Page 27 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
“Princess and I need some air.” Jordan turned toward the door leading to the back parking lot and the small plot of grass marked for dog use.
Stu caught up with them. “Miss Lee, if you will please stay inside.”
Jordan handed the leash to Andrew. “Please bring her up to my room when she’s done?”
Andrew nodded. Jordan returned to her room and locked the bodyguards out after they checked it. She pulled a cereal box out of the cupboard, which was exactly how she’d left it, angled at forty-five degrees, and pulled her foil-wrapped phone out. It hadn’t been until after Andrew dropped Princess off that she realized she’d normally left her phone with Blake. As the phone sprung to life, Jordan congratulated herself on finding a secure hiding place.
A text from her grandmother appeared. Landed in London. Call me.
There wasn’t time to check for bugs, so Jordan opted for the balcony.
She opened the door and screamed.
“Aglet!”
11
The alertfrom Andrew’s phone came at the same time as the scream from the balcony above. He ran up the stairs to Jordan’s room, Princess tucked under an arm like a football.
A bodyguard came out of the room across the hall. “What was that?”
Andrew tapped his phone on the lock, hoping Blake’s app could unlock the door. The light turned green, and he pushed the door open. Jordan stood next to the balcony door, hand to her throat. Princess barked. He set the dog down her leash still tethered to his carabiner.
“Don’t let her out there.” Jordan got the last word out as Andrew wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her deeper into the room.
“Get your hands off her!” The bodyguard he’d passed in the hall held out a taser.
Would the guy be dumb enough to use it while Andrew was holding Jordan?
Jordan pointed to the balcony. “Out there.” The guard moved his focus.
Andrew walked Jordan to the hallway, Princess following. Another bodyguard came out of the room where the first had been. The first shouted from the balcony, and the second ran toward the noise. Andrew pulled Jordan into the safest place he could think of—the guards’ room—and closed the door. He spun Jordan to face him. “What happened?”
Jordan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “An old photo—with a knife through it.” She stepped closer and leaned her head against his chest. Her entire body was shaking as if she’d just done a polar-bear plunge. “A-a photo... of my... my mom.”
Andrew pulled her closer. Princess barked as the door burst open, and Andrew pushed Jordan behind him.
The incompetent guard held up an 8 x 10 glossy smeared with what looked like ketchup. “It’s just some prank.”
Jordan buried her head in Andrew’s back. Princess jumped up on his legs.
“Put that photo away. You shouldn’t have moved it. It is evidence.”
Stu entered the room. “What’s evidence?”
“Just a prank, boss.” The guard held out the photo.
Stu’s jaw formed a hard line. He turned to someone behind him. “Find us a secure room. And lock down Jordan’s.” He pointed to the incompetent guard. “You, in the hall now, and you too,” Stu directed the guard who’d been standing in the center of the room when Andrew entered.
Stu slammed the door behind them. “What happened?”
Jordan lifted her head from Andrew’s back and stepped out far enough to scoop up her dog. “I went to make a private call. Since I keep finding bugs in the room, I decided to call from the balcony. I opened the door and saw the photo, then screamed. Andrew got there first. That guy”—Jordan pointed to the empty spot where the guard who’d held the photo had stood—“pulled a taser on us. Andrew got me in here. Your bodyguard with the photo came in.”
Stu looked to Andrew for confirmation.
Andrew stayed between Stu and Jordan. “I assumed since the guards were in here, this was the safest room. Why didn’t you have someone escort Miss Lee to her room?”
“We did. Rod checked the room. He must have missed the balcony.”
