Page 32 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
I stilled my mind.I’m going. It wasn’t a lie, just not the whole truth.
One step backward. Bastien didn’t react. One more. My back was now pressed against the bench. My pulse fluttered in my throat. My feet didn’t want to move. But I had no choice. I had to do this, for him.
Bending my knees in readiness, I turned my head just enough to get Matteo in my field of vision. I was betting Bastien’s life that he was loyal. No pressure.
One more minute and I would have had my pre-cog. Everything I knew about Matteo told me that Bastien would be safe if I carried through with my insane idea, but without my magic I had no way to know.
“Gas?” I mouthed at Matteo. He gave me a miniscule nod in response.
Okay. I could do this. I could be the distraction.
Elie, under the bench.Bastien’s mental voice was strained.
In college I had been a gymnastics star. In another life, I could have competed internationally. But for me, gymnastics had only been allowed because it had given me flexibility and taught me moves that I could use to surprise an opponent.
My back flip onto the bench was sloppy, but I landed on my feet. Immediately I jumped again, my hands reaching for the bars that ran the length of the barn ceiling.
No! Bastien’s shout filled my mind. Large hands reached for my swaying legs, but I flipped them up, his fingers grazing my shoes, just a fraction too slow.
I looked down at him, refusing to hide from the burning flames of his eyes as the guns spat gas pellets while he was distracted. I kept watching through my tears as the gas hit his system. As he staggered, trying to fight, his legs weakening. My heart shattered as he whispered, “Mate,” before he stumbled and fell backwards. As his eyes drifted shut.
Then the gas reached the ceiling and my own limbs trembled. My breathing grew shallow.
“I have you,” Matteo said beneath me. I let go, hating myself more than I ever had.
Chapter 38
Bastien
I woke slowly, struggling up from a dreamless sleep. The surface I lay on was soft, and a blanket covered me. The room smelled of clean linen with the scent of lavender that housekeeping used in the Palace laundry. I had used it since Elie told me that it was her favourite scent. That should have reassured me that I was safe in the Palace, but it didn’t. Something was wrong. Then it hit me. The sweet smell of Electra’s body was absent. My mate wasn’t here. My eyes snapped open and I launched myself to my feet.
At least, in my head that was how it went. In reality, I got no further than a couple of inches off the bed before restraints stopped my movement and I fell back onto the mattress with a solid thump, almost giving myself whiplash.
What the fuck? We’d escaped the Humans First bunker. I knew we had. But I couldn’t remember what happened next. Had the fuckers caught us? That made no sense if I was in a room that smelled of lavender, but I couldn’t think straight. I scanned the room. Plain walls. No windows. I recognised it as one of the isolation rooms in the Palace basement.
Where was my mate? I needed her. The thought that she might be in danger was like a knife in my gut, twisting into my soul. I needed to find her. Keep her safe. Kill anyone who hurt her.
My muscles strained, legs pushing against the mattress, massive biceps swelling. But I couldn’t move. Hard bands across my chest prevented my torso from arching off the bed and my hands and feet were tightly restrained. Fuck, no. No-one would keep me from my mate. Never again.
Red mist started to take over my vision, the tenuous hold I had on rationality slipping away.
Electra! I sent my call down the bond, reaching for her. Where was she? I needed her.
Bastien! My mate’s sweet mental voice cut through the haze.Are you alright?
She pushed her worry at me. I collapsed back onto the mattress, muscles that had been tense now suddenly slack. It wasn’t the same as having her with me, but the sound of her voice in my head, filling the hole in my soul, calmed the storm inside me, settling the rage.
Of course, she asked about me first. I didn’t care about myself.Are you hurt?
I’m fine, she told me.
Thank the gods. It didn’t matter if I was a prisoner. If she was safe that was all that mattered. I sent her my love down the bond.
In return, she sent me… guilt. Black and tarry it was like oil, creeping over the golden strands of our bond.
Baby?
I’m so sorry Bastien. I didn’t know what else to do.
