Protecting My Hart (Protectors Series Book 1) (11 page)

“Yeah.” Ethan grins at Beamer.

“Honey, why don’t you go and make sure all your toys are in the boxes, OK?” Hartley suggests softly

“OK, Momma.” I watch as he runs back to his room. He’s such a good kid.

“Slyde, what’s going on?” she asks me softly.

“Yeah man, fill me in.” Bryce is standing again and watching me.

“I’m moving them to my house. Somebody is after her. When I found Hart last night she was being attacked. She told me that JD had found her again, and it wasn’t the first time he’s done something like this. I won’t leave her here, and if he really has found her, she can’t stay here anyway, so I’m taking her and Ethan to my house. No one will look there.”

“OK, sounds good. How can I help?” I knew he’d have my back. He doesn’t even know the full story, but knows enough that he’s all in.

“You can help me load their stuff into our trucks.”

“Done, man. Don’t worry Hartley, we got this.” Beamer smiles at her.

“Thank you, Beamer, I appreciate the help,” she states quietly.

“Tesoro, go finish packing; Beamer and I will carry the boxes down to the trucks.”

She nods and heads back down the hall. Beamer and I grab the first bunch of boxes and take them down to the truck.

“So that’s Hartley. Well now I can see why it was so hard for you to let her go. She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, and so smart and passionate. Fuck, man, she’s been through hell, and I know she hasn’t told me all of it. I can’t believe she’s been close all this time. I mean, I know she moves from town to town, but still.”

“Well, her name change is probably why we could never track her.”

“You caught that too huh?” I ask as we reach the apartment again and grab another load of boxes.

“Any idea what name she’s been using?” Beamer asks as we head down the stairs.

“Not a clue. I’ll find out though.”

“Her son, Ethan.”

“Yeah, he’s about five years old. It’s why she left. She said she found out she was pregnant and wasn’t safe there. JD got pissed, beat her badly, and was going to force her into an abortion. She got out and then was stabbed a lot, but thank fuck, whoever it was didn’t kill Ethan. She thinks it was JD, but I’m not so sure it was.”

“Who do you think it was?”

“Not sure, will have to check into that more.” We put the third load of boxes into the trucks.

“Ethan looks like you. Has your eyes.” He leans against his truck.

“Yeah, I know.” I lean against mine. “That was my first thought too. There’s more to the story she’s not telling me, and I need to know it all. Regardless, it doesn’t matter if he’s technically mine or not. I’m claiming him. She’s my girl, he’s her son, so he’s mine now too.”

“Does she know?”

“Know what?”

“That she’s your girl?”

“I haven’t told her straight out how I feel yet, I’m trying to give her some time to adjust to all of this, and I’m not sure how she feels, but again, it doesn’t matter. I will protect them both until this shit show is over, then, if she doesn’t have the same feelings, I’ll let her go once she is happy.”

“She feels it man, I can tell. She wouldn’t be going with you like this if she didn’t feel it, if she didn’t trust you. She’s just scared. You can see the fear radiating off her, but you should tell her sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah.” We both push off and head back upstairs to grab the rest of the boxes.

Hartley is sitting on the couch with Ethan who is holding his bear with a wide smile on his face.

“Slyde, we are not having a sleepover are we? Momma and me are going to live in your house right?”

“You are smart, little man. Yeah, you and Momma are going to live with me for a little while until Beamer and I catch all the bad guys.” His eyes flash to Beamer.

“You are gonna help Slyde catch the bad guys so that Momma can sleep?”

“Yeah, buddy, I am. Don’t worry, we will catch them all.”

“See, Momma, I told you it was gonna be OK.”

“I know, baby boy. I know it will.”

“Tesoro, I need you to trust me. I think it’s going to be safer if we split up. I don’t know how often they are watching you, and if it’s constant then I don’t want them to track us. I’m going to take Ethan with me, and you will go with Beamer. He’s going to take you to my house in a different way then I’m going, and he will make sure you’re not being followed.”

“But I…” Her grip on Ethan tightens, and I know that this is asking a lot from her to be separated from him, especially under these circumstances, but if I thought this wasn’t necessary then we wouldn’t be doing it.

“Hart?”

“OK.” She nods and then pulls Ethan in front of her giving him a huge hug. “I love you, baby boy. Be good and listen to Slyde OK? I will see you soon,” she chokes out.

“I will. I love you, Momma.”

“Love you to the moon and back, baby.” She kisses him on his cheek, his head, his other cheek, and then wraps him in another hug and her eyes find mine—I can see the tears threatening to fall. “Take care of him, Slyde,” she pleads with me.

“Don’t worry, Tesoro, I won’t let anything happen to him. You’ll be safe with Beamer,” I promise her.

There is so much sincerity in Slyde’s voice as he promises to keep my son safe, I am able to relax slightly.

Slyde takes Ethan downstairs while I walk through making sure there is nothing else here that I absolutely need. I’ll figure out what to do with the rest of this later. About twenty minutes later, Beamer and I head down to his truck. I’m looking everywhere trying to see if anything is out of place, but I can’t tell. Beamer however, I can tell is on high alert, and if he is anything like Slyde, then he will know if something is wrong. We reach the truck and Beamer helps me in, then gets in himself. I notice his profile, and he too is a handsome man. Brown hair, brown eyes, and he has an easy smile. He is loyal, no doubt, from the way he came here to help before he even knew what was going on. I remember the stories that Slyde told me about the two of them, and I can see why they are good friends. Beamer’s voice breaks me from my thoughts.

“I know you’re scared, Hartley, and I know you don’t trust anybody. Hell, even just the little bit Slyde told me and what he suspected, I certainly don’t blame you.” He pauses for several moments. “You can trust him, Hartley. Slyde is a good man, best I know. There’s a lot you don’t know about him, but you can trust him. He will never do anything to hurt you. Five years, Hartley, he looked for you. Never stopped. You can trust him.”

“I do. That’s never been a question. I trust him completely, always have. It’s just that…Do you really think this will work?”

“Yeah, I think so. If not, he’ll find a way to keep you safe. I’d bet my life on that; he’ll stop at nothing when it comes to protecting you.”

“I just don’t understand why. Why all of a sudden he wants to do this.”

“I can’t tell you what he feels, Hart, but it’s not sudden. Talk to him.”

Beamer’s statement takes me by surprise, and I spend the rest of the drive contemplating what he meant by that. I realize as we pull up to, what I’m assuming is Slyde’s house, that I am no closer to figuring any of this out. Also, I’m struggling with what I am feeling, what I want to be real, and what actually is reality. It killed me to leave five years ago and cut all contact with the only person who had ever been genuinely kind to me. I don’t think I ever got over that and now, suddenly he’s back in my life, making decisions for me, trying to protect me, and showing me glimpses of dreams that I long ago gave up. As angry as I was, and still am, with him for making a decision like this without talking to me first, I didn’t lie to Beamer. I trust Slyde completely, and I do feel safe with him—always have, always will. I’m just not sure how much longer I can handle all of this.

Beamer opens my door and helps me out of the truck before leading me inside. Ethan comes running over to me, and I wrap him in a huge hug, letting the tension of being separated from him dissipate. Ethan begins telling me all about the drive over here and our new room. He tells me that he and Slyde showed his bear around the house and that Slyde showed him the park down the street. He’s so excited, and I am so grateful for a child’s innocence—he has no idea what is really going on, and I love that he thinks this is a new adventure. I don’t miss the fact that he is comfortable with Slyde and that Slyde has taken to him as well. The ease in which Ethan is coping with all of this makes it easier for me to handle as well. He gives me another hug and then runs back toward what I’m assuming is our bedroom.

“Good?” I hear Slyde’s voice and turn slightly to see him watching me, but his question wasn’t for me, and I only know this because I hear Beamer reply, and I turn back to him.

“Yeah, man, no tails. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could tell.” Beamer brings in the last few boxes from his truck and leaves them in the living room.

“Thanks, Beamer, for your help,” I tell him softly.

“You are very welcome, Hartley, and don’t worry, we’ll catch them.”

All I can do is nod and give him a small smile.

“Thanks, man. Tomorrow?” Slyde’s voice again.

“Yeah, let me know if you need anything else tonight.”

“Sure thing.”

This entire exchange is going on around me and I realize that I’m still standing in the middle of Slyde’s living room. I haven’t moved. I hear the door close behind me and then I feel him next to me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of his body. I breathe in his scent, and my body responds by relaxing and awakening at the same time.

“Hart?” he asks softly. I turn my body slightly to face him and his hand comes up to brush my cheek. I meet his eyes, which are studying me with an intensity I haven’t seen in a long time. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah.” I nod my head because I’m not sure my voice worked that time. “Just tired.”

“Come. I’ll show you your room.” He leads me down the hall, pointing out the bathroom and our bedroom. “My room is at the end of the hall. If you need anything, come and get me, but I promise you’re safe here. Understand?”

“I know, thank you.” My voice is barely a whisper. Slyde’s hand comes back up and slips into my hair, then leans forward his lips press against my forehead softly.

“Goodnight, Hart. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning,” he murmurs against my skin. A shiver shoots down my spine, and he leaves me to get ready for bed. I watch him head back to the living room, and I hear him checking the doors and turning off the lights. I walk into the room and find Ethan in bed already and fast asleep hugging his bear. He put his pajamas on, and I smile because he’s already taken some of his toys out and played for a little while. I change and go across the hall to wash my face and brush my teeth. Back in the room, I pull the blankets back and climb into bed next to my son. As I watch him sleep, I thank my lucky stars once again for him. The simple fact that he fell asleep so easily by himself tells me that he is completely comfortable here and knowing that relieves that worry.

As I lie here in bed, I realize I’m comfortable here too. We have been here less than a few hours, but I am. I also know how to feel more comfortable and safe. I need to savor this feeling and get as much of it as I can before I have to give it up again. Getting out of bed, I pull the blankets up over Ethan and kiss him on the head, then quietly leave the room. My feet move on their own accord and lead me to stand in front of his bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, I knock quietly on his door before opening it. The room is dark, but I can see from the shadows that he is lying in bed.

“Hart?”

“Yeah.” I hear moving and in a second he’s standing before me, his chest naked and gorgeous, and even in the dark I know his gaze is focused on me. I can feel the intensity.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice filled with worry.

“Nothing. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I wasn’t asleep. What’s wrong?”

“I was just…Um, can I…? Would you mind…?” I struggle with the words, they are stuck in my throat refusing to come out and ask the question. I’m terrified of the answer. Terrified to be denied one of the things I crave on every level of my being. Not wanting to be humiliated, and… Yeah, I chicken out and decide to just go back to my room. “Um, never mind. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning,” I whisper quietly and turn to walk back down the hall when I feel his hand capture my arm gently stopping me. I have no choice but to turn back to him. His hand slides down my arm to take my hand and he pulls me into his room and to his bed. Gently, he pushes me to the bed forcing me to lie down. He pulls the blankets over me and then climbs in the other side. Seconds later, I’m pulled into his strong, warm embrace, and I feel the rest of my worries and fears melt away. Every part of me from my skin to my soul drowns in this amazing feeling.

“This what you wanted?”

“Yeah,” I barely whisper.

“You never have to ask for this, Hart, it’s yours anytime you want it. I’m here, Tesoro, right here.” His words softly float around me, and I press into him closer. His arms get tighter, and I let out a sigh. I feel my eyes getting heavy, and I can no longer fight the battle to keep them open.