President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 88: After The Fire

Chapter 88: After the Fire

This world always moved on after explosions.

Even when the people inside the blast were still trying to breathe.

The doctors had told Danielle that Theo only needed rest and that his body had survived because of a fast reaction and luck that felt like a miracle.

She sat by his bed all night, wrapping her fingers around his hand, watching every rise and fall of his chest as if the air inside him was borrowed from her own lungs. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He opened his eyes once. Just once.

He smiled at her.

Then sleep took him again.

Frank and the team handled everything else. They worked to clean the shadows that Ethan and his madness had built.

Danielle knew the police found a room full of monitors and files that each one was dedicated to the destruction of her family-father. Theo, herself and even their friends. Ethan had studied them like they were stories he enjoyed.

When Theo finally woke for real, the nightmare was already being handled.

Days passed and news spread. Screens all around the country showed a familiar face handcuffed and dragged through the streets of the capital...

"Ethan Hale..."

What a genius and a monster he was.... A fallen son too...

And beside him walked a second prisoner. A man with red in his hair and coldness in his eyes-Jackson.

The two men were kept apart, but that didn’t stop them from being connected by the same darkness.

They were placed in armored black transports, guarded by soldiers with rifles. Their names were no longer powerful or could hurt.

They were no longer feared...just simple criminals.

Danielle watched the broadcast from the hospital television. Theo sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulder. His strength had mostly returned, but there was a soreness in his movements that reminded her how close she had come to losing him.

Frank who was standing near the door with arms crossed. "Justice will not be easy," he said quietly. "There will be trials. There will be secrets that come out. This is far from over."

Danielle nodded. She understood exactly what he meant.

Pain didn’t vanish just because the ones who caused it were locked away. Pain stayed and demanded time.

"What about my father?" she asked.

Frank took a slow breath. "The president is still overseas. Security scrambled his route after Ethan made his move. They will not let him come home until everything is stable. He calls the palace every day. He asks for you each time."

She looked down at her bandaged wrists. "He must be angry with himself."

Frank gave a small smile. "He is a father. They blame themselves even when they should not."

Theo squeezed her hand. "He will come back. When everything is safe."

Danielle rested her head against him. "Safe feels like a dream."

Theo looked at her with eyes full of promise. "We will make it real."

Later that night, Danielle was waiting outside the hospital entrance. She looked up at the stars. They seemed brighter, like they were trying to show her that the world still had light left in it.

Theo walked out to join her. She breathed out slowly. "I want to leave for a while."

He glanced at her, "Where?"

"Anywhere that doesn’t smell like hospitals or screams." She hugged her arms around her body. "I want to feel sunlight on my skin without looking over my shoulder. I want to walk somewhere normal. Somewhere peaceful. A place where I can forget for just a little."

Theo nodded once. "Then we will go."

Danielle turned to him with wide tired eyes. "You will come with me?"

He laughed softly. "I already promised I would die with you. You expect me to leave you now that we are both alive?"

Her lips curved into a broken little smile. "Thank you."

Frank came out behind them. He looked tired, older somehow. The past few weeks had carved deep lines in the corners of his eyes.

"You deserve rest," he said. "Both of you. I will arrange travel and protection. You just tell me when."

Danielle shook her head. "Not tomorrow. Not next week. Tonight."

Theo raised his eyebrows. "Tonight?"

"Yes." She looked toward the long dark road where a car waited for them. "Before the world remembers my name again. Before the news cameras come back. Before someone tries to ask me what it felt like to almost die."

Theo placed his hand against her cheek. His touch erased the chill in her skin. "Then let us leave tonight."

Frank sighed as if their request lifted and added weight to his heart at the same time. "I will take care of it."

He stepped away to make a call.

Theo pulled Danielle into him. Her face rested against his chest and she listened to his heartbeat. Strong and stable... The sound she thought she would never hear again.

"You saved me," she whispered.

"No," he answered quietly. "You kept me alive so I would have a reason to fight."

She closed her eyes. "Do you think we will ever be normal?"

Theo hesitated. The wind carried his silence for a moment.

"I think normal is overrated," he finally hushed. "But peace. Peace is something we can find."

She smiled into his shirt. "Then let us find peace."

Frank returned. "The car is ready. There is a private jet waiting outside the city. No cameras or names. Just the two of you."

Danielle stepped back and looked at the hospital building one final time. It had saved them but it had also trapped memories she wanted to leave behind.

Theo offered his hand. "Shall we?"

She took it without hesitation. "Let us run away."

~~~~Author Here ~~~~

My dear angels! :>

So... welcome to book two!

I want to give a special thanks to Taylor, Dionne, Elisabeth, Jane, Elvy, and Leaticia. Thank you, girls, for reading up to this point! ~

But the story isn’t over yet! In this volume, Danielle and Theo will go through even more adventures and love. More villains and interesting characters will be introduced! :>