Page 39 of Chasing Danger

My life had now officially entered “what the hell” territory. I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to think about the whole thing. The thought was too big. It wouldn’t fit inside my head. Every time I tried, I found myself staring blankly at the wall for several hours.

Before I knew it, two days had passed, and the only thing I had accomplished was avoiding the bodyguard woman that D’Angelo had left behind. There was nothing wrong with her, but shepractically radiated with an intense aura and watched my every move like an Olympic judge.

At least my family and Ashes were all right. I’d managed to talk to them through the cell phone D’Angelo left behind. The woman, Eva, had watched me extra closely during that conversation, making it clear that I wasn’t meant to tell them anything about what was happening, but she didn’t stop me. It turned out that my family and Ashes didn’t even know there was anything wrong and that they were under protection. Apparently, D’Angelo’s security detail were experts at doing their jobs secretly.

A knot inside me had loosened when I heard that. I’d been worried about causing stress for the people I cared about, but they thought D’Angelo had merely whisked me off for a spontaneous vacation. Ashes had even laughed while scolding me for moving so fast with my new beau.

Rowan had also been equally enthusiastic, though my Mother and Grandmother were oddly subdued. I couldn’t really blame them. Leaving so suddenly, without warning, wasn’t like me. They were probably worried about D’Angelo having too much influence on me and changing me into someone else.

I’d never dated anyone before, so they had no basis for comparison, plus the age gap added another concern to worry about.

If only that was my biggest problem,

My stomach growled. I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and the sun had almost set.

Pulling on a clean T-shirt—I didn’t even want to ask how D’Angelo had clothing in my size—I slipped out the bedroom door and headed for the kitchen.

The first odd thing I noticed was that Eva seemed to be missing. She was probably somewhere else in the penthouse, it had several bedrooms after all, but over the last two days every time I set foot outside the master bedroom, she was always there, lurking in my peripheral.

Unnerved by the silence in the penthouse, I decided to just make some toast. Even the hum of the air-conditioner seemed too loud, and the sound of my own chewing was nearly unbearable. I hurried through the meal as quickly as I could and headed back to the master bedroom.

“Oliver Grant.”

The unexpected sound of Eva’s voice made me jump. With my heart beating out of my chest and my hand still on the bedroom doorknob, I turned around to face her.

“Yes. That’s my name.”

She was standing only a few feet away, somehow having approached without making a sound in the silent penthouse.

Her scowl deepened. “Are you sure?”

I gaped at her, searching her words for a hidden meaning I must have missed. “Am I sure... about my own name? Yeah, I think I am.”

She took a step forward and I scurried away. Avoiding the confined space of the bedroom, I tried to move into the more open area of the front room.

“You say that so confidently,” she said while she continued to approach. “But you’re lying. Your name is Oliver Radcliffe.”

I froze, though I couldn’t help mouthing the name I hadn’t heard in so many years. The syllables felt like I was running my tongue over barbed wire.

“How do you know that name?”

“Of course we looked into you. The name Radcliffe didn’t come up at first, until we dug a little deeper. It was surprisingly well hidden. You almost got away with this little act.”

“What act?” My back hit the wall on the far side of the front room. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She didn’t even seem to hear me as she pulled the gun from her hip and pointed it at me. “Congratulations. In the twenty years I’ve been protecting D’Angelo, you came the closest to tricking me, but I won’t let you hurt him.”

I wish I could say I dodged the bullet intentionally, but when I saw the gun pointed at me, my fight or flight instincts both activated at the same time. One foot tried to run toward her for a confrontation, while the other tried to run away, and I just ended up tripping over my own legs. I hit the floor at the same moment the bullet hit the wall behind me.

Eva’s gun immediately moved to point at me again, preparing for a second shot. I didn’t even have time to try getting away.

A sudden bang made me curl up into a ball. For a moment, I was certain she had shot me, yet I felt no pain.

The noise continued, accompanied by shouting. With panic still burning like acid on my tongue, I dared to look up.

D’Angelo had appeared from seemingly nowhere, fighting with both of his bodyguards. At first, the sight of him filled me with cold fear, certain that he was trying to kill me as well, but then, I realized he was actually trying to stop them.

He was fighting to protect me.

---