Billionaire Bachelors 6 ; Runaway Heiress(20)

He knew it was his guy. Racing to the car at full speed, he saw the man's head turn as the car tires squealed, peeling out of the parking lot, nearly hitting a family, who jumped out of the way at the last second. Chad came close to the car when a note fluttered out the window, then the driver peeled out and was gone. There was no way he could catch him.

Chad glared at the vehicle without a license plate, making it impossible for him to turn the plate numbers in to the police. He jogged over and grabbed the note the man had thrown out. He was afraid to read what was written on it.

Fury coursed through him as he lifted the note. What the hell did the guy want with Bree? The freak had touched her, nearly managed to abduct her. Chad was acting like a love-sick boyfriend instead of her bodyguard.

A bad feeling began stirring in Chad's stomach. The danger was seemingly gone, but he'd learned from his many years of service to never ignore his gut instincts. He headed quickly toward Bree, feeling an urgency in his movements.

Chad was halfway across the parking lot when a shot rang through the air. Several people screamed, as bodies dropped to the ground  –  parent's quickly throwing their bodies over their children.

Chad reached Bree and threw himself in front of her, while dragging her behind a large car. Once he made sure she was safely down, he poked his head out and looked for any sign of the shooter. He couldn't see anyone. They must have a sniper, which meant they weren't safe anywhere. He needed to get her to safety.

Chad could feel Bree trembling beside him  –  maybe she finally realized the amount of danger she was in. It wasn't the time to lecture  –  he had to get her to safety first. There was an eerie silence through the park. Every few seconds he could hear the choked sob of some of the terrified people, who'd only been out for a nice time with their families. He had to move  –  they were too vulnerable where they were.

"I'm going to lead you through the cars. We're bait where we are. You need to follow directly behind me, and when I say move, don't hesitate," Chad whispered with authority in his tone. Bree nodded, her eyes huge in her pale face.

"They don't care who they hurt, do they," Bree practically sobbed. She was far more terrified for all the innocent children around the play area than she was for herself. She didn't want to die, but if a child got shot because of her, she'd never be able to forgive herself. 

"No, they don't. They want us, not the kids. We just need to get you out of here right now."

"Not us  –  me," she replied.

"Look, I've been in far worse situations in other countries. This is a piece of cake, comparatively. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Just do what I say and we'll get out of here," he said with confidence. His commanding voice had a way of soothing her. She put her complete trust in him and nodded her head.

As they began to move, they made it three cars forward without further shots fired. Bree could see her car about five spaces down. She didn't know how they would get in and get away without getting shot, but they had to have a goal in mind, and right then, that goal was her car. If they could somehow reach it, then everything would be okay.

"There's too big of a gap between the last car and yours. Give me the key. I'm going to make a dash for it. I'll get in and pull up to you. As soon as I pull up I want you to get in the back door and lay down on the floorboard. We're going to haul ass out of here. No looking back," he told her. Her gut clenched with fear. She didn't want them to separate  –  not even for a few seconds.

Chad dashed away before she could argue any further. She knelt shakily next to the small red car, but stayed focused. She watched as he neared her car  –  keys ready. A relieved breath escaped as he opened the door and started to climb in.

Then another shot rang out and she watched in horror as his body jerked and he was slammed into the side of her car. She watched, paralyzed with fear, as a crimson stain spread across the back of his shirt.

Where was he hit? Was it fatal? He dropped to the ground and a guttural growl crept from her throat. Who were these people? Why were they targeting her  –  and why did Chad have to take a bullet meant for her?

She watched a man in black step from between a van and truck about fifty yards away. He was heading straight for Chad - she knew he planned on finishing what he'd started. He wanted to make sure Chad was dead. She couldn't allow that to happen. If he wasn't fatally wounded already, she certainly wouldn't hide while he was murdered right before her eyes.

Bree jumped up, exposing herself to the people after her. She looked around with frantic eyes, then locked gazes with the man stealthily approaching Chad.