Protector: The Elect, Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

she needed a phone. She needed to call her brother and warn him. It wasn’t his blood she’d tested, but she was certain she’d get the same results. It was his son’s, a little boy who’d been plagued by illness since his birth six years ago. Carter hadn’t even known about the boy until a few months ago, when the boy’s mother had died. He had been contacted in Iraq.  
    Thankfully, his tour was ending so he was on his way back to the States anyway. But Esme had been surprised to learn he’d already put in a request to resign his commission. When she’d asked him why, he’d just said it was time. He’d served twelve years, the war was over and it was unlikely he’d get promoted again. Too much competition for too few slots, he’d said. But she couldn’t help wondering if that was the whole truth. Had some instinct told him that soon he would be needed at home? Since his service obligation had been met and Kaden’s unexplained illness, combined with his mother’s sudden death, created a family hardship for the boy, Carter’s resignation had been approved without jumping through too many hoops.  
    She’d only known her nephew a short time, but Esme would do anything for that boy. Whatever it took to save him and her brother. She’d failed to save Carter when he was a child, and that wouldn’t happen again. She took a deep breath and looked around the study, recalling the security when they’d come in. Then she looked at her captor. His eyes were hot, blazing. One part pissed off and the other part lust. She only cared about two people in the world. She’d make a deal with the devil to keep them safe if she had to.  
    “You find them using DNA testing, don’t you?”
    He nodded. “Yes, and we protect them.”
    She arched her eyebrows. “Decided not to kill me, huh?”
    He rolled his eyes. “You knew that in your lab before we even spoke. You’re safe with me.”
    “Everything but my virtue,” she muttered and glared when he grinned. He was smart enough to clear the satisfaction from his expression.
    “I get the feeling you’re working up to something here, angel.”
    “It is safer here,” she conceded.  
    Much safer than her place or her brother’s. They lived close to neighbors, and though they had security alarms they couldn’t compete with the fences and cameras she’d spotted on this estate. Not to mention the dogs and guards she’d seen while they were driving in. She met Brax’s gaze and tried to ignore the heat she saw reflected there.
    “Is it a requirement of your job to protect any members of the Elect you find?”
    “Yes, it is,” he said firmly. “So whoever you got that blood from will have sanctuary here.”
    And access to Zach Littman. If anyone could help her figure out what was wrong with Kaden, it would probably be Zach. Her instinct said she could trust him, but she wanted assurances.
    “I have your word we’ll be safe here?”
    His eyes caught the light and glinted as he stepped towards her. She knew she’d irritated him pushing like she was, but she couldn’t let it go.
    “Yes, you have my word,” he agreed.
    She remembered the gunshots at her lab and her escape with Brax. If he’d wanted her dead, would she still be alive? She doubted it, and really, what other options did she have?
    “The blood was my nephew’s,” she said. “If you bring him and my brother in here and promise me they’re safe, I’ll give you what you want.”  
    Her offer did not engineer the response she expected. He was furious. “You would sell yourself for them?”  
    It hurt, that contempt, but she hid it and tilted her chin up. “They are all I have. All I have ever worked for.”  
    “Family loyalty. I understand that,” he said softly, approvingly, as he glided forward. “But you’re wrong about one thing, baby. They aren’t all you have. You have me.”  
    She held her breath when he reached her, his gaze snaring her. So hot. So carnal. She wasn’t innocent,