Protecting Lyndley (7 page)

Ky

There were at least a million different things that I wanted to say to comfort her or even just make her feel a little bit better, but my ego got the best of me. I was here to do a job. She was a job, and I wasn’t about to put her safety in jeopardy for the ridiculously juvenile and hormonal needs I wanted to fulfill.

I stood about midway up
the stairs staring up at the hallway that led to her room, playing out at least a dozen different scenarios. I wanted her in a way that I hadn’t felt in quite sometime, and a part of me wanted to get to know the amazing woman that hid beneath that tough exterior.

About ten minutes later, I decided that nothing good would ever come of me walking up those steps. As much as I wanted to be there for her, I knew I couldn’t. So instead, I made my way into the darkened kitchen and retrieved what my body had been craving all day. I took a long pull from the bottle and then another. Before I knew it, the entire
contents of the bottle was now cooling my insides.

I opened the fridge to reach for another when I heard a familiar sound. I quietly made my way over to the bottom of the stairs, listening for the sound again. When I heard it again, I slowly started making my way up the steps. Her
faint cries pulled at my heart and I found myself closing in on her door. My hand went up to knock, to ask for permission to enter, but something inside of me took over and before I knew it, I was standing inside of her room.

She was tucked in a fetal position on her bed and my heart sank.
The realization that so much had happened to this poor girl in the last seventy-two hours sunk in, and I felt for her. What she was going through couldn’t be easy to deal with, and my shitty attitude on top of it all, didn’t help I’m sure. She still hadn’t heard me come in either that or she was choosing to ignore me. I stepped in her direction just as her muffled cries began again.

Without any further hesitation, I gently picked her up in my arms and slid underneath her. She never looked up at me. The only acknowledgment I received was when she pressed her face firmly into my chest as her tears soaked through my shirt. I closed my eyes, breathing her in
, as I wrapped my arms around her fragile frame that was now curled into my side.

She smelled of almonds and coconut and I instantly committed the smell to memory. For the first few minutes that I held her, I didn’t know exactly what to say or do. I was afraid of scaring her off wit
h words, so I let my hands say what I couldn’t. I brushed the hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear, and then followed the length down her back. As much as I was soothing her, I was soothing myself as well.

When her crying stopped and she hadn’t made a sound, I
just assumed she had fallen asleep, but I wasn’t ready to leave her just yet. Holding Lyndley this way ignited something inside of me that I had missed. Every time her breath grazed my skin beneath my shirt, I shuttered. There was something so poetic and so intense about this girl, and I found myself intrigued by her every action.

My fingers were tracing her hair down the middle of her back when her low voice caught my attention. “I miss him.”

Without her having to say another word, I knew exactly who she was talking about. “I know, and I’m sorry that you have to go through all of this. We’re gonna catch these guys.”

“How can you be so certain?”

It was a good question, and one that I had been asked far too many times. I was never one hundred percent certain, but there was a reason I chose the profession I did. I liked to get the bad guys and make them pay, and this case was no different. “Cause I always get the bad guy.”

I felt her body sha
ke below me and I wasn’t certain, but I was pretty sure it was from her laughing. “You’re just a regular cowboy, aren’t ya? The shoot em’ up kind, huh?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I do what I have to in order to get done what needs to be done.”

“I just wish I could’ve said good-bye, you know?”

I could hear her walls starting to crumble beneath me and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. As much as she wanted to push me away, she was finally starting to let me in just a bit. “I know
. What was he like?” I knew I should’ve walked away, but I just couldn’t bring this moment to an end just yet. It was nice having someone to talk to, especially when that someone was Lyndley.

“He was an amazing guy. Probably one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever known. He would’ve given the shirt off his back to just about anyone in need. He was far more selfless than I could ever be.”

“How long have you known him?”

She let out a strangled sigh and I knew she was fighting back the tears in order to answer me. “Since sixth grade. We were instant friends and remained that way all the way up until he…”

I could hear her getting choked up, so I continued to rub small circles across her back, instantly calming her down. It made me feel good that I could still soothe and comfort someone in this way. “What’s your family like, Lyndley?”

I could feel the corners of her mouth raise into a smile as I asked her. “Ah, my family is amazing. My mom and dad are still happily married after twenty-one years, and still just as in love as the day they met. At least that’s what they tell me.” She laughed. “My father is actually, um…he’s a college football coach at
CSU, and my mom is a teacher.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I found myself being drawn to her history and what she was saying. With every word that passed those beautiful lips, I found myself wanting to know more.

“I have a little sister, Carson. She’s a senior in high school. She’s nothing like me.” She giggled. “She’s so loving and caring, and doesn’t have a bitchy bone in her body. She’s amazing. She looks just like me though. Every time we go somewhere together people think we’re twins.” She tugged at her now brown hair. “Well, we used to look exactly alike. She’s smarter than me though. She wants to be a neurosurgeon.”

“Why do you doubt yourself so much?
Being a lawyer is a huge deal. Not many people can make it.”

“It’s not doubt, it’s fact.
Her wanting to become a neurosurgeon is far more impressive than me becoming a lawyer. I don’t doubt that my parents are proud of me, but when my sister accomplishes something they just light up. It’s like everything they ever wanted in a child they got in one tiny package with her. I don’t hold it against her by any means, I just know she is their tiny prodigy and I’m okay with that.”

I wrapped my arms around her and gave a small squeeze. “Well I think you’re pretty awesome.”

I felt her body stiffen beneath my hold and I closed my eyes, cursing myself for even bringing it up. “Thanks, Ky.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Lyndley. It
’s my job.” The minute the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted them. After all of that, I still knew how to fuck things up.

She pushed against my body and sat up on the bed. “I think I’m going to try and go to sleep now. You can go.”

I could see the anger behind her eyes and I wanted to kick myself for putting it there. “I’m so-“

She held up her hand before I could finish my apology. I reached out for her, to bring her close and tell her that what we had just done meant more to me than anything, but she was back to being closed off, and I knew it was my doing. Now I had to live with the consequences.

“Good night, Ky.”

I stood and walked towards the door. “Good night, Lyndley. Sleep well.”
I flicked the light switch and closed the door behind me. As much as I wanted to believe that Lyndley actually liked me for me, I knew better. How could she like a man who makes her question everything about herself and is a total dick to boot? Who was I kidding? Having someone like Lyndley just wasn’t in the cards for me, and I was okay with that. Hell, I was used to that.

Lyndley

I woke up the next morning feeling like I drank the entire bar. My head ached and my body was stiff from all of the crying I had done, and it instantly made me rethink my plan to work out this morning. I rolled onto my back and lay there staring at the ceiling, questioning all that had happened last night. I can’t say I was disappointed when Ky came into my room to comfort me, but what started out as an amazing gesture on his part, quickly turned into me knowing exactly what I would always be to him.

I was a job. I would never be anything but that, and he made that perfectly clear. I was so stupid to think that after everything I had confided in him, that he would what, fall in love with me? Ask me to run away with him and we would live happily ever after? Even if that was what I wanted, I knew now that it would never end up that way.

Before I could spend another second feeling sorry for myself, I made myself get out of bed and get dressed to go running. My alarm hadn’t gone off yet, so I knew there was no way it was time to go into work yet. And if I owned the place can’t I open the store whenever I wanted to, technically? I tugged my workout clothes on and threw my hair up in a low ponytail as I made my way downstairs.

Ky had gone out and bought me practically anything I would ever need when we had first arrived. Of course I was completely baffled when he managed to get all my sizes correct, but he was a guy. I mean how hard is it to know what size bra a girl wears when you spend all day looking at them? Either way, I was grateful. I had mass amounts of clothing and shoes at my disposal and it felt nice to feel like I ha
d what I needed to feel at home in this place and in the life that we were building.

“Hey Ky? Do you know where I put the box with my sneakers in it?” I sat on the small bench by the back door tugging on my socks and getting super annoyed that he wasn’t answering me. “KY?” I shouted louder this time. When I still didn’t hear a response, I quietly made my way upstairs to see if maybe he was still sleeping.

I glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall as I made my way up the spiral staircase and instantly felt like an ass when I realized it was barely six in the morning. Of course he was still sleeping, who was I kidding? He didn’t have to be to work until eight.

I tiptoed over to his half open bedroom door, holding my breath in anticipation of what position I may find him in. When I gently pushed the door open I was shocked when his bed was completely empty and still made. My heart began to race and my palms began to sweat as I came to the strong realization that I was home alone.

I backed out of the doorway, clutching at my chest as it tightened. My breathing was becoming erratic and I was starting to hyperventilate. I darted down the hall and ran down the stairs, running full force into a hard wall of muscle when I hit the bottom step. I felt his fingers curl around my shoulders, holding me steady.

“Whoa there, tiger. Where ya going in such a hurry?” He laughed.

I stood back glaring at him. How could he be laughing when I was scared shitless? My hand came up and fell to his chest as hard as I could manage. “What the hell is wrong with you? And where the hell were you?”

His hand came up, rubbing the spot I had just assaulted. “Jesus, Lyndley. What the hell was that for?”

I pushed past him and into the dining room where I spotted a couple shoeboxes stacked on the table. I grabbed the one with the picture of the running shoes on it, and made my way back out to the bench by the back door to put them on. “I literally almost just had a heart attack. Next time you leave, could you possibly be considerate enough to leave a god damn note?” I finished tying my shoes and reached for the small iPod on the corner of the end table.

“You mean one like this?” He was holding up a small piece of paper that had something scrolled across it, but it was too far for me to read exactly what was written.

“Whatever, Ky.” I slipped the iPod into the armband on my bicep and pushed past him to head outside. His hand caught my arm just as I opened the front door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I tugged my arm out of his grasp and gave him my best ‘eat shit’ face. “I’m going running. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

“Lyndley, you know I can’t let you go out there by yourself. Wait a minute, and I’ll go with you.”

“Since when are you a runner?”

“I’m not
, but-“

I looked him directly in his eyes, “But it’s your job, right? No thanks. I’ll be back.” I quickly ran down the front steps and out the front gate. There was no way I was going to give him a chance to catch up to me. If something was going to happen to me, then something was going to happen. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life hiding inside, and more than anything, I needed to burn off some of this hostile energy or I was going to explode.

I rounded the corner just short of one of the entrances to Central Park, and came to an abrupt halt. I was amazed at what I was looking at. I had never been to New York and now that I was here, I couldn’t help but look around at all the amazing things this city housed. The park was breath taking and vast, and I was having a hard time fathoming that in the middle of this busy city full of high rises and skyscrapers, sat this beautifully articulated piece of nature. It was beyond words.

I closed my eyes and let a smile fall across my face as I took in the serene smell of pine trees. When I opened my eyes to take off running again, I was nearly knocked over when Ky’s face appeared before me. “Do you have to ruin everything?”

“What do you mean?” He responded sarcastically.

“Go away!” I took off in the direction that everyone else was running, trying to ignore the fact that a very annoying guy was following close by. Maybe if I picked up the pace, he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

“You’re not
that
lucky.” He shouted in my direction.

I could barely hear him over the loud music blaring in my ears, so I chose not to acknowledge him and keep running. When the next song came on my legs were warmed up and I knew I would
be able to push my body harder to get away from him. I glanced behind me and caught a glimpse of him straining to keep up, and I smiled. Just as I smiled, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. At least he knew I was a challenge.

When I got to a bridge that took me to the other side of the park, I was almost sure that I had lost him. Unfortunately, Ky was a liar. As I came to a stop and looked around me, his face popped up right next to me, not winded in the least.

“You lied.” I pulled the earbuds from my ears and started jogging slowly.

“About what?”

“You said you weren’t a runner.”

“I’m not, but I never said that I
couldn’t
run.” He laughed. “I used to run track in high school and all throughout college. I even hold some records.” He was now running backwards, mocking me as he rambled on about his glory days.

“I never said I cared.” I raised my eyebrows as his face fell with, hurt?

“Well then, I guess we should keep running and not talking.” He ran in place so I could pass him. I felt bad. I wanted to apologize, I really did, but the look on his face was no longer a friendly one so I ran past him and stuck my earbuds back into my ears, closing out the rest of the world.

I wasn’t exactly s
ure how long we had been out here, but I was starting to get tired and that’s usually when I knew it was quitting time. I slowed to a fast walk so I could start my cool down. When I felt a hand against my lower back, I smiled and turned thinking it was Ky who I would come face to face with, but I was sadly mistaken.

A strange man was at my side, smiling. It was a menacing smile and I was finding it hard to catch my breath. I tried to glance around for Ky, instantly regretting the decision to go against him this morning when he asked me not to go. When I saw no sign of him, I counted to ten in my head and looked back at the man beside me. I needed to play this cool and not panic.

“Hi there.”

“Hi.” I smiled as I answered.

“How are you this morning?”

“I’m good.” I answered hesitantly. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I don’t think so. I think I’d remember meeting someone as beautiful as you.”

Cue the cheesy pickup lines. I should’ve known that in this
city, going for a run and expecting not to get hit on was impossible. “Well I hate to run, but my husband is around here somewhere and I should find him. See you around.” I made sure to wave with my left hand so he could see my wedding ring as I took off in the direction I had just came from.

I turned a corner on the path a few seconds later and found myself quickly running out of breath. As much as I liked to think I was a strong person, I was finding myself intimidated by the male species as of late.
No thanks to the assholes that were coming after me.

“Hey, what happened to you?”

I looked up as Ky’s voice rang through the crisp air. Without hesitation, I went running into his arms. He graciously accepted me, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. Once in the comfort of his strong arms, I gave him a strong squeeze and tucked my head into the crook of his neck.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I nodded into his neck before unlinking my legs from behind his back and placing my feet back on the ground beneath me. My arms slowly followed, but my eyes were locked on his and I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

“Sarah, you don’t look okay. What happened?” His voice was laced with concern and my heart fluttered a little knowing he cared even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“I’m okay. Where the hell did you go? There was a man. He, I don’t know…I just got scared.”

“Tough as nails, Ly…Sarah get scared? I don’t buy it.
You told me to leave you alone, so I took off in a different direction for a bit.”

I thought he was joking
, but when I looked up at him I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I know you may not buy it, but I do get scared sometimes. Not often, but still.” I glanced down at my feet as I toed the dirt, when his finger slid beneath my chin, pulling my face up level to his.

“I told you I’d protect you.” His voice was strangled and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was having the same reaction that I was to our close proximity.
“I’m sorry, I won’t leave your side next time.”

Every breath caressed my skin, sending goose bumps down my arms a shiver down my spine. My hand was pressed firmly against his chest and I could feel his heart beat accelerate beneath my touch. With every breath, I found myself inching closer to his mouth. The tension between us was palpable and with every second that passed with us this close, it brought me that much closer to wanting to seal my lips against his.

Our lips were merely inches away from one another now and I found myself being drawn in like a tractor beam. My eyes fluttered shut as I prepared for what I had been wanting to happen basically since the first time I had laid eyes on him. But that was short lived when suddenly my eyes shot open at the sound of the stranger’s voice.

“Looks like you found him, huh?” The man chuckled as he spoke and jogged away from us.

Both of our heads shot in the man’s direction and then back at each other. “The guy that scared you, I’m assuming?”

“You would be assuming correct.”

“Maybe we should get going.”

I nodded in agreement as I realized my hand was still pressed against his chest.
I quickly pulled my hand back and looked up at Ky apologetically. I was waiting for him to make a smart-ass remark or resort back to being a prick. But I was pleasantly surprised when he simply smiled and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers just as a normal couple would hold hands, and led me out of the park.