Keeley's Fight (The Protectors Series) (3 page)

“Come here, Butterfly,” Nathaniel told her. She started to move, thinking whatever he was about to do would be better than having Fred’s stinky self glued to her the way he was. As she took her first step, Fred held onto her arm so tightly that she whimpered. Tyler and Nathaniel growled at that. Actually growled. Glaring daggers at Fred, Nathaniel walked closer, grabbed her hand so gently she thought she was dreaming, and gave one small tug so she practically flew into his chest. The strange thing for her was that the entire time, he made sure she was protected. When she hit his chest, he put one hand to the small of her back and one to the back of her neck. It was very proprietary. His large arms engulfed her, completely surrounding her. Strangely, she felt safe, and she found she really liked the way he was caressing the back of her neck with his thumb.

Turning her head with a small smile on her face, she saw Tyler looking at her with this big wolf-like grin on his, it gave her a moment of peace. She closed her eyes, just wanting to enjoy this feeling of safety that she had never felt before. She wanted to embrace it before it was gone.

“Don’t ever put your dirty fucking hands on
our
woman again. Are we clear? Don’t even look at her for that matter. If I ever find out that you have done anything to make Keeley uncomfortable or feel less than safe, I will come in here and personally kick your ass before having this place shut down. And then just for kicks, I’ll make you lick the dirt off my shoes. We clear?” Nathaniel said all of this to Fred with such menace in his voice that Keeley couldn’t help but start to shake in fear, and grip his shirt tighter. She had a hold of it just above his abs, and feeling him tighten his grip on her calmed her nerves just a little bit.

For the first time ever, she actually heard a note of fear creep into Fred’s voice when he said, “Ya man, ok. I didn’t know she was yours, she never said anything.”

That’s when Tyler got involved and admonished him. “You think that gives you the right to touch her or speak for her anytime you like?” She tried to burrow right into Nathaniel at that, because even though his voice held a note of steel in it, Tyler’s had such a fierce growl that she wanted to weep from the fear this confrontation was causing in her.

“Look guys, I’m sorry, ok. Keeley, I need you here now, but tomorrow night you can have off with pay, ok? Sound fair?” She simply nodded her head, because she just knew her voice would shake if she dared try to speak. Just then she heard the ding from the kitchen bell, signaling her other table’s orders were ready. Reluctantly she left the safety of Nathaniel’s arms, not looking at anyone for fear that they would see just how this encounter left her. Aroused from being so close to Nathaniel, and fearful that this would only make things worse with Fred and Eleanor.

After getting the other tables their food, she waited on the guys’. While she waited, she decided that maybe she would have lunch with them. They seemed nice enough, and the idea of a hot, filling meal was too much of a temptation to just give up. With that decided, she picked up their meals and brought them to their table.

“If the offer’s still open, I would like to go to lunch with you both, but could we do it tomorrow?” She requested as she put their food down on the table. With still no response, she thought maybe she had said it too quietly, only to look up and see them both gazing at her with huge smiles on their faces. Seeing their response actually caused her to do something she hadn’t done, genuinely, in far too long to remember. She smiled back.

“God, you have a gorgeous smile, woman!” Nathaniel said emphatically. “Tomorrow would be fine, Butterfly.”

“What time can we pick you up?” This from Tyler.

“Ummm, would it be ok if I met you somewhere?” Keeley asked, feeling embarrassed that they would see where she lived.

They both frowned before Tyler responded, “Sure, how about two p.m. at Joy’s Restaurant, downtown on Main street?”

“Ok, thank you. Enjoy your meal,” she said then walked over to her other tables; feeling happier than she could ever remember.

A
s Keeley was
getting ready to leave the diner, Fred walked into the break room leaning against the door jam, just watching her with a scowl and looking very angry. “That was quite the show your boys put on out there, Keeley. Make no mistake, they don’t scare me, and I’ve been waiting for you long enough. It’s time for you to pay up, girl,” he sneered, slightly confusing her with his comment about paying up.

“Paying up for what? I haven’t borrowed anything,” she replied.

“You didn’t honestly think all those meals were free, did you? You stupid, naive girl,” he said coldly.

“Eleanor told me that I got one free meal a shift when she hired me, though.” She was in a huge panic now. She couldn’t quite hold in the shiver of fear as he took a step closer.

“Yo Fred, you gotta order supplies, I’m running out of food!” Shouted Mike, the night cook from the kitchen. When Fred turned around to shout back, Keeley grabbed her bag and made her escape, running around him and out the front door. Not paying attention until it was too late, and just wanting to get away from him, she ran right out into the pouring rain. After just a few seconds of being out there, she was soaked to the bone and shivering like crazy.

Resigned to her fate, she started to walk the ten blocks to the house she shared with her father. Not owning a warm enough jacket to keep out the chill of the rain, she kept her head down and continued on. It was nine in the morning and most of the people had already gone to work or school, so even if it wasn’t raining out, the streets would have been empty and quiet. Just what she needed right now. To be left alone, so she could think about what she’d gotten herself into by accepting the date with Nathaniel and Tyler.

Hopefully, her father would pass out shortly after he berated her. He normally laid into her for about two hours or so. That would leave her the rest of the day to get the house cleaned up and try to figure out a way to avoid her father.

About three blocks from her house, Keeley wasn’t paying attention when she stepped into a puddle and fell. She hit the pavement landing on her arm, with pain instantly coming from her wrist and traveling all the way up her arm. She sat there just cradling her arm to her chest for almost twenty minutes before getting up and carrying on home.

When she finally made it there, her father was up and waiting for her just like she suspected he would be. “What the hell took you so long, dumbass? You should have been home an hour ago,” Mack said to her.

“I’m sorry. I had a few extra tables,” she said this without thinking.

“Ah, so you have more money for me then? Go ahead, give it here.”

“No father, I have no extra money, you know the tips aren’t as good at night,” she meekly replied while slowly starting to walk towards the hall to get to her room.

“Bullshit!” He yelled at her and got up, stumbling towards her before finally leaning against the wall and grabbing her around the throat, so tightly she could hardly breathe. She just knew she was going to have a handprint, and that Nathaniel and Tyler would see it and find out just how much of a waste of time she really was.

“Please father, I swear, I have nothing extra. Check my bag,” she wheezed out when he finally let go of her throat, but not before tossing her to the floor causing her to land on her injured arm, and making her cry out.

“Shut up, bitch!” He yelled as he upended her bag, looking for the money she had hidden in her bra; knowing he’d never think to look there. He was mumbling as he dug around in her bag, about what an ungrateful little brat she was. When he finished looking through it, he got up and tossed it at Keeley telling her, “It’s high time your ass moves out of here, you’ve been nothing but a burden since the day you were born. Nobody wanted you, and I still wish your mother had aborted you when she had the chance, instead of wasting the money on her next fix. You have five minutes to pack your stuff and leave.” He went back and sat down in his chair, grabbing his bottle of vodka. Keeley was surprised at this. She didn’t know what to do. She had nowhere to go, no friends. Nothing. Twenty years old and she’d just been reduced to nothing.

“I said get out!!” He yelled at her again. Scrambling up she ran into her barren room and went through a few things, grabbing a couple changes of clothes and the fairy music box her grandmother had given her on her fifth birthday. It was the only present she’d ever gotten, and the last time she had seen her Grammy. One thing to be thankful for, though, was Mack had forgotten it was her birthday.

As she was walking through the living room to the front door a few minutes later, her father looked up and snarled, “Where do you think you’re going, you stupid whore?”

Stupefied at his question, because he had told her to get out just a couple minutes ago, she stuttered out, “Yo—you told me to get out.”

Narrowing his eyes he bit out, “Shut the fuck up and sit down.”

Sitting down, across from him, on the old couch that they’d had since she could remember, Keeley was incredibly confused by his behavior. She knew today would be bad, but he’d never tried to kick her out before, and now he was acting like he never even said it.

Sitting quietly, watching him from underneath her lashes, she tensed as he leaned toward her menacingly, with a look of intense hatred and rage in his black soulless eyes. Unprepared for his quick movement, she almost wasn’t in time to duck when he threw his empty bottle of vodka at her head, missing her by just centimeters. She felt it swoosh by her hair. “Go to your fucking room and don’t come back out!” He screamed at her.

Flying to her room in fear, she shut the door quietly. Grabbing the small desk chair she had and wedging it under the door handle, gave her hope it would keep him out should he decide to try to attack her at any point during the day or night.

Laying on her bed cradling her knees to her chest, she prayed for a miracle. That by the grace of God, she would make it out of her house and maybe one day, have a new life.

A better life.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

After another night
spent tossing and turning, thinking about the situation Keeley was in, Nate got up around dawn feeling restless. Going through his morning routine of showering, he went downstairs to find Ty already in the kitchen. He had the morning news on the small TV they had above the refrigerator, turned down low, while drinking a cup of coffee.

Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, he poured himself some coffee as well, before sitting down beside Ty at the breakfast bar. Thinking about her and how vulnerable she seemed last night, left Nate with a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t want to leave her, but knew she wasn’t ready for the way he wanted to take over. To make sure she feared nothing again.

Being a Marine he was used to protecting people, making sure that they were safe. Realizing he couldn’t do that with her, just yet left him cold inside. He had done three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years, and while he liked to think it didn’t change him he knew that it had. After coming home, like many soldiers, he suffered from PTSD and nightmares from the things he’d done and seen. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he needed help either, which thinking back on it was probably going to be his saving grace in regards to Keeley.

If he hadn’t gotten the counseling he needed, he probably wouldn’t recognize her for what she was, a chance at a fulfilling and loving future.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Sitting next to
Nate, Ty was lost in thoughts about the past. He knew that in order for them to convince Keeley to give them a chance they would have to present a united front, show her that they were for real.

They thought they’d had a future once, with a woman they had meet after they got home from their first tour in the Marines. She was nice, sweet, caring, and had been open to a ménage relationship, too. They thought she’d been it for them, until they really got to know her. On the outside she was what they wanted, but on the inside she was cold. Calculating. She tried to play them against each other, make the other jealous about who she spent the most time with. It might have worked, but Ty knew that their hearts hadn’t been engaged. So when they came home after their second tour and found out she’d been cheating while they were gone, neither was saddened by it. More annoyed than anything.