Page 22 of Protected By Him

"This cannot be happening."

I turned to Laura and saw her standing frozen in the middle of the chaos. Her skin was pale, and she looked like she was fighting back tears.

I crossed the room in quick strides and spread my arms. "Hey, hey," I said as I clasped her face in my hands and forced her to look at me. "You cannot break down now. I know how terrible this is. These assholes will pay for this."

She slowly nodded and pulled away to look around.

"We are going to make them pay," I said through gritted teeth, then pulled Laura against my chest.

She fell against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. The thought that Laura could have been here when they’d broken in threatened to choke me. But I could feel her heartbeat, and for a moment, I forgot about the horror we were facing. Laura was safe in my arms.

“Are you alright?” I tipped her face up to see her expression, then gently kissed her.

The kiss was not a sexual kiss but a comforting one. I needed the contact to anchor myself, and I suspected she did too.

She looked into my eyes and smiled. "Thank you."

I offered her a smile in return. And even though we didn't say anything else, that alone was enough.

I took a deep breath as I glanced around. Her closet was open, and her clothes were strewn around the room. Her underwear drawer had been ripped open. I closed my eyes as a fresh wave of fury swamped me.

"I can't believe whoever did this went through my...private things," she said with a tremor in her voice.

"This was very purposeful," I said as I lifted my phone and brought up my contacts. "I would say they were looking for something. Whoever these people are working for, they don't mind getting their hands dirty to achieve whatever they're set on."

She shook her head. "What am I going to do?"

"Continue," I told her simply. “We can’t back down now, but I am calling in reinforcements,” I said, gesturing with my phone. “It’s obvious we are in over our heads here. We’ll need to file a report with the local PD, but I’m calling in a favor with someone I trust.”

I fired off a text but didn’t wait for a reply before pocketing my phone. “Go ahead and call the cops. I doubt they’ll let you take anything, so we’ll need to stop on the way home to get you some clothes. Is there anything of value that you want to make sure you have? I can run it down to the car before the police arrive.”

Laura shook her head. “No, I haven’t lived here that long. Other than the necessities, I hadn’t moved everything in. All my keepsakes are still at Brandon’s, thank God.”

“Good.” I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and dialed 911. It was going to be a long afternoon.

***

Ding! Dong!

Laura and I have only just walked into the house through the garage door when my front doorbell rings. I have a pretty good idea who it is, but given the events of the day, I’m careful to check the peephole before answering. With a grateful sigh, I see that it’s my friend, Rob. I texted him yesterday about helping us dig into the Harvey situation. He’d told me that he couldn’t share any details, but the man was already on the FBI’s radar. But after the break-in at Laura’s apartment, he wanted to meet us in person. I appreciated that he was willing to come out to my house for the meeting so Laura could be comfortable.

I pulled the door open, and he immediately pushed inside. "Hey man, do you not know how to check your phone?" he said as he breezed past me.

"Come on in, Rob." I replied sarcastically. "We just finished at Laura’s apartment with the police. It took hours, then we had to make a quick stop for her to grab some essentials on the way home. I haven’t had a chance to check it in a while. Why? What's up?"

"I think I’ve found something on Harvey, but I need to see the reports Laura managed to take with her when she left Prime Media."

Chapter Eleven

Laura

Iwaitedinthekitchen while Leo went to answer the front door. My mind was both racing and exhausted from the day. If we ever made it out of this, I wanted a vacation. Preferably one with Leo and Ella.

That thought set off a dozen others about the man who’d dropped everything to help me. My cheeks flushed and warmth pooled in my belly as I remembered what had happened in his guest room that morning. I’d wanted more, but Leo had said we weren’t ready. And if I was being honest with myself, he was probably right. He wasn’t just some guy who I could break up with if things went south and never have to see again. This wasLeo. There was no question that I loved him. But could I bein lovewith Leo? Once upon a time, I’d thought I was.

As a teen, I’d dreamed of growing up and marrying Leo, then starting a family with him. I’d so desperately wished that Ella could have been my child. But she wasn’t. And Leo had become a father far sooner than he’d been ready. He was an amazing father, but he never made time for much outside of Ella, work, and his friendship with Brandon.

That’s not true, he always made time for you, a voice whispered in the back of my head. It hit me then, all the times over the years that I’d called Leo for help whenever Brandon wasn’t available, and all the times that I’d called Brandon and Leo had tagged along to help. I’d helped Leo too, of course. Whenever he had needed help with Ella, I’d been there.

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