Fall In Love With My Bodyguard

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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*Tessa*

The message I have been waiting for all night comes in.

"I just arrived at the location. You have roughly twenty minutes to be here before the doors close. Please try to make it this time."

And then, another one enters.

"I love you."

Marin peers at my phone from over my shoulders. "You should stop grinning so wide if you want your bodyguards to suspect your intentions."

The smile on my face dies immediately as my eyes scan the room, searching for them.

The first one is standing by the door, dressed in a dark suit that stands out so annoyingly in the loud club. Even the neon lights bouncing all around do nothing to change its colours.

"She looks so serious," Marin mutters, rolling her eyes. "Do you think she is as dumb as she looks?"

I giggle under my breath. "Shall we find out?"

Marin nods eagerly, falling into step with me as we sneak out through the side doors of the club. The doormen outside give me a look, but I tip them enough to let me off just this once.

Clutching onto my best friend's hands, we stay glued to the wall, our breaths raging all around us and our knees bent. We don't stop until we reach the stairs by the side of the building.

But rather than go up, we hide underneath it, finally letting our laughter out.

"That was fun," Marin breaths, holding on to her chest like we just ran a marathon. "Remember the last time we did this and your brother fired everyone? Do you think that will happen a second time?"

"I hope it does," I reply, pulling down my dress to reveal just the right amount of cleavage. "And this time, I hope he doesn't hire any more. I'm tired of them following me around like I am some President's daughter."

"You might as well be on the path to that," Marin reminds me. "If your brother wins the elections, he isn't going to stop at the Senate level. None of them do."

I groan loudly just as a shuffle of footsteps halts in front of us. A frustrated sigh follows next. Marin and I hold our breaths. The next few minutes will determine whether we make it out of here undetected.

"Shit! I can't believe you lost her again!" The leader of the security detail that protects me yells to the rest of them. They are ten in number.

Ten.

Who do they think I am?

"I'm sorry, Sir," the lady blurts. I would have felt sorry for her if she didn't scowl at me each time I asked to be left alone. "She was right on the dance floor with her friend and then, suddenly..."

"All your excuses won't matter if something happens to her!" he snaps. "Find the kid and take her home."

Instructions are belted out, and footsteps follow until I cannot hear any of them.

"Do you think it's safe to go out now?" I whisper, turning to look at Marin.

"All we have to do is make it out to the streets and flag a taxi. By the time they notice us, it will be too late."

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