Page 20 of Protected By Him

“That really stinks. But postponed is better than canceled," he told his mom with a reassuring voice. "Two months will fly by."

I watched Leo pause and turn to his mother. He looked at Ella, then back to me, as if he’d just solved a cold case himself. "Actually Mom, this could be a good thing. I can't get into the details, but we think Laura may be in trouble."

Ramona looked my direction with immense concern. Leo continued, "We think she stumbled onto some things at work that may have some people after her. That’s why she stayed here last night. She will stay here until we can be certain she is safe."

He looked at Ella again. "I am not sure if it is safe for Ella to be here. Just in case, would you mind keeping her at your house for a couple of weeks?"

Ramona's expression quickly changed from sadness over her trip to worry. Not only for Leo but for me too. She looked at both of us. "Of course. But why don't you just go to the police?"

Leo glanced at me and cleared his throat. "There is a lot to this, and right now, we aren't sure how deep it goes and need more proof. So, until we can sort this out, I would feel better knowing Ella is not around. I will stop by and see her every day."

"Yes, of course," Ramona said eagerly.

"Thank you, Mom. I really appreciate it. I will go gather her things now." I watched as he left the kitchen.

Ramona followed him while I stayed in the kitchen with my bacon and toast. I felt horrible for the realization that I could be putting not only Leo, but Ella in danger too. I had not had time to even process that. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to either of them.

I glanced around the empty kitchen. Maybe I should figure out a way to resolve this on my own. I wished Brandon was here. He would know what to do, I wouldn't have to worry about Ella or Leo. However, he couldn't find out what was going on while he was deployed. He was too far away to do anything, and he would only worry.

I had got to get to the bottom of this, and fast!

Chapter Ten

Leo

WhenMomcamebythis morning and said her trip was postponed, I couldn't help but seize the window of opportunity. It had crossed my mind the danger I could be putting Ella in after hearing everything Laura had witnessed.

I didn’t want to say anything to Laura because I knew she hadn’t even thought about that aspect yet, and when she did, she would excuse herself from my home and insist on trying to solve this on her own to protect Ella.

Now that Ella was safely tucked away at my parents’, we could focus on figuring this out so Laura could move on with her life.

Well, if I was being honest with myself, I really wanted this resolved sowecould move on withourlives, hopefully together.

Brandon’s face flashed in my mind, and I winced at the thought of telling my best friend that I was in love with his sister. I truly believed he would be supportive, but it would still be a shock. I’d been careful to hide my feelings from him for years. But first, I needed to tell Laura how I felt. There would be no reason to tell Brandon if Laura didn’t want me. I’d hoped to tell her last night after I put Ella to bed, but she’d looked so peaceful snuggled on the loveseat. I couldn’t bear to wake her.

Speaking of Laura, I walked down the hall to the guest room door and rapped my knuckles on it.

“Come in,” she called.

Pushing open the door, I stopped at the sight before me. Laura stood in the middle of the room, her hair wet, wearing my t-shirt and sweats. She looked young and vulnerable in the baggy clothes with her face scrubbed clean. The sight of her in my clothes sent a wave of possession through me, and it was all I could do not to reach for her.

My eyes ran the length of her body, stopping at her freshly painted toenails before tracking back up. As I made my way back to her face, I could tell she was blushing. "I know, I look horrid," she sheepishly said.

"No, no, not at all," I stammered. “I wanted to see if you’d be up for a trip back to your apartment today. I’m assuming you’d rather not live in my sweats for the next several days.”

“Yeah, that would be great. I’d rather not go back there alone, but there are some things I need to get.” Laura’s expression turned suddenly serious. “Also, I need to tell you, I spoke with Emily this morning. She confirmed that Jon was fired, too."

"And remind me who Jon is?"

"The nerdy accountant I was telling you about. He is the one who I tricked into letting me review the expense reports." As she speaks, Laura looks down at her hands and squeezes her fingers together. It’s an old gesture she’s had since childhood. It only ever made an appearance when she felt guilty about something. I was sure she was blaming herself for Jon’s being fired.

“Hey,” I said, stepping forward and taking her hands in mine, “this isn’t your fault.”

"This is all just so messy. I do not understand how he is getting away with all of this," she said in a tone of frustration.

"There is no telling who Harvey owes money too, or why, or how deep this goes. This will most likely get a lot messier before it’s over."

"Leo." Laura said my name as if it pained her, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes. "I don't want to put your or Ella's life in any danger. A story isn't worth it. I can just take what I have to the police and step away." The concern in her voice made me ache for her even more.

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