Chapter 173

A couple days after Andrew introduced me to the Special Guard, Lily called me to tell me that she was in town for a few days. She was looking to get out for a few hours, and she wanted to catch up on everything that she had missed while traveling the world. We arranged to have a girls’ night out, with Jeffrey tailing us.

I explained to her about the threat from Bianchi and Bob and told her that I would have extra help following us in the shadows in addition to Jeffrey. I did not tell her the nature of the Special Guard or what they were called—I figured that Andrew did not want that known by the public for a reason—and she seemed to be fine with it.

“Your safety comes first,” she said over the phone. “I’m just glad that Andrew is looking out for you.”

“You and me both.”

We met outside a bar called The Tipsy Stool at around 6 o’clock. She was dressed in a gorgeous black halter dress with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. I wore a sleeveless red cocktail dress, my hair hanging in loose curls around my face.

Lily’s face brightened when she saw me walking up, Jeffrey close behind me.

“Crystal!” she cried, running up to hug me.

I returned the embrace.

“Lily! It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s been too long.” Lily pulled back, holding me at arm’s length as she examined me. “When did we last see each other, Andrew’s coronation?”

I blushed as I remembered that she was there to witness my panic attack. I had hoped that the subject wouldn’t come up.

“Yeah, don’t remind me.”

Lily waved her hand in dismissal.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to talk about that.”

She gave me another once-over before she released me.

“You look fantastic,” she said. “You’re glowing, in fact. It seems like being with Andrew has done you a load of good, all things considered.”

I tensed.

“Yes, well, you’re looking great, too. All that travel must be doing you some good, too. How are your hubby and the baby holding up?”

“Oh, same old, same old. Being on the road so much actually seems to be soothing the little tike, believe it or not. And I think that all the togetherness is really helping to form the family unit.”

She sighed.

“I miss having alone time, though,” she confessed. “And time with friends.”

“Well, you have some of that now,” I said. “Let’s get inside and enjoy it.”

I opened the door and motioned her inside.

“After you.”

As Lily walked into the bar, I felt Jeffrey pressing up right behind me, as though he was trying to block me from something. I glanced over my shoulder at him, but his neutral expression did not give anything away.

“Crystal, are you coming?” Lily called.

“Be right there!”

I gave Jeffrey one last look before I stepped into the bar.

The night went well. Lily and I caught up on our lives, the state of Ever After Weddings, and even our love lives. It felt like the early days, back when I was first released from prison and had shared Lily’s apartment.

It was just what I needed to get my mind off of the hit on my head.

At least, it would have been if Jeffrey had not been so on edge.

When we were choosing a place to sit, he insisted on sitting in the back with him and me facing the exit and would not accept any other options. Then he would jump to attention every time that the door opened, one hand on his gun and the other on my shoulder, as though he intended to push me out of the way. He even insisted on taste-testing all of my food and drinks before I got a hold of them.

It got to the point that Lily took me to the restroom and asked, “What’s wrong with him? He wasn’t nearly this…conspicuous the last time that I saw him.”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’m going to be honest, though, it has me worried. He’s only ever this on edge before something happens.”

“Do you think that something is going to happen tonight?”

“I don’t know. I trust Jeffrey with my life, and if he’s acting this way…it might.”

Lily’s brow furrowed.

“Do you think that we should get out of here?”

“Maybe? It’s getting late anyway, so we should probably call it a night, just to be safe.”

Lily nodded and pulled out her wallet, but I shook my head as I took out my own.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this one. Think of it as my way of saying thanks for putting up with this bullshit just to hang out with me.”

Lily chuckled as we headed out the bathroom. Jeffrey greeted us just outside the door and escorted us back to our table.

“I’m going to pay our tab, then we’re leaving,” I told him, pulling out the cash necessary for the bill plus a generous tip.

Jeffrey nodded. Although he didn’t say it, I knew that he thought that it was a good idea.

I slipped the cash into the check presenter, and then we headed for the door. Jeffrey took point, shielding us from any possible threat.

Outside the bar, Lily and I said our goodbyes and started toward our cars. My heart raced and the hairs on my arms were raised, but I could not tell why. There did not seem to be any danger, so I tried to brush it off to Jeffrey’s behavior just making me paranoid.

Then I saw George Black running toward us.

“Get down!” he screamed.

“What?” Lily and I said in unison.

“Get down!”

Before Lily and I could say anything else, Jeffrey pulled us behind the nearest car. He tucked us each under one of his arms and did not allow us to straighten up.

Even as my eyes were forced to watch the ground, I could hear bullets rush through the air. Glass shattered as the bullets hit the bar window behind where Lily and I had been standing.

Lily and I screamed, but neither of us moved, frozen to our spots beneath Jeffrey’s protective hold.

George Black crawled up beside us and pressed against the car we were hiding behind.

“What’s the situation, Black?” Jeffrey asked, still not releasing his hold on Lily and me.

“Sniper. We haven’t located them yet, but we know that there is one. Now that they’ve fired, we should be able to trace their trajectory and capture them.”

More shots fired, this time hitting the car that shielded us. The bullets thundered like an apocalyptic thunderstorm, and the glass of the windows rained down upon us. Lily screamed again, this time struggling to run away, but Jeffrey did not let her loose.

“We need to stay here until they catch the sniper,” Jeffrey said.

I heard Lily whimpering. I squirmed under Jeffrey’s hold enough to reach over and grab her hand.

“We’re going to be fine,” I said, as much to assure myself as Lily. “We’re going to be fine.”