Free Undercover Engagement by Lucy McConnell Page B

right, were enough to make my cheeks flame.
    “Jason, this is private property and you need to vacate the premises immediately,” said my new body guard.
    Jason threw up his hands “We were just hanging out.”
    The guy folded his arms.
    Jason fumed. “I’m out of here. You coming?”
    I wanted to. Every part of me wanted to follow him back to his car, buckle my seat belt, and drive off into the safety of the unknown. In spite of all that, I stuck to my part of the script. Jason had told me that if this was going to work, I had to have a little attitude. “Not with you.”
    “Fine.” Jason stormed away, his thick leather boots clomping a path through the light crowd. He stopped to wait for the light. I watched, but he didn’t look back.
    “Miss, if you’re not leaving then you’ll need to come with me.” The burly man gestured for me to go in front of him.
    I felt a weight on my chest the moment my foot hit the concrete. I swallowed back the sour taste of fear. The man led me toward the same parking lot Jason had parked in.
    Needing some reassurance, I searched for Jason’s dark form ahead of us, but he was long gone. Probably on his way to his precious drop off. I traced my finger over my butterfly tattoo. I should have at least thanked him for everything he’d done.
    The pressure on my heart was powerful, like the time I’d awakened in the middle of the night and knew I needed to check on Millie. Dad woke up as I pulled the four-wheeler out of the garage and followed. Millie was on her side, the foal trying to come, but turned the wrong way. If I hadn’t checked on her...
    The need to be with Jason filled me from the checkered shoes to the top of my punked black hair. That need was the only thing I could think about. It washed out every other thought, every feeling, and every preplanned action. I pulled on my escort’s arm. “I need to find Jason. I didn’t tell him goodbye.”
    “No contact.” We entered the artificial light of the parking garage. The elevator took us to the top level. My escort checked his phone on the way up. An iPhone, I noted. Not as fancy as Jason’s, but still better than anything I could get at the Sprint Store. Maybe they gave you better gear the longer you worked with the agency. I shifted my weight, working up the nerve to plead my case.
    “I understand the rules, it’s just that I need to see him again before we go.”
    He yanked me through the open elevator doors. The top level was vacant except for one black sedan parked next to a circular concrete support beam in the middle of the open space.
    “No,” he said
    I yanked back. If I was going to spend the next couple weeks with this guy, he might as well know I expected to be treated with respect. “I’m not going one more step unless I talk to Jason.”
    He turned on me, towering over me like a monster in a spook ally. “You’re gonna do what I say, when I say it. Do you understand?”
    I glared. “No!” I stepped back. I could find Jason on my own. All I had to do was get to a phone and call him. He wouldn’t like this guy manhandling me like a sheep on the way to the county fair.
    Catching my arm, he kept me from running away. “Listen, Sugar, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
    “I don’t appreciate your tone!” I glared at his hand hooked on my arm.
    “Have it your way.” He smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile. It was malicious; like that girl in high school who freezes everyone's bras at the sleepover.
    “Ow!” A sharp stabbing pain burst in my shoulder, followed by a stinging sensation. I grabbed at my arm. “Did you shoot me?” What the...?
    “Naw.” He let go of my arm. I took two steps back before I stumbled. “It’s just a little happy juice to make you more manageable.” The garage tipped, pulling me with it. He grabbed my arm again, dragging me to the car because my legs were operating on a different frequency than my brain.
    “You’re not a guardian,” I said,