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

T H I R T Y - S E V E N

Nathan spit blood off to the side, lifting his head to glare at Travosky. If it wasn't for the deal to take Mara's place, the agent would have killed him by now. He figured this would give Ben and the others enough time to get out of the vicinity.

The painful aches made it difficult to hold himself up. He was hurting from the beating he got from the remainder of Travosky's crew. They were relentless. Already Nathan could tell some of his ribs were broken, his face swollen, his arms, legs, abdomen, and face bruised and a still bleeding cut on his forehead and lip. Everything just... ached.

As usual, Anna was off to the side, her back against the wall nearby. She crossed her arms, looking at the men who had beaten the agent senseless. She wasn't sure if she was of any more use, but she had been thinking about how Travosky had been willing to let her die.

It hadn't occurred to Anna until that precise moment, of how she was now in debt to Nathan. She owed him her life, that was for sure. He had spared her back at the diner, refusing to take her life when she wouldn't have hesitated to take his if the roles were reversed. And then he did it again, only this time, the agent willingly took the place of Hallden's daughter. Because he loved her.

The brunette looked up when Travosky said her name. She raised a brow, finding her boss grinning at her. He made a simple nod to the side, acknowledging, "Your previous slip up is forgiven, Anna, my love. Clearly, William knows how to pick the perfect bodyguards."

Travosky turned to stare at Nathan who was slowly rising to all fours, his head bowed as he tried taking in deep inhales. Travosky taunted the agent further, circling the young man. "I can just imagine how much I'm going to enjoy your little sweetheart screaming out for you to save her when I'm gutting her like a fish."

Nathan growled, gritting his teeth, and cursed at Travosky to stay away from Mara. The latter chuckled before he took advantage to punch the agent, knocking Nathan down.

Circling the groaning agent again, Travosky scoffed. He stared down at Nathan, shaking his head. "Did you honestly think I'd let them live? It's going to be so thrilling to chase William and his precious daughter down."

Travosky laughed, enjoying the miffed stare the bloodied and bruised agent was giving him. Nathan had leaned back on his haunches, panting slowly. His jaw clenched again, not breaking eye contact when Travosky pointed his gun at Nathan's head. "And when I do... I'll tell your little sweetheart how you died so nobly—Gah!"

Travosky's gun whipped out of his hand, and he turned, backing away. He didn't know what happened until he turned his face to the side. Just as a boot came hurling into it. His head went back, knocking Travosky to the floor and he bit his tongue. The bitter taste of blood made its way down his throat when he swallowed, and his gaze lifted to a pissed Anna.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Travosky demanded, wiping his mouth of the blood dribbling down his chin, and onto his clean suit.

Anna rested her thumb on the safety, slowly pulling it back until it clicked. Her lips in a tight line, her eyes focused on Travosky's wide eyes.

Travosky sneered. "You whore! You won't get away with this! I should have killed your sister when I had the chance! Now I'll make sure you never see her again!"

His only female assassin lifted her chin, her shoulders pulled back. She raised her arm and pulled the trigger. The room echoed with Travosky's scream as he held tightly to his shoulder. He threw his head back and cursed loudly, calling Anna countless names through clenched teeth.

Anna turned to the other men who immediately raised their arms, weapons dropping to the floor. Though they feared Travosky, they didn't trifle with the likes of Anna Carmona. The fear they had for her was out of respect as an assassin, and a damn good one. They knew better than to cross her.