Page 58 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
My knees nearly sagged in relief.
Behind me, I recognised Luc’s steps. “Can’t let you have all the fun,” he said.
“Sorry, dude. It’s not your turn yet. Protect my little Pixie for me.”
I wanted to get her out of here, but first I had to take out the trash. I couldn’t have a stray bullet hurting her.
I heard him move away. I knew that he would protect Electra with his life. While he was my head of security, and he’d be willing to do the clean-up, it was my mate who had been threatened. He knew that I would want to deal with this personally.
I turned my attention to the remaining people in the room. Four men in the uniform of Humans First. The man I’d thrown across the room was slumped in a heap, apparently unconscious. The one who’d shot at me had already emptied his magazine and he stared at me, eyes wild. Anyone would think he’d never seen an ogre before. Their two buddies heldtheir sidearms in front of their bodies, ready to shoot, but their arms shook. I catalogued four women in Council uniform. Better trained, their weapons were drawn but they weren’t about to lose their shit. Finally, one civilian in an ill-fitting suit, no gun, trying to crawl to the window. “The Council Order has been rescinded. You have five seconds to stand down or I’ll rip off your heads for endangering my mate.” They didn’t need to know that it wasn’t true. I wouldn’t rip off their heads. Not unless they presented a direct threat to my mate. I was a civilised monster now and there were rules to be followed.
“One.”
“Fuck,” muttered one of the women. “I knew there was something fishy about this mission.” She holstered her weapon and the other women followed her action.
“Two.” I fixed my gaze on the two men.
“Who are you?” asked one of them. About thirty, his body showing too much flab around his belly, he’d once been fit but let himself go. Second rate.
I smiled, making sure to show lots of teeth. And my fangs. “Three. I’m the President of the Council and your worst fucking nightmare if you don’t stand down now.”
The tightening of his jaw was my only warning before he began to shoot. Fuck. His shots were wild. One of those bullets could hit my Pixie.
In two steps I was on him, and he screamed as I bent his wrist backwards, the snap of bone breaking audible. As his weapon clattered to the floor, I turned to watch as his buddy decided to use the distraction to try to take off through the door. Unluckily for him, one of the women tripped him on his way past and he lost his balance, crashing into the wall. She disarmed him efficiently and I nodded my thanks.
A sudden scuffle behind me sent my heart into my throat. Electra! What had I missed?
Chapter 55
Electra
A millisecond after I dropped to the ground, the window burst into a million tiny shards. Even though I’d automatically put my head in my hands when I dropped to the ground, I knew who it was. My body, my soul, reacted to his nearness.
My mate had arrived. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I was grateful that he had stormed in like a tornado on my behalf. But I was supposed to be the badass bodyguard who protected him. Ever since we’d been in that Humans First cell, I was struggling with my identity.
And how had he even escaped our tightly-guarded room?
Footsteps sounded near my ear and I tensed, ready to roll. If someone was planning to hurt my mate from behind, they had another think coming. But I recognised Luc’s voice.
Then I heard Bastien tell Luc to protect me. Fuck you, I grumbled internally. I was in the middle of rescuing myself when you turned up. If you’d waited another minute, I wouldn’t have needed ‘protecting’. Sure, the bullets had hurt, but I’d been almost free. Probably.
Sighing, I uncurled from my ball and rolled onto my back, holding in a groan. If Bastien knew how much I was hurting it could set him off and I didn’t know how much of a hair-trigger he was operating on right now. My shield was still up, so I was safe from bullets and now that Bastien was here, no-one was going to be able to get close to me. Luc met my gaze and I glared at him. He met my black look with a wink, as if he had heard my inner thoughts and knew exactly how pissed I was about being protected.
Then it really hit me. Luc was here, with Bastien, giving me a wink. Bastien was here and Luc was helping him.
Hope fluttered in my chest.
Movement registered in my periphery and I turned my head.
Well, well, well. Slimy Silvio was trying to crawl out through the broken window, hoping to remain unnoticed.
Bastien’s deep voice pulled my attention away from my former tormentor. He could wait. “The Council Order has been rescinded. You have five seconds to stand down or I’ll rip off your heads for endangering my mate.”
I watched Luc for signs that he was worried that Bastien was about to snap. His stance stayed casual. He looked alert and ready to respond to violence from the guards, but he seemed to have no concerns about Bastien.
Finally, I turned my eyes to Bastien. He was still in his true form, but he was wearing a suit. My heart stuttered in my chest and a pulse started low in my abdomen. Fuck, he was hot. The jacket emphasised his broad shoulders and the fitted pants showed off his tight ass. Until now I’d only seen him in the ruins of his clothes or almost naked. While his naked body wasmagnificent, somehow the incongruity of his ogre form wrapped up in a superbly tailored suit took his hotness to another level.
Bastien was out of his cell. Wearing a suit. Luc was here to support him. And he had declared the Order rescinded.
