President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 90: Who Are You?

Chapter 90: Who Are You?

A girl rushed toward them from the long stone stairway leading down to the river. Her breaths came in panicked gasps and tears streaked hot down her dusty cheeks.

She looked around Danielle’s age, maybe a little younger, dressed in a simple beige dress that looked torn at the hem as if she had been running for miles.

She stumbled as she reached them and almost fell into Theo’s arms... "Please. My sister. They took her. Two men dragged her into the ruins outside the city. No one will help me. You must. Please."

Danielle flinched, shaken by the desperation in the girl’s eyes. Panic like that did not come from lies. It came from real nightmares.

Theo immediately reacted. "Where?" he asked firmly.

The girl pointed toward the desert, and they both noticed her shaking fingers so much she could hardly keep them raised.

"The old temple. They said no one would hear her scream there. Please. We do not have much time."

Theo turned instantly to Danielle. "We need to save her."

But as he took a step forward, his entire body was forced to stop. His mind flashed back to a bomb on Danielle’s chest and her terrified eyes.

To his own helpless hands trembling over ticking wires. Danielle’s shadowed nightmares were still too fresh. He had promised himself she would never be left alone again.

Danielle saw the conflict choke his breath.

He looked back at the girl. "Tell me everything again. Slow. Who took her?"

The girl blinked, confused by the sudden change. "Two men... They looked like soldiers... Armed soldiers. They grabbed us and took her when we tried to go home. They said she would pay for lying."

Theo’s eyes narrowed. "Lying about what?"

The girl shook her head quickly. "I do not know. I do not know anything. They are dangerous. Please. You must hurry."

Danielle stepped forward as her own heart was beating fast. "How did you find us here?"

The girl hesitated. "Someone told me that people from Germanya are staying here. That you could help."

The hesitation lasted barely a breath. But Danielle noticed it.

Theo noticed it too.

He walked around the girl slowly like a wolf circling something unfamiliar. "Who told you that?" he asked softly.

The girl stopped breathing, her lips parted but she kept the words to herself.

Danielle felt a familiar sick feeling in her stomach. The kind she felt whenever Ethan’s presence lurked just outside the door.

"What are you not telling us?" Theo lowered his head.

The girl’s eyes flicked quickly toward Danielle, then back to Theo. "Nothing. Please. They will kill her. I am begging you."

Theo’s jaw tightened as his instincts told him that something was off. But he also knew what real fear looked like. This girl was terrified. That much was not fake.

Her voice turned into sobs. "I cannot lose her. She is the only family I have left."

Danielle’s heartbeat stumbled. Those words struck a wound so deep she nearly doubled.

Theo saw that and placed a hand gently on Danielle’s back. "It is all right," he muttered to her before turning to the girl again. "How old is your sister?"

"Sixteen," the girl whispered. Tears pooled in her lashes. "She is younger than me. She is just a child."

Theo ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t leave Danielle alone here. But he couldn’t ignore a kidnapped girl crying for help.

He remembered Zack’s voice like poison in his mind. ’Will you kill your brother for a girl?’

He remembered Ethan’s voice too. ’Let us play a final game...’

Violence followed them everywhere. Pain hunted them like a starving predator. And now even this peaceful night had turned weird.

Theo looked Danielle straight in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Always."

He held her shoulders gently and spoke low enough that only she could hear. "If this is a trap, I will destroy anyone who tries to touch you. But if it is not... that girl’s sister is dying while we think."

The fear in Danielle tried to rise. Her memories tried to drown her. But she lifted her chin. "We help her."

Theo kissed her forehead quickly and stepped back.

The girl watched them with wide, frantic eyes. "So you will come?"

Theo lifted a finger. "Not yet. I need every detail. Which direction? How long ago? What were they wearing? You will describe everything and you will not lie to me?"

The girl shivered and quickly explained. The ruins lay far into the dunes... The men wore dark uniforms. They had knives...They said the sister would be punished for disobedience.

"Punished..."

Danielle shuddered at the word.

Theo nodded slowly. "Fine. We will prepare. But you will stay here under guard."

The girl panicked again. "No. I have to show you the way. I know the fastest path."

"You will tell my people the path," Theo corrected. "You are shaking too much to lead anyone through a desert."

The girl’s breathing sped up. "Please. I must come."

"No," Theo repeated. "You are not leaving this villa until I know exactly who we are dealing with."

He signaled to one of the villa guards, who approached quietly and stood beside the girl.

The girl’s fear turned to anger. "You don’t understand. They will kill her if I don’t return."

Theo faced Danielle again. "I want you inside. Safe. There are too many unknowns."

Danielle shook her head. "No. I am not letting you go into danger alone. Never again."

They stared at each other like two stubborn hearts equally afraid and equally protective.

Theo took her hand once more and pressed her palm against his lips. "I just got you back."

Danielle squeezed his fingers. "And I am not going anywhere."

The girl watched them and her breathing slowed. The panic drained from her expression inch by inch.

Her eyes narrowed, calculating. And for a moment, the fear was replaced by something entirely different.

Theo noticed.

He turned just as she took a tiny step backward. "Where do you think you are going?"

The girl froze like an ice-cream...barely like a fraction of a second.

Theo’s eyes darkened. "Tell me your name."

She hesitated too long. "Nara," she finally replied.

Danielle whispered it under her breath. "Pretty name."

Theo didn’t soften. "If we find out that you are lying about anything, even one detail, those men will be the least of your problems."

The girl gave a tiny nod.

Finally Theo turned to the guard. "Lock all gates. Alert Frank. No one enters or leaves without my orders."

The guard hurried away to do as told.

Theo exhaled slowly and rested his forehead against Danielle’s once more. "We will help her...But we will not be stupid."

Danielle nodded, though worry twisted inside her like a tightening rope.