Bodyguard: Ace Cain

|45| We Won't Lose

|We Won't Lose|

In disbelief, Noel disrupted our concourse with his claps. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag," he cooed. "Hailey, why don't you come stand over here with me?"

She tried to put on a brave face, but it was clear that she was hurt. Ace and Tyler, in particular, were betrayed. It was surprising that this was happening so quickly, but I am glad it came to light sooner rather than later. Who knows where we would have ended up if this had not occurred while we were still inside?

Noel could not help but relish the moment. Everything we planned had gone wrong, and there was nothing we could do about it. We were surrounded by Noel and his men, who were in large numbers. There was no way our small group could take them all down.

We needed to know why Hailey would betray us in the way she did. I understand the situation was tense, but that was no excuse to sabotage our plan in this manner. She practically turned us over to the enemy, including herself.

But I did not say anything because she was not my friend. This was Ace and Tyler's issue.

Jake rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, while Ace looked at Hailey with contentment. "I don't understand and don't want to but for the sake of everyone else, why?" He asked her.

Hailey avoided eye contact with any of us, preferring to look at the ground. "You know I have a family to look after Ace. What was I supposed to do?"

"Be confident in our ability to protect you. Protect them!" Tyler yelled at her. Her actions had a greater impact on him than on others. "We're doing the same thing for Reign, why wouldn't we do it for you?"

She wiped away tears. "Reign's situation differs from mine," she explained. "I don't see her with two young siblings under the age of 13," she argued. "They are all I have, and if I lose them to Noel, I will not be able to live with myself."

Ace sighed with frustration because he understood her situation but did not like the outcome. If she had been open about it before going to Noel, we could have come up with something else. Selling us out was such a dirty trick, but I could not help feeling sympathetic.

Of course, Ace's gentle nature kept him from getting upset with her. This had been his friend for years, and he could not be angry knowing what she was going through. He was upset that the plan failed, but not at her. Hailey was fortunate to have friends who cared so much about her well-being.

None of this mattered to Noel, however. He rested his hands on her shoulders, joy radiating from him. "You guys should do a better job of keeping your accomplices in check," he mocked. "Now you will all die here."

Hailey bit her lip with embarrassment. "I'm sorry Reign, I ruined everything," she cried.

It surprised me that she would apologize to me, but I accepted it nonetheless. If Ace could forgive her actions, then I could too. Plus, I knew what it was like to have to protect those you care about. Her siblings were far too young to care for themselves, and it would have eaten me up inside if they could not be protected.

I smiled softly at her words. "Don't apologize Hailey. I understand." Being angry served no purpose. "But don't side with Noel. I'm not sure how we can make this work, but we'll protect them. I swear!"

"Will you listen to the girl who could not protect herself, or will you do the right thing?" Noel escalated the situation. He removed the gun from his pants and placed it in her hand. "Be a good girl. Do what Ace should have done days ago."