Page 103 of Nanny for the Bodyguard

As he stands there way too close to me, the smell of his cheap aftershave makes me nauseous. I can see that light in his eyes begin to grow.

He's happy. He's happy about something, and that is never good when it comes to this man. Not for anyone around him.

He steps backward and then walks towards where Jade still sits on the couch, shaking, her face stained with tears.

She whines against the tape again, but she can't say anything, can't move.

“I don't know. I've come to like this one. I think she'll do really well with the other girls. Be a real quick study. Hell, maybe that rich client of mine will want to buy both of you. You can be nice and happy together, doing whatever he wants you to do.”

The blood drains from my face. I cannot let this happen to Jade. I cannot let her see the horrors that are to come.

“You can't. You can't do that. You promised me?—”

“I can do whatever the fuck I want, you dumb cunt.”

My eyes snap to Jade, and before I can think, I leap toward her. At the exact moment, Neil dives in my direction, his hand finding my arm and yanking me down.

He tackles me to the ground, pinning me there as he towers above me. I scream on instinct, and I can hear the muffled calls of Jade behind her tape.

I think she's trying to say my name.

But the door is open, and there's no one standing in front of it now. Forcing myself to be still, I look over at Jade, where she sits on the couch, and I mouth to her the word “run.”

Her eyes go wide. Mine are right there with her, up, I'm sure, but she has to get out of here. I plead with her with just my expression, silently begging that she take the hint and start running.

After a second, then two, Jade finally gets up and takes off for the door.

Neil tries to run after her, but I grab his shirt, yanking him toward me. It's certainly not the best thing to do to keep myself safe, but I don't care about myself right now.

I care about Jade.

I dig my nails into his skin, I slap at his face and arms, and then he grabs me around the throat, pinning me back down to the floor.

Using my neck as leverage, he smashes the back of my head into the cement. Pain flares through my skull, and my vision goes white.

I lose my grip on Neil's shirt, and then I can feel him moving. He's going after Jade.

No, I have to stop this.

Not caring about how the world is just a strange smattering of stars and confusion, I reach out and grab Neil's leg, digging my fingers into the fabric of his pants.

He trips and smashes down to the floor, grunting with pain. He's still trying to get away from me, but I slip my hand beneath the fabric and drag my nails down his flesh.

I do it hard enough to draw blood.

He screams and comes after me. “You fucking bitch! You're not taking this away from me again!”

Neil clambers back on top of me, and I'm stuck there. His fist reels back, and I know that he's about to beat me to death.

I'm going to die here on this stupid warehouse floor, but at least Jade will be safe.

In the distance, I can hear sirens, but I know they're not close enough, and they can't possibly be coming here. They have no reason to.

They're probably just pulling over someone who's speeding.

This is it. I'm going to die tonight, right here on the ground.But if Jade is as fast as I think she is, she's long gone.

And that's what matters.