Page 8 of Let Me Protect You

There are only two things I’m sure of in this moment. The first is that I’m the only person between her and danger. And the second? I’ll never trust her again.

The door where we exited opens, and I glance over. What does Victor want now? But it isn’t him. Instead it’s the man who pretended to be Harmony’s “new boyfriend.” He stands there with a cigarette in his hand, his hood pulled up over his head.

“Oh, hello, darling,” he says in a playful tone when he spots us.

Harmony’s face pales, and she says, “Let’s argue about this later. I don’t know who he is, but—”

Before she can finish her sentence, the man blurts, “You should have said what we told you to say,” and he lunges toward Harmony with a knife.

I dive forward and shove Harmony out of the way. She crashes to the ground, and I pray her dress cushions her fall. She pushes to her feet, and her wide eyes meet mine.

“Get back in the car now,” I say, willing for her to listen to me.

Our attacker stalks forward, and I shove Harmony behind me. Her small hand touches my lower back. She’s alive. She’s secure. As long as I’m here, she will be okay. I will get her to safety, even if I die in the process.

Footsteps sound behind us, and I say, “Someone else is coming. On the count of three, run to the SUV, get in the driver’s seat, and go.”

“I won’t leave you here.”

I laugh without humor. “You already left me once; you can do it again.” If only we didn’t have two men here, wanting to hurt or kill Harmony, I could’ve finally asked what happened. But for now, that has to wait.

“I. Won’t. Go. Without. You.”

“You stubborn woman,” I growl through clenched teeth. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Are you two done chatting?” The fake boyfriend circles us. Then he says to his accomplice, “Just shoot them. They searched me at security, so I couldn’t bring my gun.”

I take a single deep breath. If I turn my back on him to get Harmony to safety, he will attack. But whoever the second person is has a gun. And I’d rather take my chances on the guy with a knife.

“On the count of three you will run to the car, or one of us won’t make it out of this.”

“Elias,” she breaths out, and it’s enough to gut me.

“Do it, or they might kill Serenity and Summer, too. They’re witnesses. And don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.” I don’t give her a second to think before I say, “One, two, three.”

Harmony bolts to the SUV as fast as she can, and I’m right behind her. Gunshots ring out, and she trips over the folds of her dress, so I scoop her up. The gems dig into my palms, and I let out a string of curses, but I don’t stop. More loud explosions shoot off as her arms immediately wrap around my neck, and I resist the urge to shudder at her sudden closeness. This is no time for emotions, only action.

Swinging open my driver’s car door on the opposite side from where our attackers are, I throw her inside and shut it behind her. She bangs on the window with wide eyes, but I shake my head at her. “You’ll be safe in there. It’s bulletproof. If I get taken down, leave.”

As I creep back out from behind the vehicle to face my enemy, I can hear Harmony pounding on the window behind me. I pull out my Glock and face the two men closing in on me.

Chapter 6

Harmony

Elias stands outside by himself against two men. He must be on something if he thinks I’ll leave him out there alone. How is that fair? I don’t care if I don’t have a plan. He needs me. I reach for the door handle, but Serenity’s firm touch stops me.

I turn to face her, and my heart sinks.

She clutches Summer’s trembling body to her chest. “If you go out there, you will only get in the way.”

I shake my head and twist my body the best I can with this stupid dress on to face my sister. “You’re saying that because you want me away from danger.”

“You’re my little sister, so of course I want you safe. But what do you know about fighting? About weapons? You grew up in a bubble.”

Tears fill my eyes as I comprehend her words. I’m utterly useless.

I’m doing this to them, to Elias. My ex-boyfriend turned bodyguard is outside this vehicle right now protecting my family and me because of a decision I made.