Protect Me (The Protector Series Book 1) Page 2

  She covers her mouth and giggles before answering. “Her real name is Toby, but she likes people to call her Nat. She said she doesn’t really like either and I don’t blame her. I’m so glad Mom named me Macie.”

  “Toby isn’t that bad. Maybe she thought Macie was a silly name,” I tease.

  “Oh no, she told me I’m just as pretty as my name. She was really, really pretty, and she thinks I’m pretty, too!” she says with wide eyes full of newfound confidence.

  “Of course you’re pretty, Mace. Go do your homework and we can go out for pizza and a movie.”

  “Are you not working tonight, Shi?” I hate that she sounds hopeful.

  “Yeah, I’ve got to work, but I’ll stay with you until you go to bed. Deal?”

  She nods before skipping to her room with her backpack swung over one shoulder. Once I hear her door click shut, I pull out my cell phone and call Lacey.

  “Hey, Shi,” she answers in a sultry voice.

  “Lacey, why were you late picking Macie up today?”

  “It was only ten minutes, and some girl had bought her a smoothie so I figured she’d be too happy to complain. I should have known better,” she huffs.

  “I pay you to look after her. Leaving her at a coffee shop by herself is not what I had in mind.”

  “Okay, I won’t let it happen again.”

  I respond with silence as I try to reel in my anger.

  “Shi? I’m sorry, okay? I’ll come over early tonight and we can talk about it.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. You just make sure you’re there waiting for her when the bus drops her off. Understood?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Be here by ten,” I snap before hanging up.

  I take a shower while I wait for Macie to finish her school work. By the time she’s ready to go, I can’t stop thinking about the girl at the park. It’s almost dark and I’m sure she’s already there. I can’t get the picture of her tiny body curled up on that old wooden bench out of my mind.

  “Can we have the pizza with the pineapples this time? Please?” Macie begs as we walk into the local pizza place.

  “Sure, but next time we’re getting pepperoni.”

  I laugh as she runs to the counter to order her favorite kind of pizza.

  “You’ve barely eaten any pizza, Shi,” she tells me as she finishes off her third piece.

  “Sorry, Mace. I’m kinda zoning out tonight.”

  “Are you thinking about work?” She does air quotes as she says work. She knows I don’t get paid for what I do, so she doesn’t consider it a job. She’s too young to understand that I have no choice; therefore, it’s a job. Pay or no pay, I work every night of the week.

  “Yeah, I am. In fact, do you think we could skip the movie tonight and swing by the park? I have something I need to check on before we go home.”

  “Sure, I’m tired anyway,” she says through a yawn.

  “Thanks for understanding, Mace. We’ll do something fun this weekend, okay?”

  She nods as she throws the remaining pizza slices in a to-go box and carries it out the door. I rub my hands over my face before standing. I’m trying to rub away the guilt I feel for not devoting all my time to Macie, but it doesn’t work. It never works.

  Someday she will understand.

  As we walk out the door, I think about all the possible reactions the girl on the bench will have when she sees my little sister and me walking up to her. I try to think of something clever to say to her as I drive to the park. It doesn’t take long for me to realize the stress I’ve put on myself is completely unnecessary because the wooden bench is unoccupied. The entire park is empty.

  “What did you need to check on at a park?” my sister asks with one eyebrow raised. I grab her hand and pull her back to the truck. The smell of pineapple and Canadian bacon overwhelms my senses as I get behind the wheel.

  “Where is she?” I mumble.

  “Where’s who?” Macie questions.

  I look at her for a moment before I realize I said that out loud. “I don’t know her name.”

  “How do you expect to find somebody if you don’t even know their name?”

  “You know how, Macie,” I say, not hiding the fact that I’m frustrated.

  She doesn’t say anything so I glance at her just long enough to see her wide eyes looking at me with fear and sadness.

  “You don’t have to stay until I fall asleep tonight. You have to find her,” she says seriously.

  I nod at her before pulling out my cell phone and calling Lacey.

  “Hello?”

  “Lacey, can I bring Macie by your place? I’ve had something come up at work and it can’t wait until ten.”

  “Sure, but I’ll expect a difference in my paycheck next week,” she says matter-of-factly.

  “Yeah, okay. We’ll be there in five.”

  I roll my eyes as I put my phone back in my pocket. The worried expression remains on Macie’s face until we pull up to Lacey’s apartment complex. She puts her tiny hand on my shoulder before whispering, “I’m proud of you, big brother.”

  I let out a long breath as I put the truck in park and pull her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Macie. I’ll be home before you leave for school tomorrow, okay?” She nods against my chest and gives me one more squeeze before getting out of the truck, taking the horrible smelling pizza with her.

  I should go home and get my head on straight, or at least grab my jacket, but I don’t. Instead, I’m driving as fast as I can toward the park, hoping she will be curled up on that bench when I get there.

  The bench is still empty.

  I fall to my knees and close my eyes. It’s the only way I can tune everything out—everything but one thing: pain. My throat starts hurting first; it’s a dull pain at the beginning. When my lungs start burning and my chest starts heaving, I realize what’s happening: She can’t breathe.

  Nat

  My first good day in a long time has quickly gone to shit. Actually, a shit day might even be better than how this one has turned out. The day started out good, really good. I walked into the small coffee shop on Main Street where I had put in an application yesterday, and the owner offered me a job. I was shocked for half a second but then came to my senses and accepted without asking for any details.

  The name of the coffee shop is Aunt J’s, and the owner, Marty Keller, is the great-nephew of “Aunt J”. Come to find out, Marty doesn’t even like coffee, but he loved his aunt, so he keeps the shop running.

  I want to take a shower before my first day, but I know that isn’t possible. So, I do the next best thing: I start washing my hair in the sink of the public bathroom on the south end of the park. Someone starts knocking on the door and I inwardly groan because now whoever is waiting to use the restroom will know I’ve resorted to washing my hair with hand soap.

  “Just a sec,” I yell through the door.

  I quickly grab the wet clothes I’d washed in the sink and toss them into my bag. I’ll have to wait to dry my hair until the bathroom-goer is finished. I hope they’re fast, seeing as how it’s less than fifty degrees outside.

  The person outside starts knocking again just as I flip the lock. As soon as I twist the knob, someone starts shoving their way into the bathroom.

  “If you’ll give me a second I would be happy to leave before you start doing your business,” I say from behind the door. Then the door is jerked from my hand and slammed shut. The lock clicks into place at the same time I realize who is in the bathroom with me: Declan Thomas, the quarterback from my high school. “Hiya, Nat,” he says with a disgusting smirk.

  “Wh-what are you doing here?” I stammer.

  “I thought that was you talking to that little girl yesterday, the one outside the coffee shop. I followed you here last night. I’m trying to decide if you’re brave or stupid.”

  My temper flares. Declan has been sleeping with Chelsea behind Rick’s back for almost a year, and he makes it a point to belit
tle me as often as possible. I hate him.

  “Are you happy now? You can go run to Chelsea and tell her where her paycheck is hiding out.”

  He chuckles and takes a step closer. “I’ve already told her where you are, Nat. She doesn’t want you back. She wants me to get rid of you. We can’t risk you running your mouth to anyone about us.” He takes another step closer.

  My back is already against the wall and he wraps his hands around my throat before I have a chance to beg for my life—not that there’s much to beg for.

  I give a feeble attempt at trying to pull his hands away from my neck. When that doesn’t work, I bring my knee up but miss the sweet spot, hitting his thigh instead. He turns his body sideways and uses his hip to hold me even tighter against the wall.

  “Give it up, Nat. It’s over,” he says, breathless from the exertion.

  He’s right; it will all be over soon. I drop my hands and let my arms hang limply at my sides. Declan has sweat beading on his forehead and his eyes are squeezed shut. He won’t even look at me while he chokes me. The coward.

  I’m trying to decide what I should spend my last minute of life thinking about. What does everyone else think about in their last moments? Isn’t my life supposed to be flashing before my eyes? There is no flashing; I’m just pissed. I’m going to die in this nasty ass public bathroom the day before I start my first job ever. My life was just getting started and now it’s abruptly ending. Just my luck.

  My chest is on fire and my arms and legs are tingling. I let my eyes flutter closed only to have them snap open at the sound of the metal door slamming against the concrete wall.

  Shiloh.

  He is red faced and breathing heavily like he has been running. I’m instantly jealous of his lungs as I watch him suck in a deep breath.

  He grabs hold of my hand and uses his other hand to grip Declan’s bicep. Declan looks at him like he’s crazy for a second, then quickly releases me and clutches at his own chest with his free hand. Shiloh doesn’t let go of his arm until Declan collapses on the bathroom floor.

  I continue leaning against the wall as I try to wrap my head around what the hell just happened. I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to replay the events in my head: I was washing my hair. Declan locked me in the bathroom. He was choking me. He wanted to kill me. I was fading, couldn’t breathe at all. Shiloh got the door open. He held my hand. Now Declan is lying on the floor.

  Then, I realize: I’m breathing. I’m not heaving or gasping for air; I’m breathing normally. I open one eye and glance at Shiloh. He is looking at me with a worried expression on his face, and he is still holding my hand.

  I pull my hand away from his roughly, causing him to take a step back like I’m going to hit him or something. To be honest, I consider it for a second. I mean, who is this guy anyway? Sure, he rescued me from a psycho, but he might as well be a psycho right along with Declan.

  I glare up at the concrete ceiling as I curse my luck under my breath. When I finish cursing, I grab my bags and walk out, letting the door slam shut behind me. I walk the fifty yards to my bench as quickly as possible. It’s not exactly a safe place, but it feels safe enough to me.

  The sun has already gone down, so it’s dark enough to sleep even though it can’t be much later than 8pm. I use my change of clothes to cover myself up before lying on my back on the bench.

  I’m still awake when I hear someone walking toward me, the dead grass and leaves crunching beneath their feet.

  “If your name is Shiloh, keep walking,” I say loud enough for whoever it is to hear.

  “The next time I introduce myself to a girl that sleeps on park benches, I’ll be sure to use an alias,” he answers.

  I sit up quickly and turn toward him so he can see my glare. “Shouldn’t you be leaving? I know I would be hightailing it out of here if I had just killed someone,” I sneer.

  Shiloh raises his eyebrows at me before taking a seat on the other half of my bench.

  “You think I killed that kid? And you’re still sitting here glaring at me? As if that will stop me from killing you, too?”

  “Declan is alive?” I whisper.

  “I waited for him to leave before I came to check on you,” he says with a nod.

  “Is it wrong that I’m not relieved to hear that?” I wonder out loud.

  “You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

  I roll my eyes while simultaneously shaking my head.

  “I’m serious. He’s not going to bother you again,” Shiloh says confidently.

  “Oh, because you’re going to come to the rescue again if he does? You don’t even know where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing. You definitely won’t know who will or will not be bothering me.”

  Shiloh stands up and paces in front of me for a few seconds. I can tell he’s angry at me for pointing out the obvious, but it’s true. He has no way of knowing if Declan will come back for me or not. He doesn’t know to what extent Declan is willing to go in order to make Chelsea happy.

  “You should get some sleep. I’ll leave before morning,” Shiloh tells me once he has stopped pacing. He makes himself comfortable in the grass about a foot away from the bench. I’ll never admit it, but I’m glad he’s staying. At least I won’t have to worry about Declan coming back to mess with me tonight.

  “Just because you saved me doesn’t mean we’re friends,” I say as I tuck my still damp hair inside my extra shirt to keep it from giving me a chill.

  “I don’t want to be your friend; you’re mean. Now, go to sleep.”

  I lay there with my mouth open for a moment before rolling over with a huff. I don’t say anything else, and he is gone when the sun wakes me.

  I need to go to the bathroom and look in the mirror before I go to work, but I’m too scared to use the public one at the park again. So, I start walking three blocks out of the way to use a bathroom inside a 24/7 convenience store. I do the best I can with my hair, my fingers getting most of the tangles out. I brush my teeth and spray myself with the half-empty Febreeze bottle before leaving the store.

  I’m exhausted by the time I make it to work. Thankfully, I’m still an hour early and have time to catch my breath before going inside. I’ve only been sitting on the curb for a couple minutes when I hear the door to Aunt J’s open behind me. “Nat? You know you can come inside early, right?”

  I turn to see Marty holding the door open for me. I wave at him sheepishly as I make my way inside.

  “You’re early. I like that,” he says with a toothy smile.

  I spend the next hour following Marty around the store as he shows me the ins and outs of coffee making. He lets me eat a banana nut muffin and drink a cup of coffee while he talks. It’s the best morning I’ve had in a long time.

  Aunt J’s doesn’t get busy until 8am. Everyone is getting their morning coffee before heading off to work, I assume. I count twenty-three dollars in my tip jar by the end of lunch, and I’m ecstatic. Getting tips on top of my hourly wage will help me get a place to live even faster.

  I’m wiping the counters and getting ready for my shift to end when the little girl I met yesterday walks in. “Hiya, Nat,” she says with a big grin. “I guess you got the job, huh?”

  “Yes I did, Macie. All because you wished me luck,” I tell her with a wink.

  She smiles as she sits down in a booth and looks out the window.

  “You waiting for someone?” I ask.

  She nods. “My babysitter is supposed to pick me up at the bus stop. She’s late again. My brother isn’t going to be very happy.”

  “Well, how about some hot cocoa while you wait?”

  “I don’t have any money; thanks, though,” she says politely.

  I make her the hot cocoa anyway and take money out of my tip jar to pay for it.

  “You’re so nice,” she tells me with a smile when I set the steaming cup down in front of her.

  “Only to my friends,” I say with a wink.

  She beams up at me before
taking a sip of her drink. After glancing out the window, she starts sliding out of the booth.

  “There’s Lacey. I better hurry before Shi wakes up and sees that we’re late. Thanks for the cocoa.” She wraps one arm around me and then jogs out to the red sports car parked at the curb. I watch her through the window. She starts putting her backpack into the back seat, and I have a clear view of the busty brunette in the driver’s seat. She has a scowl on her face. When Macie tries to sit down, the girl starts shaking her head and points to the cup of hot cocoa Macie is holding.

  Macie starts walking back toward the coffee shop and I meet her at the door. “Lacey won’t let me have drinks in her car, even with a lid on it. I didn’t want to throw it away, so I thought I would see if you wanted it. I’ve only taken a few drinks and I’m not sick, I swear.”

  I take the drink from Macie and watch her solemnly walk back to the red car. It’s settled: Lacey the babysitter is a total bitch.

  Shiloh

  I don’t leave the park until sunrise. Even though I’m tired, I can’t make myself sleep. I clean the apartment and put away the laundry. After lunch, I force myself to lie on the couch for a couple hours.

  Macie should have been home thirty minutes ago. I am dialing Lacey’s number when Mace walks through the door.

  “Hey, bubba. You look tired; did you not rest?”

  “Why are you late?” I ask, ignoring her question.

  She puts her head down and starts shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Macie, why were you late?”

  “Lacey was late picking me up again,” she says quietly.

  I force myself to take in a calming breath before dialing Lacey’s number.

  “Hello?” she answers, sounding annoyed that I am even calling.

  “Lacey, it’s Shiloh.”

  “I know who it is,” she huffs.

  “Right. I was just calling to let you know I won’t need your help with Macie any more. Your final check will be in the mail tomorrow.”