Page 25 of Bodyguard Baby Daddy

“Yeah, we’re fine. But the van isn’t. A busted tire I can change. An impaled radiator, not so much.”

Luca is talking on the phone and I hear Sophie’s gasp. I’ve caught them in bed. Probably sleeping in for once without Michael. “Alright, where are you?”

I look about, there’re not many signs anywhere, but we’ve been out of Savannah for over an hour. We’re in the backwoods, and the area is mostly flat. But there's not much else.

“Hold on,” I exit the phone app and look at the gps. “Honestly, we’re near Walterboro? But there’s not much around here. GPS has had us taking some roads off the beaten track for quicker speeds and road works going on, you know.”

Luca sighs. “Too far to get towed?”

“It would cost way too much all the way to New York.”

“Right,” I hear Luca exit his call app and begin searching on his phone. “You think you could limp up to Columbia? I got a friend that lives up there who could help with a radiator. An older guy, but he’ll fix the car as quickly as he can.”

“We’ll have to try, gotta get to New York.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Luca says. “Just focus on getting to Columbia. The Kumarin’s might be tight on punctuality, but they’re not inhuman. I’ll call Reggie and let him know you’re coming. How bad is the radiator?”

I exit and go around again. The rain hisses at my ears and patters my skin, but with the heat, it actually feels good. At least it’s not humid yet. The radiator, on the other hand, has been completely severed. The fence has bent it in, but there’s no way it’ll hold coolant. I tell Luca as much.

“Stock up on water at the next gas station,” he says. “Just keep pouring it through as you need. I’ll get onto the connections and let them know there'll be a delay. Other than that, are the goods fine?”

“No issues with anything. Boxes haven’t even budged in the truck.” I grab a strap in my hand.

“Good,” Luca sounds relieved. “Thank you for calling. Let me know if anything else happens.”

We hang up, and I get back in the cab. Mimi is texting like crazy, and I assume it’s Sophie. “Sophie can’t believe what happened!”

I nod. “Asshole didn’t even stop.” I watch the road like it’ll give us our mystery person’s coordinates.

She shakes her head and texts those exact words. I leave her with it, get back out, and head to the back of the van. I open the rear doors and open the side hatch for the spare tire. I take the jack and iron and muscle the tire out. It bounces down onto the grass, and I roll it towards the side with the puncture.

Technically, no one should ever jack up a car in the grass, or on soft ground, but we don’t have time. If I let us sit here in the rain, the ground is only gonna get softer.

I position the jack and start pumping it up, the metal closes in on the lip of the van edge and then it bites in. The van inches up slowly, Mimi bouncing in her seat with each little pump I give.

She opens the door. “I got a sore ass here. Gentle please!”

We laugh, and I keep pumping the iron. She watches me though, watches my arms moving up and down, and we feel the tension light up instantly.

The van is high enough, and I twist off the nuts with ease. I swap out the tire and have it back on, and the van is lowered in minutes. It ain’t the first tire I’ve changed. I roll the dud towards the back and put it in the hatch. I chuck the iron and jack in too, and now it’s the moment of truth for the radiator.

The engine starts with no issues, a luck I hadn’t even imagined, but it’s fine so I don’t question it. I shift into reverse, and we both tense up as I pull back slowly. There's a small rending of metal, and then we’re free. With the engine running, I get out and look. It’s like a heart pumping blood, there’s spurts of coolant escaping the vehicle. It’ll be empty soon.

I hop back in and shift gears. I’m soaking wet, but I manage to get us out on the road with no issues. I smack the hazard light button on.

“So what’s the plan?” Mimi asks.

“We’ll hop along until we find a gas station. Buy a few gallons of water and fill up the radiator. Then we’ll drive on and keep filling it up until we get to Columbia. Luca says he knows someone up there.”

“It’s a bit of a detour,” Mimi frowns, looking at her map on her phone.

“We’re diverted either way with that,” I say pointing at the front. She nods, and I look at the temperature gauge. It hasn’t budged, but I expect it to soon.

We crawl along for a couple miles, and then a gas station appears. It’s a little thing but it should have what we need. I end up going with the twenty liter can plus a five liter mini. I use the restrooms to fill them both up.

“Wanna pee while we’re here?” I ask, popping the hood and filling up the radiator from the small five liter can. Mimi grins and runs in to use the restroom. I empty the can and then refill it from the big one. I put their caps back on and load them into the van and slide the door closed. Just as it slams shut a hand runs across my body. It wraps around my waist and then grabs my junk.

“It’s a very big turn on, you saving my life,” whispers Mimi.

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