Page 56 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
I heard the rustle of fabric as Silvio leaned forward, going in for the kill. I opened my eyes a fraction, enough to see his frown when his attack met my newly reinforced shield. “How?” he muttered.
Rolling off the couch, I hooked my cuffed hands around his ankle, bringing him down to the ground with me. And before the startled guards could react, I jerked his leg so his body twisted as he fell. It hurt when he landed on me, but with the adrenaline in my veins I shrugged it off. Then my arm was around his neck, choking him. It was enough to make him lose concentration on his magic. The sudden relief was a high that could match any drug.
I lay on the ground, Silvio on top of me, his back to my front. “Stand down or I kill him.” My voice was shakier than I would have liked but I still made my point. His body blocked my view of the guards but I heard the sudden rush of feet, the rustle of fabric as, presumably, weapons were drawn.
Silvio went rigid and I could smell his rank fear sweat. Gross. He always had been a coward. He wasn’t even trying to fight. “Don’t shoot!” His voice was at least two octaves higherthan usual. Silvio was bigger than me, so if any of the guards got trigger-happy, they’d be much more likely to hit him than me.
“Put your weapons on the ground.”
Shuffling feet. I tightened my arm around his neck until his back arched and his arms scrabbled at my neck. “I don’t think they’re properly motivated yet. How about you help me with that?” I loosened my arm enough for him to draw a breath.
“For fuck’s sake, disarm!”
More shuffling sounds.
I mentally reviewed the positions of the guards in the room. Two in front of the door, the others equally spaced around the perimeter. The guards at the door were my biggest problem. I could stand, using Silvio’s body as cover, but as soon as I did, my back would be fully exposed to the two women by the door. And as Council-employed guards, they might care less about Silvio’s welfare than Veder’s own goons. I also had no way to tell if they had put their weapons on the ground. There was a good chance would call my bluff and start shooting, not really caring who got hit.
My pre-cog was pinging incessantly now. Yes, indeed. If I didn’t do something to change the balance of power in the room, I was either going to die or at least be seriously injured. I needed magic. While I’d love to use something big and flashy, the cuffs on my wrists made it impossible to carry out the large slashing motion necessary for a fire spell. But I’d perfected a shield spell with the flick of my fingers. I’d dropped it earlier in my haste to reinforce my mental shields, but it was all I really needed. The most important thing was getting out of here in one piece. Getting back to my mate.
It only took a second to curl two fingers then flick them outwards. The hairs all over my body rose, responding to the shield that now coated my skin.
Time to go. But still, I hesitated.
Get it together Ferrera. On the count of three,I told myself. Sure, I had a shield. But with it drawn in so tightly, against my skin, rather than held out from my body as I normally cast it, bullets were still going to hurt like a bitch.
“Everyone just relax,” I said. “Silvio and I are going to stand up, nice and slow, and no-one needs to get excited. Then we’ll walk to the door and you’ll let us leave.”
Nudging Silvio’s back with my chin, I said, “On the count of three, you’re going to get to your knees, and then you’ll wait for me to pull you up. Try anything and I’ll choke you. Got it.”
“Yeah.” I heard the hatred in his voice. It was mutual. With any luck one of the goons would start shooting and Silvio would get the brunt of it. A girl could hope. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.
Tensing my muscles, I readied myself. My left arm was tightly banded around Silvio’s neck. It was just as well the guy was short, or I couldn’t have pulled this off. “One, two, three. Nice and slow.”
Silvio did as he was told, like a good little coward. On his knees, he waited for the next instruction.
Peeking out from behind his body, I saw that the guards in front of us and to our sides had done as instructed. Guns were placed on the floor in front of them. They were alert and ready though, waiting for their opportunity.
There were still plenty of ways this could go wrong. Even though bullets would bounce off the shield I was stilloutnumbered, eight to one. All they had to do was react quickly enough and if they swarmed me, I’d be on the floor.
My mind sorted through my options as my pre-cog pinged insistently. None of them looked too hopeful at this point. As soon as I was on my feet, no longer protected by the high-backed sofa, the guards behind me were going to start shooting. I had once chance, and I had to be fast.
Let’s do this.
I rose to my feet, tugging Silvio with me, keeping the arm around his neck tight. I tapped the back of his knee and we took a step forward.
PING. PING.
It was time to move. Now.
Ripping my arms away from Silvio’s neck, I twisted my body, lifted my leg and kicked him in the ass with every bit of my strength. He stumbled forward, directly into the path of one of the goons.
The first shot fired from the doorway. Sometimes I hated being right.
I dove into a somersault, arms tucked forward. Like a bowling ball, I barrelled into another one of the guards, who toppled like a felled tree.
More shots.
Shit. Fuck. Ouch. One hit right in the kidney. Then one in my spine. Still another in the back of my head. If not for my shield I’d be dead.
