Read Online The Protector by Dawn Marie Snyder - Free Book Online Page B

and what did it matter if I gave her a nickname or not. And what did it matter if I thought she was beautiful.  I made it up to the stairs and opened the door I knew well. 
    She slept quietly curled up in a ball on the bed, her back was turned to me and her hair looked to still be damp from her shower. She looked peaceful lying there as if she belonged in that bed. I put her bags down and watched her for a moment. Her breathing was steady, as it seemed the asthma attack had completely subsided.  If the steam didn’t work, I had decided that I was going to force someone to hunt down an oxygen bottle for her. 
    She started to move restlessly in her sleep as I watched her.  She flipped over and as she did so the top of her robe fell open, exposing her bare skin.  I took in a deep breath as her breasts lay exposed. I felt the urge to walk over and cover her up and then the man in me held firm where I stood and admired.  I shook my head as chivalry once again kicked in and I walked closer to the bed to cover her up. 
    As I gently pulled the covers over her, her eyes flew open.  And she shot straight up, with fear.  She looked at me and sighed with relief as she realized it was me.  “Jack?”
    “Sorry, I brought your bags up and you looked cold.”  She looked down and her face immediately turned several shades of red as she realized her robe was open from neck to navel, exposing everything in between. It was a very pleasant view but I quickly turned away as I could see the embarrassment in her face. I was pretty sure that the heat in my face would reveal the same red color if it wasn’t so dark. 
    “Sorry.” I kept my head turned. “Go back to sleep Sonny.”
    “Jack?”
    I turned back around hoping desperately she had closed her robe. I didn’t need to see anymore of her than I already had although I wanted to. “Yes?”
    As she sat up in the bed, I could tell by the light from the television that her face had turned back to its normal shade and her robe was closed. “Tom?”
    “What about him Alison?”  At this point I had pretty much determined Tom was not as innocent as Alison thought he was but I didn’t want to tell her that until I had more concrete proof.
    “Did someone kill him?”
    I couldn’t lie to her and tell her no. I was pretty sure he had been murdered but by whom I didn’t’ know. “Yes.”
    She nodded her head and looked down at the bed she laid in.  For the first time since I had pushed her on to the plane in Tel Aviv, her eyes were filled with resolve.  It wasn’t fear I saw but rather an understanding of all the events that had led to this moment. “I’m next aren’t I?”
    I sat down next to her on the bed and looked into her deep green eyes. “I’m not sure.” She took a deep breath as she registered my answer and shook her head. “We will protect you. “ I paused and opened my mouth, I knew I wasn’t going to let there be a “we” in this, “I will protect you.”
    “Thank you.”    She stared forward at the television and did not turn to look at me. I watched her carefully and tried to figure out what was going through her mind.  I was usually pretty good and reading people’s faces and discerning their thoughts. But right now, hers were a mystery to me.
    “Sonny?”  She looked up at me and smiled. It was the sweetest smile I could have imagined. How anyone could want to hurt this beautiful woman was beyond anything I could comprehend. “You need to sleep.”
    “So do you,” she said almost in a whisper. I got up from the bed and walked slowly to the door. As I turned the knob I looked back at her. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She only nodded as I turned and walked back out.
    No matter what the men surrounding me thought, I wasn’t leaving her alone. She trusted me and I wasn’t going to let her down.  Mike had mentioned bringing in others to protect her when he was debriefing me. I had thought briefly about the possibility, but