Page 16 of Bodyguard My Heart

“Fabian!”

“Check that truck!” Royale called out as his face came into view outside the SUV.

“Ro,” I whispered as he yanked the door open. His eyes ballooned as he took in my condition.

“Meechie! Fuck!” Royale’s eyes locked on mine. He was scared, and that confirmed what I already knew.

“I… you… These niggas trying to kill me, ain’t they?” My words jumbled together, and my vision blurred.

“I got you, nigga,” Royale mumbled. The overwhelming urge to tell him about Samara and I crept in.

“I… Samara… we—” I tried to mumble as I faded in and out of consciousness.

“We got you, bruh. The ambulance is on the way.” That was the last thing I heard as everything faded to black.

5

Samara

“Excuse me!” I approached the receptionist’s desk frantically. I took a second to catch my breath before speaking. As soon as Rebecca had stopped the car, I jumped out and ran inside. My mind was in a whirlwind the entire car ride.

“I’m Samara Augustine. My husband was brought here from a car wreck.” My words moved as fast as my heartbeat in my chest. Monroe, Aliza, Contessa, and Rebecca joined me at the desk as the receptionist slowly typed on her computer screen. She clearly couldn’t sense the level of urgency in the room.

“Name of the patient?” she replied dryly.

“Demetrius Augustine.”

Her head dropped back down to the computer.

“I don’t see a patient by that name. Are you sure this is the hospital the patient was brought to?” A hint of an attitude laced her voice. This bitch acted as if I inconvenienced her. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my anxiety. I was a nurse, and I understood how hectic medical work could be.

“Excuse me.” I peered down at the badge she wore around her neck.

“Tonia, that cannot be correct. I got a call from this hospital. I’m sure of the number because I work PRN here on weekends. Can you check again, please?”

“There is no patient in our system by that name.” She was cold and dismissive.

“That’s impossible. Please check again.” At this point, I was livid. “Demetrius Augustine!” I screamed, banging my hand on the desk.

“Miss, I’m about to call security.”

“Call them!” I screamed. “Somebody needs to find my damn husband!” I was ten seconds from hopping the counter and whupping her snooty ass.

“Samara!” Monroe pulled me away from the receptionist’s desk. “He’s on blackout. Royale is coming down to get us.”

A sigh of relief immediately escaped my mouth. It made sense that he would be on the blackout list. With all the enemies Demetrius had, it wouldn’t be wise to disclose his identity and location to just anybody. I plopped down in the waiting room chair, allowing more tears to flow from my eyes. This was all happening so fast that it felt like a bad dream. The elevator dinged, and my head flew up. My brother appeared, holding the door and signaling us to come on. I jumped up, rushing onto the elevator. I took in my brother’s appearance. He looked like hell. Being a nurse, I usually wasn’t moved by the sight of blood, but Royale was covered in it. It made me nauseous. If Demetrius had lost that much blood, how could he still breathe?

Royale glanced at me, tears still resting in the corner of his eyes. Our eyes met, and his heartbreak and disappointment peered into me.

“Y’all married?” Those were the first words he spoke, and my sinking heart sank again. I had no words. I dropped my head.

“Imagine my surprise when the doctors informed me that my best friend had a Samara Augustine listed on his paperwork as his next of kin. As his fucking wife.”

“Royale, baby, calm down.” Monroe placed an arm on his shoulder.

“Royale… I—”

“Save that shit, Samara. No matter how foul you and Meechie are for this, our only concern needs to be saving his life.”

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