Page 31 of Let Me Protect You

With me.

I shake my head. Absolutely not. She made that abundantly clear. Presently, I’m her bodyguard, and these types of thoughts are a distraction. And distractions get people killed.

“Why are you leaving?”

The fire in her eyes almost pulls me to her. “There’s too much bad here for me.”

I cock my head to the side. “Too much bad?”

Harmony nods once. “Yeah, bad memories.”

Pressing my mouth into a thin line, I refuse to ask the questions that want to burst free. Memories of us? Memories of her mother? If she wants to tell me, she will. It isn’t my place to push.

She goes back to work, and I exit the storage room without a word. She’s safe where she is, so I’m not concerned about a threat as I head toward the cafe. The back door is video monitored and always double locked. If someone enters through the front door, they’ll have to get through me first.

I stop in my tracks.

“There you are!” Kami strides over to me with a ceramic coffee cup in hand. “I was just asking Barb where you were.”

I force a neutral expression onto my face. The feel of Harmony in my arms still lingers, and Kami always figures me out. Especially the juicy stuff.

“I had to finish something out back.”

“I’ve been hearing some interesting talk around town, and Barb confirmed some of it.”

I motion to where a customer still sits at a table. “Why don’t we talk about this later? I’m working.”

Before Kami can respond, Harmony walks out, and my sister’s dark brown eyes light up with excitement. I have to get Kami out of here before she starts a gossip train without realizing it. It won’t be easy, though. The calculations in my sister’s brain are already written on her face.

Kami turns fully to my ex, and my heart drops. “Hey, girl. Long time no see.”

Harmony’s cheeks flush. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been back to town for a while.”

“Well, now that you’re here, would you like to come to Tía Vicki’s birthday party this weekend? We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Harmony’s head swivels, looking between my meddling sister and me. A mix of emotions I can’t place splash across my ex’s face. She hesitates for a moment before saying, “If you want me there, of course I’ll come.”

My stomach knots. I can’t go to the party without Harmony, and Kami knows it. She, Serenity, and Tía Vicki are the only people who know about our situation. But her plan won’t work. What if they track us here and are plotting another attack? I can’t even allow the possibility. The only reason I agreed to us coming here is because I own the place and needed to pay Barbara.

“Perfect.” Kami claps her manicured hands together, pulling me back to the women. “I’ll have Elias give you the details.”

Before I can say anything, my watch flashes with a text message.

Sully

We went where our lead told us the “middleman” was, but the place was empty. So, for now, it’s a dead end.

Well shit, our only lead went nowhere. Maybe they really are satisfied that Harmony left. Or perhaps they think they scared her off with the attack in the city. If so, does that mean she’s safe and no longer needs me?

Chapter 17

Harmony

It takes about thirty minutes of arguing with Elias for him to allow me to visit with my family. Something finally clicked in his brain when I mentioned needing unmentionables. The image of his lips parting in surprise keeps me giggling.

After he almost kissed me at Cutesy’s, it felt good to see him uncomfortable. I’m not too proud to admit I was absolute putty in his hands. His strong arms wrapped around me felt familiar yet surprising at the same time. But it can never, ever happen again.

Shaking my head, I look over to Serenity. She tightens her grip on the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. Although there isn’t much snow, she’s always afraid ice is hiding underneath.