A pop star with everything to lose. A bodyguard who has already lost everything. A second chance to find the love they once shared. DAPHNI Okay, sure, take a picture. I know you want to. Trust me, I’m used to it. I’ve been in the public eye since I was fifteen years old. And now a decade later, I am one of the most recognizable faces on earth. But fame can sometimes come at a high cost. Like my recently discovered stalker intent on kidnapping and chopping me into a thousand pieces. And in my hour of need, it’s my ex-boyfriend who comes to the rescue. My first kiss. My first love. My first everything. And while he agrees to help me out until my creepy stalker is captured, he obviously still hates me. And I can’t blame him. But how can I ever reveal the truth of why I had to break his heart without losing him forever? ROMAN My father has made it clear: prove I can handle protecting Daphni Monroe and the private security firm he owns will be mine for the taking. Easier said than done. Because Daphni isn’t just a client for me – she is the woman who ripped my heart into a thousand pieces with a single phone call. But now that we are thrust back together, I can see that the woman I used to love is no longer there anymore. This Daphni holds a secret - and I know it has to be connected to why she banished me from her life a decade ago. And when her stalker closes in, Daphni and I are forced to make a choice: do we let the past define us, or do we risk it all on a future we can’t predict? Protected was previously published as Protecting Her Pride, though past readers will enjoy this completely revised edition. Content Warning: The heroine experiences a prior sexual assault that she describes with a few details to another character. The heroine struggles with alcohol dependency.