Page 1 of Her Bossy Bodyguards

Chapter 1

Natalie

“Shots! Shots! Shots!”

I grinned as I looked over at Kelly shouting on the other side of the bar. Kelly was one of my best friends at USC, ever since we met at freshmen orientation. We had a lot in common, both being from wealthier families, having the highest GPA at our old high schools and spending a lot more time flirting and partying with the hottest guys on campus than we ever did studying for finals.

And it seemed like tonight wasn’t going to be any exception. Kelly had invited me out to party at Lincoln’s, the priciest dive bar in town, when both of us really should’ve been glued to our textbooks. It was our final semester of college, and even though our classes for the last four years had felt mostly like a breeze, I was starting to have a bad feeling.

I was starting to feel like something was just bound to go wrong.

“Natalie, what are you doing?” Kelly turned her attention toward me as she held out a shot glass. “Are you not drinking tonight or something?”

“I’m drinking,” I answered before I quickly downed the drink, the taste of it burning right down my throat. I handed Kelly the empty glass as I spoke again. “I just don’t know if I want to get drunk.”

“Oh, so what? I’m just supposed to get drunk all by myself?” Kelly pouted. “And what about the guys from Beta Psi? You know when they get here they’re going to buy out the whole bar for us.”

“You’re talking about Craig and Greg, right?”

Kelly chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh my God, Natalie! Did you seriously already forget their names?”

“Ned and Ted?”

“No!”

“Bob and Glob?”

“No!”

“I give up!” I smirked as Kelly handed me another shot glass. “But just because I can’t remember their names, that doesn’t mean that it’s my fault. Maybe they’re just not memorable enough.”

“You say that about literally every guy you’ve ever met.” Kelly rolled her eyes. “Do you even remember the name of that guy you were dating for like six months last semester?”

“Of course, I remember…” My words trailed off as I tried to recall the name. “Uh, I think it was Vernon?”

“You are so bad.” Kelly chuckled again. “I can’t believe you’re supposed to be Texas’s Little Angel.”

I cringed at the nickname, memories of how I’d gotten it sliding right across my brain. While my dad had been running for state senator when I was in third grade, he’d taken me with him on the campaign trail, stopping over in little towns all along the way. There was one small town that we were only stopping in for the night, but I quickly became acquainted with an older woman who was staying at the same hotel. She was killing time by reading a trendy magazine in the lobby, and I decided to sit right next to her and ask her a billion questions about the city.

She was kind enough to humor me, too, telling me all about the history of the town and the best places to eat. But somewhere in the middle of her story, her eyes went glassy and her mouth slack. Realizing that there was something seriously wrong with the woman, I hastily made my way to the front desk, letting them know that my new friend wasn’t feeling so good. The paramedics showed up soon after, carting the woman to safety. And on the news later that night, one of the guys in the ambulance said that if it hadn’t been for me responding so fast, the older woman may not have survived the stroke.

And that was how I became Texas’s Little Angel. The media fell in love with me, branding me as a little lifesaver, arranging interview after interview with me as the star. My dad loved my time in the spotlight, too, especially since it helped catapult him right into his spot as state senator. The ballots cast for him were overwhelming, with people probably assuming that if he represented the state, he’d do just as good a job in the Senate as he did with raising such a good little girl.

“Don’t call me that.” I groaned. “And what time are the guys from Beta Psi even supposed to get here?”

“Natalie Hanson?” There was a stranger in a dark suit suddenly standing right beside me. He was an older man, the last remnants of his hair holding on by a prayer, but he still looked pretty intimidating with his serious stance.

“That depends on who’s asking,” I replied as I looked him up and down.

He then took a step even closer to me and turned to shoot a stare over at Kelly. “I’m going to need you to back away from Ms. Hanson, miss.”

“What? Why?” Kelly scrunched up her face in confusion. “We were just trying to have a good time.”

“All subjects need to stay away from Ms. Hanson at this time,” the stranger explained. “We have word of a credible threat to Ms. Hanson’s life.”

“To my life?” My eyes went wide as I stared up at him. “What the hell? Are you saying there’s someone who’s trying to kill me?”

“Hold on.” The stranger brought a hand up to his ear, his fingers pressing against a Bluetooth earbud. “Yes, I’ve located Natalie Hanson, sir. No, it doesn’t look like she’s injured in any way. Although, there’s a small chance that she’s inebriated.”

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