Page 24 of Let Me Protect You

“Why didn’t you answer when I tried calling you?”

She huffs out a laugh. “Really? When you called me like four days later?”

A growl rumbles up my chest and escapes before I can stop it. “I couldn’t get my charger at first because Tía Vicki was in the hospital.”

Everything inside me screams to tell her more, but Harmony’s mother passed away shortly after my aunt’s diagnosis, and the last thing I want is to bring back all those memories.

All the confidence leaves Harmony. Even with all of my pain, I crave to reach out to console her, but that would be the biggest mistake. I’ve been around her for only a few days, and I already want to pull her in and get lost in her.

She wraps her arms around her torso. Her eyes are glued to her feet. “Vicki was in the hospital?”

I nod, at a loss for words. Fiddling my thumbs, I can’t look at her anymore. Is this enough? I don’t have to tell her about every detail of our hospital visit, right? She tried to call. But only for a few days and then didn’t answer my phone calls when I could finally call her back. I guess that’s how little I meant to her.

A soft hand touches my arm, and everything inside me screams to either move back or step into her. I glance over to Harmony. Tears rim her eyes, and I throw caution to the wind and crush her to my chest. Our hearts pound in rhythm together for one last time. Maybe now, we can finally move on and truly be friends.

It doesn’t matter now who called who or who didn’t answer. All that matters now is that we’re a team.

“I’m so sorry, Elias. I never knew Vicki was in the hospital.”

“No one knows.” One thing doesn’t sit right with me. “So, why did you leave a day early?”

She shakes her head against my chest. “I had to.”

“After everything I told you, that’s all the answer I get?”

“No. It’s just been so long.”

“Did you think I’d …” I pause, unsure if I should voice my insecurity, but when she cranes her head to look up at me, I cave. “Did you think I would hold you back?”

She gasps. “Of course not. A company offered me a job that was too good to turn down, and I was going to tell you about it, but I wasn’t sure how to yet because we had planned to leave the next day. Vicki had a big going away party planned for you. So, by the time I was going to tell you, I couldn’t reach you anymore.” A big breath whooshed out of Harmony as if it was a relief to say it.

Something inside me finally feels right. Sure, we can’t be together now, but all my fears about how and why she left were wrong. “Do you trust me to protect you?”

She nods and pulls away. Coldness fills the space where she just was, and I resist the urge to pull her back.

Sniffling, she nods. “I told you earlier that I did, and I wasn’t lying. Especially after you already put your life in danger for me.” She looks down and continues, “I appreciate you put cameras up at Serenity’s because I trust that you’d protect her, too.”

“I will.”

“If your sensors detect even the smallest thing, will you check it out?”

“Absolutely.” I reach out and lift her chin, and her eyes meet mine. “Why?”

“I’ll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else.”

I don’t hesitate. “I promise.”

“Paul got into some bad stuff before he died. For sure, I know he had a gambling debt and that he took a loan out through suspicious people.”

My body tenses. “Loan sharks?” Could that possibly be who is after Harmony? Are they trying to get to Serenity through her high-profile sister?

Harmony nods. “They’ve threatened Serenity at least once. I was in her condo when they came, but I didn’t get downstairs fast enough to find out who it was.”

I place a hand to my heart. “I assure you I’ll monitor her house.” And now I have another lead to give to Sully.

She takes a step closer and twirls her hair around her finger. “Thank you.”

Harmony looks up at me from under her eyelashes and scrapes her teeth over her lower lip. We’re so close that if I just lower my head, our mouths will touch.