Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,13
and we say our goodbyes. I watch his back as he heads for the subway, rooted in place. I’m not sure what to do. I can go to the library and study for my two remaining exams. Or I can go back home and take a nap, forget about the world for a blissful few hours.
As tempting as the latter sounds, I decide to do the former. Eastwood College is eight blocks away, so I may as well walk. Clear my head. An afternoon with my nose in a huge research book will definitely help me forget everything else.
Chapter six
Alec doesn’t reply to my texts all day. I clutch my phone to my ear when I finally decide to call him. I try to balance my bag, several library books that don’t fit in it, and a grocery bag while unlocking my door.
It goes straight to voicemail.
I curse, then throw the phone on the counter, placing everything else next to it. Hands on my hips, I stare at my bags, too tired and too anxious to start unpacking them. I need a shower and a nap and a glass of whiskey. Possibly not in that order.
I decide to start with a shower after all. The whole time the hot water beats down my back, I think about Alec and why he’s not answering my calls. There’s only one explanation. Has to be. He’s seen Patrick’s post.
I turn the water off and wrap a fluffy robe around my body. The steam from the bathroom follows me as I flop on the couch and flick the TV on. It’s set on the news channel Alec was watching while he was making breakfast the other day.
The smile that has appeared on my face while I think about half-naked Alec in my kitchen is immediately wiped off when I see the news report.
“—on Gordon Kade’s life. The filmmaker and activist was ambushed as he was exiting his car in front of his building today. The gunman was arrested, and Mr. Kade’s life was saved only by the swift reaction of his security team. The incident was caught on camera by a tourist who was taking pictures of the Flatiron Building nearby. The following report contains images that may be upsetting to some viewers.”
I lean forward in my seat, my mouth gaping open as I watch the shaky footage. The Flatiron Building’s in the center of the screen, a male voice saying something behind the camera in a language I don’t understand. A gunshot echoes, and the camera angle changes. Chaos erupts around the man who starts walking away from the commotion. He stops and turns, and the camera focuses on a black car, doors open, several men all wearing black suits shielding someone on the ground.
And that’s when I see him. Alec. He stands up from where he’s crouching on the ground, pulling a skinny man wearing jeans and a hoodie off the ground, his hands tied behind his back. He gestures to the other men to move, and they swiftly walk into the building, the man they’re protecting between them. Alec follows them, pushing his captive in front of him.
The voice of the news anchor cuts in. “Gordon Kade’s personal bodyguard and owner of Salus Security, Alec Bonovich, managed to apprehend the attacker after saving Mr. Kade’s life by pushing him to the ground a second before the gunshot was fired. Both Mr. Bonovich and Mr. Kade are unharmed. The police have arrested the attacker, whose name has not yet been revealed.”
I tune out the rest of the report, my head spinning. I know they said Alec is okay, but the fact that he hasn’t replied to my texts worries me. Does he know the incident is on the news?
I hastily pull some clothes from my closet and get dressed. In my mind I can’t help but see Alec hurt, his blood pooling around his motionless body. Intellectually, I know that’s not true. But my heart hurts every time I think about that report and what could have happened if he hadn’t reacted in time.
I’m spiraling out of control in my own thoughts, and the soft knock on the door makes me jump. Heart pounding, I open the door.
Alec’s standing on my threshold, arm propped on the door frame, suit rumpled.
“Oh my god,” I whisper before launching myself at him.
He grunts as his arms come around me without hesitation.