Page 4 of Daddy's Bodyguard

“Over here!” Someone else shouts.

“Move!” He drags me towards the end of the hall and through a door.

He pulls me down three flights of stairs to the ground floor, then pauses just inside the door. I can feel my heartbeat fluttering like crazy inside my chest. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself. This is just a problem. Another problem with a more … convincing deadline. I am going to survive this. I have to.

I notice a knife on his hip and slowly rub down his side to claim it. He chuckles, and his blue eyes flick at me. No worry in those eyes. “Gunfire makes you handsy?”

I roll my eyes and grip the handle of the knife, holding it in a ready position. He glances through the window again, then opens the door, keeping me behind him as we move towards the exit. He’s huge, really huge. He’s as tall as a bear, and it would take four of my hands to wrap around his bicep. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s bulletproof too.

He turns, looks down at the knife, then at me and gives a slight nod. “Follow me.”

“I don’t-”

“We’re playing red-light green-light. Come on!” He orders.

I sprint after him, trying to keep close, but my short legs are no match for his long strides. We are almost at the exit when I trip over my own fucking feet and faceplant on the floor. There’s a sudden grip on my ankle that makes me scream. I feel myself being flipped over, and I come face to face with a guy wearing a bandana around his lower face. His eyes are cold and cruel. Murderous. I slash the knife at him, but he grabs it without effort, leaving me defenseless. But not for long. As he grabs me up by my hair and points a gun at my side, my own personal Hulk doubles back, his gun at the ready. My eyes fly shut as two shots ring out, and the thug’s grip loosens on my hair. I hear the sound of a heavy thud beside me, and I open my eyes to see him spread out on the floor. Viking grabs my arm, pulling me with him as he dashes through the front door.

I’m still in a daze when he tosses me on the backseat of a car and hops in beside me. Dad’s sitting on the other side, and just like when he entered the front door earlier, he seems relieved to see me. The Viking slams the car door, and we take off at once. Grimacing, he removes a handkerchief from his pocket and wraps it around his hand. His bleeding hand. My stomach churns from the sight of the blood, and I turn away before I lose my dinner on the floor.

Dad stares at me as I take deep breaths to calm myself, but I keep picturing the guy who almost got me, his lifeless body on the floor. How did a quiet night at home turn into a nightmare? I did everything in my power to cut my association with my father. I changed my name, for God’s sake. Still, here I am, being entangled with his shit, having my life completely uprooted. The very thing I’ve worked so hard to escape.

My father jerks his head towards me. “Get the picture now, princesa?”

I scoff, meeting his eyes with the dirtiest glare I can muster. “Once this is over, we’re done. For good. Got that?”

“We’ll see,” he replies. “For now, my only aim is to keep you alive.”

Chapter 2

Jasper

I look between the two subjects, then over to Kingston and Cash, the other two guys on this detail. They shrug and give me a look I know way too well. We all know this isn’t going to be a simple in-and-out mission, especially not with these two as our clients.

It’s been a few minutes, and they’re at each other’s throats as much as the asshats that are after them. They might just kill each other before the big, bad guys have the chance.

But it comes with the territory, I guess, and it’s what I signed up for when I chose this career. Truly good people rarely require bodyguards, and at some point, you have to prioritize bills over background. Protection, even if you’re not protecting the best, is still protection. I’d rather play defense than offense. I would rather be able to save someone, anyone, than end another life to follow through on an order.

I’m trying desperately to leave that old life behind, but it’s proving harder than I figured when I was discharged from the military two years ago.

Still, the hellcat beside me doesn’t seem to need much protecting. I’ve watched grown men cower in front of Mr. Hernandez, but this woman didn’t miss a beat when she faced off with him earlier in the apartment. Other women would have lost their shit if assassins came after them, but she remained calm throughout most of our escape. She’ll never know this, but I was quite impressed when she pulled my knife from my belt to defend herself.

She’s determined but probably not the brightest. What is a knife going to do in a gunfight? She would have been better off using those claws. I bet his face would have looked like ribbons when she was done with him.

“Are you ready to behave, Sofia?” Mr. Hernandez says, his hard tone cutting into my thoughts. “We’re going to a safehouse with Scarlett. Your mom and brother are still out of the country, so they are safe for now.”

“No.” She’s really fond ofthatword.

“No is not an option.”

“Just loan me one of … these.” She motions to us. “But I’m not staying with you and step-mommy.”

I cover up a laugh with a fake cough, but Kingston smirks at me.

“I don’t think so.” Mr. Hernandez growls.

“I have commitments. I’m not upending my life because you couldn’t get a bad man back into the streets,” Sofia fires back.

“Don’t be a child, princesa.”

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