Bodyguard: Ambush (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

biscuits.’
    Connor dutifully followed his gran into the
     kitchen, leaving Charley with his mum. He briefly looked back to check that Charley was
     all right but they were already chatting happily.
    ‘Where’s Sally?’ Connor
     asked, referring to the live-in carer that the Buddyguard organization provided in
     return for his services as a teenage bodyguard.
    ‘Oh, we’ve given her the
     afternoon off since you’re here,’ explained his gran, flicking on the kettle
     and taking out her best china from a cupboard.
    ‘Is that wise?’ asked Connor,
     his eyes drawn to the wheelchair in the hall. ‘Mum seems rather … weak.’
    His gran paused in making the tea. With a
     heavy sigh,she answered, ‘Your
     mum’s having a relapse. She won’t admit how much she’s suffering.
     That’s why she insisted on greeting you at the door, despite my protests. She
     wanted to prove to you she’s doing well. Didn’t want you worrying at
     school.’
    Connor glanced into the living room, where
     his mum now sat by the fire, the tremor in her hands still visible. Despite everything
     he was doing to provide their live-in care, he still felt powerless to help her where it
     mattered most. He wished he could somehow
protect
his mum from the disease,
     rather than merely help ease her suffering.
    His gran saw the anguish in his face.
     ‘Don’t worry, my love. Your mum’s keeping up her spirits. And
     Sally’s a godsend. I honestly don’t know how we’d cope without her
     help. Anyway, your Charley seems a lovely girl,’ his gran remarked, changing
     topics as she popped three Earl Grey teabags into the pot and poured in hot water.
     ‘So what’s the story with you two?’
    ‘We’re just friends,’
     replied Connor, realizing where this was leading.
    Gran gave him a look.
    ‘No, really,’ insisted
     Connor.
    ‘I believe you,’ she said with a
     knowing smile as she arranged some biscuits on a plate. ‘But I hope you
     don’t mind me saying, she seems an unusual choice of student to be in a
     “school” like yours.’
    Unlike his mum, Connor’s gran knew the
     truth about the ‘private boarding school’ he attended. Although Colonel
     Black had sworn him to secrecy as the Buddyguardorganization relied on its covert status to function
     effectively, Connor had realized his gran was too sharp-witted to be fooled. She’d
     have seen straight through any lies. So, trusting his gran implicitly, he’d told
     her about the deal – the scholarship programme set up by Buddyguard to fund their care
     and his education in exchange for becoming a bodyguard. She hadn’t liked the
     proposal one bit, yet was a realist when it came to their family’s desperate
     situation. She’d also recognized his late father’s steely determination in
     him – a determination that had made his father the best of the best: a soldier in the
     SAS. So, while not giving her full blessing, she’d accepted his decision to
     join.
    From the living room, Connor heard Charley
     laugh at something his mum said and just hoped his mum wasn’t telling any
     embarrassing stories of him as a boy.
    ‘So what happened to Charley?’
     pressed his gran, picking up the tea tray. She directed her gaze to the wheelchair
     Charley sat in.
    Connor barely noticed it any more. Charley
     had made clear, both in words and action, that her chair did not define her. ‘I
     don’t know exactly,’ he replied. ‘She’s never told me. It
     happened before I joined, on an assignment.’
    His gran almost dropped the tray, the cups
     clattering and the pot splashing steaming tea on to the lino floor. ‘
On an
     assignment!
’
    Unable to meet his gran’s hard stare,
     Connor grabbed a cloth from the sink to wipe up the mess.
    Putting the tray down on the worktop, his
     gran looked thoughtfully out of the kitchen window. ‘It doesn’t seemright that this colonel of yours is allowed
     to recruit young people for such a dangerous job. Sacrificing their