very charming wedding 03 - bodyguard and the bride

by Laurie LeClair

  “Holy Batman and Robin,” Peg, King’s trusty executive assistant, said from the back, clutching her legendary clipboard to her chest. “We got a real caper going on.”

  “You told?” Ash glared at Rico. How much?

  “She was with me in the wedding boutique when you called. You know, just working ourselves to the bone for the charity event.” He shrugged. “How can I disguise squeals?”

  “Loose lips sink ships.” Peg raised her fingers to her mouth and pretended to zip them shut.

  “Oh, I love a good chase. I brought the perfect gown. And I called the papers, just like you asked. Anon, of course.” Rico pressed his hand on her arm.

  “Already? I said after.” Her heart sank. If the timing were even slightly off, nothing would work. “Go,” she said, tapping the window separating them from the driver.

  “Where?” the young man behind the wheel asked, glancing to her and then doing a double take.

  “Airport. Dallas Love Field.”

  “But you said the other one.” Rico swiped a hand over his forehead. “Didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  The cab sat, motionless. The driver stared with his mouth hanging open.

  “Go. Now. Hurry,” she said, glancing out the back window, hoping Brock hadn’t caught on yet. Panic nearly choked her. Not many people fooled Barrett Rockdale.

  “Ash…Ashley…Moore?” the driver stuttered.

  “Yes. If you go really fast, I’ll take a picture with you at the airport. You can post it online.”

  “For a kiss.”

  “OMG! You’re negotiating?” Rico groaned.

  “Holy moly, you got some nerve, buster!” Peg cried.

  “On the cheek, okay?” Ash said, biting the inside of her lip. She’d been pressed before. “We good?”

  “And a tip,” he countered.

  “Of course.” She had visions of this plastered over the Internet. But beggars couldn’t be choosy.

  He held up his hand, ready to speak again.

  Rico nearly jumped out of his skin. “For crying out loud, step on it already!”

  Finally, the driver did just that. Rico and Ash conked heads when he took off, both of them shrieking and holding on to each other for dear life.

  Peg crashed backward, grunting when she hit the seat. “Mayday!”

  “Hold on, Pegster! Girl, you so owe me for this one,” Rico called out when they hit a bump.

  “Ohhh!” she, along with her friends, cried out in unison as they lifted off their seats and settled back down again.

  “If we survive,” she squeaked when they dipped into a pothole, the car bouncing down and then up. She could see the headlines: “Dallas model death by taxi driver!”

  She wondered if there was a lighter sentence—the daredevil driver or the wrath of Brock.

  Gulping hard, she figured dying was a whole lot easier than facing the outraged man she’d slipped away from.

  Please don’t let him catch me!

  ***

  “Where are you taking us?” Ash’s voice rose as the streetlights disappeared and abandoned buildings littered both sides of the street. Darkness surrounded them. Thank goodness there’s a sliver of moonlight. Her heart drummed in her chest.

  “OMG! Everything’s closed up tight.” Rico clutched her arm.

  “Shortcut,” the driver bit out, twisting the wheel to turn in to a lot and skirting the vehicle through the now empty businesses.

  “Pickles and pancakes, this ain’t no shortcut!” Peg exclaimed.

  “Yes, it is,” he said between gritted teeth. “I know where I’m going.”

  “No, you don’t,” Ash countered. “Take us to the airport.”

  “Quiet!”

  Ashley, along with Rico and Peg, cried in unison, “Turn around! Go back!”

  “You don’t like it?”

  The meter ticked away. “You’re jacking up our fare?” Ash only hoped it was greed and nothing more.

  “What are you saying? Are you calling me a liar?”

  “Bingo!” Peg yelled out. “Got it in one.”

  “I’ll let you out right here, if you’d like.”

  “Noooo!” Ash and her friends hollered in unison again.

  “Look, buster,” Peg put on her tough voice, “we got connections. Now, turn around and don’t drown.”

  “That’s for high water crossings, Pegster,” Rico reminded her.

  “Pay up,” the driver demanded.

  “At the airport.” Ash grew cold. He wouldn’t dump them here, would he?

  “One hundred dollars.”

  “A…hun…dred,” Rico gasped. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am not a liar.” He slammed on the brakes, making them all careen forward.

  Ash straightened and brushed back her hair, and then glanced at Rico and Peg, who were barely pulling themselves together. “Go!”

  “Us?” Rico asked, pressing a hand to his chest.

  “No, him!” She pointed a finger at the driver. Wish I were the type to flip him the other one.

  “Two hundred.” He turned in his seat and held up his phone, taking pictures of her.

  “You can’t do that.” Outrage bubbled in her chest, along with her growing fear.

  “I just did. And you can’t stop me. Three hundred.”

  Peg lunged between the seats and thrust a professional camera forward, snapping shot after shot, the light blinding as it bounced off the window separating him from them and hitting them in the eyes. “Holy guacamole! Run, Rico! Ash, you next. I’ll hold him off at the pass.”

  Blind and dumped! In less than twenty seconds.

  “Come on.” Rico grabbed her hand, guiding her under the long lens. Soon he popped open the van door and sprinted out.

  Ashley, being dragged, stumbled out of the van. “Peg, hurry!”

  Looking back, she saw her tote bag flying through the air. “Catch the dress, Rico!” Peg shouted, flinging the bulky designer gown out. It didn’t launch as easily; it dropped half in and half out of the van. Rico rushed to pull it to safety.

  The van revved. And then jerked forward.

  “No! Peg!” Ash ran back, suddenly faced with a flying camera. Duck! It grazed her shoulder and then hit the ground with a clatter. That smarts. For both me and the camera.

  “Mother of God,” Peg cried out, tumbling from the back and sprawled across the seat.

  With Rico by Ash’s side, they reached in, plucking up Peg, still clutching her clipboard.

  “Let go of the clipboard,” Rico cried.

  “Not on your life, buddy boy.”

  “You’re not helping here,” he reminded her.

  The van lurched forward.

  “My gams! My big clunky feet. I’d like to keep ’em both!” Peg called out.

  The momentum and weight of her body overtook Ash and Rico, knocking them all to the ground in a big heap. Peg landed on top of them.

  Ash smacked the cold, hard asphalt with a bang, the air knocked out of her lungs. Ah, hell! Smarts and stings. And burns.

  The screech of the tires leaving them far behind sunk in fast.

  Peg scrambled to her knees, and then helped them to a sitting position. “Funnel cakes and fiddlesticks!”

  “You swore,” Rico said, bursting out in laughter.

  She sucked in a breath, dragging in one after the other. Relief at escaping from the looney driver rushed through her like a fix of adrenaline. Peg snorted and then joined Rico. Soon Ash began to chuckle.

  “OMG! I can’t believe that just happened.”

  “Holy freakin’ Friday!” Peg stumbled to her feet, dusting off her skirt and checking her knees. “Scrapes and a little blood. I’ll live. You guys?”

  “Sore for sure!” Rico pushed himself up and brushed his hands together. “The nerve of him!”

  “Money,” Ash said bluntly. “He’ll probably sell the pictures to the tabloids.” Disgust edged her words; she’d been on the opposite end of these kinds of things before.
She hauled herself to her feet, wiping her hands down the side of her yoga pants and then across her backside to get the dirt and pebbles off.

  Looking around, Ash realized they stood in the middle of nowhere with spooky boarded-up buildings behind them and dark empty streets all around them. Her relief at being free soon turned to panic bubbling up in her throat. “Where are we?” She really wished Brock was here. Oh, crud, no! He’d be furious right about now.

  Rico huddled closer.

  Peg patted her blouse down. “Either of you Einsteins got a phone on you?”

  “My tote bag.” Ash rushed to it, the contents strewn about. She found her phone in pieces. Her heart stopped.

  “Smashed to smithereens,” Peg said.

  All her contacts where there. Even Brock’s. A chill swept through her, inside and out. What have you done?

  “Got mine.” Rico fished in his top inside pocket and pulled it out.

  His deflated look spiked another wave of fear in Ash.

  “No service.” Defeat lanced among them.

  Gathering up her things and shoving them back in the tote bag, Ash muttered under her breath, “Of course. Who would be stupid enough to come out, right?”

  Between Peg and Rico, they’d save the dress, cleaning off the plastic protection, and now stood over Peg’s demolished camera.

  “Rest in peace, little buddy,” the woman said. “You and me had some good times.”

  “You are so in trouble, Pegster. That was the store’s, not yours.” Rico grimaced, glancing down at the plastic parts.

  “Me?!” Peg’s voice caught and cracked.

  “You threw it.”

  “What else was I supposed to do? There were some photo shoots on there. Holy moly, I’m dead meat.”

  “It’s my fault, all right? I’ll take full responsibility.” Ash tried to soothe the frayed nerves. “Let’s scoop it all up and see if there’s anything that can be salvaged.”

  “Like a million pieces,” Rico murmured, but he did help gather them up.

  “Here. Put them in my tote for now.” The big pieces were soon nestled inside. It took more time and rechecking the dark ground a few times before they were all satisfied they’d gotten everything.

  “Now what?” Rico looked around with a shiver.

  “We hoof it back. Walk down the middle of the street.”

  “Arm in arm? Like Dorothy and her buds?” Peg snorted, but stuck her arm through Ash’s. “Rico, you got the other side.”

  “Why can’t I be in between?” he whined.

  “You gotta carry the dress,” she pointed out.

  “We’ll take turns,” Ash offered. Rico slipped his arm in hers. Was he shaking or her? Either way, it combined and soon Peg was too.

  “Follow the yellow middle line,” Peg said.

  They chuckled at that. With more bravado than she’d ever had to display on a runway, Ash sucked in a shivery breath and guided them toward the nearby road. The heavy camera inside her tote dragged on her shoulder, leaving a growing ache there. If they could just get around the decaying buildings, they’d reach the street and find their way back to civilization. Hopefully, phone reception would come before.

  “I’m scared,” Rico whispered as their footsteps crunched in the broken chars of asphalt and dirt. “And this dress weighs a ton.”

  “Next watch over here,” Peg said. “My heels are sticking.” With each step, she raised her legs higher, plucking her heels out of the cracks.

  A stab of guilt arrowed through Ash. “Sorry, guys.” At least they all weren’t kidnapped or, worse, dead!

  “Clue me in again? Why are we here?”

  “Ash has a little problemo. Needs to divert paparazzi—”

  “Them dirty dogs.”

  “Know them, do you?” Ash grinned.

  “Like a bad rash.”

  “No, I think I’d prefer the rash.” Ash giggled and they joined in.

  Five minutes later, they made it to the curb.

  “And we have road.”

  Peg snorted.

  “Ready?” She slipped her hands through their elbows once again.

  “After you, Dorothy,” Rico said as they stepped down in unison.

  And all that’s missing is Toto. Hopefully, the wicked witch, too! Ashley veered them toward the left and down the center of the cracking street and its faded yellow lines. A long block of nothing but darkened, abandoned buildings greeted them. She swallowed hard. Just make it to that far-off streetlight and we can check for phone service.

  “Wanna?” Peg asked, hopping from one foot to the other.

  “Let’s,” Rico agreed. “Like the forest scene.”

  “You’re playing? Here? Now?” Ash’s voice squeaked.

  “It’s too scary otherwise.” Rico clung to her side.

  She’d gotten them in this mess, so why not? “Okay. You start us, Peg.”

  The woman cheered and then directed them. “Step, skip, step. Yeppers, that’s it. Again. Step, skip, step.”

  “Oh my!” Rico chimed in.

  Ashley chuckled. She followed along in the chant as they marched, sang, and then began to skip down the road, giggling in between.

  What a sight they must be. The tabloids would love to get film of this!

  Far off, she heard an engine, hoping it wasn’t the mad taxi driver returning.

  Now that would ruin their parade!

  Chapter 8

  “Unbelievable!” Brock muttered, gazing at the non-blinking screen. “We lost her. Please don’t tell me she tossed her phone.”

  “Okay, I won’t.”

  “You’re not helping here, Felix.” He grit his teeth. Please don’t let anything happen to her. Something hard and sharp dropped to his gut. His heart pounded in his chest. He’d only felt that way a few times before in his life—when he’d lost someone he cared about. Back away from that thought!

  “She’s smart. She outfoxed you, didn’t she?”

  “Again, not helping.”

  “I’m going in the general direction of the last ping. Out in Timbuctoo, if you ask me.”

  “I wasn’t.” Fear barked at his heels. His mind raced with horrible images of her lying somewhere, unconscious. Who would want to harm her? Why? Ashley Moore did not have a mean bone in her body. Hot, sexy body. You had to think that, didn’t you?

  The SUV skidded and Felix righted it, slowing down.

  “Faster,” Brock muttered. “Not slower.”

  “You value your life, right? Well, I do, too. Makes sense to keep us from crashing to get to her, doesn’t it?”

  Of course it did. “My bad.” He huffed out a breath and powered down the window, searching for any signs of her as they traveled through the rough part of town. With each sordid place they passed by and truant people hanging out, his panic doubled, drumming through his veins like a strange tattoo.

  His former army buddy cursed. “Going in the hellhole, boss.” He clutched the steering wheel, driving away from the gray and into the dark recesses of nowhere.

  “Got your armor?” Brock reached down and withdrew his gun from the inside of his boot. The heft of the metal jogged his memory back to his soldier days. Perspiration dotted his hairline. No! Do not go there!

  “Always.” He reached under the seat and pulled out his weapon, placing it across his lap.

  Silence beat in the air between them.

  Brock knew they both assessed the situation. Long, empty streets greeted them. Row after row of buildings, half falling down, lined the edges. Flashes of other times, war times, scattering on and off. He clenched his jaw against it.

  “Heading west, check down each road, hit the last and we start taking them one by one.”

  “Good choice.” He’d abandoned the computer screen altogether and gazed long and hard at the perimeter. “Do you hear that?”

  Slowing down, Felix opened his window and stuck his head out. “Singing?” He cringed. “Not good, either.”

  “Down there.” Brock pointed
to the next one coming up. The sounds grew louder.

  When Felix reached the corner, he twisted the wheel. The high beams of the SUV sliced across the boarded-up buildings and arched over the road, illuminating three figures, arm in arm, skipping and singing down the center of the street. They halted, freezing in their tracks.

  “Ashley!” Brock didn’t know if he was saying her name or a curse right now.

  ***

  “I can’t move,” Ash whispered, her throat parched. Had the taxi driver called to send someone after them? “You two run.”

  “No way, Jose,” Peg said in a wobbly voice. “But, if I don’t get out of this, tell Austin I love him. Folks and family, too.”

  “Moi? Ending it all. Here? But…it’s not supposed to be like this.” Rico shook so hard the clear plastic garment bag crinkled.

  “The dress. Rico, it’s worth a small fortune. Save you and it and Peg.”

  “I know. I’ll toss it at them. Maybe that’s all they want. It’s insured, right, Pegster?”

  “Holy cow, it’s covered all the way to and from and in the store. But this? I am so dead meat.” She grabbed her clipboard closer. “I’ll…throw my board at them, ninja style.” Her words stuck and cracked.

  The black SUV doors opened on either side. Two men rushed out and around, both holding guns.

  Ashley dropped her arms and shoved her friends behind her. The tote slipped off her aching shoulder and hit the ground with a dull thud.

  Crap! There goes my weapon.

  “Put your hands up!”

  His voice, so hauntingly familiar, seared through her with a burst of relief. “Brock?! Is that you?”

  “Ash, you all right? Rico? Who’s the other one?” He drew closer, as did the other guy.

  “I’m okay. It’s Peg. From King’s.” A sob tore at the back of her throat. She took a step toward him and then began to run. He tucked his gun in the back of his jeans a few seconds before she reached him and launched herself into his arms. “Oh, Brock! I’m so glad to see you.”

  He grabbed her up and off her feet, his arms encircling her. “Jesus, Ash! You scared the hell out of me.”

  Pressed against him, she felt the pounding of his heart like thunder against her. She wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders and buried her face in his warm neck, inhaling that all-male scent of his. He was real! She kissed him there, along his jaw, and pulled back just enough to find his lips.