Page 8 of Bodyguard Wolf's Fated Mate
I had no idea what it was about, but I feared it was some sort of retaliation from her father's enemies directed at her since they couldn't get to him.
CHAPTER 4
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JASMINE
I didn't know what was happening, but it couldn't have been good. A car careening out of control into the shop was hard to turn a blind eye to. The others dove for cover and shrieked in angry denial.
Everything moved in slow motion indicative of a silent movie from back in the good old days. The car hitting Luke made me jump.
I didn't know how I did it, but I grabbed the collar of his jacket. Luke was in the air at the time. Luke would have crushed his spine against one of the exposed beams if it wasn't for me intervening on his behalf.
Display racks had been turned over. The car was in the middle of the shop slightly dipping from the incline of the road. The hood had smoke billowing out from underneath it. There was nobody behind the wheel, but the door was open, indicating somebody had made a very discreet exit without being noticed.
Luke was about to pursue when he thought better of it. He should have looked frazzled from the experience, but it was as if nothing had happened. Being that remarkably cool under pressure came with seeing things most people would never understand.
He was hardened like steel, and he remained vigilant at my side with his body between me and whatever danger persisted.
"It must've been the adrenaline rush. You could've gotten seriously injured. I'm glad I was here to save your life. You do know that means you owe me a debt of honor? You can start paying it back by calling Caitlin and apologizing." I handed him my phone, but he refused to take it.
"This isn't some sort of joke. Somebody purposely targeted you," he addressed the elephant in the room.
"It's not the first time and it won't be the last time. This is just another typical Tuesday in my world. You get used to people seeing you a different way than you see yourself in the mirror. I find it exciting, but I have no idea why." I picked up my bags and moved around the smoking hulk of the car.
One hubcap had come loose.
They should've waited until I came out to exact whatever revenge was on their minds. The car was devoid of license plates. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble not to have this incident come back to bite them in the ass.
"I don't want to take any chances. This could've been a diversion to get you out into the open. Stay behind me. I won't hear the end of it if something happens to you on my watch." He directed me to the exit in the back to a darkened alley.
We had taken one step when there was a crack of thunder. That was followed by several more with chips of concrete spitting into the wind. He had his hand out pressed against my chest. There was nothing sexual about it but that didn't stop me from bringing to life a variety of different scenarios where we were wearing far less clothing.
"I was right. This was an orchestrated event to get you out into the open. Take cover behind that trash bin. They can't get to you without coming down the alley. I just need to even the odds. Keep your head down low and don't get too curious for your own good," he warned.
I blinked and he was gone.
Sparks from bullets bounced off the steel refuse container in green. The shooter had me pinned down. Making a mad run would only put me at a disadvantage. There was no telling where the shots were coming from. It could have been one or many shooters, depending on the angle of entry of every bullet.
I somehow slowed things down in my mind and figured there were two shooters They had boxed me in. They had easily anticipated what our next move was going to be. The alley was too damn predictable, and we should've been thinking outside of the box.
I cringed when my foot came in contact with an errant banana peel. It was slimy and brown. My stomach turned when I quickly shook my heels loose. They were expensive, but I could never clean them enough to wear them again. Somebody would profit from my loss.
It actually made me feel good to think this might be a window of opportunity for somebody to turn their life around.
A scream came from above followed by a wet slap to the pavement. I hazarded a glance around the corner of the trash bin. A man in black lay there in the middle of the alley with his head twisted.
I craned my head up toward the roof line. Something was happening but I was going to have to get closer. Luke told me to stay hidden, but I couldn't exactly do that when sound judgment and reasoning went out the window.
A flash in the night sky came from a gun raised during a scuffle. If I was right about the trajectory of the bullets, then he had somehow made it from one roof to the other with 12 feet of open space between them. It wasn't an impossible feat, but the odds of making it in a single bound were astronomical.
I came out of my hiding spot expecting another bullet with my name on it to find me unaware. There was no forthcoming attack. He had the last assailant in a duel to the death on top of the roof. They were fighting for control over the weapon.
I hauled myself up onto the garbage bin with my bare feet coming in contact with the lid. I got a hold of the rusted ladder of the fire escape. My climb to ascend to the heavens started with one hand over the other.
I wanted to call out to warn him, but he already had his hands full.
Another man had crossed the street. He almost got run down by a silver SUV. He slammed his hand down on the hood with the gun rattling off the metal and into the street when he lost his grip.
