Protecting Lyndley (9 page)

Ky

I had never met a more infuriating individual. My irritation with Lyndley at the moment was through the roof. All I was trying to do was make sure she was okay, and she practically spits in my face. How hard would it have been for her to just answer me? Apparently, that was asking too much of the princess.

I stomped up the front steps not looking back to see if she was following. At this point, I didn’t really give a shit. I was fuming when I got inside, so I headed straight for the fridge and grabbed a beer.
After practically draining the whole thing in one gulp, I opted for something a little stronger. I rummaged through the cupboards for the bottle of whiskey I had bought, but came up empty.

“It’s above the fridge.” Her small voice invaded the entire kitchen and I slammed the cupboard.

“Don’t move my shit!”

I opened the cupboard and ripped the bottle from the shelf. I grabbed a clean glass from the sink and headed out to the living room. I wasn’t in any mood to have it out with her just yet, so I clicked on the television and drank myself into an oblivious state.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since we had gotten home, but when I glanced around the darkened house, I didn’t see Lyndley anywhere. I reached for the bottle of whiskey and topped off my glass, noticing that I had already polished off more than half of the bottle. I threw back the warm amber liquid and let it warm my insides, enjoying the feeling of absolutely nothing. Then my anger kicked back in.

I pu
shed myself up off of the couch and stumbled all the way to the stairs. When I reached out for the railing to steady myself, I completely missed it and fell face first up the stairs. I let out a low growl and proceeded to pull myself back up. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I stood there swaying as I grimaced at her closed door. I knew she was in there, but more than that I knew that she was ignoring me, and that
really
got on my nerves.

I slammed my fist against her door, waiting for her to answer. When she didn’t say anything or come open the door, I slammed my fist against it again. “LYNDLEY! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” I shouted. There still was no answer, so I let myself in.

I stood at the end of her bed, anger seething through my every pore as I watched her sleeping form. I took in a few deep breaths before making my way over to the side of the bed that she was facing. The room slowly began to spin, and everything went a bit blurry, until I saw her face.

I bent down so I was face to face with her. I pushed back a strand of hair from her face and squatted down on the floor. “Lyndley, wake up!”

Her eyes shot open in fear as she clutched her blanket to her chest. “Ky, what the hell?”

“You’re going to talk to me, Lyndley. Now!” I half shouted.

“I’m not talking to you when you’re like this. Go get some rest and when you sober up, then we can talk.”

I slammed my fist on the mattress, narrowly missing her arm. “You ain’t my momma. Now get out of bed and talk to me.”

“No!” She was now up on her knees facing me.

I reached out for her arm and tugged her to me, “Wrong answer,
princess.” I stood and tugged her along with me. When we reached her bedroom door, she clutched onto the doorframe, resisting me.

“I’m stronger than you, little girl.”

“And a mean drunk it would seem. I’m not scared of you, Ky.”

Her words sunk in deep. I wasn’t trying to be
mean to her, I just wanted answers. Answers she apparently wasn’t willing to give me. I let go of her arm and stood back against her dresser, ashamed. I waited for her to run, to run far away from me, but she just stood there with her arms crossed over her puffed out chest.

“I’m only going to ask you one more time. What the hell happened at the boutique tonight?”

“And you think I should just answer you? You’re out of your damn mind.”

I slammed my hands down on the dresser cau
sing her perfume bottle and other random things to fall over. “You’re gonna tell me. It’s my job to know.”

“Oh I’m very aware of what your
job
is, Ky. But you coming at me like this isn’t going to get you any answers.” She started walking out of the room when I caught her arm and firmly pushed her against the wall.

“Damn it, Lyndley. Can’t you see I’m trying here?” My face was merely inches away from hers
. Her lips were beckoning me and I wanted to take her right here and now.

“Trying to do what exactly?” She seethed.

I pushed my body flush against hers so she could feel the effect she had on me. I heard a small gasp come from her intoxicating mouth as my erection pressed against her belly. I lowered my head to the base of her neck, breathing her in and calming my nerves. “Please tell me what happened, Lyndley.”

Her lips grazed my ear and I could feel myself harden. Her lips were now barely touching my earlobe as she began to speak. “No.” She whispered and my anger spiked.

I pulled back and pushed her hard against the wall, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around my waist. I pressed myself hard against the thin fabric of her pajama pants. “Jesus, Lyndley. Don’t you see what you do to me? I’m going insane just being around you. You do things to me that I haven’t ever felt. FUCK!” I let my head fall back as I shouted. When I brought it back to look at her, I could see unshed tears in her gorgeous emerald green eyes.

Before she could respond, I was sealing my lips over hers. In my curre
nt state, slow wasn’t an option. I ravenously moved my lips against hers waiting for her to reciprocate. I was getting frustrated as she fought against my advance, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Suddenly, I felt her body melt into mine. Her arms wrapped firmly around my neck and her lips began to move in synch with my own.

I slid my tongue across her bottom lip and as she opened her mouth to accept me, electricity sparked when our tongues met. Her hands pushed through the back of my hair, tugging it gently as
her tongue caressed the inside of my mouth. In that moment the rest of the world ceased to exist.

I broke contact with her mouth and started kissing across her jawbone and eventually down the side of her neck. Her legs tightened around my waist, bringing me closer to the edge. My hands gripped under her ass, pulling her up
a little bit further so I could reach the button on my pants. I undid my belt, and had the first button undone when her hands reached for my face, pulling it up to hers as her lips crashed against mine.

My pants hung
low enough on my hips that my erection was perfectly pressed against her most needy body part. I could feel her wetness soak through her thin pants and on my exposed skin, but I couldn’t bring myself to go any further. This was wrong. All of this was wrong.

I quickly pulled back and lowered her to
the ground. Once I knew she was steady on her feet, I reached down and pulled my pants back on. When I looked back up at her, the questioning look on her face didn’t go unnoticed. I stepped back, not wanting to make her feel anymore self-conscious than she already felt.

“I’m sorry, Lyndley. I didn’t mean fo-“

“It’s okay. I get it. If I wasn’t a job and all that, right?”

I could hear the hurt in her tone. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Why do you drink so much, Ky?”

I shook my head not wanting to answer the question. Although she had already confided things in me, I wasn’t sure I was able to do
the same. If my past was enough to make me this way, I could only imagine how it would make her feel. “I don’t know.” I pushed my hand back through my hair and leaned back against her dresser.

She wearily stepped towards me. I wasn’t sure if she was waiting for me to push her away again, but she didn’t hesitate once she reached me. She ran her fingers back through my hair and down the side of my face. I pushed my face against her hand in a gesture letting her know that I was accepting her comfort.

“You can tell me.” She whispered.

“I wouldn’t even know where to start.” My eyes were still shut when I felt her presence leave from in front of me. When I opened them again, she was sitting on the end of the bed.

“There was a guy that came into the store tonight. It was…um…it was the same guy from the park today. He told me he just happened to stumble across my store and wanted to get something for his wife.”

I made a move in her direction, but she put her hand up to stop me and I did. I stood unmoving while she talked. “Lyndley, what did he-
“

“He was about six foot two, black buzzed hair and brown eyes. He had olive skin and a tattoo of a cross on his left forearm. If I had to guess I would say he weighed about two twenty, give or take a few pounds. Oh and his name is Lorenzo Gonzalez.”

I stood back in shock. “Wow, you really took your time memorizing all of that while he was there?”

She nodded her head yes. “I knew you would ask. When you first got to the store I was still frazzled from him coming in. Ky, I don’t like being the only one in that store all day. He could’ve taken me, or worse
, and nobody would have ever known until you came to pick me up.”

I could tell she was getting worked up again, so I made my way over to sit next to her. I draped my arm over her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Lyndley, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But you can’t guarantee that. You weren’t there. Nobody was there. He could’ve came in, shot me and left, and how would you know?”

“I put cameras in this morning
. Trust me I would’ve known.”

“Did you know he was there?” Fear laced her words, and what I was about to say would probably only make that fear worse, but I
had to be honest with her.

“Kind of.” Her hand came down across my cheek in one fluid motio
n. I closed my eyes as the sting of her slap settled in, but then I continued. “Listen to me. I didn’t know for sure, but we over heard a conversation between Kristy and a guy named Lorenzo. They were talking about a package being delivered.”

“I’m assuming I’m the package in this scenario?”

“It would appear so, now. We weren’t sure when we first heard it. But I honestly didn’t know it would be the guy from the park this morning. That’s something else entirely. I wonder how he knew you would be there.” I shook my head as I hung it in defeat. “I’m sorry, Lyndley. I never want you to feel unsafe with me. Do you understand that?”

I glanced over at Lyndley when I didn’t hear an audible answer. When I looked at her, she was nodding her head. “I know you’ll protect me.”

I believed her. I could hear it in her voice that she truly believed me when I told her that I would keep her safe. “I have an idea.”

“I’m scared to ask what it is.” She l
aughed, and it instantly put me at ease.

“You feel up to a run in the morning?” What I was contemplating doing was dangerous, but if her cover was blown, it really left us with no choice.

Lyndley

I stood at the entrance of the park, stretching and helping Ky scope out the place a little bit. I was no U
.S. Marshal by any means, but he had said since I had gotten a good look at the guy, that I should help him spot him. When I told Ky about the incident last night, I might have forgotten to mention that Lorenzo said he would see me at the park soon. Now I was just hoping that soon meant today.

I glanced around in amazement at how many people lived in this city. It was overwhelming having so many faces around and me none the wiser as to whether or not any of them were after me. I put my leg up on the lower metal bar in front of me and stretched forward, grabbing my foot and letting out a loud sigh.

“That’s quite the position.” Ky laughed as he came up behind me.

“I used to be a ballerina, if you can believe it.” I lifted the other leg and did the exact same stretch.

“I’d believe it. Especially watching you stretch like that. Yeah, I sure as shit believe it. How long did you do it for?”

I looked up at him and smiled. “Practically my entire life. I started when I was three and didn’t stop until I injured my hamstring my third year of college.”

“That’s amazing. No wonder you’re in such great shape.” His head whipped over in my direction. “I mean…”

“It’s okay, Ky. You can compliment me.” I laughed as I took off jogging past him.
I turned and ran backwards for a second so I could see the look on his face. “You should see me in a tutu.” I turned around and picked up the pace as I made my way around the first bend on the path.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” I should’ve known Ky would keep up with me for a little bit, but I guess I was more surprised at the fact that he didn’t hang back a bit to see if Lorenzo would appear. I was still amazed at how good of a runner he was. I guess years of track and field will do that to you.

“Hey, Ky?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Ha ha, you’re funny. What was your childhood like?” Ky’s smile faded the minute I asked, and I knew I had just hit a wall with him.

“You know, your normal childhood. Happy family and all that shit. I’m
gonna fall back a little bit. Don’t worry I will always have my eyes on you.” He gave me a halfhearted smile, and then he was gone.

“Is that a promise?” I knew he wasn’t around to hear me, but it put a smile on my face.

Honestly, everything about Ky usually put a smile on my face. With everything that has happened, he was the only face that could manage to make me happy these days. He had made the last week seem so easy and seamless, well except for when he was drinking. Maybe one day, he would give that up too.

I stuck my earbuds in my ears and turned the volume up as loud as it would go. With the music blaring in my ears and a smile on my face, I pushed myself and started running at a faster pace.
Almost instantly, I was in the zone. My heart was racing, my adrenaline was pumping, and my body felt the best it had ever felt in the longest time, and then I reached the bridge and Lorenzo’s face came into view.

I slowed my pace just barely, but made sure to not let him know that he intimidated me. He still hadn’t seen me, so I continued on my set course and ended up jog
ging right past him without saying a word. As much as I wanted to turn around and see if he had started following me, I willed myself to keep going and not worry about it. Ky promised me that he wouldn’t be too far behind, so I knew I was safe.

I came to a fork in the path and slowed substantially trying to decide which way I should go. Ky and I had mapped out the course we would take today, but for some reason something inside of me was telling me to go to the left and not the right like we had previously discussed. As much as I wanted to go left, I knew that losi
ng Ky wouldn’t be the best idea. So I made a quick turn and headed right.

I was through my eleventh song when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst when I finally turned around and came face to face with Lorenzo. I gave a small smile but continued running.

I could hear a voice trying to break through my music, but it was up far too loud for me to hear anything. I pulled out my earbuds and glanced over at Lorenzo. “What was that?”

“Sorry, I was just asking if you were gonna talk to me?”

“Oh, sorry I usually run with headphones in. It’s the only way I can keep track of time without looking at my iPod.”

“No worries. You’re a fast runner.”

I gave him a quick smile but didn’t respond. Needing to put my heart at ease, I took the opportunity to glance around the park, trying to catch a glimpse of Ky. When I didn’t see him, I almost tripped over my own two feet. I started to stumble, but Lorenzo grabbed onto my arm and held me steady.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime. So, are you working today?” He was starting to become rather inquisitive and Ky and I didn’t have time this morning to go over what I should say when people asked me certain questions, so I was forced to wing it.

“I am. I’m actually going to be late if I don’t get going soon.”

“Maybe I’ll come back by and grab another dress or two for my
wife.
She really liked the blue one you picked out. Thanks again.”

“Of course. All right, well this is my turnoff. I’ll see ya around.” I veered right and started heading back towards the entrance that Ky and I came through earlier. When I didn’t see him anywhere, I just kept running in the direction of our house.

When I was about a block away, I heard footsteps mimicking mine and I knew exactly who it was. I was in a good mood this morning, so I decided to mess with Ky just a bit. I darted off in the direction of our brownstone and didn’t slow down until I almost ran right past it. I was bent over trying to catch my breath when a familiar woman’s voice broke through my panting.

“Well aren’t we sporty.”

The sound of her voice made my clench me teeth, but I turned trying to be as nice as possible. “Hey there, Sheena. How are you this morning?”

She came strutting down her steps
in one of the world’s smallest mini skirts just as she saw Ky coming up the street. “I’m fantastic today. So you run, huh?”

No shit, Sherlock. It was what I wanted to say to her, but I decided to play nice. I opened my mouth to answer her, but was pleasantly surprised when Ky’s voice cut me off.

“Yes,
we
do.” His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me extremely close to him.

I closed my eyes relishing
in his touch. The mixture of sweat and his distinctive deodorant had me wanting more of what we were doing last night. Because we weren’t behind closed doors and given the fact that I wasn’t even sure if he even wanted me in that way anymore, I decided to play it up a bit for Sheena’s sake.

I wrapped both arms around Ky’s waist and kissed his cheek. “We’ve been running together for years. I take it you don’t like to be active?”

“I like to be active, just not in a way that is suitable for outdoors.” She winked at Ky and for whatever reason jealousy began to flow through my veins.

“I bet your husband loves that.” I chided.

“Who said I liked to be active with him?” Her bitchy head fell back in laughter and I wanted to lunge over the small brick wall that separated our houses, and rearrange her face.

“Well although it has been a blast chatting, I really need to get ready for work. I’ll see ya later, Sheena. Have a good day.”

“Oh don’t you worry, Ky and I always have a good day. Don’t we, Ky?”

My arms tightened around Ky’s waist before I finally pried them from around him
, and started making my way up the rest of the steps and inside. I sat on the recliner and untied my shoes. When Ky came walking in a few seconds later, I was far beyond irritated. I knew it was irrational for me to be so upset, but for some idiotic reason I thought Ky and I were getting somewhere. Apparently I was wrong.

“
Lyndley, let me explain please.”

I turned as I started walking upstairs to shower, “Ky, don’t even worry about it. It’s not like we’re a
real
couple. Remember, this is all make believe.” I held my arms out at everything around us. “Don’t give it another thought, seriously.”

I could tell by the look on his face that he knew my words held more meaning than what they were. There
were always going to be Sheenas in this world, and unfortunately all of us average girls just had to deal with it. Fortunately for me, I would eventually be rid of her
and
Ky, and then hopefully be able to have a life after all of this.

~~~~~

“Is it seriously only three o’clock?” Kristy came in this morning to help me out and I had to admit it was nice having someone here with me.

“Yes. Man this day is dragging.”

“Right. I’m starving. Are you wanting to have lunch soon?” I was cleaning up the fitting rooms waiting for Kristy to answer me, but she never did. I stuck my head out of one of the rooms and found her at the front on the phone. Funny, I never even heard it ring. I slowly started making my way over to her trying to eavesdrop just a bit, but she quickly hung up as I got within an earshot.

“Sorry love, what did ya say?”

“I was just wondering if you wanted to have lunch soon? I can run up the block real quick to that sandwich shop.”

“That sounds perfect. Here, let me pay.” As Kristy dug through her purse for money, I took a second to glance around outside and make sure I didn’t see anybody suspicious. “Okay, here ya go. I just want a turkey on rye.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in just a minute. If my husband calls, can you just lie and say I’m in the bathroom or something? I hate to ask, but he worries far too much.”

“Of course. See ya in a few.”

Stepping out onto the sidewalk in the light of day had me feeling high on freedom. I knew I wasn’t supposed to leave the store, but come on; it was literally only two minutes away. What could possibly happen in two minutes?