Page 21 of Let Me Protect You

I force myself to look at Serenity. “Why are you here? Did you come to his house to berate him?” I pause and wait for her to say something, but her jaw drops, so I continue. “Who protected us from those two guys? It sure as hell wasn’t me. No, it was him. So, what’s the matter with me living where it’s safer? Where I’ll keep that danger away from you and Summer.”

Her face pales, and she sputters. “I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I place my hands on my hips, just like she did minutes ago. “Elias is a professional. Wouldn’t you rather me stay with him than some random bodyguard we don’t know?”

Serenity stands there with her mouth open. I always went along with what she said, but she went too far this time.

Without waiting for her response, I stride back to my room and snatch my phone off the bed. “Don’t worry. I’ll call Sully and ask for a replacement. I wanted to anyway.”

“No, don’t,” Serenity says so softly I almost don’t hear her.

While Elias says at the same time, “That isn’t necessary.”

“Why isn’t it necessary?” I glance between my ex-boyfriend and my sister, daring one of them to protest. “I wonder who Sully would send. Definitely a stranger. And most certainly someone dangerous. Maybe handsome, too.”

Elias rolls his eyes. “She’s the one who has a problem with our situation.”

All three of us stare at each other without uttering a word. Summer’s squealing is the only sound in the house as she pets Spot.

Serenity turns to Elias. “Can I talk to my sister for a moment?”

He doesn’t move for a few seconds but then nods and strides toward his bedroom.

As soon as his door clicks shut, my sister turns to me. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Of course. Do you really think Elias and I would cross that boyfriend-girlfriend line again after everything that went down?”

She looks away, her eyes straying to Summer. “I know you both have good intentions but it will be easy to fall back into love. He’s handsome and has a great body. I mean, seriously, he has to hit up the gym daily.” When I open my mouth to protest her finding him attractive, she holds up a finger. “But he’s also so nice. Did you know that every weekend he volunteers at the hospital where I work? One day about six months ago, Mrs. Crane, a cranky old lady was screaming for her husband who had passed a year ago. Elias heard her and went in to read to her. By the time he left, she was smiling from ear to ear. I mean, what woman wouldn’t want to fall into his bed?”

Ignoring her last question, I shake my head, unable to speak. Only one thing she said stuck in my mind. Elias volunteers at a hospital? Being here is definitely a mistake if I’m going to leave with my heart still intact. He’s still such a sweet … No, I can’t let myself think that way.

He may put on that nice guy façade, but he’s the one who disappeared.

She sighs. “See? I already see it on your face.”

“Just trust me.”

“Fine,” Serenity mutters. She goes to Summer and picks her up before turning back to me. “Please still come see us. I want to see you as much as I can before you take off again.”

Chapter 12

Elias

Itoss my phone on the kitchen table and let out a string of curses. I blaze a trail across my hardwood floor as I pace. Rex senses my distress, as usual, so he follows behind me loyally. Only twenty minutes after Serenity left, Sully sends me the gossip website with pictures of Harmony at the truck stop.

Fuck.

Hopefully he’s getting them taken down now. And then on top of that, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to have an article removed but assured me there was no way anyone could figure out where we were headed based on the image alone. But anyone with a brain can figure out where Harmony is from and will start their search from there.

I march over to my guest room—Harmony’s room—and grimace as the skin around my cut pulls. Never in all my fantasies did I ever think about this scenario. I lift my hand to knock. My arm is raised, but I can’t get myself to rap my knuckles on the door. I inhale a deep breath. If I’m going to properly protect her and without getting injured next time, I must learn how to be around her without letting our past get in the way.

Then maybe I need to get answers so I can finally move the fuck on like I thought I already had.

The door swings open, and I still stand there with my arm raised, poised to knock.

Harmony shrieks and shoves at my chest. “What are you doing right outside my door?”

I stumble back a step. Her handprint sears through my shirt and onto my skin. It’s worth the pain from the sudden shove to feel her touch. Her gaze flicks up to mine, and she crosses her arms over her chest. She has changed out of her floral pjs and into jeans and a long-sleeve shirt that hugs her body in all the right ways. Her brown hair is pulled into a messy pile on top of her head, and I have to resist the urge to pull out the elastic.