Billionaire Bodyguard - Kendra Mei Chailyn Page 0,12

louder and began coming up the street toward the water’s edge.

“Get in!” I yelled, shoving the passenger side open. “Come on!”

Hermes holstered his weapon and tossed his body into the seat.

I sped in the opposite direction of the police car, glancing back periodically to see if we were being followed. While I tried outrunning a police cruiser, Hermes put on his seatbelt, and reached forward to press a button. A whirring at the front of the car and the back caught my attention and I freaked and pressed my foot down on the gas.

“Shit! Now, I’m running from the cops?” I blurted out. “How did that even happen? I can’t go to jail! I don’t wanna go to jail! I like my life the way it is!”

“Tianna?”

“He’s dead and he’s still messing with my life!” I continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I buried him, and he just won’t stop! Now I’m running from the cops!”

“Tianna!”

“What!” I snapped. “Don’t you yell at me!”

“Make the next left.” He ordered, lifting his phone to his ear. “Then the first right you come to.”

I did as he said and continued, the Hellcat blowing by things like a rocket.

“Hex.” Hermes called. “Listen, I need an out. Moving in the Hellcat—right, you got me? Okay. Perfect.”

“I’m going to need you to twist the steering to the right and slam on the brakes, okay?” Hermes told me.

“What? I’m not trying to get killed!”

“Just arrested.”

“Shit!” I swore. “Okay, when…”

He was staring in the rear-view mirror so intently, I wasn’t sure he heard me.

“Hermes!”

“Now!” He shouted.

Holding my breath, I did as he instructed. The car whipped around, tires screaming then jarred to a stop.

“Slam on the gas! Go!” Hermes ordered.

The black car zoomed by the cop car and in my rear-view mirror I watched as they slammed into the guardrail.

“No…”

“They’ll be fine.” He told me. “They have a rammer on the front of the car. They’ll be banged up but fine.”

In that moment, I hated my brother. Because of him I had idiots trying to grab me, threatening my life. Now, I’ve brought Hermes into this mess while getting cops hurt. I wanted to cry—I wanted to curl into the insignificant ball I’d become and sob until the world ended.

I had always been my brother’s keeper. Even before we lost our parents, and the rest of the family turned their backs on us. I’d taken it on my shoulders to take care of Joseph.

Giving him anything he wanted may not have been the best move—I saw that now.

The strange thing was, I probably wouldn’t live long enough to learn my lesson.

Weren’t the fates grand?

Maksim “Hermes” Demidov

Tianna controlled my sports car like she belonged behind the wheel. Some women would have panicked when the bullets started flying. It seemed she’d taken her moment to freak out—then got down to business.

My kind of woman.

I coughed and rubbed my eyes.

Where the hell did that thought come from?

I had her pull the hellcat into the garage and the moment the door closed and she turned off the engine, She flopped back into the seat, her knuckles still clutching the steering, so tight, her knuckles lost their colour.

“Tianna?” I whispered softly. “Anna, sweetheart?”

Some of her hair had come loose from the ponytail and was blocking her face. I reached across to tuck the strands closest to me behind her ear. She jerked to look at me as though she’d forgotten I was there.

“Shhh.” I whispered. “It’s okay. Come on, let me get you inside.”

She stared at me, wide-eyed.

I scrambled from the vehicle and went around to her side. When I opened the door, she dropped the keys into my palm, and I helped her to her feet. At first her knees wobbled, and she gripped her hips to steady her.

I scooped her into my arms and carried her into the house. After setting her on the sofa, I knelt beside her to check her eyes to see if she was going into shock. So far, she seemed fine but rattled I left her for a moment for something to drink.

I settled for two shots of tequila but an hour later, Tianna still hadn’t said anything to me. The silence didn’t worry me—what concerned me was her shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking. When I poured her the first shot, she tossed it back without lime or salt. The second one disappeared as well, and she set the shot glass on the island. She lifted her hands to watch her palms.

The shots had