Page 16 of The Bodyguard's Innocent Obsession
The silence inside feels different now. Heavier. I climb the stairs slowly, every step muffled by the thick carpet and the soft weight of Lachlan’s too-big clothes hanging off my body. I hadn’t had any clean clothes with me, so I’d had to borrow some of Lachlan’s from his bag. His scent clings to the sweatshirt, and I breathe it in without even thinking.
My bedroom is just how I left it. The bed is neatly made. The curtains are still drawn back to let the morning sun spill across the floor. My phone sits on the nightstand, face down where I tossed it last night before everything turned chaotic in so many ways.
I hesitate in the doorway for a second, then let out a breath and walk in. I tug off the sweatshirt first, letting it fall across the foot of my bed, and strip out of the sweatpants next. As much as I love wearing his clothes, I want something that will be easier tomove in. I will be keeping them, though, so I can wear them on nights we can’t be together.
My chest aches a little at the thought of us ever being apart. So I focus on finding clean clothes.
I cross to my dresser and pull out a pale blue tank top and a pair of jersey shorts. Clothes that feel like me. Not the girl who watched her bodyguard in the shower. Not the girl who offered him everything in the dim light of a hotel room. Just… Arabella.
Once I’m dressed, I pull my brush through my hair slowly, trying to untangle both the knots and the thoughts in my head.
Everything’s changed. And yet I still feel like I’m floating in the middle of it. Like it hasn’t all quite hit me yet.
The threat last night. Lachlan calmly taking control and whisking me away to safety without hesitation. The way his hands felt on my skin. The way he whispered my name like I was everything he’d been waiting for.
I didn’t know it could feel like that. Or that I could feel like this.
As I sit down on the edge of the bed, my phone lights up with a sudden buzz. A second later, it rings. The sharp sound slices through the quiet and makes me jump.
The number on the screen is unfamiliar. No name.
My heart stutters.
I stare at it for a beat too long before reaching for it, my fingers suddenly cold and clumsy. I swipe to answer and lift it to my ear.
“Hello?”
There’s a pause. Then a voice. Deep. Gruff. Cold.
“Don’t say a word. I’ve got your father. If you want him to live, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you.”
My blood turns to ice.
“W-what?” I whisper, but my voice comes out broken and barely there.
“I said don’t speak.” The voice sharpens like a blade. “Just listen. You’re going to get in your car and drive to this address.” A pause. Then numbers. A street name. “Alone. No security. No phone calls. No games.”
I swallow, but it’s like there’s glass in my throat.
“We’re watching the house,” the voice continues. “If anyone follows you, your daddy’s dead. You understand?”
My knees nearly give out.
“I... I understand,” I manage to say.
“Good girl.” Then the line goes dead.
I stand there for a second, completely still. Like maybe if I don’t move, none of this will be real.
But my heart is hammering and I can’t breathe and my hands are shaking so hard I nearly drop the phone.
Dad.
Oh my god. They have my dad.
I need to tell Lachlan.
No. No, I can’t.
