Page 75 of Daddy's Bodyguard

“Yeah,we. If it were wrong – which I don’t think it was because she and I weren’t together – then we’re both in the wrong. It’s not like I forced you.”

“I didn’t say you did!”

“Then why the fuck are we arguing, Sofia ?!” He comes to a stop on the side of a road. “Why are you picking thisnow?”

“Because it’s like the last few days didn’t even happen! If they did, you should trust me and treat me like a partner. If they didn’t, then-”

“We don’t have time for this right now.”

“Make time!” I demand. “This is important. I need to know where we stand because right now, I feel like I betrayed my best friend and myself for nothing.”

He glowers at me, panting hard. “This is notnothing.And I know that you know that.Ilike you. I want you alive. And right now, I’d like it a lot if you’d do what I’m asking you to do.”

“You’re full of shit.”

He groans and then takes a slow breath. “Fine. I can’t argue with you right now. Get in the back seat.”

“Make me.” I hiss.

“Do I need to remind you about all the innocent people around?”

I grind my teeth but climb into the back seat. Of course. Back to me being the danger. Me being the reason I can’t do anything. Because it’s clearly my fault, not my dad’s. It’s on me for wanting to have my own life and not wanting to give up who I am and what I do because my dad can’t just keep his nose clean.

“Give me two minutes, and I’ll come get you,” Jasper says.

He gets out of the car and takes my anger with him. I dig my nails into the seat of the car to avoid popping up to keep my eyes on him. I bite my lip and prepare to hear gunshots, my body tightening with tension as the silence progresses.

The longer I wait, the more active my thoughts become. Should I be pissed, or did I just overreact? I’m not sure where that hot fury came from, if it’s just about Jasper not trusting me to protect myself despite the time we’ve spent together.

Or maybe it’s something else...

A sudden cracking sound makes me curl up on the backseat, waiting to get dragged out and beaten or killed. After a few minutes of tense-filled silence, I start imagining the worst. I’m picturing Jasper on the ground, holding his guts as the life disappears from his eyes, gone forever, all because I stayed in the car and didn’t listen to my instinct.

I take a slow breath, psyching myself to get out. But just as I reach for the door handle, it flies open. The fear calms, but only for a moment when I spot the graveness on Jasper’s face. He offers me his hand, but I get out on my own. He reaches for me when I am on my feet, pulling me close.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” I ask, but he shakes his head, quickly guiding me to a narrow pathway, where we are sandwiched between two high walls. I hate the clustered feeling it gives me, but I know I’m safe. Jasper’s here. I’m protected as long as he’s around.

A rush of guilt fills me, and I look up at him, taking in the tension in his jaw, the focus in his eyes, the tightness on his lips. He’s been doing nothing but protect me all this time. Or at least trying to. I haven’t made it easy for him, have I? Especially with the way I behaved earlier.

“Jasper, I’m—”

“This is where your dad and stepmother are staying. They’re waiting for you,” he interrupts as we approach a wrought-iron gate. There are two men in black with machine guns standing outside and another one coming up the long driveway towards us. I recognize him as one of the guys from that first night.

It takes a moment for Jasper’s words to sink in. “Waiting for me? You mean us, right?”

Jasper sighs as the gate slowly opens, and we enter. “No, Sofia. Just you.”

I look up at him again as dread fills my chest. What the hell is he talking about? He seems distant now, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. There’s nothing of the man I just spent a week with left in him. I take a step back. “What’s going on?”

“Sofia …” His eyes soften for a second, and he looks at me.

He opens his mouth to say something, but the biggest guy comes over and puts a package in Jasper’s hand. The guy pats my shoulder and nods to Jasper. “Brookes, you’re dismissed. Miss Wilson, you can come with me.”

But I don’t move right away. Instead, I look at Jasper. “Dismissed? What the fuck is he talking about, Jasper?”

“My job was to keep you safe as long as you weren’t here. You are now here,” he replies, his tone empty as the expression on his face.

“So, what, we’re done?” I ask, the flare of panic making it hard to breathe.

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