All Chapters of BEAUTY AND THE BODYGUARD: DANGEROUS DESIRE BOOK 2: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Nancy’s POVThe man in the gray suit had been staring at me for twenty minutes.I knew because I kept counting the seconds in my head. Pretending not to notice him took effort. Too much effort. My fingers were tight around my champagne glass, even though I barely drank from it. I smiled when I was supposed to. I nodded at the right moments. I tried to look like a normal student at a normal art gallery opening.But I wasn’t normal. And this wasn’t normal.The gallery owner was talking about my work, saying words like brilliant and insightful. Professor Chen stood beside me, clearly proud, her eyes lighting up every time she mentioned my name. I should have felt happy. Proud. Excited.Instead, my heart was racing so fast it scared me.The man wasn’t even pretending to look at the art.He stood near the big red painting on the wall, his hands clasped in front of him, his posture stiff and alert. His eyes never left me. Not once. It was like the whole room disappeared for him. Like I was

Nancy’s POVThe footsteps stopped.My body jolted as he froze in place.Then I heard more sounds.Running.Many feet. Fast. Heavy.Voices shouting, but I couldn’t understand the words through the bag and my own crying.Suddenly, I was lifted again—but this time, gently.He pulled me off his shoulder and set me on my feet.The ground felt solid beneath me, but my legs shook so badly I almost collapsed. My knees threatened to give out.Hands still held me upright.Then the bag was yanked off my head.Light hit my eyes all at once.I gasped and blinked hard, tears streaming down my face, my vision blurry and unfocused. Shapes swam in front of me. Shadows. Movement.When my sight finally cleared, I looked up.I don’t know what I expected.Police.More men in masks.Maybe some dark warehouse or empty room where he was finally going to—But it wasn’t any of that.It was my father.My dad stood there like this was just another Tuesday.Marco Valentino—my father, the head of the most powerful

NANCY'S POVAs he drove away from the parking garage, I couldn't help glaring at him.I sat in the passenger seat with my arms crossed, staring at the side of his face like I could hurt him with my eyes alone. He didn't even glance at me. Just kept his hands steady on the wheel, his eyes on the road, his expression completely blank."You have blood on you," I said. My voice came out cold, angry."I know," he replied."Doesn't it bother you?""No.""Why not?""Because it's not my blood."I wanted to scream at him. Wanted to ask him how he could be so calm, so cold, so completely unbothered by the fact that he'd just killed three people and was now driving around New York City covered in their blood.But I already knew the answer.This was normal for him. This was just another day at work.The thought made me feel sick.We drove in silence through the city. The streets were busy—people walking, laughing, living their normal lives. They had no idea that the SUV passing them contained a k

NANCY'S POV"Of course I'm angry! You're shipping me off to some island!""Nancy, I know you're upset. But I need you to understand why—""I understand," I interrupted. "The Russos want to kill me to hurt you. So you're locking me away.""It's not that simple." My father leaned forward. "You don't understand what they're capable of.""I think three of their men trying to kill me gave me a pretty good idea.""They weren't trying to kill you." My father's voice got quiet. Heavy. "They were trying to take you."I felt cold all over. "What?""The Russos want you alive, Nancy. They want to use you against me." He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder with my name on it. "I need to show you something."He slid the folder across the desk.My hands shook as I picked it up. "What is it?""Open it. You need to see this."I opened the folder.The first thing I saw was a photograph of a young woman.My stomach dropped.She was tied to a chair. Her face was beaten and bloody. One eye was

NANCY'S POVThe engines started up, loud and powerful. The plane began moving, taxiing toward the runway.A woman appeared from the back of the plane. She was maybe thirty, wearing a neat blue uniform. An air hostess."Good evening, Miss Valentino," she said with a professional smile. "My name is Elena. I'll be taking care of you during the flight. Can I get you anything? Water? Juice? Something stronger?"I realized my throat was incredibly dry. Probably from all the screaming."Water, please," I said. My voice came out rough."Of course. And for you, Mr. Konstantin?""Nothing," Zade said.Elena disappeared into the back and returned a moment later with a bottle of water and a glass. She poured the water for me, added ice, and handed it over."Thank you," I said."Of course. If you need anything else during the flight, just press the call button." She pointed to a small button on the armrest.The plane was moving faster now, accelerating down the runway. I gripped the armrest with on