Page 31 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
Suppressing a growl of frustration, I checked that the manacle was firmly gripped by the vise. The sooner I got these damn manacles off her, the sooner I could take her to bed and worship her. Whatever dark thoughts she’d allowed to fester in that big brain of hers would scatter like sparks from a bonfire when I made her scream my name. Over and over. Until she thought of nothing but being mine. Whatever was holding her back, causing her to doubt our mate bond, I would eliminate it. Utterly and completely. There was no other option. My little Pixie was mine. Claimed and bitten. Nothing would keep us apart.
As I bent my head back to the task, the fine hairs at the back of my neck lifted. When had the birds outside stopped their calls? Showing no outward sign of my awareness that something might be wrong, I extended my senses, listening for any sounds that didn’t belong here, pulling in scents with my sensitive nostrils.
But after several moments, nothing unusual was apparent. The scents in the garage were cold concrete, the perfume of my mate, scat from the mice that live in the walls.Pulling in the smell of snow from outside, there were no signs of intruders anywhere close.
One more manacle, then I would do a full perimeter sweep, and my mate would have her pre-cog again, giving us more warning.
Re-settling the chisel in my hand, I rested it against the manacle, bringing the mallet up.Bang.
The sound was wrong. Too loud. I snapped my head up. The shadows in the room had changed. The smell of fresh snow was strong in my nostrils, blown in on the wind through the garage door, that must now be now wide open. Footsteps sounded close by. How had I missed them?
Magic. They had hidden their approach with spells.
Danger. My mate was in danger.
I had failed her once already. I would not fail her again.
Roaring my intent, I whirled to face the intruders. I’d kill them all.
Chapter 37
Electra
Without warning, Bastien straightened from his crouch over the bench. He whirled to face the garage door, bellowing a challenge. My gaze followed his. The garage door was wide open, and black-clad figures streamed into the room. My mind dropped into combat mode. Clinically, I noted the details. Eight intruders, moving smoothly. Gasmasks covered their faces and they all carried weapons. But the strangely shaped guns weren’t aimed at us. Not yet, at least.
I jumped to my feet, my training kicking in automatically. “Get down,” I shouted. But, of course, Bastien paid no attention. He moved, putting himself between me and the newcomers. Instinctively, I reached for my magic to create a shield between us and the oncoming men. Shit, shit, shit. I had been so close to having my magic. I snarled in frustration. No magic. No weapon. And an eight-foot Alpha ogre who thought it was his job to protect me, not the other way around.
“Mr President, are you well?” I recognised the voice. It was Matteo. I’d worked with Matteo since I’d joined the President’s security team. Relief made my legs wobbly. They weren’t Humans First. They were Palace security. It was then Iregistered the distinctive Shifter gracefulness as they moved. I should have noticed it already. Panic had made me stupid.
A low growl was Bastien’s only response.
The guards had fanned out around the room, but none of them approached. We seemed to be in some strange stand-off.
“Bastien?” I put my hand on his back. His muscles were rigid, ready for battle. Something was wrong. He wasn’t recognising that these were allies, not enemies. Scrambling to make sense of his reaction, I tried again. “They will take us back to the Palace.”
Bastien’s growl grew in volume. His voice was clear in my mind.Get down. Under the bench.
What? No.
NOW!
They aren’t our enemies.
I won’t let them take you from me.
I took a shocked breath. He wanted me to hide. He planned to fight them. All of them. I couldn’t let him do that. He wasn’t thinking rationally. Sane Bastien would never hurt any of these men. And if he’d been clear headed, he would have known that they wouldn’t use lethal force against him: he was the President. They would lay down their lives for him. While they were armed, there was no way their guns contained lethal bullets.
But Bastien wasn’t thinking straight. Not at all. He had descended into a primal state of protectiveness. In this state of mind, he would kill anyone he saw as a threat. And right now, he saw his own men as that threat.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. How did I fix this? Under my hand, his muscles bunched as he readied himself for battle. I had to stop him. And I had to do it now. He would never forgive himself if he attacked his men; beside his brother, these were his closest friends.
Only one idea came to mind. It was drastic. He might see it as a betrayal. But the clock was ticking.
Would he forgive me if I did this? I swallowed down the bile that threatened. He was the President and I had sworn an oath to protect him. That had to include protecting him from himself. My personal feelings couldn’t matter.
Elie?
Right, he could tell that I was panicking. I shoved the emotions down, into the box where I kept everything I couldn’t cope with. Yes, I should have had therapy. That box was getting pretty fucking full.
