The Bodyguard REWRITTEN (B.O.C. 1)

T H I R T Y - O N E

"What do we know so far?" Ben didn't turn away from staring straight ahead and tapping the side of his hand the palm of his other. "We have to review what we know, so we can go off of that." He turned his head to the men in the car with him.

Rory shrugged, saying he would not be very helpful other than what he'd overheard from the team during their trip. Beside him, Adam wore a pensive look, pursing his lips. Hallden, on the other hand, had nothing to say; just staring at the team, wide-eyed. He had no idea what to add to the conversation, and it didn't appear that the team was speaking to him anyway.

Ben observed Nathan, in the driver's seat, with his hands tightening on the steering wheel. His knuckles were going white. Despite the circumstances, the older man would have grinned knowing how one woman brought out a fierce protective instinct in a man who had sworn romantic love was not an option for him. But then again, this wasn't just any woman. This was Mara.

"Nate..." Ben spoke, watching for any change in the fire in Nathan's eyes.

Nathan glanced at Ben before looking back at the road. "What..." He grumbled, rolling his right shoulder to ease the tension in it.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" Ben asked.

Nathan scoffed, shaking his head. "Honestly, Ben, I'm just too pissed to be actually paying attention, alright?"

"Yes, I can see that." Ben shifted in the passenger seat to face Nathan. "Look, I get you are upset about Mara. But don't think you are the only one. We want to get her back, too, and we will! But first we really need to figure out where the hell we are going without driving around aimlessly." He gestured to the road they'd been on for an hour and a half.

Nathan knew he had a point. And that irritated him, but still, he knew Ben was right. "Fine!" he relented, gripping tighter to the wheel.

Ben sighed, turning to the others in the back. "What do we know?" he repeated.

Adam sat forward, resting his forearms on the seats between Nathan and Ben, answering with his brows furrowed, "We know this Travosky dude has been after Mara this whole time, right? Since we first met her, the guy has planned on kidnapping her."

"Right. And that links all those men from the times they had chased us, and then later on chasing Nathan when Mara was with him." Ben added.

From beside Adam, Rory lifted a brow and leaned forward. He frown at the driver. "Didn't you say there was a woman who chased after you?"

Nathan scowled, tilting his head away with his chin towards his chest.

Just the mention of Anna made his blood boil more. Her words were stuck on repeat from their last encounter. "No matter what, I will get her. So, you might as well do what you have to do now before you miss your chance again." He was grinding his teeth, knowing Anna would be responsible for having taken Mara. She was more cunning, and more of a challenge to fight. Nathan had his chance to get rid of her, but because of his stupid moralities, Mara was now in danger.

Ben sighed heavily, looking at Nathan. "Nate...? What do you think...?"

Nathan frowned at the road and nodded, "Yeah." He sighed through his nose, narrowing his eyes, "Yeah, and I bet my bottom dollar it was Anna." Glancing in the rear view mirror at Hallden, Nathan questioned, "Do you know where we can find Travosky?"

Mr. Hallden took a moment to think. He frowned, scratching his brow with his thumb. After a few minutes, his head snapped up. "I think I might know where he is!"

Ben turned around and ordered Adam to write down everything Hallden knew about Travosky. Then he returned to look at Nathan, placing a hand on the younger's forearm. "Keep calm, Son."