Protecting My Hart (Protectors Series Book 1) (24 page)

“Do you love me, Hartley?”

“Yes,” she answers instantly.

“Then that’s all I need you to do. You never have to repay me for this, and you never have to thank me. You are my girl, and my job is to love you, to make you feel safe, and to give you whatever you want and need. You’ve made me so happy, Tesoro, by letting me take care of you and our son, for letting me give you what you need and want. Thank you for trusting me and not vanishing again. I love you, Hart, always.”

“I love you, Slyde, thank you for being real,” she whispers and presses closer. My arms tighten around her bringing her closer still. I kiss her head and listen as her breathing evens out and her body melts fully into mine.

She gets it, finally. My girl, my son, my family. She knows I love her, she knows I’ll take care of her, she knows that she’s safe, and that she’s home. She loves me, and this is all I can ask for: my Tesoro, in my house, in my bed. My son in my house, in his bed. My family in our home and safe.

“Are you serious, Mack? You want to put that lazy ass dickhead here to watch out for my family?”

“Slyde, I don’t have any other options. You’re pushin’ it here. You want someone there to keep an eye on Hart and Ethan, I get it, and I’m giving that to you. I need Beamer and Kash elsewhere, so rather than leave them unprotected, which I know you won’t like, I’m giving you Mason. He doesn’t even have to come into the house if you don’t want him to. He can just sit outside until you get home.”

“Mack, I’m gonna be gone for a couple of days, I can’t leave her alone at night. Someone has to be here with them.”

“I don’t know what you want me to fuckin’ do, Cardoane, I’m trying to work with you here. I know you won’t be focused if they aren’t protected, so I’m doing what I can to help ‘cause I need you focused! But I can’t just pull spare men out of my ass to post on your doorstep. I know you don’t like him as a person, but he is good at his job.”

“Mack, he’s an ignorant, lazy, motherfucker who doesn’t know the difference between his ass and his elbow.

“Slyde, I’m not sure what you want me to do. You gotta work with me a little bit here and make a concession on this and trust Mason to keep them safe.”

“Only three men I trust to keep them safe, Mack, and he ain’t one of ‘em.”

“Cardoane…”

“Fine, Mack, fuckin’ fine, but he needs to come here today to meet them while I’m still home, and I can explain to him exactly what the fuck he is going to be doing!”

“He’s on his way. Be careful the next few days, we are getting close.”

“I know. Keep them safe and I’m good. I’m trustin’ you here, Mack, not him,
you!
He better keep them safe.”

“I heard you. Try not to tear him apart the second you see him.”

“No promises, Mack, this is my family.”

“I know. I’m hanging up now, I’ll hear from you in a few days.”
And with that, he’s gone.

Fuck, I’m not happy about this in the slightest. I’d rather Beamer and Kash be here if I can’t. Those two I know would do whatever it took to keep Ethan and Hartley safe. Mason, he’s an entirely different story. He’s an old, overweight, fucker just biding his time until he can retire. He hasn’t been on a case in years, can barely handle his desk job, and that is just fuckin’ filling out paperwork and making follow-up calls, and this is the fuckin’ all-star agent that Mack has protecting my girl and my son
. Fuck me.

Hartley and Ethan are playing in the living room when I walk in. I try to keep the look on my face calm, but when I meet her eyes, I know she can tell that something is wrong. She stands and walks over to me.

“Tell me,” she whispers. I take her hands in mine and brush my lips over her knuckles.

“I just got off the phone with Mack; he needs to pull Beamer and Kash away for a couple days. He’s sending over Mason, another agent, to be here and watch out for you and Ethan.”

“Oh.” Her voice and eyes fall.

“No. You are not causing problems, so don’t even go there. Mack owes me this. After all the shit I’ve done for them, all the intel I’ve collected, I haven’t asked for much. The least he can do is keep my family safe. He knows I won’t be focused there if you aren’t protected here which is why he’s sending Mason. I just don’t like the guy. He’s old and lazy and an idiot. I wouldn’t trust him out on a mission, however having him here is better than leaving you unprotected.”

“Slyde, we will be OK; there’s no need to have him come here. We won’t leave the house.” Her voice is so quiet she’s trying not to be a problem, but what she doesn’t get is that I need for her and Ethan to be safe.

I hate that he is so worried about this. I don’t want him stressed out. I tried to tell him that we will be OK by ourselves.

“Hart, Mack was right. The only reason I have been able to stay focused while I’m with JD is because I know that you and Ethan are safe. I know that Kash and Beamer would do whatever it takes to make you stay safe, and I need for you and our son to be safe. I just found you, I can’t lose you again. I won’t survive that again, Tesoro, I won’t.”

He sounds scared, really scared. I’m coming to realize just how upset he really was when I left five years ago. I had no idea at the time that his feelings were so strong. Even knowing now, and knowing that like mine they have grown stronger over the years, it’s still shocking to hear them. To hear his voice broken and worried breaks my heart. He needs us to be safe, and he hates that he has to depend on someone else to do it, and not just someone else but someone he doesn’t like.

“Babe, we will be OK. We still won’t leave the house, and it’s only for a few days. Besides, I’m pretty sure that no one is going to want to risk your wrath by letting something bad happen to us. Please, Slyde, don’t worry about us. I don’t want you distracted. You need to stay focused, because just like you, I can’t handle losing you again. I need you to come home to me and our son.” I choke back the tears that want to fall. I don’t know how to tell him how much I need him. How much he means to me and to Ethan.

“I will, Tesoro. As long as you and Ethan are in this house, I will always come home.” He pulls me into his arms and his lips lower to mine softly and I lean further into him. I love this man; there is no doubt about that.

The doorbell rings, and Slyde’s body stiffens. I give him a small smile. He squeezes me softly before letting me go and answering the door. I have returned to Ethan and have pulled him up into my lap on the couch when Slyde comes in followed by a shorter man, very round, with white hair. Then his eyes hit mine, and I become still. They are cold, intimidating, and quite frankly creepy. The way he looks at me makes me uncomfortable instantly.
It’s only for a couple of days. I can survive this. I’m just hoping that Slyde doesn’t let him sleep in the house.

“Mason, this is Hartley and Ethan. Hart, this is Mason. Ethan, can you say hi?” Slyde asks him softly.

Ethan has his arms wrapped tight around my neck. We stand and step toward Slyde and Mason. Ethan cautiously watches Mason, and I know that he isn’t comfortable around him even a little bit.

“Hi,” he says but that’s all he will say.

“Hi, Mason. It’s nice to meet you,” I respond nicely. He may make me uncomfortable, but I can’t be rude to him—that’s just not in my nature.

“All right, Mason, now that you have met them, here’s how this is going to work. You will watch the house from outside. Anything or anyone suspicious shows up you call Mack immediately. If and only if, you have to stay tomorrow night, sleep on the couch. I will give Hartley your number, she can call you if she needs anything. Otherwise, leave them alone, and don’t fuckin’ let anything happen to them.”

“Untwist your panties, Cardoane. I know how to babysit.” Mason laughs.

“I ain’t fuckin’ around. You better watch out for them, or you aren’t gonna make it to retirement.”

“I hear you, Slyde. I can handle this. Now I got shit to do. I will see you in the morning. Hartley, Ethan, you both enjoy the rest of your day, and I will be out front tomorrow. No worries.” Mason smiles and a chill runs down my spine. There is something about him, a nagging familiarity, but I can’t place it. Well, at least he will be outside tomorrow and not near us.

“Fuck I can’t stand that guy! There is just something about him that just pisses me off,” Slyde growls out. Ethan and I step to him. He takes Ethan from me, resting him on his hip before pulling me to him. “I’m hoping that he only has to be here for tomorrow, Hart, and that either Kash or Beamer should be back the following day. One of them will be over.”

“Babe, we are gonna be fine. Please don’t worry,” I try to reassure him, but the truth is I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation either, but I have to put my faith in Mack. Surely he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize this operation, not when they are so close. He needs Slyde at his best, and he knows in order for that to happen, Ethan and I need to be looked after.

Slyde grilled burgers tonight for dinner, it was nice just the three of us. I smiled knowing that my future would be made up of many similar nights. I’ve just finished giving Ethan a bath, wrap him in a towel, and I carry him into his room where he starts to get dressed.

“Momma?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Mr. Mason is a bad guy. He is not Slyde’s friend. I don’t like him.”

I can’t ignore the way my son feels about Mason. He’s really good at reading people; he knew right away he could trust Slyde, Kash, and Beamer. It doesn’t help that I’m getting the same vibe, but it’s going to be OK, so I explain to Ethan, “No, baby boy, he is not Slyde’s friend, but he is going to make sure that you and I are safe. Uncle Kash and Uncle Beamer can’t be here tomorrow, and Slyde has to leave again to look for the bad guys, so Mr. Mason will stay here.” I pull his pajama shirt down. He watches me for a few seconds before he asks me a question that leads to a conversation that rocks my world.

“Momma, do you love Slyde?” he asks simply.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I want to know if Slyde is going to be my Daddy. Daddies love Mommies and kids. Slyde loves me, and he loves you too. But Mommies have to love Daddies before they can be Daddies.” His simple statement takes me by surprise; I often forget how smart my son is. I want a future with Slyde, I want my son happy, and I want him to have a father, a man that he can look up to and learn from. I’d love for that man to be Slyde, but that can only happen if Ethan wants it too. So now I have to ask the question that could possibly shatter my world again.

“Do you want Slyde to be your Daddy?”

Ethan smiles so wide my heart skips a beat. “Yes. He makes you smile and laugh. You don’t wake up crying no more. He smiles at you and gives you hugs. You need lots of hugs. He promised to protect us and catch the bad guys. He plays with me and bringed us to his house so we can live with him. I like this house. I have a big room for all of my toys, and my bear likes it here too. And we get to play at the park lots too. He loves me and he loves you. I love him too.”

“Those are all really good things, sweetie. All things that a Daddy should do.”

“Do you love Slyde, Momma?”

“Yeah, sweetie, I do,” I rasp out trying to hold back all the emotions I feel right now.