Page 101 of Nanny for the Bodyguard

I know what Neil intends to do with me. I know what he tried to do to me last time, and I don't imagine this time is going to be any different.

He's going to try to sell me. He's going to sell me to the highest bidder, who will use me however they want, but it doesn't matter as long as Jade is safe.

I didn't want to leave Easton, though. I really didn’t.

With everything going on, I can finally admit to myself that I wanted that relationship to last until the end.

I love him.

I love him more than anyone I've ever loved in my entire life, and I know that it's silly. I know that Olivia and everything else in the universe, apparently even a movie, is telling me that there wouldn't have been anything between us after all this danger went away, but I don't care.

What I want is to be with Easton, and now I'll never have that.

But I don't regret my choice because I couldn't let anything happen to Jade. I love her as much as Easton, as if she were my own daughter.

The minutes tick on, and it gets closer and closer to midnight. I can barely sit still in my car. My heart is pounding. I can hear it, I can feel it, I can taste it.

I'm terrified. I'm terrified of going into that warehouse, and goddamn, I hope that Neil keeps his word.

If he's hurt Jade, and I walk into this trap with nothing to gain from it, I'm going to be more than just heartbroken. I'm going to be completely hopeless and empty.

When the clock turns over in my car, I get out. I try to be as quiet as possible, closing my door slowly so it doesn't slam.

I got one more text message from Neil while I was waiting. He has instructed me to go to the back of the building, where there will be a door, and he’ll be waiting for me.

I swallow down a lump, and then another, and then another.

Terror is ringing through my veins, and I nearly stumble on my own feet as I walk gingerly towards the back door. I'm walking towards my end, after all.

It feels like walking to the gallows, and I know I'm being rather dramatic, but I feel like I have a reason to be.

Who could blame me for getting a bit maudlin when I am literally going to meet the man who kidnapped me?

I keep reminding myself that Jade is behind those walls, that Jade is waiting for me to rescue her, that Jade is there, right fucking there, and she deserves a life.

She's a kid, and while I had some beautiful things while I was out on this side, and even though I’ll hold on to them when life gets too hard to bear, it’s her safety that matters.

I walk up to the door, ready to knock, but before I can, it opens. Neil stands on the other side, a sneer on his face.

“Come on in, Hazel girl.”

My skin is crawling as I pass by him and step inside. I haven't beenthatclose tothatman in so long.

Once I'm inside, more fear wraps around my heart and squeezes as I'm led to an office at the back of the building. This warehouse seems abandoned, which I can imagine makes it a perfect spot for Neil to hide out.

I wonder how long he's been here? Has he been there the entire time the police were searching for him? Or is this new?

“Go watch the front.” Neil’s voice booms, and I realize that he’s talking to a man in a Halloween mask. My blood runs cold. Is that the man who attacked me? “Let’s be sure there are no cops following our lost lamb’s trail.”

“I didn’t bring anyone with me. I promise.” I try to make my voice sound as level as possible, but even I can hear the tremble in it.

“Well, we’ll just be sure about that, now, won’t we?” Neil turns to Halloween Mask again, gesturing at the door with his head. “Go.”

As the man shoves past me, I stifle a whimper. I don’t want to be weak. I don’t want to just be a walking ghost filled with pain. But it’s impossible to keep myself from recoiling when Neil’s thug glowers at me from behind the eye holes of his mask.

I shiver, and then, from my other side, I hear a muffled whine. I whip my attention that way, only to find Neil yanking Jade from what I have to assume is a closet.

She’s bound by her wrists in front of her, and she’s been gagged with duct tape. My heart drops, instant tears filling my eyes.