Page 74 of Guarding Zuri
Her heart lightened when she saw David amongst the crowd reach for her. His expression changed to one of horror. Everything slowed down, and she felt herself being shoved—hard—toward David. She glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see Daemon fall to the ground.
Explosions rang in her ears. Her scream sounded muffled and far off.
“Move, Princess!”
She lost sight of Daemon as men from the resistance crowded her. Arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her feet off the ground. “Daemon!” she screamed.
Her heart quaked inside her.Not Daemon!She had to go back. Zuri twisted in the arms and shoved hard at shoulders that seemed to create a wall blocking her. Her chest collapsed under the weight of the vest Daemon had made her wear. Her heart shattered.
“David, please!” she yelled in his ear.
“Zuri! We can’t.”
“Go back! I’m ordering you.” She dug her heels into the ground. Hot tears burned in the corners of her eyes before scorching her cheeks.
Not again!
Daemon wouldn’t be Joqi. Lying in the street, bleeding out. Dying alone. How could she face his father with the news? His heir dead on a dirty city road, and she had left him to die.
She yanked on David’s arm. “Please, David, Ican’tlose him!”
“The battle—”
“I will do it!” she said, knowing he needed someone to take command. “I will give the orders. Go!Please!Save him. He can’t die.Please!”
David’s obstinate look remained. Guilt filled his eyes, and he shook his head. He shouted orders to the men around her and they crowded in close.No emotion.Zuri snapped her head away and kept her eyes forward. The men brought her safely into the shelter and to the general in charge of the military. It took everything in her to hold back the tears, settle her fractured heart, and receive the status update. She would be making the decisions. Daemon had to be put out of her mind.
The resistance was within yards of the capital building where the fighting was the most intense. Because of the shift in location, the eastern side was left largely undefended.
“The decoy convoy is also drawing the fight. It was a good idea,” the general stated.
Daemon was full of good ideas. Dread continued to harden her stomach. She swallowed bile and gave the order. She, David, and a contingent of men would take the capital building from the eastern side and finish the battle.
She knew she had made a promise to stay safe, and she would to the best of her ability. But she had made a promise to Bendola and her people first.
There wouldn’t be any freedom without sacrifice.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Daemon squinted as the bright light hit his eyes. Didn’t they land at night? When had the sun come out?How long was I out?He shifted his legs and fire shot through the back of his left thigh. He’d thought he was dreaming.Nope. That’s real.He exhaled heavily as the pain dulled. Staying completely still helped. He groaned. He’d been shot. Again.
When he decided private security was the gig for him, he hadn’t anticipated getting shot. Yeah, the risk was always there, but the likelihood was usually low. Many times, the worst he had to deal with were the fists of crazy exes or overly ambitious paparazzi. The last time he nearly took a bullet was in Northern Siberia two months ago.
That had been a rush of an assignment. And he had managed to get out with a one-inch scrape.
But Bendola?
His head was pounding like someone had struck it with a hammer in the same spot over and over. Did he get shot in the head? Fear struck him briefly before he talked himself down into reality. He still had his sight, could feel pain, and the fact that his thoughts were lucid meant he wasn’t a vegetable. He wiggled his toes and fingers.All twenty. At least I’m not paralyzed.
As his eyes adjusted to the florescent lights in the ceiling. He spotted a window with the blinds open. The calm sea at Bendola’s shores came into view. The waves lapped against the sand. Even a boat was in the distance. He could tell by the stern that it wasn’t his. Who was offshore? His old unit? It was like the coup had never happened. Was this even Bendola? Where was he?
He looked down and saw a white blanket covered him. He lifted the blanket and the sheet beneath it. Bandages with splotches of blood were wrapped around his chest and his left thigh. The telltale sound of a heart rate monitor beeped. And a curtain hung from the ceiling, stopping just before cutting off his line of sight to the room door.
He was in a hospital. The good one that overlooked the ocean. The fighting hadn’t reached this area of the city, and he was grateful that the hospital was still standing. How did he get here? When did he get here? How long had he been asleep?
“You’re awake. ’Bout time.”
David stood in the doorway, a smile on his dark face. He looked quite clean, like he had showered. Dark washed jeans and a navy blue button-down shirt. Pressed. When did he have the time?
