Free Dying to Run by Cami Checketts Page A

Mali years ago and helped free many from oppression. I swore to protect him and stay by his side. I failed to protect your mother.” He closed his eyes for a second before focusing that gaze on me again. “But I will not fail to protect you.”
    I swallowed as I thought about my mother. She’d been like a ministering angel to so many; beautiful, kind, and nurturing. Sham blamed himself for not protecting her. No wonder he was being a little silly about this “bound to me” stuff. “No one is blaming you for my mom dying,” I whispered.
    “No one but me.”
    I exhaled slowly. “Look, if you need to have somebody to protect I understand, but really, I’m doing fine on my own.”
    He chuckled and then looked like he regretted it. He drew a long breath before saying, “You have almost died twice in the last month. I do not think this is ‘doing fine’.”
    “The man has a point,” I said.
    Sham lifted one of his huge hands from the blanket. For some reason I didn’t understand, I leaned closer to him. He placed his hand over my heart. My heartbeat increased and a warmth spread from his hand outward. I wouldn’t have labeled it a physical attraction, but a feeling of peace and well-being.
    “I, Sham Jalloh, am bound to protect you, Cassidy Christensen.”
    I simply stared at him, for one of the few times in my life I had nothing to say. His hand slowly lowered back to the bed, but the warmth stayed in my chest. After a few seconds I couldn’t take the seriousness of the moment anymore. I batted my eyelashes, tilted my head to the side, and said, “Well that seals it then, we’re bound.”
    He smiled. “You are a silly girl.”
    I leaned away from him. “Hey, I grew out of silly halfway through college.”
    His smile broadened. “Silly is good. I can use more silly in my life.”
    “So there’s nothing I can say to stop you from being my protector?”
    Sham shook his head and closed his eyes. “No.”
    A few minutes later he was breathing deeply. The door softly opened behind me. My dad must’ve finally pried himself from Nana’s side so he could visit his best friend. “I guess Sham and I are bound together.”
    “He’s one of the best men I know, but I don’t want you bound to anybody but me.”
    I whirled around. “Jesse!”
    He smiled. I’d forgotten how good this man looked to me. The sparkle in his dark eyes made my heart rate jump. I tried to suppress the love I felt—I failed completely. It wasn’t just the way he looked, but the way he made me feel: when he spoke, when he stared at me like I was the only woman for him, and especially when he touched me. It was that innate feeling that even though he was hardened enough to kill he was still an amazing man. The kind of man who loved children, would help a stranger without being asked, and give the shirt off his back to me, even though he didn’t want me to see his chest.
    We studied each other for a few seconds before he asked, “Can we talk outside?”
    I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk to him, hit him a few times, or throw myself into his arms. I slowly stood, took his offered hand, and followed him out of the room. We walked in silence until we entered a deserted hallway that was familiar.
    Jesse pulled me into a hug. His eyes locked onto mine. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his face. His cinnamon-tinged breath drew me in. Wanting nothing more than to kiss him, I forced myself to resist the temptation and bury my head in his chest. If I let him kiss me, I’d say yes to anything this man wanted. I wasn’t ready for that right now. I made the mistake of inhaling, the soft touch of musk made me tremble and cling more tightly to him.
    “Do you remember this hallway?” he whispered into my ear.
    I glanced up. “It’s where I found out you are, or were, Panetti’s son.”
    He nodded. “You didn’t trust me then because you didn’t have all the facts.”
    I bit my lip. “And I don’t trust you now because I have too many.”