Read Online Her Only Protector by Lisa Mondello - Free Book Online Page A

flaws just like the next person. Stubbornness was up there at the top of the list.
    Obviously she couldn’t count taking Ellie as a flaw. Taking Ellie from her captors was completely fair, since Eduardo Sanchez had hired someone to pose as a maid in her sister-in-law’s house, steal the baby and bring her to Colombia.
    All of Sonny’s actions since the kidnapping were firsts in her life. Who would’ve thought two months ago that she would travel to Colombia and work with Lucia, a former undercover agent, to rescue her niece from a high-ranking Colombian gangster? Those were things her brothers did. Not her.
    Well, it certainly wasn’t on any must-do-sometime-in-your-life list Sonny had ever written. And she hoped she never had to go through anything like the past few weeks again. She wasn’t sure she could. But it had been worth it. Even as Ellie fussed in her arms and she dragged herself across the floor in exhaustion, she knew it was worth it to have Ellie out of Eduardo Sanchez’s hands.
    And then there was meeting Gil. Why did his disapproval of her matter so much? She shook her head. The man was downright annoying. “Lord, I have to be crazy for thinking this way,” she said.
    â€œIs something wrong?”
    Sonny stopped short and swung around toward the sound of Gil’s voice, continuing to rock Ellie in an effort to soothe her crying.
    It wasn’t working. The baby was rattled. So was Sonny.
    Gil stood by the French doors leading outside, leaning up against the doorjamb. He was wearing a white T-shirt and loose-fitting blue jeans that had seen better days. His feet were bare and he held an empty mug on his index finger that was swaying back and forth. The warm Caribbean breeze filtered in, lifting the sheer drapes up into the room and gently messing up his hair as he stood there looking at her.
    Her heart hammered wildly in her chest. It seemed odd that she hadn’t noticed that the doors were open or that he was outside when she first walked into the living room. The flickering television should have given her a clue that someone was up. But her fatigue and preoccupation with the baby combined with all-consuming thoughts kept her from paying attention to those details. She’d have to make sure she was more on top of what she was doing so as not to be caught off guard again.
    What is it about this man that keeps me so off balance?
    â€œThe baby okay?” he asked.
    â€œI can’t seem to get her to sleep.” Admitting it made her feel as much a failure as she’d felt earlier, walking away from the airport.
    â€œIs she still feeding during the night?”
    â€œI’m not sure.”
    He raised his eyebrow as if to question her. It was a quick move. One that Sonny would’ve missed had she not been looking directly at him. And then it was gone. Tears sprang to her eyes. Who was she kidding?
    â€œShe might have colic.”
    Sonny looked at him skeptically. “How is it that you know so much about babies?”
    Gil shrugged. “I lived in a house full of babies.”
    â€œYours?”
    That earned her a quick grin and a shake of Gil’s head. “My mom and dad raised three of my younger cousins after my uncle and aunt died in a car accident when I was fifteen.”
    â€œOh, how awful. I mean, the loss of your aunt and uncle. Not that they raised your cousins.”
    â€œI knew what you meant. You do what you have to do.”
    Sonny couldn’t agree more. Why else had Serena trusted her to rescue her baby? It had to have taken an enormous amount of faith in the Lord on her part to trust Sonny that way. You do what you have to do.
    â€œThe two-bedroom ranch my parents owned was already too crowded, given that my room was the converted basement but the kids had to go somewhere so they came to live with us. My five-year-old cousin roomed with my sister upstairs. And I went from having my own room to having a baby and a