His to Protect: Book 1 in the Bound to Him Series by Sandra Antoni (the reading list TXT) 📗

as the tram pulled away and the tour began. Chelsea pulled out her phone and took numerous pictures of the desert oasis around us. I could see it in her eyes. She was fascinated, and it warmed my heart that she loved my hometown as much as I did.

When she turned the camera on us, I reached my arm around her shoulder and leaned towards her, posing with a smile for her picture. She showed me the photo, and I could not help thinking how happy I looked. Truly happy. A happiness that I had never experienced before.

Since Chelsea stumbled into my life, the restlessness that I had been feeling for so long was gone. My every thought was filled with her, and I had never been more at peace. I knew that I was going to have to tell her soon.

I was going to have to tell her what I was and what I now knew that she was also. Somehow, I was going to have to figure out how to tell her without scaring her and without making her run. I didn’t want her to pull away from me. It was going to be a lot for her to handle, but I would be there with her.

Chelsea was looking down at her phone, and I knew that she had sent the picture to someone. Curiosity got the better of me.

“Who did you send that to?” I asked her. She grinned when she looked up at me.

“My best friend, Jessica. I’ve known her my whole life. She told me before I left that I had to find a hot guy while I was here. I’d definitely say I took her advice,” she said, and I laughed.

“Glad to know that you think I’m hot. You need to send me that picture too,” I replied. She gave me a gorgeous smile and looked back down at her phone. I could not help reading the text back from her friend.

“OMG!! SO JEALOUS!!” the reply message said. Chelsea grinned up at me again, and that’s when I saw it. The red laser dot on her chest.

Instinct had me grabbing her and flipping her onto the floor with my body covering hers. Her eyes flew open wide with alarm as the shot hit the seat where we had just been sitting seconds earlier.

“Just stay still. Someone shot at us,” I told her, needing her to know how serious this was.

I needed her to follow my every instruction. Everyone else on the tram seemed to be oblivious to the fact that someone had just shot at us, but at least it had not caused a panic. If people had started jumping from the moving tram, there could have been some serious injuries.

I reached for my phone and called Brady. Unfortunately, Chelsea was going to hear this conversation. If I could have, I would have protected her from knowing what had really happened, but there was no way to prevent it.

“Brady, someone shot at Chelsea in Sabino Canyon,” I told him when he answered. I saw Chelsea’s eyes open wide, and then I saw fear.

“Meet me at my house. We should be there in about an hour. We are still on the tram,” I told him.

He updated me on what he had found out about Chelsea’s birth parents so far, and I knew that Chelsea and I were going to be having a serious conversation when we got back to my house. This conversation could not wait any longer.

I had a feeling that her adoptive parents already knew what she was, even though they were human. Her world was about to be shaken up, even more than it just was. I just hoped that she would not pull away from me. She had only known me a few days, but she needed me right now to help her through this.

We remained on the floor until the tram returned to the parking lot. I looked down at Chelsea. She was terrified and there was nothing that I could do or say to take that away. I bent down and kissed her forehead.

“When I get up, we are going to need to run to the car. I don’t know who is out there or how many there are, but we can’t stay here. I need you to stay close, okay?” I asked her. She instantly put on a brave face, and I smiled down at her. I was not letting anything happen to her. I needed her too much.

The terrified look that had been on her face was nothing compared to what I was feeling as we made our way to the car. We were open and exposed, and I knew that anything could happen. I needed to get her to my house because I knew that I could protect her there.

When we were finally on the road, I kept my eyes alert all around us. If someone followed us, I would know. I was trained for this, but I never thought that I would be protecting the woman I loved.

I glanced over at her. She had not said a word since we left the tram. I thought she might be in shock, but I was surprised by the determined look on her face. She was holding it together and that made me proud. Reaching for her hand, her face turned towards me and her eyes met mine.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Chelsea,” I told her. She didn’t say anything but nodded. She was putting her faith in me to protect her, and I would not let her down. I couldn’t.

It was a relief when I finally pulled the car into the garage. I had a security system on the house and surrounding grounds. Chelsea would be safe here. She was not going back to the resort. Brady’s car was in the driveway, so I knew that he was already inside the house, and I was anxious to hear what he had found out.

Chelsea