Page 31 of The Bodyguard

“Hey! Are you listening to me?”

Ollie’s voice startles me out of my ridiculous daydream, and I look at him. “Of course I am.”

“What did I just say?”

“Okay. I wasn’t listening.”

I glance back over at the bar just as Bodie turns around, and our eyes meet, and I ignore that stomach jolt. It’s nerves, mixed with hunger, I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.

“You alright?” Ollie frowns, taking a swig of beer, and I’m beginning to wonder if I am, alright. All of a sudden I’m feeling a little light-headed. Maybe I downed that earlier glass of champagne a little too quickly, but I’m not usually such a lightweight.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“And what about you and him?”

Ollie jerks his bottle of beer in the general direction of Bodie, who’s busy trying to fend off the attention of at least four female admirers – two reality TV stars, one very prominent local entrepreneur, and a director of one of the region’s top football clubs. And he manages it with the ease of a man who has to do this on a regular basis.

“We’re okay. Just getting used to this crazy situation.”

“You look good together.” My brother takes another swig of beer, his eyes still on Bodie as he makes his way back over to us. “It’s believable, that you two would hook up.”

“We’re not hooking up. We’re pretending.”

“I know. But it has tolookreal.”

“I still don’t know why we have to take it so far. This can’t have been in his job description.”

“His job description is whatever Dad wants it to be, and he knows that.” Ollie finishes his beer and puts the empty bottle down on a nearby table. “Anyway, I’ll leave you guys to it. I wouldn’t want to play gooseberry.” He throws me a wink and a grin and heads back over to his mates.

“Here you go.”

Bodie hands me a gin and tonic, at least, that’s what it looks like, anyway, and I take a much-needed sip. Yeah. That’s definitely gin.

“Thank you.”

He leans back against the wall, shifting position slightly so he can get a better view of the room, I’m guessing, and he takes a sip of his own drink, which I’m assuming is a non-alcoholic beer.

“How long am I going to have to stay at my parents’ place?”

“I can’t answer that, I’m afraid.” He isn’t looking at me, his eyes are still scanning the room, although, I have no idea why. The guests here have been vetted, it’s a strict invite-only list, and security is tight, as it always is when our family is together like this. I should be safe here. We should all be safe here. “As long as it takes, I’d guess.”

“As long aswhattakes?”

His eyes meet mine, and he smiles slightly. “Just let me do my job, Lena. Okay?”

That appears to be his stock reply when it comes to questions he either can’t or doesn’t want to answer, so I quit wasting my breath, take another sip of gin, and shoot a quick glance around the room. These events are a regular thing for me. For the Nielsen family. They’re a way of making people think my father is a man who cares about the community, and he does, to an extent. When he came to the UK from Denmark over forty years ago he was welcomed with open arms by the people of this city. And he’s grateful to them, he is. And he does give back, on a regular basis, that’s what nights like tonight are all about. He genuinely wants to help this city; this region. He cares about those who care about him. But beneath all that good beats a black heart, I know that. I’ve always known that. I just don’t know how dark it’s beating now, and that’s what’s scaring me.

“I want to go home. My own home.” I said that out loud, and I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking how safe I feel in my cosy little terraced cottage, safer than I feel right now, living under my parents’ roof.

I look at Bodie, and his expression is almost pitiful. “It’s probably best you stay where you are. That’s what your father wants.”

And he may be right. But that doesn’t make me feel any better. And my mood is starting to go downhill fast, which isn’t going to help anything. “Is it not possible that Icouldgo back to my place, if I drag you back there with me?”

His face breaks into a smile, he gets that I’m trying to ease the mood back up. “I couldn’t ask for a warmer welcome. But it’s probably not a good idea. You should do as your family ask.”

I’m beginning to realise that’s what I’ve been doing all my life, and once this – whatever the hell it is – is all over I think it’s time I made a few changes. Made a few different choices.

Bodie and I look at each other, and again I reach out and gently touch his face, there’s a faint redness starting to form on his cheek, the result of that earlier slap. It’s just taken a few minutes to show itself.

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