Keeley's Fight (The Protectors Series) (2 page)

It’s time
, she thought. Time to leave this city. Leave this life. Leave her father behind for good. Keeley was going to work just until her next payday, and then just leave for good and never look back. She didn’t have high hopes for herself, after all; she had to drop out of high school to start working full-time to support the household bills, as well as her parents. All she wanted was some peace and something stable, without fear of being hit or yelled at for no reason.

She always tried to work the night shift. The tips sucked because it wasn’t as busy, but at least she could avoid not only Fred and Eleanor but her father as well, since that’s when he was drinking and slept the day away mostly. Something was about to happen though, she could just feel it. And it wasn’t going to be good.

As she walked into the diner, two things happened simultaneously. One, Keeley saw two of the most amazingly handsome men she had ever seen in her life. They were both tall, even sitting down. They easily had to be about six feet four inches tall and very rugged looking. Both had short cropped military-style haircuts, dirty blonde in color if she had to guess. One had deep brown eyes and the other had hazel, and they were freaking huge. Built like linebackers. They awoke something in her she had never felt before. She was confused by it, had never felt that tightness in her chest or arousal low in her abdomen.

Then the second thing happened, this one much worse. Eleanor came out of the back yelling in that screechy voice of hers, “Fred you no good, cheating, fucking piece of shit man!! How could you sleep with that dirty little slut?!” Fred, like usual, just ignored her, which pissed her off even more and that anger came directed at Keeley, since she was just walking in.

“Well, if it isn’t the little slut?” Eleanor spits out.

“Look Eleanor, I’m sorry Fred’s being such a jerk, but I swear it hasn’t been, nor will it ever be with me,” she tried to reason with her.

SLAP!! She heard it before she felt it.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch! The only reason you’re still around is because if you weren’t, his filthy paws would be all over me.” Eleanor just carried on while Keeley bent her head in shame, and so no one could see the silent tears tracking down her cheeks as she practically ran to the employee restroom, while Eleanor continued her rant.

As she stood in the dingy looking bathroom, with its outdated and cracked tiled flooring and peeling painted walls, all she could think was—
Is this seriously my life?

There was a bruise already forming on her cheekbone, and right below her right eye. “Gonna be a good shiner by tomorrow,” she whispered to herself, “but not the worst, either.” Sighing, she walked out of the bathroom to start her shift and nearly collided with Fred.

“What’s taking you so long in there, girl? Tables are waiting on you. Get to it,” he said angrily then walked away.

Talking to herself she said,
I can do this, just two more weeks
. She walked out to the main room with her head held high and her shoulders straight.

N
athaniel and Tyler
Maxwell sat there in stunned silence, as they watched the gorgeous young woman run to the back room after getting slapped so hard it sounded like the crack of a whip. This was the place their mother, Amber, had told them had the best pancakes in all of Austin, Texas. Hard to believe, when the owners abuse their employees.

“Do you think she’s ok, Nate?” Ty asked.

“I dunno man, that was fucking harsh, but Ma swears this place is worth the ignorance of the owners,” Nate replied back. The cracked vinyl seats and the dingy black and white checkered floors told a whole other story.

But that girl, she was something to look at, and if Nate was a betting man he’d say his little brother was thinking the same thing. She was what was so great about this place, since their mother told them what time of day to come in, and it was approaching one a.m. now. Not exactly pancake time to him.

“You think she’s why Ma keeps boasting about this place, don’t you?” Ty said, echoing his thoughts.

“Yeah, I really do. Here she comes.”

As she started walking closer to them, Nate really got a good look at her and she was breathtaking. Hair the color of a raven, and the bluest eyes he’d ever seen; they were almost crystal. A cute little button nose, with the fullest pink lips that were made for kissing. The only flaw was the bruise forming on her cheek from that slap, and the tear tracks down her cheeks that showed it had hurt as much as he suspected it did.

Nate looked over at Ty to see him completely riveted to the young woman. He had to nudge his leg to get him to shut his mouth, so he didn’t start drooling. “But dude…,” he said.

“Ya man, this is the reason,” Nate whispered back.

“Good evening gentlemen, or rather morning I guess, can I get you some coffee?” She asked them in an almost whisper that Nate really had to strain to hear.

“Sure thing, darlin’,” Ty responded for them both. As she turned and walked away, Nate couldn’t help but feel a little angry. That young woman was suffering from more than just a slap to the face. She had a dejected look to her. Face down, shoulders slumped forward, and those gorgeous eyes looked dead, when they should have the sparkle of life in them. He wondered about her and what gave her that look.

“She doesn’t look good, Nate. And I mean more than just that bruise. She’s too thin, despite what the baggy clothes might suggest. She seems a little too pale as well. But fuck is she ever gorgeous. Did you get a look at those eyes, man? Never seen anything like it, and those luscious red lips. Damn.” He agreed with Ty’s assessment of her, but he swore he heard his brother sigh at that last part, too.

“How old do you think she is, Ty?” Nate asked him.

“She can’t be a day over twenty-two,” he replied just before she brought their coffee over.

“Here you go. Have you decided what you’d like, or do you need more time?” She could clearly see the menus closed, so Nate didn’t even think she was really paying attention, more like just going through the motions.

“Just the coffee for now, thanks,” Nate told her. “Why don’t you sit down and join us for a few minutes?” He asked impulsively, surprising not only himself but Ty as well. Knowing that he was moving too fast, but couldn’t seem to help himself.

“Oh, uh, thank you, but I really can’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work,” she said.

Ty looked around noting there was no one else in the diner, so he grabbed her hand and turned up the charm he was known for. “Come on darlin’, there ain’t no one else in here and you look like you could use a cup.” He smiled at her but she still hadn’t looked up yet, she just stood there frozen. So Ty gave a little tug, and she fell onto the bench seat next to him. When she looked up and made eye contact for the first time with Nate that was when he froze. He had never seen such fear in anyone’s eyes before.

“It’s alright miss, we just wanted some company. Ty there gets a little annoying sometimes, if ya know what I mean?” Nate tried a soft smile, hoping to calm her down. She looked down and stared at her hands, like they were the most fascinating things in the world. “How about telling us your name?” Nate held his breath as she looked at Ty first and then him. Some of the fear was gone, but you could still see it lurking in the back of her eyes.

“I..I..It’s Keeley,” she stammered out, with her voice getting a little stronger near the end, and he couldn’t help but smile as she spoke.

“Well, I’m Tyler Maxwell and this here is my big brother Nathaniel. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Keeley.” Ty smiled all dimples just for her, and held out his hand hoping she’d shake it. Nate held his breath, as she almost held in the wince when Ty produced his hand for her to shake. If he hadn’t been watching for that exact reaction, he would have missed it for sure. But now he knew. A man had hit her. It pissed him the hell off but he kept all that anger to himself, so as not to scare her with it.

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Ty felt such
anger at whoever had hurt this gorgeous, fragile young woman, but then he felt incredibly proud as she took his hand to shake. The minute Keeley took his hand he felt it. This zing that went straight up his arm and embedded this tiny woman into his heart. He just knew she was the reason their Ma had sent them here. She was it. Theirs, forever. He could feel it, and he knew Nate would too. She pulled her hand away quickly and held it to her chest, as if she had felt it as well.

Nate gave him a funny look like he had squeezed her too hard or something, so Ty just nodded his head for him to shake her hand. He stuck his out waiting for her to shake, and when she did both their eyes widened. A huge smile spread across Nate’s face, and Keeley pulled her hand back again and said, “What’d you do, rub a carpet before coming in here?” They both barked out a laugh at what she said, and she looked so startled, like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But the look on her face was comical, until a deep blush crept up her neck and hit her face, turning her a nice shade of red that had them smiling at her unwarranted embarrassment.

Ty was still watching her as Nate started to speak, “How old are you, Keeley?” The question startling her again.

“I’ll be twenty on April first,” she answered. Ty and Nate couldn’t be more shocked at her response, for two reasons. One being that she was younger than they originally thought, and two was that she hadn’t realized today was that day.

“That’s today, darlin’,” Ty said.

“Oh,” she said as she looked down at her watch. “I guess it is.”

They both just sat there utterly stunned that this gorgeous, now twenty-year-old woman wasn’t more excited about it being her birthday. “Do you have any plans to go celebrate with your folks or some friends?” Nate questioned her.

She just looked at Nate like that was utterly ridiculous before replying, “No, my mom’s dead and my dad’s busy,” was all she said before getting up and walking away.

K
eeley felt like
crying, but knew if she gave in she wouldn’t stop. She had to get away from Tyler and Nathaniel, they made her feel things she’d never felt before. Their sole attention had been utterly focused on her and her alone. Not once did they make her feel anything other than like a person. She’d never had that before.

She could have done without the reminder that it was her birthday, though. That meant her father would be awake when she got home, just to remind her that she was the butt of every April fool’s joke, and a huge mistake. It didn’t matter that she paid all the bills or for his drinking habit, he always felt it necessary to put her down any way he could, at every opportunity. How pathetic was she that she had never had a real birthday before? It was just another day in her miserable life.

She had to go back out before Fred came looking for her. So she took a couple of deep breaths, closed her eyes, and pictured a beach, to calm her nerves. Only this time the image was different, Tyler and Nathaniel were there, too. Her eyes popped open and she frowned, feeling a little confused over that image, so she went back out to check for new customers and to see if the guys needed anything.

As Keeley walked back out to the dining area, she saw that she had three more tables. She grabbed the coffee pot and started making the rounds, getting everyone settled before going back to top up Tyler and Nathaniel’s coffees.

“Would you like some more? Or something to eat?” She asked hoping they wouldn’t say anything about her abrupt departure a few minutes before. But, of course, she wasn’t that lucky.

Nathaniel answered. “We’ll both have the pancake special, please, with extra bacon. And we’d really like to take you to breakfast after your shift is done.” He didn’t form it as a question, more like a demand.

“I can see the wheels turning in that beautiful head of yours. Let us take you to breakfast or lunch, or maybe dinner? Your choice. Of course, we could always take you to all three. Yep, I think that one works best for us,” Tyler said to her with a wink at the end.

“Dammit Ty, you’re gonna overwhelm the poor girl. Back off,” Nathaniel told him with a frown, marring his beautiful brown eyes.

“Thank you for the kind offer but I can’t,” she declined and turned to put their order in for their meals.

“Why not?” asked Nathaniel as she was half way across the room. She stopped dead in her tracks, feeling the blush working its way up her face, which, of course, made her cheeks throb.
Damn pale skin
was all she could think as she turned around, and knew that not only could they see her embarrassment, but so could everyone else as they all waited for her to answer him.

She stood there for a full minute staring at them, until she heard him… “Because this ain’t no fucking dating service, that’s why,” Fred said as he walked up behind her and put his meaty arm around her shoulders, and cupped her tightly.

She could see the anger in Tyler and Nathaniel’s faces as they stared at where Fred’s hand was. They both stood up and Tyler shot a small smile her way, and that wink she was coming to love, before refocusing his attention on Fred. Nathaniel just looked pissed off and she knew she was about to get hurt again. That was all men did. Good God, was he freaking huge; bigger than she originally thought.