“What happened?” he prodded, quietly taking her tiny hand in his.
“Nothing happened.” She sniffled. “I just can’t do anything for myself and its so frustrating.”
“You could ask for help, you know. Like I said, you might not want to treat me like I am some sort of man servant but my momma would not allow me to sit idle while a lady struggles herself into tears.” He spoke quietly, and listened as her sobs slowed and eventually subsided.
He had been injured in many a firefight and he knew how frustrating it was to not have the ability to do even the simplest of tasks. He told her as much.
“What, do you know everything about everything?” she asked her big brown eyes looking up into his.
“Not really.” He laughed.
“Sure as hell seems like it. You seem to have been through everything I have.” She eyed him suspiciously.
“I suppose it does. I just happen to have a lot of experience in shitty situations. Nothing that I can proudly broadcast. However, the way I see it, if I can use some of the shit that has happened to me to help one other person, then it makes the pain and suffering that I may have suffered all the more worth it. If it makes a difference somewhere, it is worth it.”
“How the hell are you still so friggin’ positive?”
“Like I said, I had a choice: I could sink into the suffering or I could haul ass out of that pit and do something good with my life. Also helps that I have some pretty amazing friends that have been there through a lot of my soul searching shit and pulled me through some of my darker moments.” He shrugged, “No man is a mountain. Without them, I might not have made it out.”
“You certainly are a hell of a lot different than what I originally pegged you for.”
“Yeah, I know you had me as a hot shot, ego-filled flashy-car-driving bad boy,” Bo teased, hoping to elicit a smile from her.
“Yeah... about that... I am sorry I laughed at your Jeep. It was quite a comfortable ride.”
“She’s served me well and I take care of her.”
“It shows.”
Bo sat there a moment, saying nothing, suddenly very aware of the fact that he was still holding her hand. He could feel the softness of her hand in his roughly calloused hands. He absently stroked it, his mind wandering for a moment to the last time he held a woman’s hand.
She gently pulled her hand from his after a moment, snapping him back out of his meandering.
“Do you think you could give me a hand getting dressed?” She turned to look up at him and asked quietly, her voice low.
He could feel her breath on his neck and a shiver went up his spine. He had to give himself a mental shake and answer her question before she thought he was ignoring her.
“Not a problem.” His response came out husky and he hoped she didn’t notice the change in his voice.
She was an assignment, nothing more. He had to remember that. He couldn’t allow what he was starting to feel get in the way of completing the job at hand.
A few moments later, he had managed to help her to get herself dressed and made his way back out to the living room to allow her to finish getting ready. He needed the fresh air more than anything.
The living room felt ten degrees cooler and he found himself almost gulping in the cool air, trying to cool his blood.
It had taken everything in his willpower not to touch her, and when he had, it had been as if he had touched a live wire and a jolt of electricity had flown through his veins. If she felt the same thing, she had done an excellent job of hiding it.
Remember the last time you let your heart get too close to a job? his mind screamed in protest as he walked across the living room to look out the window, It didn’t end well and neither will this. Once this all blows over she will forget you even exist and go back to her life. It will be the same all over again.
“Youuu whoooo! Bo!” Bo’s head snapped around at the sound of Olivia’s voice.
“Huh?” he answered, suddenly sounding dumb.
“You looked like you had gone off inside your head.”
“Yeah, sort of. Ha-ha,” he laughed awkwardly
“If you are done day dreaming, if you could please do me a favor and give me a hand with these running shoes, I would really appreciate it.” She held up a pair of battered running shoes.
“Where the hell did these come from?” he asked, helping her into them and tying them up.
“I used to run a lot when I was younger. I keep them around because I have myself convinced that one day I will get back into it again and I will want my favorite shoes when I do.”
“Yeah? And how long have you been telling yourself this?”
“I think it’s been about seven or eight years now.”
“Well done, Miss Olivia.” He stood back up and went to reach for the wheelchair.
“I think I am alright to walk on my own,” she said, holding up a hand to stop him.
“Oh, this isn’t for you, Dear. It’s for me. You, girl, are going to run me down. So, I figured you could give me a break for now and push me to the Jeep.” He plopped down hard in the chair
Her mouth dropped open for a brief second as her mind caught up.
“You, Mister, need to have your head checked if you think for one hot minute I am pushing your behind anywhere.” She put her good hand on her hip and tapped her foot.
“Fiiine.” He sighed loudly before peeling himself slowly out of the chair and headed to the door to open it.
She laughed and followed him out the door.
“You know, maybe I should take it with us. Just in case I get tired. “ He laughed, going back in for it.
“You aren’t serious, are you?” she worried, as he drove it out the door and turned to lock it up behind them.
Bo burst out laughing when he turned around and saw the look of confusion written on her face.
“Oh, hell no! I just figured if we were done with it for now, we might want to take it back to down to Alfred in case someone else needs it. Or if when we get back you don’t feel so great.” He shrugged.
“Alright, I know you. You are just looking for a reason to make me push you around in that thing, you sneaky bastard.” She poked him in the shoulder as they walked down the hallway to the bank of elevators.
*****
They pulled out into the mid morning sunshine, rolled down the windows and Olivia turned on the radio.
“Am I that bad of a conversationalist that you feel the need to cover it up with the radio?” he joked.
“Oh my god no. I’m sorry!” She instantly turned the radio back off.
“Don’t worry, I am just pulling your chain.” He turned the radio back on, “Any station in particular that you would like to listen to?”
“Something upbeat. Nothing slow.”
“Alright. I think I got something for you.” He punched a few buttons and up came one of the college stations, “Dancehall?”
Beenie Man was in the middle of his song, King of the Dancehall.
“Really? I haven’t listened to this music since I was a kid and my mother played it for us to dance to when we had our family over!” she squealed.
The sound of joy in her voice made him suddenly very happy. Although he really had tried to keep his heart out of the equation, it was becoming more and more evident that he wasn’t going to be able to do that.
Bo decided to take the highway across the top of the city to avoid the traffic that tended to clog the downtown arteries.
He glanced over at Olivia. She looked very relaxed, the wind ruffling her hair as they went and a smile playing across her lips.
With all that was going on for the woman, he wished he could stay on the highway and keep going until the highway ran out, and then race down country back roads to some remote cabin where they could hide away from anyone that would want to do them harm.
Not that it would ever happen, she was a city girl and the city was where she needed to stay.
Bo pulled off th
e highway and started to make his way south towards the financial district and the courthouse.
He noticed a silver sedan that seemed to be right behind him, mimicking his every turn. The driver of the car stayed back only enough to not draw attention. However, Bo had been followed before and knew the signs. Instead of going straight to the office, he decided to drive around to confirm his suspicions.
He turned sharply onto a side street from the main road. Driving slowly down the street as if looking for a house, he looked back into his rearview mirror. He drove slowly for two minutes and no car turned onto the street with him.
“What the hell are you doing?” Olivia demanded, the concern in her voice evident.
Bo held up a finger to silence her.
He was just about to go onto another street and make his way back to the main road when he saw the silver car go through the intersection ahead of him. The windows of the car were tinted; he could see the outline of the person behind the wheel, but it was too dark to see whether it was a man or a woman who was driving the vehicle.
Bo sat at the intersection for a moment and then hit the gas. He shot through the intersection, trying to get behind the car. He wanted to know who the hell it was. All the other times he had been followed, he had known who was behind the wheel of the car or at least who had hired the person. This time was different.
At the next intersection, he turned right, the same direction the other car had gone; he was lucky that this residential neighborhood had parallel streets. He started to pick up speed, trying to get ahead of the other car. The next chance he had to turn down an intersecting street, he took it, and without slowing down, shot back around and turned sharply onto the street. The silver car was gone. There was no sign of it ahead of him. He kept his foot on the gas, aware that he was going too fast for the neighborhood he was in, praying that there were no children out at this time of day.
He glanced in his rearview mirror again. The silver car was not behind him. He was running out of road as he raced to the end of the street where it had turned off onto another street to avoid the highway. There was still no sign of the silver car anywhere.
He took a deep breath, figuring he had been overreacting and turned back onto main road and looked in the mirror. The silver car was back again.
“Where the hell did he come from?” Bo muttered.
“Are you going to tell me what in the hell is going on?” She was getting more upset by the second.
"Did you notice that car behind us?" Bo said, not bothering to turn around, as he didn’t want to give it away to the person who was driving the car that they were aware of their presence.
"Yeah, I saw it on the highway a few miles back but I didn’t think anything of it," Olivia admitted, after a quick glance in the rear view mirror.
"I did too, but I didn’t think anything of it either. But now I am absolutely sure it is following us. He has to stay closer now because we are in the city core and there is a huge risk of losing us. I am going to try to lose them," Bo decided, continuing to look out the back window through the rearview mirror.
Bo made some tight turns through the streets trying to get behind the car. There was no license plate on the front of the vehicle so there was nothing he could get to give to the police.
"I want to try and get a better look at who is driving that dammed thing," Bo explained, trying to get a better look at the person who was driving the vehicle and keep his eyes one the road ahead of him. In the glare of the sun on the windshield, it was hard to make out any more than an outline of a person. "Maybe we can lay a trap for—"
"OH MY GOD!" Olivia cried bracing, herself for the impact she knew was coming as the car behind them sped up and rammed the back of the Jeep causing it to fishtail.
Bo gunned the engine after regaining control of the car, trying to put some distance between them and the other car. The car behind them kept gaining on them; they were carrying too much weight to get too far ahead of the other car.
Looking out the back window and bracing for another hit, Bo tried to make out once again who was that was driving the other car.
The silver car closed the distance and once again rammed the back of the now speeding Jeep.
"Turn hard here," Bo muttered to himself, as he turned left and crossed over the other lane of traffic and into a back alley.
The silver car continued on down the same road, completely missing the turn they had made.
After another few quick turns, they were soon headed back in the right direction towards the outskirts of the downtown core and had completely lost the other car. A few minutes later, shaken but unharmed, they pulled into the underground parking lot of the police station, where they both breathed a sigh of relief.
*****
“What the hell was that!” Olivia asked, her brown skin pale and she suddenly looked sick as she got out of the truck and took a deep gulping breath of fresh air
“I am really not sure, to be honest with you but they sure as shit didn’t want us to survive that,” he declared, getting out the Jeep and walking around to check out the damage.
The rear bumper was mangled and half off, the muffler pipe was bent out of shape, his license plate was missing. There were scratches everywhere.
“I’m sorry about your Jeep. When this is all over, I’ll have it repaired.” She put her hand on his shoulder.
Electricity hummed through his arm. He gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“The company I work for will take care of the damages. It comes with the territory. I am just glad that you are alright. That’s what matters to me.”
He felt her sag against him as he held her. Truly, he was glad she was alright. It could have gone so many different ways.
“Let’s go have a talk with Detective Brookshire,” Bo suggested, leading the way into the building
They were quickly ushered through security and up to Detective Brookshire’s office.
“Detective Brookshire.” Bo reached out his hand to shake the detectives.
“Bo, good to see you again, but please call me Stan.” He waved for them to sit in the two chairs sitting in front of his desk. “Miss Woods, good to see you, as well. However, as nice as it is to see you both again, I have a feeling that there isn’t anything good you are here to tell me, based on the looks on your faces.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right.” Bo shook his head, still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened in the last hour.
“So, what’s happened?”
“Someone just tried to run Bo and me off the road,” Olivia piped up as Bo gathered his thoughts.
Stan raised his eyebrows and looked at Bo. “This true?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.” Bo shrugged, “When we were on the highway on the way to Olivia’s office, I noticed a silver sedan that seemed to be mimicking our moves. When we got off the highway and he followed us closer, I knew that he was purposely following us.”
“It could be a coincidence?”
“Not considering they managed to elude me when I tried pulling around to get behind them and figure out who they were.”
“You did what?” The other man’s eyebrows went up as he looked between Bo and Olivia.
“Don’t. I wanted to try and figure out who the hell it was. The sooner we find out who is behind this, the sooner that Olivia can get back to her life.” Bo felt a small flicker of irritation flare up and he had to remember to keep it in check and that the he and detective were on the same side.
“And?” Stan pressed as Detective Trinity entered the room and took up position against the wall beside Stan.
“And the next thing I know, I think I’ve lost them and then out of no where they show up right behind us and then they proceed to try and run us off the road.”
“What?” Detective Trinity spoke up. “Run this back again. They followed you, when you tried to follow them back, reverse the roles sort to speak, they got back in behind you and tried to run you
off the road.”
“Exactly.”
“And you didn’t think following these guys might be a problem?” The woman’s eyes burned holes into his.
“Look, I was just doing what I thought I could do to help.”
“Your job is to make sure that Miss Woods’ safety is in hand at all times. You are not supposed to be going out of your way to put her life in danger.” She crossed her arms, “Just what were you doing out here anyway? Isn’t she supposed to be on bed rest?”
“I have a name and I am sitting right here,” Olivia piped up before he could get the words out of his mouth. “He was only doing his job. He was protecting me, no matter what happened. And if I may say so, he seems to be doing a far better job than those two that you had sitting outside my hospital room for those first few days.”
“I understand your perspective, but you have to understand that he also has to make sure you are protected. He shouldn’t even have let you leave the house.” The two women squared off.
“Thank you for telling me that I should remain hostage in my own dammed home. Because that is exactly what people want to do with their lives after they get attacked. Hide away from the world,” Olivia fired back.
“You should think about the consequences of your actions instead of being selfish and pigheaded! Your bodyguard could have died or you could have! Or worse, someone else could’ve gotten caught in the path of one of the cars and was hurt or killed!” Detective Trinity snapped, her eyes full of fire.
Things were quickly going downhill.
“All due respect, Detective, we are both fine, my Jeep will get repaired, and the world hasn’t stopped spinning,” Bo said, stepping between the women and holding his hands up to settle them down.
“You, Bo, have more balls than I have, stepping between two women like that,” Stan complimented, eyeing each of the women.
“Well, they are both out of line so someone had to step in.”
“Are you finished, Mr. Jackson?” Detective Trinity snapped at him.
“Yes, if we can get back to figuring out what the hell happened, and less on what we should have been doing with our day.”
Bodyguard (Den of Thieves, #2) Page 8
