Page 30 of Daddy's Bodyguard

Another gunshot rings out. I whimper with fright. This isn’t my time. I can’t go out like this.

Jasper raises up on his elbows, with half of his bulk protecting me. My ears ring as he returns fire, the sound ripping through the commercial district. I’m aware of screaming and shouting and the sound of running feet. A bullet flies to my right, chipping away the concrete on the wall where it hit. Panicking, I try to move, but Jasper pins me down.

“For God’s sake, Sofia. Stay still!”

His hand jerks as he fires again, then he suddenly recoils with a curse. “Fuck.”

My heart flies in my throat when he bites his lower lip, the screeching tires competing with his groan. “Don’t play with me, Jasper,” I say, but it comes out strangled. “You’re fine.”

Jasper slumps to the side, and I gasp, rolling over and pulling his head in my lap as red blooms across his side. No. No. He can’t be hurt. Fuck! No. “Jasper! Fuck. Fuck! Get help! Someone help!”

I put my hand on him and press down hard, like I’ve seen in movies. I fight my tears and focus on the problem at hand. “You’d better fucking live so I can apologize.”

“Apologize first, so I reject that nice white light,” he groans, his hand coming down on mine. Even with the joke hanging between us, I can see the pain etched into every feature of his face.

His fingers lace through mine, pressing harder as he moans. I brush my fingers through his hair and swallow. I can feel my own heart thudding in my throat and his pounding in my arm. Jasper smiles slightly as he looks up at me.

“Now what, buttercup?”

“Just don’t fucking die, you hear me? Please…” I drop my head as a sob flies from my lips.

Chapter 10

Jasper

Fuck. I’ve forgotten how painful a gunshot wound can be. It feels like my insides are being ripped apart. I summon a smile to ease the panic on Sofia’s face. She’s on the verge of losing it, I can tell.

“Don’t you fucking die on me,” she mumbles between her desperate moans.

“Not a chance, buttercup. Not when I know you really care,” I murmur, chuckling when she scoffs through her tears.

Sofia takes out my cell phone and dials 911 and gives them the address, her hand never leaving my wound. She tucks the phone in her bosom and returns her free hand to my side. “Okay, so I just keep applying pressure?”

“You’re going great,” I assure, then pull her hands down on me harder. “Just like that.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?” She gasps when I wince.

My leg twitches, and I force a laugh. “I’ve had worse, baby doll.”

“You … you took a bullet for me.” Her eyes spear mine. They’re watery, soft, but there’s something else there too. Something warm and gentle. She swallows and shakes her head. “I’ve been nothing but awful to you, yet—”

Her head lifts as running footsteps comes towards us, and a man says, “How’s he doing? I just called 911.”

Sofia looks down at me with a sniffle. “He’s hanging on.”

Well, I’m trying. The pain pulses through me, triggering a chill that starts in my feet and spreads through my body. But it’s not as bad as when I damaged my leg at the bombing. This is a walk in the park compared to the hell I went through then. So, I’m sure I’ll make it. I have to.

I groan when she applies extra pressure, and she groans. “Where the hell is that fucking ambulance?”

There are more people gathering around us, some on their phones trying to speed up the EMT’s response time. I hear a loud gasp just as Carissa drops to her knees beside me. I watch the horror bloom on her face, and my chest tightens at her concern.

“Oh, my god! What happened?”

“It’s just a flesh wound,” I assure her, and I hope I’m right. I mean, if it’s not, then who cares if I’m wrong. Well … Daisy. Daisy would care. “I’ll be fine, gorgeous.”

“What happened?” she asks again, looking between us.

“Just the wrong place, wrong time,” I reply through gritted teeth.

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