Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 65

An hour later there was a knock at Vivian’s bedroom door, startling her attention from the homework she’d been working on since finding her school bag in the foyer.

Getting to her feet, she crossed the room and opened the door. Samuel gave her a warm smile as he said, “Good morning, Vivian. Did you sleep well?”

The truth was she’d slept like the dead — no dreams, no nightmares. “Mostly,” she replied, not wanting to go into more detail.

“Good to hear. I’d like you to come downstairs and meet your new bodyguard.”

She’d forgotten Gilbert was off recovering from being shot, something Vivian wholeheartedly blamed herself for happening. If he hadn’t been protecting her… “Alright.”

“All his contact information is the same as Mr Morris,” her father explained as she followed him downstairs. It made it easier if everything stayed the same, after all. Not that Vivian was opposed to having another person’s contact information in her phone, but she’d gotten accustomed to finding Gilbert’s contact and going from there; retraining her fingers to find a new one felt bothersome.

In the foyer stood a man dressed similar to how Gilbert did when on the job; a dark suit, crisp white shirt, black tie. This man was much younger, probably late twenties or early thirties instead of the fifty or so the older man had looked; his skin was dark with matching hair and eyes. His hair had been styled into dreadlocks that were pulled back into a tight knot at the back of his head. Standing at the same height as Samuel, her new bodyguard looked imposing and made Vivian feel uneasy.

Unlike Gilbert, who had a more compact physique, this man was broad in the shoulders and his hands, clasped in from of him as he stood at ease, looked as large as dinner plates. Anyone willing to mess with him would not walk away unharmed — that was the feeling Vivian got from his very presence. This man was dangerous.

And he was on her side. He wasn’t an enemy. This thought helped ease her worries and Vivian allowed her body to relax a bit as she and Samuel stopped in front of the stranger.

“Vivian this is Tyrell White,” said Samuel as his hands slipped into the pocket of his pants. “Mr White, this is my daughter, Vivian.”

“A pleasure,” Tyrell White rumbled, his voice so deep it almost sounded like a purr.

Vivian refused to allow herself to comment on how this man’s last name and obvious not-white skin were at odds with one another; instead she gave him a small nod. “Nice to meet you.”

Turning to face his daughter, Samuel continued to speak. “Rules are the same. Mr White will accompany you anywhere that isn’t school or here; that includes the mall, restaurants, movies…”

Imagining this gigantic man following her everywhere made Vivian grimace. At least Gilbert could pass as a relative, but Tyrell definitely didn’t no matter how you looked at it. Not having much of a social life would make these instances few and far between, something she found herself thankful for. “Okay.”

Samuel nodded and looked back over at the imposing man. “I’m counting on you, Mr White. Keep her safe.”

“You can count on me, Sir.”

Not bothering to say anything else — not even to dismiss either of them — Samuel turned and walked away, leaving Vivian and her new bodyguard alone.

The two looked at each other for a minute. Tyrell’s dark eyes told Vivian nothing about what was going on in his mind and she found herself wondering if he was even happy stuck babysitting a teenager. The corner of his mouth suddenly quirked a little, as if he knew what was going on in her head and found it amusing.

Frowning, Vivian pursed her lips together for a moment before saying, “You’re going to be very bored for the next few days.”

Tyrell tilted his head a little, the smile that’d threatened to reveal itself peeking out again. “Boring is my favourite, Miss.”

The tone of his voice told Vivian he wasn’t lying. If she stayed out of trouble he’d be more than pleased, that he hoped nothing interesting happened; but there was a dangerous edge to his words, how he’d said them, as if he *dared* someone or something to break the boredom. That anything willing to attempt doing so would regret it for the rest of their short lives.

Usually, such things would give Vivian a deep sense of unease and cause her to keep him at arm’s length; but after what’d happened the day before it did the opposite. It helped calmed her worries knowing this man was confident in his ability to *dare* anyone to try and ruin the boredom just to prove how bad a move that’d be.

*Confident, a bit cocky, … and dangerous*. Vivian was certain Samuel wouldn’t have assigned just anyone to keep her safe, that he trusted Tyrell and knew the job was within his ability to carry out.

If her father trusted Tyrell then was there any reason why she shouldn’t?

Vivian was startled to realize she was allowing herself to trust in Samuel. It wasn’t that she saw the giant, dark-skinned man as this symbol of safety after such a short interaction, but that her father trusted him to do the job assigned without reservation.

When had she started allowing his opinion of people affect how she saw them, too? It’s not like Samuel was forthright with her about everything; there was plenty he was hiding from her as yesterday was a testament to that.

It was obvious there was more going on behind the scenes in his life — he wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion he was the cause of the shooting and car chase otherwise. His tone and how he’d responded to the situation, how he’d hired Gilbert to play driver while secretly being her bodyguard… There was definitely a lot more going on than what Vivian was being told.

Glancing up at her new bodyguard, Vivian met his gaze and told herself that whatever her father was entangled in had bled into her life now and she had to deal with that on top of everything else. She was still waiting for Paul — Detective Oglivie — to do something, anything, and when that happened having Tyrell standing by her side would pay off; to have her father, already on edge, be ready to step in and keep her safe regardless of the circumstances was something she’d never imagined happening in her life.

And, so long as Samuel’s secrets kept him thinking it was all on him, Vivian could be able to get away without needing to explain anything.

Maybe yesterday’s traumatic events had been a blessing in disguise.