Chapter 8

It had been an amazing lunch date with her son and her bodyguard. And yes, all Julian was to her was a bodyguard. He had promised to keep her and her son safe. But did it change the fact that she was physically attracted to him? No, it didn’t. But she’d be damned if she decided to act on it. Last night was a moment of weakness, but she’ll make sure it never happened again.

Sia decided to focus on things other than the six-foot-something impeccable man that was her bodyguard. She hadn’t been able to take time off from work due to immense pressure, but she had finally decided she needed time with her son—her family. And she didn’t regret the decision of skipping work for lunch. The only problem was even the amazing food in front of her didn’t help curb the jealousy that she felt when a waitress would give Julian flirty looks or when they would bend down a little more than necessary just to give him a peek of their cleavage. Good thing Julian hadn’t paid any attention to their desperate behavior.

Julian had waited back to take a call so she’d walked on ahead to her car with Leo. Once she reached her car, she told Leo to sit in the backseat and buckle up while she waited for Julian. Though he wasn’t speaking to the phone, he looked stressed and angry, running his hands through his midnight black hair and messing it up even further.

She was about to go over to ask him what was wrong when she heard a sudden screech of tires diverting her attention to the speeding Volvo at the exit of the restaurant. Something about the car felt awfully familiar and made a chill of fear trickle down her spine, rooting her to the spot.

She watched, transfixed in horror, as the tinted glass window of the Volvo went down low enough so that the barrel of a gun could poke out of it. And that was when she saw the trigger being pulled, the sound of the gunshot loud in the air as she felt deaf to any other noise around her.

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Everything happened so fast that it felt surreal. Sia was standing stiff as a board. Her feet felt like boulders as her thoughts went to her son who was now safely inside the car. She thought, this was it. This was how she was going to go. She only had time to look back into her son’s eyes for a single piercing instant. But the next instant, she felt her back roughly hit a car door and pain explode in her forehead.

It took a minute to register what had happened as her heart hammered inside her chest like a machine gun. She was pressed up against her own car, while Julian shielded her with his body. She could already see a deep gash on his shoulder as blood spilled onto his white T-shirt, staining it red. Julian had saved her at the last minute, pushing her out of the way and taking the hit himself. He took out a small gun from his back and pointed it at the Volvo.

“Leo, keep your head down and stay away from the windows!” Julian yelled, making Sia wince at the loud noise as Julian fired at the wheels of the Volvo which was now speeding away.

He then turned to her and noticed the gash she’d gotten when her head hit the side of the car. “Keep your head down and get inside, okay? And give me the keys,” he told her urgently while reaching out and opening the backseat door.

Sia felt like she was unable to move. Her feet felt like lead, and her body went numb with fear, but her concern for Leo was far stronger than hers, and somehow from that truth, she found her strength to move. She kept her head down and got in.

By that time, a large group of security guards had gathered around the entrance. Julian made eye contact with them, asking them if the coast was clear. The guards nodded, and Julian walked over to inform them regarding what had happened and also show his ID. But he was soon back, sliding into the driver’s seat. As the engine roared to life, he looked back at mother and son cuddled in the backseat and yelled, “Hold on tight!” before moving full speed ahead.

He didn’t make any stops, but he was alert, watching the road for any cars that might be tailing them. He reached the Milton house within record time and locked the main gate with the new security code he’d installed last night.

He parked in front of the entrance and got out before pulling the back door open. Never in his life had he ever felt scared for anyone like the way he did now for Sia. She had a death grip on her son, but she was fading in and out of consciousness. Leo, too, had his arms tight around his mother and was shaking like a leaf.

Julian pried Sia’s arms off her son, and as soon as he pulled her closer to his chest, she passed out. The gash on her forehead wasn’t deep, and the blood had dried, but he knew it was more than the physical injury that had caused her to lose consciousness.

“Get inside, Leo! Quick!” Julian shouted his orders. He knew that the boy was scared, but right now, the only thing on Julian’s mind was keeping them safe.

“B-but Mom?” Leo asked helplessly, tears glistering in his light amethyst eyes.

Julian felt bad for the boy. He had probably never played action games in his life. Such gentleness was his nature, and here he was, witnessing a liveaction shoot-out. “Go,” he said, this time gentler. “I’ll take care of your mother. And tell Martha to prepare the first aid box.”

Leo nodded and left the car while Julian pulled out his phone and contacted the security guards at the gate, giving them orders not to let anyone in unless he said it was safe. He placed his phone inside his pocket and got an unconscious Sia out of the car, carrying her inside the house.

As expected, Martha was standing at the doorstep, with a large white box in her hands, pale as a ghost as she watched Sia’s numb body in Julian’s arm.

“This way,” Martha said, climbing up the stairs to Sia’s room without wasting time on the hows and whats. Julian followed behind her, carrying Sia as if she weighed no more than a feather.

Julian laid Sia down on the bed when they entered her room. Martha immediately started cleaning and bandaging her wounds.

“Julian, will you step outside, please?” Martha asked sternly. “I need to change her.”

Julian nodded, and with great willpower, stepped outside the door. The thought of anything happening to Sia left him horrified. However, he soon spotted Leo not too far from him, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms tightly wrapped around them.

“Hey!” Julian called out before walking over to him and taking a seat next to him. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Leo shook his head, but he was rocking back and forth from anxiety and panic. Julian put his arm around the boy’s shoulder and pulled him close to his chest. “It’s all right, kid. Your mom’s gonna be fine, and today will feel like it never happened.”

Leo nodded against his chest, unable to speak, but he clutched Julian’s shirt in his hands for comfort, and his shivering receded considerably.

Martha came out after a while and gave them the okay sign. Leo had calmed down by then, but he had also fallen fast asleep. He motioned for Martha to point out the boy’s room and then carried Leo and placed him on his bed. Since there weren’t any physical injuries on him, Martha just took off his shoes and socks and pulled the covers over him to let him rest.

“Here.” Martha handed Julian the first aid box. “For your shoulder,” she said when Julian gave her a confused stare.

Only then did Julian remember taking the shot for Sia and the wound on his shoulder. He’d gotten injured before while performing his duties, but never in a state of preoccupation. Never in his life had he been distracted by a charge, not even the ones he was fucking. He hadn’t even touched Sia but here he was, uncharacteristically out of focus

“Thank you,” he told the elderly woman.

“No problem. Today has been a rough day for you all,” Martha said solemnly before making her way to the door. “Call if you need anything. I’ll be downstairs. And do tell if you need stitches. I’ve never stitched a person before, but I’ve helped Sia stitch garments.”

“I guess that qualifies.” Julian chuckled, shaking his head, as Martha turned her back to go out of the room.

But then, she stopped in her tracks just before she went out the door and turned to face Julian. “Just don’t hurt her,” she said warily, closing the door on Julian’s shocked expression.

Did she know he had feelings for Sia? That was the first thought in his mind, as he stood beside the bed, alone with Leo.

But as he looked at the first aid box in his hands, the only thought he had was to keep both mother and son safe from a psychopath who had somehow managed to escape from prison and was now after their life. This was no longer a game to harm Sia. This was an all-out kill strike, and Julian will find the bastard before he managed to do more harm.