Page 80 of The Bodyguard

“Don’t come any closer!”

I stop, dropping my gaze to the floor, where Mikkel Nielsen lies in a pool of blood, clutching his thigh.

“He’ll survive. I deliberately missed the artery.” Novak keeps his gun pointed at Nielsen’s head, he doesn’t shift his gaze. “I just wanted a moment to watch him suffer.”

“Fuck you!” Nielsen spits, and I watch as Novak pulls back on the trigger, their eyes locked, and that gives me a chance to quickly glance around for Nielsen’s gun, it must be here somewhere. I’m guessing he dropped it when he fell to the floor.

“Dad!”

Jesus fucking Christ… “What the fuck did I tell you, Lena? Get back outside!”

But she’s not listening to me, she’s on her knees, not caring that her father’s blood is pooling around her.

“Do as he says, Lena.”

Nielsen’s breath is shallow and laboured, he’s struggling to get the words out. And I watch as he takes Lena’s hand and squeezes it, but she’s not listening. She’s looking up at Novak, her face a mask of anger.

“You arenotmy father. You will neverbemy father, you’re nothing to me, do you understand? And all of this, you really thought that would make mewantto get to know you?”

“I’d move if I were you,” Novak says, his voice cold. Monotone. His eyes still fixed on Nielsen.

I try to reach for Lena’s hand but she pulls back from me; tries to push me away, and I step back, the heel of my boot coming into contact with something hard… a gun. And I don’t think Novak’s seen anything, his focus hasn’t shifted. Does he even know that Nielsen lost his gun? Taking a quick breath, I crouch down and pick it up, keeping my hand behind my back and praying that the thing is still loaded. And I know I have to be so careful, and so quick, right now this shit is on a fucking knife edge and all of us could wind up dead. And then Lena catches my eye and shakes her head but she doesn’t get to call the shots, and in a movement so quick even I don’t have time to register it, I’m working on pure luck and adrenaline here, I fire a shot at Novak’s ankle, aiming low to catch him unawares. And it works. He cries out in pain as his legs crumple beneath him, but he’s still clutching that gun, so I keep mine aimed at him.

“That was a mistake,” Novak hisses as he tries to get back up on his feet but I’m too quick for him, firing a second shot at his ankle, and he falls back down to the ground with a thud. But I’m not going to kill him. Nobody’s dying here, not in this house.

“Give Lena the gun.”

Novak looks at me and laughs and the urge to put a bullet in his head is overwhelming, but I resist it. Seriously, nobody’s dying, here.

“Give her the gun,” I repeat, this dick is starting to piss me off now.

“Fuck you!”

And before I can stop him he’s fired another shot at Nielsen, and all I can see is blood seeping from a wound somewhere close to his neck, and all I can hear is Lena’s screams filling the silence and I’m willing her to stop it, to be quiet, we don’t need the attention. Clamping a hand over her mouth is the only option I have, and I totally get why she doesn’t go for that but I have no choice.

“You need to be quiet,” I tell her, and I look at her father and he nods. He knows, no matter how much he hates me; how much he wants me dead, he knows this has all turned to shit and we need to get out of here before someone calls the police.

“Listen to him, Lena. Please. It’s okay.” Nielsen’s words are barely audible as more blood begins to add itself to the already growing pool surrounding him and his daughter, and I know we don’t have much time.

I remove my hand from Lena’s mouth and she breathes out, glares at me, and turns her attention back to her father.

“Do you have a car?” I ask her, but she’s either choosing to ignore me or she hasn’t heard me. “Do you have a car, Lena?”

“The blue one. Out front.”

“We need to get your father outside… Come on.”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret,” Novak gasps, grasping his injured leg as he tries to stand, but he can’t do it. And he attempts to lift his arm, the gun still in his hand, but he’s growing weaker. And that’s strange, he isn’t losing anywhere near as much blood as Nielsen. “I can’t breathe!”

His words are coming out in what I can only describe as rasps, he’s struggling for breath, and then he drops the gun as if it’s burning his skin and clutches his chest.

“Help me!”

He’s begging, his eyes wide, and it’s rare to see fear in the eyes of these men but there’s fear in his. Real, raw fear. Because his life is in our hands now, only we can help him. But I can’t help both of these men. I have to make a choice. And I’m choosing to help Nielsen.

“You can’t just leave me here!”

I slide an arm around Nielsen’s waist, Lena on his other side, we’re practically dragging him to the door.

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