Protective Bodyguard

Chapter 6: Unforeseen Pain and Destruction

Nick got up early after having a nightmare. He was stressed out worrying about Tara's safety along with walking down memory lane in his dreams about the days he had lost people he cared about which didn't help matters. Aaron texted, "I am checking out a lead on The Red Dagger. Will call you soon." He waited two hours and was going stir crazy until Tara woke up saying, "I love waking up to see you." Nick immediately responded, "That will never get old and after all this, I will buy us a house. Then, I plan on giving you a special ring." Tara stood up and said, "Oh really? You want to marry little ole me?" He replied, "That has been in the works ever since you let me be your boyfriend, darling." She kissed him tenderly and said, "Spoiler alert, I will say yes when you ask me."

He felt that everything was going right for once until he got a call from Aaron's phone. The voice said, "Your friend figured out my secret so this will be the first guy I have ever killed. Say your goodbyes to him. Don't worry, you will be next, Nicholas Townsend. The best will be saved for last: The forever unclean and stained, Tara." The Red Dagger put Aaron on the phone. Aaron's last words were, "Nick, tell my wife, Angie, I love her. The Red Dagger is someone close to Tara. Get him Nick, I know you can!" The phone was still on and the last words uttered by The Red Dagger were, "It should have been you, Nick. You will feel this guilt for the rest of your life like with Brian and Lana when you turned in your badge. I read up on you. You never save the ones you care about and you won't save Tara, either." Nick was fueled by anger and rage as he heard The Red Dagger kill his friend he had known since high school. Aaron was his best friend and helped him through his parents dying in a car crash.

He choked out the words, "Aaron is dead, he was killed by The Red Dagger. Aaron said the person who was responsible was someone close to you." Tara held him as Nick's tears came down his face. He felt guilty about Aaron being killed. He thought, "Why didn't I insist upon going with Aaron ? Would he still be alive if I were with him?  If I had gone, would Tara had been safe? What if The Red Dagger had an accomplice?" Nick blurted out, "I want to kill that serial killer, myself!" He clinched his fist ready to punch the wall when Tara said, "Don't blame yourself, you had no clue your friend was in danger.  We will get him but killing him is too easy. Prison is where that psycho belongs."

Nick nodded and calmed down after Tara soothed him with her words. He started to write down the suspects: Christopher Renault, Charlie Ryan, and Mr. Waites. Nick rubbed his temples as he said, "What do you think, Tara?" She said, "That is a good list and I don't have any to add to it." Tara decided to drag Nick out of the hotel room for some fresh air. They ate lunch and sat outside a restaurant as Nick was on full alert because of the tragic news he had heard earlier. Who would have thought it would get worse.

Tara asked Nick to check on her parents by calling his former boss, Police Chief Malcolm Fredericks. Malcolm said, "One phone call is all we can risk because The Red Dagger was still out there." She heard her parent's voices which made her heart feel at ease, for once. Tara thanked Nick and told him to thank his former boss, too. Tara told her parents, "I love you," before hearing the sound of gun shots. She gave the phone to Nick so he could here what happened. A weird sound came on, "Beep beep, then boom! You will lose them for sure now, Tara Jones." Her mother screamed as her father fought off The Red Dagger. He was stabbed then her mother clawed at the serial killer but was strangled and then stabbed with the signature knife that The Red Dagger used on all of his victims. Some of the policemen who guarded her parents were stabbed outside while the others in their police cars were blown up. Tara heard what happened since the volume on her phone was loud enough for her to hear. She was bawling and then collapsed from the shock of hearing her parent's deaths along with the explosion that killed the officers.

Nick caught her just in time and carried her to the hotel where they were staying. Tara woke up seeing Nick talking on the phone. He was on the phone with the Police Chief. Nick looked frail and was pacing back and forth. When he hung up, Nick rushed to her side and held her close. He said, "I am so sorry, baby. Everything that has happened has been terrible. What can I do for you?" Tara's eyes looked blood shot as tears flowed down her cheeks. She said, "You just being here is helping me to not fall completely apart.  I am so very sorry about your friend, Aaron."

He held her tight until there was a knock at the door. Tara froze and said, "Don't get the door! What if it's him?" The person kept knocking and Nick went to the door. He looked through the peephole and saw that it was a hotel employee with a note. Nick opened the door and grabbed the note. It said, "Dear Tara, it is a shame your parents are dead. Don't worry you will see them after Nick is dead, signed, The Red Dagger." Tara read the note over his shoulder on her tip toes then she said, "Toss it in the trash." She couldn't sleep and neither could Nick. When he gave her a reassuring smile, Tara shut her eyes and in his protective arms, she forgot for a short time, all of the death and destruction that had happened.