Page 12 of Rescued By the Guard

“Leave her alone,” I snarl.

The man gets a little sense into him and tries to pull off an easygoing grin. “Whoa, dude. It’s all good. That’s my girlfriend. I’m sorry she bothered you. I’ll get her out of your hair.”

I glare down at the pissant as he stands at around five-ten.

“You don’t touch her. You don’t look at her. You don’t talk to her. You hear me?”

The man’s so-called congenial act wipes away and he smirks. “Oh, is she playing the innocent act with you? Is that why you’re helping her? Trust me, she pulls it all the time. Let me do you a solid and take her away. You don’t want her drama.”

Furious, I get in front of him, forcing myself in between him and the truck. He’ll have to go through me before he gets to her.

The man shakes his head and chuckles. “I wish you didn’t do that.” The man pulls a gun from behind his back and points it at me.

Bella screams in the car, and I lift my hands as I keep him locked in my sights.

“Now, Amelia, open the door so we can leave. And thanks, buddy, for clearing the road for us. It would’ve been a bitch to move it aside.”

I work my jaw and tense my shoulders when I hear the lock on the truck click. The other man smirks.

“She always does what I tell her to in the end.”

Before I can think twice, I push the gun away, raise my fist and punch him across the jaw and again with my other arm. The man drops the gun and spits out some blood and launches toward me, but I block him and push him back. He waves a punch at me, but the so-called man doesn’t know how to fight. He’s only capable of carrying a gun and not even using it. “Did you wave that gun around her? Have you hurt her? What makes you think of going after somebody smaller than you?”

“What the fuck? Have you seen her? She ain’t small. She’s a lard ass who eats away all my money.”

I’m done with this. I can’t believe he would talk about her that way, or anybody that way. Bella’s an angel, the most perfect woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and he needs to learn some manners and respect.

With as much force as I can muster, I launch after him and punch him with a right jab, a cross swing, and an uppercut. He flies backward onto the ground and groans. Not wasting a beat, I run over on top of him and flip him onto his stomach. I pull my belt off and tie his hands.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“What does it look like, asshole? I’m wrapping you up to give you to the cops. It’s a shame I don’t have a pretty red bow.”

I get off him and run over to the chain I dropped, and I wrap the chain around him, till I know he won’t be able to get up on his own. Once I’m certain he’s secured and won’t get up, I check on my girl, because she’s scared out of her mind.

Turning around, I see tears pour down her cheeks, but there’s nothing in her gaze. It’s like she’s checked out at the moment. The door’s locked and I tap on the window, but nothing sinks through to her. She watches the man chained, and I tap again. This time she jumps in the seat, and glances at me and our eyes lock.

A little bit of life sparks in her gaze and she licks her lips.

“Open the door, baby,” I say. Pointing at the lock.

She shakes her head.

“It’s okay, baby. I won’t let him get to you, but I want to check on you, okay? Open the door.”

Bella takes a steady breath, hesitates, but moves slowly to unlock the door. As soon as the lock clicks, I pull the door open and wrap her in my arms. “You’re gonna be okay, Bella. I won’t let him hurt you ever again.”

She breaks down in my arms and cries. Slow hiccups escape her. “I. Was. So. Scared.”

I rub her back and let her cry into my chest. “I know, Bella, but he’s not going to hurt you ever again.”

“I remember. As soon as I saw him, I remembered.”

It pains me that she’s in pain and I don’t know what memories are flooding her right now, but for a little while, she had a reprieve. Only now she has to relive them all over again.

“Easy breaths, Bella. Just like before.”

“Amelia. My name is Amelia,” she cries.

---