I can’t be in two places at once. Unless Mr. Ortiz is willing to hunker down with his family until this matter’s resolved, I can’t protect everybody.”

  “He is in charge of a major corporation. He is not about to hide out in fear. But he is willing to submit to whatever you think is best, other than staying in his bedroom for the next several months.”

  “If I agree to take the job, I’m in charge. I’ll protect people my way.”

  “Of course.”

  “But my job isn’t to find out who’s behind this or investigate in any way. I don’t do that unless I just happen to stumble upon it. My only job is to protect who I’m supposed to. And I’ll do that to the best of my ability and my dying breath.”

  “I understand.”

  “So hiring me only gets rid of half the problem.”

  “Half?”

  “Like I said, I can protect people all day long. Unless they attack, and I get rid of all of them in the process, there’s still the matter of finding out who’s doing it in the first place. That has to be understood.”

  “It is. Perfectly.”

  “But I still won’t accept anything until I’ve talked to him myself.”

  “He’s ready whenever you are.”

  Thrower shrugged. “Guess I’m ready now.”

  “Great. I have a car downstairs, ready and waiting.”

  “No offense, but I have a rental. I’ll drive myself. I tend not to trust anybody until I’m hired.”

  “Of course. I understand your precaution. A man in your line must be careful. If you follow me, I’ll lead the way.”

  Thrower went over to the table and grabbed his backup weapon, stuffing it in its holster on the back of his belt.

  “Expecting trouble?”

  Thrower shrugged. “Never can tell. But I also never leave without it. Sometimes, trouble just has a way of finding me.”

  2

  As Thrower stopped in front of the gate just behind Espinoza’s car, he couldn’t help but look at the house behind it. It looked like a rather large estate. Espinoza stuck his arm out the window and typed in some sort of code on the box that was attached to the brick wall. A second or two later, the gate started to open. Espinoza drove onto the property, with Thrower following him.

  They drove down a lengthy driveway, which circled around a water fountain, with a large statue in the center of it. They stopped right in front of the house. Espinoza got out of his vehicle first and walked over to Thrower’s car, standing next to the door, waiting for his guest to step out.

  Once Thrower did, his eyes were immediately drawn to the house.

  “Beautiful house, isn’t it?”

  Thrower nodded. “Looks expensive.”

  Espinoza shrugged and threw his arms out. “Five thousand square feet. More bedrooms and bathrooms than are needed, and a pool out back that a luxurious hotel would be envious of. I told you, money would be no object here.”

  “It’s not the money I worry about.”

  Espinoza held his arm out toward the house. “Let’s go inside, shall we? Mr. Ortiz is eager to meet you.”

  “Lead the way.”

  The two men went inside, passing by what Thrower assumed to be a maid since she was tidying up the place. Thrower looked around the rooms as he passed through them, with Espinoza leading him to the back of the house. They stopped once they reached the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard.

  Espinoza slid the door open and he stepped outside, with Thrower following closely. It was a large backyard, though the in-ground swimming pool appeared to be the main attraction. There was a diving board, a slide, and it was so big it looked like it belonged to an Olympic swimmer. The only person in the pool at this time was a bikini-clad woman, who was sitting on the steps in the shallow end, sipping an alcoholic drink.

  There was another man nearby, sitting in a lounge chair, looking through a magazine. Thrower took a quick look around, expecting to see one of the other guards, though he didn’t see anyone yet. He thought it was a little strange that the security was so light for someone who had been dealing with some threats.

  Espinoza led Thrower right over to Ortiz. As soon as he saw them coming, Ortiz stood up and put the magazine on the chair.

  Ortiz put his hand out to shake his guest’s hand as he got closer. “Mr. Thrower, I presume?”

  Thrower grinned and put his hand in Ortiz’. “That’s me.”

  “Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. When Carlos heard you were in town, he told me you were the man we needed. He’s already explained the situation to you, correct?”

  “Mostly. I’d like to hear it in your own words, though.”

  “Of course, of course. Before we get started, can I offer you a drink? I have a fully stocked bar. Anything you’d like.”