Shots fired! Get down! Don't move! Her driver kept screaming as she lay snuggled between her seatbelt and the leather Bentley seat with her trembling hands wrapped around her ears and her head to the floor. Everything went numb as shattered glass sprayed all over the back seat some even sticking on her hair. Her hearing was fuzzy as the heavy artillery her supposed assassins used rang out uncontrollably, piercing the unusually serene highway air.
The driver kept on swiveling and controlling the car as much as he could with a bullet stuck in his arm and before she could scream, the dark-tinted SUV which was in a hot chase with them ran into the convertible, sending them flying into the woods and ending up stuck in a ditch. She finally made it to my driver who pushed her out of the car signaling her to run.
"There she is! Get her! Quick!" The leader of the assassins ordered with a thick British accent as he raised his tattoo-ridden arm in the direction in which she limped off. Hardly had she covered any distance, had they caught up with her as her injured leg did nothing but slow her down.
She was wrestled down, restricted, and dragged to their waiting getaway car with her trembling hands in cuffs, face soaked in tears marring her makeup and quivering lips blabbing away endless pleas.
A while ago, she was on the way to her office scanning through some documents with absolutely nothing to fidget about, now it seemed her haughty spoilt rich kid life was about to fall to pieces.
Her name is Jane and she is a 25-year-old accountant, an only child to Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, meaning she was next in line to inherit her parents' wealth. She is a modeled blonde with an envied structure that fits curvy hips into long flawless legs, and a slightly chiseled jaw, and sky blue eyes that people always seemed to get lost in. Not to brag but, she is perfect.
But here she was. The "perfect" dream girl laying tied up and unconscious at the back of a truck surrounded by men she knew only one thing about; they meant no good for her. Well, she hoped to get through this.
****
"Sir, we will get back to you."
Marcus sat composed at the other end of the mahogany desk as the manager spat out those words. He was sick and tired of hearing that verdict as it only exclaimed he had just lost another revenue source. But this time, he wasn't going to take it. So with his hand slamming the desk, he barked; "No you won't. Why do you people always say that when you know it's never going to happen?"
"Sir, please behave or I'll have to call security," a now frightened manager cautioned.
"Go ahead. You are lucky I don't hurt women, if not you'd be unconscious before you know it."
Grabbing the documents he stormed out of the office jamming the door noisily on his way out. He hissed out of frustration as he thought this week was going to be less sordid. His mother and sister were counting on him and the bills were stacking up, he needed to figure another way out soon. Sighing, he unwounded the patched-up seat of his old beat-up truck and lay back muttering under his breath— "If Brian were here, he would know what to do."
Just as sleep was about to sting his eyelids, he heard a gunshot. Bang! His eyelids flipped open and his whole body jerkily arose. The sound alone was enough to flood his skin with goosebumps. On impulse, he flicked his car on, put it in motion, and followed the dispersing crowd to scurry away, not minding his extended seat.
Then he picked up a sound. It's a voice so sweet yet so torn, a lady's scream. He says suddenly hits the breaks pulling the car to a concealed stop where he analyses the situation before him.
He saw a lady about his age hopping on one leg unsuccessful in escaping from the grasp of her attacker. He suddenly feel this urge to intervene, so he pulled out his pistol from the glove compartment of his truck and headed out stealthily with his weapon loaded, ready to discharge, and held upright in front of him.
"Let's go. The client is waiting," he watched as who he figured to be the leader of the three men gang commanded the remaining two in his hoarse accent.
"Boss, I need to urinate!"
"Are you stupid? Make it quick eh!" The boss thundered to the accomplice, who advanced further into the woods, as he occupied the passenger seat next to their driver.
Taking advantage of the loose end opportunity, Marcus snuck up behind the man and wrapping his arm around the predator's neck took him to the ground in seconds and incapacitated him from alerting the others by stuffing the man's mouth with his handkerchief.
He then advanced to the car and occupied the back area silently and while they were debating on what was taking the man so long, he buried a blade in the driver's neck causing the hands-on-wheels to unleash his firearm blindly into the dashboard of the car.
The kidnappers were dazzled as they were not expecting any police rescue for the next five minutes. This placed the boss in shock but before he could reach for his gun, one of his partner's bullets had greased his arm leaving a deep flesh wound. With his hand dripping blood, he sprang out of the car and headed to the bushes where he slowly crawled through the dew-carpeted forest floor until he was out of sight.
Meanwhile, when Marcus had made sure the assassins were all gone, he went back in the car and uncuffed the lady with the keys he found in the driver's coat, untied her feet, cupped her in his arms, and hurried over to his truck across the street and phoned the police. He then paused to take a look at the masterpiece that lay before him.
She had fair skin so smooth your hand could easily slip while grabbing it, a figure that fitted with ease into the short sleeve gown she had on, and silky blonde hair. He couldn't help but trail his tender nail tips as he wiped the blood off her long flawless legs. He wondered, "Why would anyone want to hurt her?"
The blaring sirens followed by flashing blue and red lights signaled the police were incoming so he stepped off his truck and stood still waiting to be interrogated.
****
Jane's eyes fluttered open to the sound of beeping machines and her mom beckoning on her to lay back and relax. As soon as her eyelids parted, the bright light sent its fiery gaze gluing them back up. She had to then slowly acclimatize her vision only to discover she was laying down on a hospital bed with a pounding head. She tried moving but the needles attached to her didn't permit it.
"Relax. Don't move. I'll call the doctor," said her mom as she rang the bedside phone.
"He'll be here soon. How are you feeling?" Mrs. Morrison asked with concern written all over her as soon as she dropped the phone.
The doctor soon walked in and started checking Jane's temperature and stuff. He said it was a mild migraine that she was bound to face after being knocked out.
"I'm fine. How did you guys come so quickly?" she snapped at her mom immediately after the doctor left, with her face cold as always.
"We had just landed in town when we heard the news. I am only grateful to him for stepping in as he did," her mom said pointing to the door where her father stood conversing with an attractive young man.
"Who is he?"
"Oh, you're awake. Are you okay? I promise to strangle the asshole who did this to you…" her dad kept ranting as he barged into the room when he noticed her sitting up.
It's just his overprotective nature. Who wouldn't be mindful of their only born? He then started conversing with my mom who then explained my situation to him. She took the chance to finally glance at the stranger who had now shared a seat with her mother on the couch.
He was freaking hot! He had his dark hair curl through his scalp, his chiseled shoulders, and voluptuous chest that looked as if they would burst out of his shirt any minute, not to talk about the seductive but benign smile he flashed from his face when her parents said something funny. She was drooling.
"You know what? You need an assistant, someone to keep you safe, to prevent this from reoccurring," her mom called out to her breaking into her thoughts.
"Wait, what?" she blurted out in protest.
Her father then felt the need to make it weird by saying, "That's right. And I think the perfect man for the job is Marcus."
"Who's Marcus?" she inquired.
"I am," the stranger finally spoke out in a sensual deep masculine voice.
"Jane, meet Marcus. Marcus, meet Jane. He told me earlier he had experience working as a guard." her father introduced them.
"Hi," he waved with a smile plastered on his face.
Ignoring him, she turned to her dad, "But dad we barely even know this man. How do you even trust a person you just met today? He could be a serial killer for all we know."
Leaning towards her from the bed he sat, Her dad whispered, "Be thankful to the man, you owe him your life. Fine. I'll scrutinize him for a few days and make sure he's capable of protecting you as he seems. Just talk with him and don't be rude to him angel, okay?"
"I can't promise I won't."
"You two should get acquainted while we go arrange for your discharge," and with that, her father took her mom's hand leading her out of the room.
Marcus was more than elated. Back at the forest when he sighted the crashed Bentley, he could tell the lady was rich, but he never for once thought she'd be the daughter of the most wealthy Mogul in Austria. He was about to work for a man so powerful, a snap of his fingers would take out his best of enemies. No more finance issues. No more threats from lenders. This meant a heavy burden was going to be eased off his shoulder. But first, he needed to get along with this lady who sat staring at him as she was his lottery ticket."Hi," he greeted me for the second time."Look Marcus or whatever your name is, my father, likes you, I don't. But thank you for saving me. I don't need this whole bodyguard thing but it appears I don't have a choice. Go and spit whatever you have to say to him because I need to rest," said Jane as she returned to her sleeping position on the bed.He was dumbfounded. How could this rich brat even think of talking to him like that? This girl needed to be taught a
"Goodbye mum," Marcus screamed from the car as he and Emily zoomed off, one to school and the other to his newly found job.He was so determined to show off his professionalism so here he was thirty minutes earlier than usual waiting for the remote-controlled gate to gain him access to the building. This wasn't even the second time he was there, yet the view didn't get old in his memory.As he alighted his truck, a chalet directed him to the security room where the team suited him up and linked him into their radio communications.She finally came out clad in a formal blue lady suit. He thought she would call in sick and unable to make it, but she was balancing on her heels with poise as the clothes clung onto her curves, throwing his hormones into a chaotic tantrum."Good morning Miss""It's ma'am to you, and get in," she corrected as they boarded the bulletproof SUV ride."Damn! She just had to start on a bad foot," he thought as they zoomed off with another vehicle trailing behind
For most of that Friday, Jane remained indoors. Her initial plan was to spend her free day outdoors at some packed bar or driving down to a beach or something, but after breakfast, she had found herself changing her mind at the last moment and retiring indoors to sort out some paperwork that was left over from the previous day.The mansion felt empty and silent except for the beeping notification sound from her phone. Mr. Morrison had stepped out immediately after breakfast to another business trip, promising he would check in on her regularly. She took in a deep sniff of the air and could still perceive his strong masculine cologne still stuck to her after they had hugged goodbye. She knew his absence must have grown on her by now but she couldn't help missing him. Sighing away the growing sadness, returned to burying her face in her laptop screen.Jane's errand in Berlin was a tasking one and as such, she thought it better to use the extra time to do her research, and equip herself
The moment Sophia's dark SUV hit the road, Jane rolled down the windows. The air-conditioning in the car was functioning, but her preference at the moment was some northeastern Australia light breeze fanning her face and rustling her loose hair. Sophia tried to coax her into pulling the windows back up in fear of paparazzi or possible enemy spies spotting them but she paid no head, but only leaned back on her seat, taking in the early morning Queensland scene.Men, women and kids, piled the streets. While some were lined up on the sidewalks, hurtling to get to their various places of work or school, others when taken impatient and constant glances at their watches, anticipating when the next bus was about to drop by or sitting in their cars honking incessantly at their fellow drivers while they rushed through the road at breakneck speed. Idleness at such a bright hour of the morning seemed to be a grave offence, and no one looked ready to be charged with guilt.The bright yellow sun w
Marcus was restless as well as nervous as he shifted uneasily on his seat in the guards' quarters, but mostly nervous. He had been on missions even more demanding and extremely dangerous than travelling to a country for a month, but right there where he stared staring in mild rage at his phone screen, his heart saw no peace and neither did his head.His nervousness could be likely attributed to the fact that it had been a long time since he had been out on one of these missions. Not that he was afraid the lapse in time would affect his effectiveness, but he knew the trip to Berlin would be a tough one considering that she barely listened to him. His line of work entailed that those protected want to be protected and also are ready to listen and adhere to instructions. Much to his worry, Jane was the direct opposite of those attributes.Meanwhile, the reason for his restlessness was that for the past hour and a half, she had been calling her phone consistently and she was picking up an
"Sorry to interrupt sir. But Miss Jane is awake and is requesting to see you," the court-looking servant announced, reading Marcus' mood and keeping some yards away from him.Marcus stared at the floor in thought. "But it has been barely an hour since she slept.""It's been an hour and a half sir. Did you sleep off as well?" The servant gave a quick chuckle but when her eyes met Marcus' solid gaze, she coughed nervously, the smile disappearing from her face."Alright then. You can leave. I'll go see her now."When the maid was out of sight, he heaved a sigh and rose his tired frame. The nervousness once more returned but he shook it off and made his way confidently into the house."Did you pack my shoes?""I sent you to get a lavender-flavoured cream. What is this?"These were some of the loud rants that made Marcus halt in his steps outside Jane's bedroom door. sensing the aura too heated to go in, he stood outside listening in and stepping outside while maids rushed in and out, brin
Most of the clients who booked their Marcus and Brian's protection services back in the days when he still held prestige in the protection industry were high-class citizens like politicians, celebrities, popstars, business Moguls, and sometimes drug lords, and as per demand from their various lines of work, they had to move around frequently. To ensure that their convoys were not attacked, they carried their bodyguards along. Hence, flights and boat cruises were a regular occurrence for him. But oblivious to him, Jane did not feel the same way.A torque of tension seemed to flow in her throughout her journey to the airport. Marcus would ask several if there was something he could do to make her relax, thinking she was still not at peace with the trip, but every time he was told to shut up and focus on looking for threats on the cold dark highway route they ploughed.A few people knew but Jane despises planes. At first, she thought when she eventually got on one, the fear would fade of
Jane woke up to find Marcus wrapped around her sound asleep. “So much for being a professional bodyguard” She mumbled to herself as she tried to free herself from Marcus’ arms. She tried pulling free but his hold was strong. She twisted a small potion of her hair into his ear, Marcus jerked up immediately grumbling loudly attracting the attention of the flight attendant and some of the passengers. “Is everything okay?” The flight attendant asked, walking towards him. Marcus forced a smile at the woman. “Yes ma’am everything is fine" he said. “Alright then” the flight attendant replied with a practiced professional smile and turned to leave. “So this is how you intend to protect me in the face of danger, yeah?” Jane asked, dusting her body as if Marcus’ touch had contaminated her. “Sorry ma’am” Marcus' apology was sarcastic and he made no attempt to correct nor redefine it. Jane looked at him furiously. She was about to launch into a full lecture of why and how she is the boss a