Free thebodyguardsprincess M47 annmayburn 2 by Ann Mayburn

hand still on the gun, he rolled his wheelchair closer. "Hello. N-nice to m-meet you, Mr. Jerry," she stammered out.
    His lips pursed with a slight tremor that ran down his right side. "Indian, probably Bombay. Cultured accent, but been in the States long enough to develop a lovely north eastern society nasal pinch." Mr. Jerry tilted his head. "What's your name, girl? And what are you doing with these two over-muscled assholes?"
    "Uh?" She looked to Kent and Asher who nodded. "My name is Lalita Chetana, and Asher and Kent saved my life."
    Silence met this statement and Mr. Jerry's hand twitched on his lap over the submachine gun. "You better have a good reason for bringing a terrorist to my home, gentlemen."
    Covering her face with her hands, she allowed Asher to pull her back into the protective circle of his arms. So much for hoping he would hear them out. He would probably call the FBI the second they left.
    "She's innocent," Kent said in a careful voice.
    Asher added, "She's been framed."
    "Well, I figured as much. You two Boy Scouts would never mix with the anarchists. Especially after what happened to your--"
    "We need to get her inside," Asher said in a harsh voice. She turned to look at him and caught an expression of heartbreaking pain. Kent's eyes held a similar flash of hurt, and she touched their arms with a questioning look. Both men ignored her and she wondered what the hell they were hiding from her.
    Sucking on his teeth, the white-haired man nodded and hit a button on the wall. The front door opened with a pneumatic hiss, and he easily rolled over the level threshold and flicked the lowered light switch to bathe the foyer in a warm golden light.
    Lalita examined the dozens of pictures lining the entrance, all featuring a family throughout the years. Following the line of the wall, she watched a blond boy and girl grow from babies, to gangly adolescents, to adults. One of the pictures showed the blond man flanked by Asher and Kent, all wearing tuxedos and drinking beers. Another featured a younger version of Asher and Kent dressed in camouflage, leaning against a tank with the young blond man flexing between them. Studying their expressions in the picture, she marveled at how carefree their smiles were.
    "Woman!" Mr. Jerry yelled up the stairs leading to the second floor. "Get down here and bring me my glasses."
    A shrill voice yelled from further back in the house. "I'll be right there. I'm putting coffee on for our guests."
    All three men flinched while Mr. Jerry closed his eyes and shook his head. "Come into my den while the missus continues with her plot to poison me."
    Lalita gave Kent a questioning look, and he said, "Mrs. Jerry's coffee is…" He looked to Asher for help.
    "Stout."
    "It tastes like a camel drank battery acid and pissed it out into a cup," Mr. Jerry grumped as he led them into a pine-walled den. Comfortable and worn leather furniture cluttered the room between portraits of a much younger Mr. Jerry posing with different presidents. She sat in between Kent and Asher on the sofa with her back straight and her fingers laced on her lap.
    Mr. Jerry rolled over to the cluttered desk and turned on a brass lamp while shaking out his glasses. After he put them on, he turned his wheelchair to them and sucked on his teeth. "So what brought you two out of retirement?"
    Lalita looked at Asher, curious to hear an actual answer about their past. "The Sanjit needed someone safe to watch after his daughter," Asher said mildly.
    Kent stretched his arm over the back of the couch as Mr. Jerry laughed. "Safe? You two? I know your dishonorable discharge made--"
    Both men tensed next to her as she said, "What?" Dishonorable discharge? What did Mr. Jerry mean? Only criminals or the morally corrupt were kicked out of the military.
    "We'll tell you later," Kent said and turned her to face him. "I promise."
    "But you--"
    "Girl, listen to your men. You're in a heaping pile of dead dog crap and sinking fast." Mr.