Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

your mother through?”
    “I can imagine,” I answer. “But right now… Dani is in danger.”
    She blinks. “What do you mean?”
    I point to her cheek. “The men that killed Senator Lamb,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “I have a history with them.”
    Bennett scoffs. “What kind of history?”
    I keep my eyes on Dani’s. “They’ll come back for you.”
    “Fox—” he continues, his voice growing louder. “What are you talking about?”
    “And they’ll kill you.” She stares back at me with wide, fearful eyes. Scaring her is the last thing I want to do but it’s the only card I have. She’s stared into Mercer’s eyes. I know she’ll believe me when I say he’s dangerous. “I don’t have time to explain everything. The best thing to do right now is to get you somewhere safe.”
    “She’s not going anywhere.” He points a finger at me. “Not with you .”
    “Bennett…” my mother scolds. “We should listen to what he has to say.”
    “Why?” he snaps back. “Go on, Fox. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t toss you out on your ass right now.”
    “What’s gotten into you?” she whispers. “This is my son!”
    He stares me down. “Exactly, Cora. He’s your son. A son that let us all believe he was dead for years. Every birthday, Christmas, and Mother’s Day. Isn’t that right, Fox?”
    “Well, surely, there must have been some kind of misunderstanding — some reason why he couldn’t contact us.” She looks down the table at me. “Right?”
    I can barely meet her eyes. “No,” I answer. There’s no point in lying about that. She sits back in her chair as even more silent tears fall from her eyes. Even Dani sits back in disappointment.
    “See?” Bennett says, throwing up his hands. “Son of the friggin’ year.”
    “I did it to protect you,” I say.
    “From what?”
    I look at Dani’s cheek again. “From them.”
    “Well, look how that turned out.” He gestures to her face. “A half a million dollars down the drain for plastic surgery.”
    “And I’m sorry about that, but… You need to let me take her somewhere safe. After that, I promise I will answer any question you have about the last few years. You just have to trust me.”
    “Trust you?” Dani’s voice quivers on her breath. “How the hell are we supposed to do that?”
    “Dani—”
    “We don’t even know who you are anymore.”
    “It’s me .”
    “That doesn’t mean anything , Fox,” she says, shaking her head.
    It crushes me. I expected this from Bennett. I expected tears from my mother. Of all of them, I expected Dani to be on my side. “They call themselves Snake Eyes, Dani,” I say. “The man that cut your face is named Mercer Black. They’re more dangerous than you can possibly imagine—”
    “Then let the authorities take care of it!” Bennett nods to the hired hand behind me. “You got ties in the department, right?”
    “They aren’t equipped to deal with something like this,” I interrupt.
    “And you are?”
    Dani sits back in her chair, a conscious effort to get farther away from me.
    “Yes,” I answer.
    He points a finger down and taps it against the table. “I’m not about to risk my daughter’s life on a dead man’s hunch.”
    My mother sobs quietly, unable to say a word.
    “It’s not a hunch,” I say. “They killed Lamb to send me a message. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling you the truth. It’s why I came back. If I didn’t, they’d kill her and—”
    “That’s enough,” Bennett interrupts.
    “Where have you been?” Dani’s stiff, dry voice cuts me off.
    “Like I said, Dani…” I sigh. “I will answer everything after I get you out of here.”
    “I’m not going anywhere with you, Fox.”
    She means it. I can see it in her eyes. She’s always had the most expressive eyes. “Dani, please—”
    “No.” She shakes her head. “Dad’s right. You could have told us you were alive, but instead, you just let us wonder what