Keep Her Safe, page 29
I tried so hard to avoid this. This impossible catch-22 of a bodyguard falling in love with the person they’re protecting. Will there ever be a time that I’m not obsessed with her safety? If we get married? Or if she were pregnant? Yeah, I’d really back off then.
My phone rings and when I see Kent’s name on the screen, I answer immediately. “What do you got?”
“She’s fine. The co-star you said to look out for has been a little clingy, by her the whole night, and a bit touchy.”
I try to ignore the jealousy and the way my hand flexes with the need to hit something. “It’s just for show, I’m sure, but thank you for letting me know. Make sure he doesn’t get too handsy.”
“Got it, boss. Talk to you in a bit.”
A few minutes later, it rings again and I see Shay’s name on the screen.
“Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi,” she says and I can hear that she’s somewhere quiet. “I’m in the bathroom.”
“How is it going?”
“Good, but I wish you could be here. I actually think I’m going to leave soon.”
“Oh?” I look at my watch and note she’s only been there about two hours. I know it’s supposed to go on for at least five and Shay isn’t usually someone that leaves that early when she’s invited somewhere.
“Yeah, it’s…weird. I don’t know. I feel uneasy.”
I’m immediately on high alert. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You always told me to listen to my intuition when something doesn’t feel right. I can’t put my finger on it though.”
I’m already pulling on my shoes because if she’s admitting this to me, it means she’s actually scared. “I’m coming there.”
She’s silent for a moment. “Okay,” she says and I can hear the shakiness in her voice.
She’s not arguing that? Fuck, something is wrong. “Baby, what happened? Tell me what’s going on.”
“Jeremy is being weird. I think…I think you might have been right.”
FUCK.
“Right about what?” I say trying to keep her calm even though my adrenaline is going through the roof. I’m pretty sure I could kill him on sight if he touches one hair on her head but the last thing I want is to get Shay worked up unnecessarily. I’m sending a text to Kent to not let her out of his sight until I get there as I make my way down the stairs as fast as my body allows and out her front door.
“I’m not sure. It’s always been in the back of my mind but so many people have come up to me tonight saying they didn’t know Jeremy and I were together. Like when did that rumor start? So, I brought it up to Jeremy he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about.”
I remember what Paxton said and I wish I would have told her. “Do not be alone with him.”
“I won’t.”
“Good girl. I’ll be there soon, I’m going to stay on the phone with you. How is the night otherwise?” I ask, trying to take her mind off of being scared. I start the car and I’m flying down the driveway when I hear her speak.
“Someone’s in here.” I don’t hear anything and then I hear the sound of a door opening.
“Shay, what’s going on?” I push harder on the gas, wanting to get to her faster. “Baby, talk to me,” I order her and then I hear her gasp and my name leaves her lips in what sounds like terror before the phone goes dead.
There’s a sound of a stall opening and I’m immediately confused because I could have sworn no one was in here with me. I shake off the weird feeling until there’s a light tapping on my stall door. I frown. “Someone’s in here,” I say, and when I look down at the floor the feet on the other side look like a man’s.
I gasp just as the door is forced open and I see Jeremy on the other side. “Damian!” I cry just as he rips the phone from my hand and drops it onto the ground, smashing it.
I go to scream for help when he puts his hand over my mouth and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t unless you want to be burying your precious bodyguard in a few weeks.”
He pulls something out of his pocket before pressing a knife to my neck just as I hear the door open.
“Get the fuck away from her. I will shoot you,” Kent barks.
“I will kill her first. For god’s sake, you can’t even pee alone?” He looks at me and then at Kent and pushes the knife a little harder into my flesh. I whimper. “I don’t want to kill you, baby, but don’t push me.” Jeremy stares down at me with an angry expression. “I never wanted it to come to this.” He pulls his hand away from my mouth and looks at Kent as he pulls me in front of him, using me as a shield. “Drop it,” he says looking at the gun in his hand.
My bottom lip trembles. “This whole time?”
“Do you mind? I want to talk to her alone,” he says looking at Kent. He’s still got a knife pressed against my neck and I’m standing in front of him so there is not much that Kent can do at the moment.
“I am not leaving her.”
Jeremy pushes a little harder and I cry out.
“Just wait outside, Kent,” I tell him.
“I’ll lower my gun.”
“Nope. This is privileged information between me and Shay. Sorry.”
“I’ll be fine,” I tell him and I wish I had the kind of wordless communication with him that I used to have with Damian even before we were together. He leaves the bathroom though I hear him shuffling outside, so I know he’s close.
Jeremy lowers his knife and I rub the space on my neck where the knife was. “Did you do…that was you driving? You could have killed Damian.”
“That was the plan, Shay,” he scoffs. “Had I actually been driving, I would have. It’s fucking impossible to find good help, but I couldn’t risk getting hurt and fucking up the show. Lucas would have a fit.” I blink at him in confusion. He actually thinks I’m going to continue the show with him? “Well, I assume the show is going to halt for a few weeks while you and I disappear.”
Fear floods me at the words you, I, and disappear. “Wh—what are you talking about?”
“Well, yeah, you and I are going to Europe.”
“For what?”
“To elope obviously. We’ve discovered our feelings and we knew it would come as a shock to everyone so we fell off the face of the Earth and will resurface as man and wife.” He takes a step closer and puts a hand on my cheek and then drags it down my body. “God you’re pretty. I can’t wait to put a baby in here.” He rubs a hand over my stomach and it causes a wave of nausea to move through me.
I feel disgusted with his hands on me and the thought of bringing a child into the world not to mention, what it takes to make said child, with this monster has me wanting to throw up everything I’ve eaten today. “You’re crazy.”
“I am only crazy about you and you just won’t let us be together.”
Keep him talking, Shay, I’m almost there, I can practically hear Damian say. “No, you are crazy. Why didn’t you just tell me you had feelings for me? What is all of this? You…are you the one sending me letters too?”
“My manager says I do have a flair for dramatics.”
“Oh my god, all along?” I shake my head realizing just how much he has everyone fooled. “What if I say no?”
“Then, I keep going until it’s done.”
My blood runs cold at what he means by that. “What’s done?”
“Damian’s death.”
Tears rush to my eyes at the thought of living in a world without Damian, a world where he wasn’t the center of mine. “I’ll just go to the police,” I tell him. “They’ll believe me.” I almost tell him that he’s already a suspect in the accident but I decide against it.
“Fine.” He shrugs. “I’ll be in prison, but Damian will still be dead.” He gives me a smug grin that quickly turns sinister. “You don’t understand, Princess. The only way Damian lives is if you marry me.”
“Oh my god.” I let out a breath. Or I kill him myself.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this? To have you to myself?” He sighs. “We are going to be so happy. And rich! Oh my gosh, fans are going to lose their shit when they figure out we got married. This season is going to explode. You’ll definitely win that Emmy.”
He expects us to finish out the season? What the fuck?
“So, we’re going to go.” He points towards the door.
“What?” I ask.
“We’re leaving and your security out there is going to let us go or he’ll be my first casualty.”
“I’m not leaving here with you.”
“Then Damian gets in another accident.” He shrugs. “I know he’s on his way here. You think I don’t have someone camped outside of your house?”
Fuck. “Please. Jeremy…you can’t.”
“I can and I will if you don’t toe the line, baby.”
“Why do you want to be with me like this? Against my will? How…?”
“I’ll take you however I can get you and if that’s by force, then so be it.” My blood runs cold thinking about all the ways he probably means that and I’m sure that means he plans to force me to have sex with him too.
“Fine,” I tell him. “Just leave Damian alone. You have to promise me,” I beg as tears begin to slide down my cheeks at the idea of never seeing the love of my life again. I’d never recover from it but at least he’d be alive.
“Once we’re married, I’ll never bother him again, so long as he’s far away from you.”
His phone beeps and he looks at it before looking at me. “Alright, looks like Damian is a little more than fifteen minutes away; time to make our exit.”
“But…”
“Tick tock.” He touches my nose with the tip of his knife. “If he gets closer than ten, he’ll be detained, sweetheart.”
“Okay!” I exclaim. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Excellent. Now put on a smile,” he says as he opens the door and Kent is standing in front of it blocking us from getting through the door. Kent’s back is to us and as he turns, Jeremy stabs him in the side causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.
“Takes care of that problem.” He says as he drops my smashed phone next to him.
“Oh my god!” I say as Jeremy begins to walk, dragging me along with him. I try to hold the tears in when Jeremy whisks me down a hall and out a back door, preventing us from seeing any paparazzi or anyone besides some kitchen staff that probably just assume we’re sneaking off somewhere to hook up.
He pushes me into a black car with dark-tinted windows and just as I go to scream, there’s a cloth over my face.
And everything goes black.
I can’t get Kent on the phone after I told him to go in the bathroom and I’m fucking feral as I weave through the traffic to get to the premiere.
I swear to fucking God if anyone touches one hair on her head.
There’s traffic for miles and part of me wants to get out and run, knowing adrenaline will get me to her faster than sitting in this jam. I grab her phone and pull up her tracker and I slam my hand on the dashboard when I realize she’s not wearing it because it’s reporting that it’s at home. I run a hand through my hair angrily.
Why the fuck wouldn’t she wear it? Why didn’t I make sure she was wearing it?
Her phone’s location is still at the premiere but I notice that one of her Airtags is moving. What the fuck?
Which one is with her?
If someone has her, he may have made her ditch her phone.
She has Airtags in all of her bags but what if he made her ditch her purse?
I call Veronica and she immediately answers. “Hey, I’m not with Shay.”
“Where is she?”
“Walking around, I think? I just texted her but she didn’t answer, her location says she’s here though.”
“She was in the bathroom and then something happened and I can’t get her or Kent on the phone. Please…go find her. She has an Airtag moving away from the premiere and I don’t know what to follow.”
I frown as I see it’s going towards a private airport. One that we’ve used several times.
“Fuck.”
“What?” Veronica says and I can hear a dull roar in the background. I hope that means she’s moving through the crowd. “I’m in the bathroom and she’s not here.”
“Could there be more than one?”
“I—I think there’s one down the hall. Damian, what’s going on?” I can hear the panic in her voice and I don’t think I can be the one to ease her fears.
“I can’t explain. Call me if you find her.”
I’m pretty sure she’s moving with her Airtag, so I begin towards the airport. If she’s with her phone, I at least know she’s still at the premiere, but if she gets on a plane and that tag loses a signal or dies, it’ll be harder for me to find her. Thank fuck, the traffic isn’t bad as I move away from the congestion around the premiere, and I continue moving through the streets. I text the rest of my team other than Kent who I hope hasn’t been hurt, and tell them to meet me at the airport before calling the police. I’m fairly certain it’s the same person who ran me off the road and after warning me to stand down, I end the call.
Stand down? Fuck that. Whoever has my girl is going the fuck down.
The airport isn’t that far and I know a back way, allowing me to arrive before whoever has the Airtag. I’m out of my car instantly, ignoring the pain slicing through me with every step, praying that each of those steps is another closer to Shay. I move towards the entrance, scanning my badge that allows me access when I bring her here. I see a private jet on the tarmac ready and I’m up the stairs to the plane. The jet is massive and I know it has to belong to a celebrity which has me convinced that Jeremy or maybe Paxton has to be behind this.
I see a bucket of champagne, two glasses, chocolate-covered strawberries, and two boxes with the word Cartier on the top and one looks like a ring box. I open it and my stomach rolls at the large diamond inside and then I see lights on the tarmac and Jeremy gets out of the front seat. I don’t see Shay and I have a dark thought that maybe she’s in the trunk. My heart is pounding so loud I can hear it in my ears and in all the years I’ve been a security I’ve never been so fucking terrified or uncertain.
Where is she?
He moves towards the plane and I draw my gun, knowing that I’m probably going to have to shoot him. I move into the bedroom at the back of the plane, leaving the sliding door cracked so I can see what the fuck he’s doing. I see him board the plane, drop off two duffel bags and take in his surroundings. He pops the champagne and pours two glasses before moving out of the plane again. I peek my head out of the door and watch him go back to the car where he pulls out an unconscious Shay and hefts her up to carry her in a fireman hold.
Fuck.
I curse myself for not shooting him when I had the chance because now Shay is in his arms and I can’t risk hitting her.
“Finally,” he says as he gets back on board the plane. “We’re alone.” She’s still unconscious and he sets her in a seat. “I really thought you were going to wake up. It’s okay though, we can still have fun, can’t we?” he says and I cock my gun just as he presses a kiss to her forehead.
“Over my dead body,” I growl at him and his eyes widen when he sees me. He reaches for something, but I’m faster, and I shoot him in the leg and then the arm.
“FUCK!” he screams as blood pours from both wounds. He goes down, but I know he’s not dead and I’m on the move instantly as I pick him up, holding his arms behind him and moving him off the plane. He’s moving in and out of consciousness murmuring something about Shay and killing me. I want nothing more than to go be with her, but I want to make sure this asshole is arrested first. My team is pulling up just as I make it to the bottom step and I yell at them to bring cuffs or a rope or something to subdue him and one of them tosses me the cuffs.
“He stabbed Kent at the premiere,” one of them tells me as I put the handcuffs around his wrists. “He’s going to be okay though.”
“You’ll never be good enough for her,” Jeremy spits out.
“Yeah, well you’ll never fucking have her,” I grit out before kicking him in the side. “Watch him. He did something to Shay. She’s unconscious,” I tell them, so they’ll send help up here as soon as they arrive.
The adrenaline is wearing off now that Jeremy is restrained and I know Shay is about to be in my arms, but it still knocks the wind out of me when I find Shay still passed out.
“Fuck,” I growl as I drop to my knees in front of where he laid her on the seats. I feel around her body, looking for any rips in her dress and I breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t feel anything. Her dress is floor length but it’s flowy, and I want to be sick at the thought that he touched her while she was unconscious. I lift her dress and I’m grateful to see her underwear intact and I just have to pray that nothing happened.
I should have killed him. I think regretfully.
I drop her dress and when I look out the window, I see the police have arrived. I turn back to Shay, just as she starts to stir, and I rub her forehead gently before pressing a kiss to her lips. “Wake up for me, baby, let me see those pretty brown eyes.” Her eyes flutter open slowly and her pupils look hazy and unfocused. “Hi, gorgeous.”
I ignore the incessant pings of her phone as we head back to her house the next morning. She spent the night in the hospital for observation which was just enough time for hundreds of paparazzi to set up outside in preparation for her exit. An exit that featured me carrying her to the car and then following in behind her.
Now, she’s sitting in my lap, her head resting on my shoulder and her nose pressed against my neck as we make our way to her house. She hasn’t said much since last night. She spoke to the doctor and they did a brief, minimally invasive pelvic exam just in case Jeremy had done something to her while she was unconscious. She’d squeezed my hand the whole time and breathed the deepest sigh of relief when she came back with the all-clear. I’d slept with her in her hospital bed, her small body pressed against mine, and I woke to her practically climbing on top of me in her sleep to get closer to me and away from whatever was scaring her in her nightmare.
