The Trouble With Bodyguards: Part 3
Read The Trouble With Bodyguards: Part 3 Online
Authors: Kristina Blake
THE TROUBLE WITH BODYGUARDS
Part Three
KRISTINA BLAKE
Copyright © 2015
Published by: Rascal Hearts
All Rights Reserved
. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
For questions and comments about this book, please contact us at
[email protected]
Table of Contents
“
Come on, babe. You know yo
u’
re not supposed to be lifting anything. Give me that
.
” Rick rushed across the lawn, snatching the box that Alex was carrying away from her and carrying it up the ramp and into the back of the moving truck.
“
I feel like a useless lump
,
” she said, placing her hands on her lower back to support the weight of the baby that she was carrying in her womb
.“
All of this work to do, and I ca
n’
t even help you pack the truck
.
” She was frustrated, tired of being pregnant and restricted in what she was allowed to do. Too much physical exertion would put a strain on the baby, possibly causing preterm labor, and their little monster was
n’
t quite done cooking yet. Alex was ready, ready to be done with the constant need to eat, the inevitable weight gain, the swollen feet. She wanted to hold her baby in her arms, to see the smile in its eyes as she sang to it in the afternoon sun.
“
Alex
,
” Rick said, hopping down off the tailgate of the truck
,“
you are not a useless lump. You are just very, very pregnant
.
” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as her extended belly would allow, and pressed his lips gently against hers in a tender kiss. His love for her was evident in his every gesture, the way he looked at her, a soft smile in his eyes as he watched her do even the most mundane of daily tasks, or nothing but sit in the sunshine on a summer afternoon, sipping a glass of iced tea under the willow tree on her fathe
r’
s estate. He shuddered to think that once he had almost lost her forever.
It seemed like years, decades had passed since he had wandered through the utter darkness of that forest, searching blindly for his brothe
r’
s sanctuary, where he had taken Alex and hidden her away from the world, and from Rick. He still had the scar on his chest, marked forever by the bullet that had torn through him, barely missing his heart. In his mania, his own brother had tried to murder him, all to protect his hold on the woman that he saw as his prize, his salvation from reality.
Rick tightened his grip on Alex. He wasamazed that after all this time the memory of seeing her battered and bound, held captive in that plac
e—
his brother with a knife raised high over her body, ready to plunge it into her hear
t—
took his breath away with fear. His life would be very different no
w—
if he had arrived any later than he did. Mere moments could have meant spending the rest of his life without her and left him with only the horrific guilt and loneliness of not being there to save her.
But he had been there; he had rescued her from the grip of that monster. Even if it meant taking a bullet in the chest and spending months recovering after his stay in the hospital, at least he had been there in time. She had been by his side, caring for him through his rehabilitation. It had taken months, several surgeries,and hundreds of doctor
s
’ visits before they would consider him to be back to the condition that he had been before the incident. He was physically sound, his body healed, but his mind was at war with itself. He was elated that he had not lost Alex andthat she was curled up next to him in their bed each night when he closed his eyes. But his dreams were filled with images of Jacob, his younger brother, madness shining bright in his eyes as he aimed the gun directly at Ric
k’
s heart, and without remorse, pulled the trigger. He often woke in a sheen of sweat, his heart hammering in his chest, unable to breathe.
Jacob could not hurt them, he reassured himself each morning, waking from the nightmares, his body shaking from the adrenaline. He had been shot that night, had been taken to the same hospital as Rick, and spent hours in surgery. He had survived, if only barely. The bullet from the gun fired by the officer had pierced his stomach, spilling the acidic mixture into his body cavity andbathing the rest of his organs in the caustic miasma. The surgeons had needed to cleanse his insides, rinsing away any danger before putting him back together like a chil
d’
s puzzle. Even then, he was in the hospital for weeks, fear of infection looming over his head.
When he was judged stable enough to move, he was transported to the county psychiatric hospital, a place that he knew well.
Three months after the shooting, he stood trial for the attempted murder of Rick and the kidnapping and imprisonment of Alex. The detectives involved testified, as well as the doctors from the hospital. Both Rick and Alex took turns retelling the stories of that horrific night in the bunker, hidden from the eyes of the world around it. The jury found that Jacob was mentally unstable, a danger to himself and the community at large, and the judge ruled that he would spend the remainder of his days at the psychiatric hospital, under the care of the doctors there, never to rejoin society. Never to threaten their lives, or their happiness, ever again.
Their love had flourished since that night. Each hardship that they endured together, his hospitalization, recovery, and the trial, had only made their bond to each other stronger and more secure. She was wonderful, strong,and resilient, taking everything in stride as if none of it bothered he
r—
as long as she had Rick there by her side through it all. Christmas Eve, at the gala party at her parent
s
’ house, beneath the glittering behemoth of a tree in the front hall, Rick had gotten down on one knee and proposed. He did
n’
t want to spend another day without her in his life.
They married on Valentin
e‘
s Day, choosing to have a small ceremony with only family and friends instead of a huge wedding. Rick stood speechless on that da
y—
in awe of her beauty andgrace as she stood with him at the altar, their hands intertwined as the officiant named them man and wife. He could
n’
t believe that such a horrible situation had ended in him discovering the most wonderful woman in the world and the opportunity to spend the rest of his life with her.
A month after they were married, Alex had surprised him with the news that she was pregnant. Rick had been shocked, stunned into silence, as she stood before him in the living room of the apartment that they had shared since this had all began, holding the positive pregnancy test in her hand, a look of joy and fear in equal parts on her face.
Were they ready for this, to start a family together, to bring another life into this world?
“I’
m scared, "she had said. She had curled up on the couch next to him, her head resting against his chest as he cradled her in his arms.
“
Me too
,
” Rick said
,“I’
m going to be a dad
.
”
“
Yo
u’
re going to be a great dad
,
” Alex said, snuggling closer to him.
“
What are you afraid of
?”
he asked.
“
So much has happened
,
” she answered
,“
and sometimes I feel like i
t’
s not over. Like
I’
m always waiting for the door to open and your brother to step back into our lives to cause havoc again
.
”
“
You know that h
e’
s locked up
,
” said Rick, holding her tightly against him
.“
Ther
e’
s no way that they are going to let him out of the hospital again. H
e’
s in that place for the rest of his life
.
”
“
I know
,
” she said, sighing
,“
in my logical mind. But late at night, in the dark, I jump at shadows, thinking that I see him looking in the windows at me, just waiting for a chance to steal me away andfinish what he started
.
”
“
Oh babe
,
” Rick said, kissing her forehead sweetly
.“
He cannot get to you. I am here to protect you from him, from any danger in the world. I will not let anything happen to you
.
”
As the months went by, he watched her body change as their child grew inside her. She seemed to glow with happiness as she cradled her swelling belly in her hands, smiling down at the tiny person produced by their love for each other.
“
Rick
,
” she said, looking up at him with tears in her eyes
,“
I just had the most horrible thought
.
”
“
Wha
t’
s wrong
?”
he replied, going to her and pulling her into his embrace.
“
What if the disease that your brother suffers from is hereditary
?”
she said, clinging to him
.“
What if i
t’
s in your genes, and our baby turns out to be a monster like him
?
”
“
Oh no
,
” he said, stroking her hair, trying to comfort her as she held tightly to him
.“
Our baby will be beautiful, perfect
.
”
“
But what if sh
e’
s not
?”
asked Alex, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“
She
?
” Rick asked, looking into her eyes
.“
Why did you say
she
?
”
“
I have a feeling
,
” she said, her hands going to her swollen belly
.“
I have dreams of her, a toddler with my red hair and your dark eyes. Sh
e’
s come to visit me many times, wanting to play
.
”
Rick smiled, imagining the impish face of their daughter running toward him with her arms outspread, ready for him to scoop her up into his loving arms. He pulled his wife into him, putting his hand on top of hers, sharing the moment of extreme love with his little family. As their hands rested on their child, a small movement inside her made her eyes light up with joy.
“
She kicked
,
” Alex said, her fears forgotten in the wash of excitement that flooded them both
.“
She knew that we were talking about her, and she wanted us to know that sh
e’
s there listening
!
”
They had decided together that they needed to move to a new place. Too much history had happened in their apartment, and there were too many bad memories that they wanted to be rid of before beginning their family together. Her father had stepped in, offering to buy them a house on the outskirts of town, near enough to the city to not be an inconvenience when and if Alex decided to go back to work after the baby was born.
Alex had begun packing immediately, ready to move on to the next phase of their lives. She worked around her swollen belly to put all of their things into boxes.
“
You ready
?
” Rick said, pulling the door to the moving truck closed, securing all of their belongings inside to take them to their new home.
“
I just want to say goodbye
,
” Alex said, walking back toward the apartment building.
They climbed into the elevator together, the effort needed to climb the stairs too much for Alex at this stage in her pregnancy.
“
Do you remember
,
” Rick asked, chuckling wryly
,“
when we had sex in the elevator
?
”
“
Yeah
,
” she said, blushing
.“
You could
n’
t wait to get my pants off that day
.
”
“
You blame me
?”
he asked, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss lingering, and tasted the passion on his lips. Desire spread through her like flames, and her breath caught in her chest as he ran his hands down her back, cradling her ass in the palms of his hands. After all they had been through, after being married and making a child together, this man could still light her up with the slightest touch.