Echoes of a Protector

VALERIE

My hand was still pressed against my cheek, the heat of Silas's palm burning into my skin like a brand, when the bodyguards appeared from nowhere. They moved past me with a speed that made me flinch, one of them shoving Silas hard enough to send him stumbling backward while the other raised his fist, ready to drive it into my brother's face.

"Don't touch him," I quickly yelled, my voi