Silent Scars (Surviving #4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

acting like a brat, but an adorably pissed off one. For some reason I had the impression this was completely out of character for her. It could have been the slight tremble in her hands, or the soft blush rising up her neck, or even the surreptitious way she tugged at her clothing as if she wanted to hide from us. But one thing for certain, she wasn’t going to take any shit from Will and I.
    The music system was actually pretty cool. She had a laptop streaming songs through the surround sound. I walked over to it, measuring the intense glare she cast my way, but as my size engulfed her, she lost some of her bravado and stepped back. I swallowed down the sick feeling when I saw a small amount of fear flash in her eyes, before averting her gaze to her bare feet. Fixing my attention on the laptop, I pressed play and turned as Pink’s “Stupid Girls” blared through the system. I smiled brightly. Will closed his eyes and tilted his head back as if sending up a silent prayer. Movement to my left caught my attention. Graham doubled over laughing raucously.
    Slowly I turned my head in the direction of Aloura. She had her mouth open, staring at me.
    Job done, princess. I’m no one’s whipping boy – not anymore.
    Her cheeks burned brightly, and her dainty shoulders slumped. She reached out her hand and silenced the room with the press of one button.
    “I apologise. It was rude of me. My dad believes I need protection. I just...I don’t deal well with people being in my space.” The soft lilt and slight tremble in her voice was my undoing. She knotted her hands before her and refused to look me in the eye.
    “I’m not here to be in your space. I can be invisible. I require no entertaining. I’m here to protect you, nothing else.”
    Her head lifted and her wide eyes stared straight at me, and for a moment I was immobile. Frozen in space and time as her deep brown eyes penetrated me. Big doe eyes, they were so dark it was hard to decipher her pupil and iris. She had full red lips and a cute button nose. Created to bring a man to his knees. She lifted her hand and pushed her glasses up, scrunching her nose slightly.
    “I trust you understand the boundaries of professionalism. My daughter is a beautiful woman.”
    I snapped my attention to Graham, realising I was staring like some creeper. His words flowed through the air, hitting me dead centre. Message received loud and fucking clear, asshole.
    “I want your word.”
    “Dad, stop,” Aloura objected, her cheeks matching the colour of her lips.
    But Graham didn’t back down, and part of me had to respect him for that. I could see the guy loved his daughter and would do anything to protect her, but my momentary lapse of admiring her features had pushed a button he wasn’t entirely happy with.
    “I will be staying in close proximity to your daughter at all times. If required I will sleep in the same room; it depends if her safety requires it. If you don’t trust me to keep my hands to myself, I'm the wrong man for the job.”
    “Ryan,” Will said, his single word warning. I didn’t flinch.
    “I am here to do a job. I will be paid to keep her safe. I am not getting paid to fuck her.”
    A female gasp of shocked horror sounded on one side, and on the other was my brother’s grumble of annoyance.
    “I intend to be a ghost to her, so her life isn’t changed. My life will become her shield. My intention is to keep your daughter safe. I will do that. I am not here to disrespect you or her.”
    “I really don’t need you here.” Aloura voiced timidly. I turned so quickly I must have startled her because she stepped back and again averted her gaze. I stepped towards her and ducked my head, waiting for her to lift those chocolate eyes to me. I waited patiently until her shy gaze lifted. She stared at me over the brim of her glasses.
    “Did he scare you? The guy who stole into your property?” I asked quietly. I heard her dad take a step towards us, and out of the