Page 22 of Big Bodyguard
The ice in his expression stings. After everything we’ve shared, after all the time we spent tangled up together, I thought…well, I don’t know what I thought.
I bite my lip. “Was I really just a job to you?”
That does it. His expression breaks down, the soldier is gone, andmyJack is back. But he looks like he’s being tortured. “Of course not,” he snaps. “You were never just a job to me. Charlie, you’reeverything. And Ifailedyou. You were almost taken, onmywatch, and I can’t—”
“But that’s my own fault for running. Jack—”
“No. I’ve lost too many, buried too many people, for you to be one of them. Your safety comes above everything else to me, do you understand, princess?”
The words are like a knife, and for once the endearment does nothing to soften the blow.
The guilt in his voice is killing me, and I’m about to attempt to comfort him in some way when the door creaks open and my father walks in. Senator George Freeman. Tall. Imposing. His presence fills the room like a storm cloud, his jaw tight, eyes hard as granite.
For a moment, no one speaks. My throat feels dry, my palms sweaty. It’s been less than a week since I last saw him, and I don’t know how to bridge the canyon between us.
“Hi, Dad,” I say softly, breaking the silence.
He studies me, his eyes flicking over my face, my hair, like he’s making sure I’m still whole. His expression softens for half a second then shutters closed again. “Charlotte.”
The tension wraps tighter around us, squeezing.
“So…” I start awkwardly. “How’ve you been? Still bossing around the entire Senate?”
“Don’t joke, Charlotte,” he snaps, his voice sharp. “You nearly got yourself killed.”
My jaw tightens. “I didn’t nearly get myself killed. I was just—”
“Being irresponsible. Again.” His voice cuts like steel. “Do you understand what could’ve happened if Steele hadn’t been there? Do you understand the risk you put yourself in?”
“I understand perfectly,” I fire back, heat flooding my cheeks. “I understand that I’ve been living in a glass cage my entire life, and the one time I try to live, you send a bodyguard to drag me back!”
His eyes narrow, flinty. “You think this is about control? About punishing you? Charlotte, I’m trying to keep you alive. You don’t know the kind of men I deal with. They would use you to break me.”
“And maybe I don’t care!” My voice cracks, sharp with emotion. “Maybe I don’t want to be your pawn anymore. Maybe I just want to be me!”
The words hang in the air like broken glass, and for a moment, neither of us breathes.
His jaw flexes once, then he straightens his shoulders. “That’s exactly why I’ve taken measures. A new team has beenassembled—men I trust implicitly. From now on, you’ll be guarded around the clock.”
I blink, stunned. “What?”
He looks past me, toward Jack, and for the first time, his voice softens. “Thank you, Steele. For keeping her safe. You’ve done your duty well. I’ll see to it that you’re compensated.”
The words feel like bullets in my chest. His duty. That’s all I am.
I turn sharply toward Jack, waiting for him to argue, to say something, anything that means what happened between us mattered. But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak, his expression set in stone.
“Charlotte.” My father’s voice is firm, brooking no argument. “It’s over. You’ll remain here where it’s safe.” He leaves the room with the click of polished shoes and the weight of inevitability.
And suddenly, it’s just the two of us again.
The silence is deafening.
I stare at Jack, at the man who kissed me, touched me, claimed me like I was his. My throat tightens, and before I can stop myself, the words come spilling out. “Run away with me.”
His head jerks toward me, blue eyes sharp, stunned.
I take a shaky step closer, my heart pounding so hard it hurts. “Please, Jack. Don’t leave me here. I can’t…” My voice cracks. “I can’t go back to that life. It’s a prison. You’re the only person who’s ever made me feel free. You’re the only thing that feels real.”
