Page 17 of Let Me Protect You

As I near the trespasser by the front of the house, my pulse thrums harder, pounding in my ears. I can do this. I can protect my family. Only about five feet are between me and the intruder now. The man looks over at me and shines the flashlight in my face. Intense dark brown eyes meet mine, and I heave out a huge, annoyed breath. As the adrenaline leaves my body, my limbs start to shake harder. I suck in freezing air and almost choke.

“Why are you creeping outside my sister’s house?” I lift my knife, my arm trembling. “I could’ve stabbed you!”

“You were going to stab someone with a kitchen knife? What were you going to do? Butter me to death?” Elias quirks a brow but doesn’t come closer.

Raising my hand, I show him my weapon. “It’s a steak knife. So, tell me, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m here to install security cameras around Serenity’s condo, not to get attacked by a maniac with a knife.”

I ignore his last comment and lift my gaze, spotting a camera mounted on the front corner of the building. Holy hot tamale, he’s trying to keep my sister safe, too? Tiny butterflies start fluttering as I take it all in.

“Before you get any ideas, I just had some extras lying around. Figured they’d go to good use here with Serenity being a single mom and all.”

“Uh-huh.” He can lie to himself all he wants, but if that were the case, he would’ve done it years ago. Right? “Sure.”

Something this simple eases a little bit of my worry about Serenity. Elias doesn’t know about the loan sharks, so he’s simply doing it because he’s a good guy.

He closes his toolbox and picks it up. The lamplight from the street glows behind him. His gaze doesn’t leave me as he strides over. Or is prowl a more accurate term? “You can ‘uh-huh’ and ‘sure’ all you want, but it’s the truth.”

My mouth turns dry as I take him in. He must have gone home to shower before coming back. His dark curls around his ears in a rare no-gel moment. The moonlight reflects off his eyes, lightening them a shade to match his coat. And after everything we’ve already been through together, it would be so easy, almost natural, to push into him and have him fold me into his arms and warm me up. It has to be below zero, and I’m the idiot out here with no jacket or shoes.

“You can keep telling yourself that.”

I turn to head to the back door so I can tell Serenity it’s safe now and that she doesn’t need the gun I didn’t know she had. But I don’t get to take a single step before she comes into view, her shotgun already cocked.

“No intruder?” Serenity’s smarter than I am and wears her boots and a jacket. “Just your bodyguard? The one you suddenly need to go live with even though it’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard?” Her voice is laced with venom.

Elias looks from Serenity to me. “You told her?”

“Yeah, well, you can see how well that went.” I nod over toward a still angry Serenity.

He scoffs. “I didn’t think you’d do it. I can count on one hand how many times you’ve listened to something I’ve said.”

“There are people actively targeting me so of course. This is for my family’s safety.”

His face softens, and for a moment, I see him as he used to be. The boy who climbed in through my window just because he missed me and wanted to cuddle. He’d tell me stories—which usually involved pranks on his sister, Kami—until I laughed so hard I was sure my mother would hear and come running. That guy loved me with his entire heart and was never afraid to show it. Then his eyes shutter again, and he backs away.

If I press him, will he tell me what happened before I left? Why he wouldn’t answer his phone or even call me back after my countless phone calls and text messages. And why he thinks I’m the one who disappeared? Our last argument gave us no answers. It was just spiteful words.Serenity steps forward and finally lowers her gun. “I’m not quite comfortable with you two living together. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

My toes are suddenly so cold they ache. “Can we move this inside before I lose a toe?”

They both look at my feet, and Elias growls. “You expected to take on someone twice your size, not only with that knife, but also when you’re so cold your teeth are chattering?”

Are my teeth chattering? I didn’t even notice until he mentioned it. “Hey, I was trying to protect my family.”

Instead of replying, he closes the distance between us and scoops me into his arms as if I weigh nothing. I know I’m not overweight, but my curves definitely made me gain weight since I’ve been gone. One of my thighs probably weighs as much as both of Serenity’s combined. But then he winces and lets out a string of curses. Then it hits me, he’s not healed yet …

“Are you sure you should be carrying me when you’re still hurt?”

“Don’t you dare tear open your stitches,” Serenity commands.

Elias doesn’t answer either of us. Instead, he starts toward the back door, and we’re swallowed up by the pine trees that line the backyard. I lean into him, soaking up every ounce of body heat, and let out a soft sigh. I reach for the zipper to his jacket and lower it just enough to snake my hands inside. He flinches, and I pause my movement.

Oh, crapsicle. I didn’t even think. I moved on instinct. “I’m sorry. Did I touch your stitches?”

I start to remove my hands, but he says, “No, it’s fine. You need to warm up.”

“But you’re uncomfortable.” I’ll never break his trust doing something he doesn’t want. Just because we have a past—or especially because of that—doesn’t mean I have permanent access to his body. “And I understand. If we’re going to live together, we need boundaries.”