Protected (13 page)

I hear activity behind me, ‘Denver police
department, put your gun down,’ loud voice booms.

Shit!  What now?  I jump at the
loud noise.

‘Boston private investigator, Kris
McCarren,’ Kris booms back, as he moves his gun slowly down and slides it towards
the cops without taking his eyes off of the creep.

The creep takes the opportunity to lunge
forward with his knife directed towards Kris, who effortlessly tackles him to
the ground, pushes his hand up his back, his face in the concrete floor of the
car park and his knife thrown to the side. 

I am shaking as activity surrounds us,
people in uniform scatter around gathering the creep and retrieving him of the
bag of money.  I glance around for a familiar face, confused at the
mayhem.  Where the hell did Kris appear from, I left him at the
airport? 

‘London!’ A familiar voice roars.

I turn to the sound, Nate is striding
towards me, his face blank, his eyes alight with an emotion I’m not acquainted
with, anger perhaps?

‘Nate,’ my voice is husky, my body all of
a sudden cold, despite the heat of the day.

‘Jesus, fuck!’ He wraps his arms around
me and squeezes me tight, ‘what the fuck did you think you were doing?’ he scolds
me.

‘I can’t breathe, Nate,’ I complain. He
releases his grip only to hold my face between his hands. ‘You could have been
killed!’ He growls, but the light in his eyes doesn’t match the aggression of
his tone. 

‘I couldn’t stand by and do nothing,’ my
teeth are chattering as shock sets in.

‘We were on it, babe, the DNA came back,
we knew the bastard,’ he enlightens me.

‘You fucking bitch, you will regret
this,’ the creep spits over, the venom in his voice tangible.

I feel Nate stiffen before releasing me
and lunging forward to grab his jaw. ‘You are threatening my woman?’ he asks.

‘You think it’s just me in this?’ he
grins his yellow teeth.  ‘You know I’ll get word that the bitch double-crossed
us, the bitch is toast!’ He laughs, his hands handcuffed behind his back, an
officer holding him static.  Nate lifts his knee and delivers a hard blow
to the creep’s balls.  His face crumples and he lets out a shrill scream.

‘You fucking cunt!’ he cries, his body
sliding to the ground into a heap.

‘You
or any of
your pals comes anywhere near her, and I will make your life a living hell, you
get me?’ Nate bends to the heap wriggling around on the tarmac.

‘Fuck off!’ he rolls in agony.

‘You think that’s bad you see what they
will do to you in prison, big man.  Rapist, sex pests, don’t have it easy
once word gets out.’ Nate threatens, kicking him in the gut for good measure.

‘That’s enough, Austin,’ another guy
pulls Nate away from the creep.

I am observing the whole scene objectively
as if it is happening to someone else.  My body is trembling at the
realisation that this isn’t over at all, will it ever be over?  Why didn’t
they let me give him the money? 

Kris appears beside me, ‘you okay,
Ma’am,’ he touches my arm.  I jump at his touch. ‘Sorry,’ he steps away,
providing me some much required space.

‘This is never going to end, is it?’ I
whisper over to him.

‘No one will hurt you, Miss Parker. 
I am here to protect you,’ Kris announces, calmly.  ‘Your father has
employed me to take care of your needs, Ma’am.’

My father?  The man who walked away
from me thirty-one years ago, after blaming me for his wife’s death, my
mother?  Nothing makes sense anymore.

‘Actually, I can take it from here,’
Nate’s cold voice penetrates the mist of confusion that is currently clouding my
thought process. 

‘No,’ I whisper.  

‘Come on, babe,’ Nate cajoles, gently.
‘Let’s get you home, we may have to make a quick detour to the sheriff’s
office, to make a statement,’ he warns.

‘No!’ I turn to him.  ‘I want to go home;
this is never going to end. I want to go home, Nate.’ I beg.

‘We got him, Sophie,’ he steps up, and I
dissolve against his chest. 

‘What about his friends?’ I sob, into his
chest. 

‘Listen,’ his lips touch my hair. 
‘How about we go and make the statement, grab your things and drive to Denver,
stay in my apartment and let things settle down for a while?’

‘I need to go home, Nate,’ I whimper, exhaustion
flowing over me.

‘Not yet, babe, I need more time,’ he
whispers, his voice hoarse.

********

Nate’s
loft is amazing, and planted slap band in the middle of Lodo, as he calls it. 
Apparently, it stands for Lower Downtown.  Seeing as I have only passed
through Denver City on the way to Krystal, all I can say is that up close the
skyline sitting against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, is incredible.

Nate
had been true to his word and sped up the interview process at the sheriff’s
office, aware of my delicate emotional state.  After updating the Sheriff
that we were only going as far as Denver if they needed to confirm any details,
we stopped by Ollie’s apartment and collected my belongings before driving to
Denver in relative silence. 

When
we arrived to the busy city traffic, Nate pulled me into his side and inhaled
my scent as if he needed the fix.

‘You
okay, London?’ He murmured against my hair, his voice soft.

‘I
don’t know,’ I admitted, feeling detached from both my emotions and my body.

‘Just
take some time to feel,’ Nate advised, I nodded, but have no idea whether that
was at all possible.  The events of the past few days had been entirely
surreal, handling the emotions they provoked wasn’t something that was going to
be easy to come to terms with. 

Worst
of all was the memory of having had that creep’s hands all over my body. How do
you process that? How do you move on and not envisage his hands in the place of
someone else’s touch, Nate’s, for example?

Next,
came the subject of my dad, and how he rejected me for the third or fourth time,
I’m not quite keeping a tally here, but I do know he fails to disappoint at
every turn.  Given the chance to make amends, I stood by and watched as he
repeatedly kicked me in the teeth. 

Regardless
of the fact he came through for me with not only the money to pay off Ollie’s debts,
but by sending Kris to protect me, I knew it was done for selfish
reasons.  I guess, from some profound corner of my being I was hoping that
he had finally decided to take responsibility for me, as a father, and cared an
ounce about my welfare.  In reality, that was unlikely. I had notified him
in no uncertain terms that if I was eradicated, he would be next in line. 
He was plainly keeping me safe, to keep himself safe, now that sounds more like
him.

It
had taken a call from Nate to my dad in Boston, to call Kris off of safeguarding
me.  Nate had argued that he wasn’t leaving my side and was perfectly
capable of taking care of me himself.  Eventually, dad had spoken to Kris
and asked him to stand down for now, but to be on alert in Denver in case he
was needed.

The
open planned loft space was sparse, but definitely Nate.  It held the
essentials, a modern, well-equipped kitchen area separated by a breakfast bar that
led into a space that held, what looked like, a sixty-inch flat screen TV hung onto
an exposed brick wall.  A corner group sofa sat facing the TV and an
oblong coffee table sat in front holding a small pile of folders, obviously in
connection with his work.

Nate
showed me around, pointing out the bathroom, which held a claw footed tub that
I ached to soak in, for hours preferably, then up four steps to the rear of the
apartment that led to the mezzanine, which held the master bedroom.  A
huge wooden sleigh bed dominated the room it’s grey bedding perfectly tucked
around the thick mattress. 

‘You
have a housekeeper?’ I stated, because the place was immaculate.

‘Yeah,
I never know when I’m going to be here, so I have someone who comes in once a
week and stocks up the fridge and does a sweep through.’ He steps closer and
wraps his arms around me from behind, his face moving to my neck.  ‘Tell
me what I can do?’

I
tense, stepping out of his embrace.  He allows me to extract myself, but
the frown on his face exposes his displeasure at my withdrawal.

‘Do
you think I could take a bath?’ I question, softly, my stomach clenching at the
thought of the creep leaning up against my back, his erection digging in my
spine, his stagnant breath surrounding me.  I can still smell the rancid
scent of his rotting body.

He
nods, his lips tight, ‘sure,’ he turns and jogs down the four steps disappearing
into the bathroom. I know my retreat must have injured Nate, but right now I
can’t think of anyone else’s feelings but my own.

 I
wrap my arms around myself as I glance around the perfect bedroom.  I prevent
my mind from wondering about how many women have had the privilege of waking to
Nate in this room.  Instead, I concentrate on finding what I need from my
luggage and follow in Nate’s direction.

I
am laying back against the arc of the luxuriously crafted bath with Nate’s back
against the front of me, his glorious hair brushing against my chest as he lay
between my legs.  As unorthodox as it was, this was the most favourable
position for me right now.  The thought of someone behind me, even if it
was Nate, their hands moving around the front of me, was too much for me to
bear. 

He
had stood before me naked as the day he was born and asked me to sit forward to
allow him to comfort me.  I had tensed, my stomach curling, my face paling
at his suggestion.  Nate’s facial expression had dropped to one of
devastation until I explained that I was anxious after what happened in the
office of Jessie’s.  Then, I observed as what appeared to be relief
flashed over his face only to be instantly replaced with anger.  His
glorious sapphire eyes darkened with something I knew to be hatred.

‘There
was nothing you could do, Nate,’ I reminded him.

‘I
was supposed to be protecting you,’ he repeated. 

My
heart ached for him, was this how being in love felt?  That’s when I
shimmied back against the back of the tub and invited him in.  He had
complained that he would squash me, but I assured him that I simply needed to
wrap my arms around him and feel something other than numbness.  He
obliged, his hands taking my calves and wrapping them around his hips, holding
them firm against his bare skin.

‘Your
ribs?’ He had worried.

‘Lay
the other side,’ I had encouraged.

It
felt so good being wrapped around Nate, as we approached the subject of my dad
and how I had succeeded in persuading him to provide the money for Ollie’s
debt. 

‘I
thought you’d gone home to London, I was looking in the wrong place,’ Nate
admitted.  ‘I would never have guessed you would turn to your dad for
anything.’

‘I
would do anything to make this all stop,’ I confess.  ‘Even if it meant
bowing down to that piece of shit.’ I run my hands through his soft hair as he
absorbs my words. 

‘You
give it to him?’ Nate requests, after a moment of quiet.

‘Oh
yeah, straight down the barrel,’ I laugh, softly.  ‘I found the whole
thing surprisingly cathartic.’ I relay to Nate, the very one-sided conversation
in the security office. 

‘That’s
good, baby,’ I feel him begin to relax beneath me.  ‘How d’you know to
take out the battery of your mobile?’

‘Read
it somewhere,’ I informed him. 

He
sighs, ‘I nearly lost my mind, not being able to get to you,’ he admits, his
tone defeated.

‘I’m
sorry,’ I move my lips to his hair, and he squeezes my legs tighter around him.

‘Glad
you are still here, babe,’ he mumbled, ‘but, don’t ever pull that shit again,
you could have gotten yourself killed playing the lone ranger.’  My body
is too tired to react to his command, although internally I shrug, I answer to
no one.  ‘You hear me?’ He prompts.

‘I
don’t take orders, Nate, and right now I truly don’t have it in me to argue,’ I
update him.

He
sighs deep.

‘What
did you mean when you said you need more time?’ I question, softly.

I
feel his slight tense, followed by a prolonged silence before he answers, ‘more
time with you.  I’m not ready to let you go,’ he confesses, although his
tone suggests he isn’t entirely comfortable with his admission.

‘Nate,’
I whisper, my heart skipping a beat.

‘I
know, you wanna go home,’ he scoffs, ‘just not yet, Sophie, I need more time.’

My
insides warm despite my brain informing me that things are moving incredibly
fast between us.  What started out as a sexual fling was rapidly becoming
something that had the potential to transform into something wonderfully
permanent. 

‘We
agreed, Nate,’ I close my eyes and whisper, fighting against the urge to submit
and agreeing to remain inside his protection.  Because, when I’m in his
arms I’ve never felt safer.

‘I
know,’ he turns his head and lifts those glorious eyes, which I could happily
swim in forever, to mine.  My chest aches at the admiration in his tender
gaze.  I stroke a finger down the stubble on his strong jaw and take a
gulp of air into my emptying lungs.

‘I
can’t stay here Nate, even more so now,’ I prompt him, ‘you know that?’

‘Why?’
He presses.  ‘We have Lee Myers in custody, he won’t be going anywhere for
a long, long time,’ he promises. 

Linking
a name to the low-life that has made my life hell over the past few days,
distracts me momentarily from our conversation.  ‘Lee Myers sounds like a
good strong name rather than a weasel,’ I shudder.  ‘I hate to point this
out to you, Nate, but the debt is still a debt,’ irritation runs through my
veins.  ‘You should have let me pay him off,’ I sigh.

‘Babe,
it wasn’t just the money that he was going to take, you know that!’ Nate
argues.  I do know that, if Kris hadn’t shown up when he did, things could
have ended differently.

‘And
all of his friends that he threatened would visit?’ I prompt.

‘Babe,
they are more likely to take it out on Myers, than you,’ he kisses my jaw, ‘we
could stay here in the city until things calmed down,’ he tempted. 

‘In
hiding,’ I announce, ‘I can’t live like that, Nate, and neither should you.’ I
cup his cheek affectionately.  ‘This. Me and you. It has been bloody
great, Nate, andn another life, there is nothing I would have enjoyed more than
to wake to you every morning, baby.’ His eyes soften at my endearment, ‘but you
know how fucked up I am, without what has happened between me and my father, my
brother,’ I exhale a deep breath, ‘and now all of this,’ I shake my head. ‘I
need to go home to my steady life, take a breath and be grateful that I had you
for a short while to sweeten the pain that I faced.’ 

I
place my lips on his and kiss him with all I feel for him, all we are.  It
was slow, sensual and incredibly sweet.  

‘Not
yet,’ he whispered against my lips.  ‘Please, baby, not yet,’ his tongue
strokes seductively across my bottom lip. 

‘A
week,’ I declare, ‘then I’m gone,’ I promise.

‘A
week,’ he deepens the kiss, leaving me giddy with emotion.

When
he detaches his lips from mine, he continues.  ‘But, a week being honest
about how we feel about each other,’ he instructs.  ‘None of this hiding
behind your past, never exposing the true you.  I want to know the real
Sophie, her insecurities, what makes her tick, what floats her boat.  So,
when it’s time to finally say goodbye, I can sincerely say I knew Sophie
Parker, inside and out.’

I
gaze at him for what seems like a few minutes, in reality probably a few
seconds.  ‘I don’t know if that’s possible, Nate.’ I update him.  ‘No
one’s ever had that before,’ I confide.

‘Precisely
why I want it, Sophie,’ he proclaims.

********

I wake,
sprawled over Nate’s naked body, it's heat warming me to the core. 

Last
night he had helped me from the tub, dried me off and pulled one of his
t-shirts over my naked body before leading us into the bedroom, where he
slipped on a pair of low hanging jogging bottoms.  I had sat at the
breakfast bar while he had heated up a lasagne left by his housekeeper and we
sat side by side in companionable silence.

I
was dead on my feet, hardly able to lift the fork up to my mouth to taste the
delicious pasta.  Nate noticed and immediately cleaned up the plates and
tucked me into his enormous bed informing me he had work to do and to call if I
needed him.  I was almost asleep before he left the room.  He
obviously slipped into bed at some point during the night, although I don’t
recall feeling his warm body against mine as he did.

I
slept like a baby.

But
now, as I lay against his chest listening to his heart beating inside his
ribcage, his warmth comforts me.  I run my hand lightly down his abs and
listen as he evidently wakes and his heartbeat quickens to my touch.  I
continue my exploration, stroking a path down to the instantly hardening length
of steel resting against his abdomen.  I am nervous, scared even, to
discover whether our sexual attraction will still be as intense after the
assault of a few days ago.  My body is alert to his as I move my lips over
his chest and downwards to his thickening cock. 

My
heart continues to thud in my chest, a mixture of desire and
apprehension.  Slipping down the bed, I lick a trail up his cock to the
bulbous head and swirl at the bead of desire that sits awaiting me.  I
glance up into Nate’s heavy-lidded gaze, which is flaring with lust.  He
says nothing, waiting for me, assessing what I want out of this.  I smile
reassuringly up to him.