"I barely knew you. How could I trust you? And you were a private investigator, not a bodyguard," Lyra said, trying to test him.
He joked so often that it was hard to tell when he was serious.
Martin clutched his chest, as if her words had stabbed straight through his heart.
Then he shot back, "Oh, so you trusted a bodyguard you just met? Who knew, he could've been a scammer. Or maybe he was the one who put your name on the dark web."
Martin smiled after that and said, "So tell me, beautiful… how's that for trust?"
Lyra raised a finger, about to argue back but then she realized he was right.
Then, she chewed the inside her cheek and thinking it over. Right now, she wanted to be alone, and the idea of Martin hovering nearby only annoyed her.
"Mr. Taylor—"
"You don't have to be so formal," he said. "Just call me Martin."
She hesitated. "…Okay. Martin."
Lyra studied him for a moment. "Do you really know how to fight?"
