Protect Me (The Protector Series Book 1) Read online

  I follow him inside and up to the second floor. We walk to the end of the hallway and he puts a key in the last door on the right. I glance at the door on the left and wonder what my neighbor or neighbors will be like. I hope they don’t have a yappy little dog like the one Chelsea had. But I know that even if they do, this place will feel like heaven compared to where I’ve been.

  I have to blink constantly to keep my tears at bay while Marty gives me a tour of the one-bedroom apartment; it’s everything I could ever need or want. My kitchen is fully stocked with dishes and food. I see the empty grocery sacks in the trash and assume Marty went to get the food before picking me up. How lucky am I to work for such a decent human being?

  My bathroom has several fluffy towels, and the fact that they are bright orange makes them even better. My bedroom has a small wooden dresser that I don’t give a second glance because the king size bed is demanding my attention.

  “Are you sure about this?” I ask without taking my eyes off the bed. It has a light blue comforter with all different colors of throw pillows covering the two big pillows that are resting against the wooden headboard.

  “I’m sure, Nat. Make yourself at home,” he says as he hands me the keys.

  “I feel like saying ‘thank you’ isn’t enough,” I mutter, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

  “It’s plenty. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  As soon as the door shuts, I click the lock into place and sprint to the bathroom. I stay in the shower until my fingers are pruned and even then wait another ten minutes before getting out. I brush my hair with an actual brush before crawling into the bed and wrapping myself up in the soft, clean sheets.

  Shiloh

  “You’ll pick me up from the coffee shop today?” Macie asks before getting out of the truck.

  “Yes, Mace. Walk to the shop after the bus lets you out. I’ll be inside waiting for you. I just want to let Nat know where we live so she can come by tonight,” I explain for the hundredth time since she woke up.

  “I hope she says she wants to be my babysitter. It would be cool to have a friend and a babysitter.”

  “You weren’t friends with Lacey?” I question.

  “No. All she did was talk on the phone and do her nails,” she says while scrunching her nose up in disgust.

  “Have a good day,” I tell her with a laugh.

  “I love you, Shi,” she says before slamming my truck door shut and walking toward the school.

  I go to the grocery store to pick up things to make a pizza, including pineapples for Macie. Once I’m home, I clean everything I can think of. I make sure there isn’t any dirty laundry on the bathroom floor, that there is plenty of toilet paper on the roll, and that there are no dishes left in the kitchen sink. I even light a candle to put on the coffee table.

  I relax onto the couch, planning on taking a nap until it’s time to pick Macie up, but I decide to check on Nat first. If my dad were still around and knew I felt her on purpose this often, he would surely smack me upside the head, but it’s not like Nat is close to me; she’s at work a good six or seven miles away.

  I close my eyes and clear my head, welcoming anything and everything that involves her. I picture her face, her shoulder length, dirty blonde hair that I’ve only seen pulled up haphazardly with a rubber band, and her green eyes that never seem to look sad even though they have plenty of reason to be. It doesn’t take me long to figure out she’s running. My heart starts pounding and my lungs are burning but feel cool at the same time. Is she exercising? Does she have the day off?

  I squeeze my eyes tighter and try to feel what sort of mood she’s in. She’s panicked, scared even. All of a sudden, everything I feel increases tenfold. My heart starts racing even faster, my chest rising and falling like I’m the one running. Beads of sweat start forming on my forehead, and that’s when I realize what’s happening: She’s getting closer. Dad always told me not to sense anyone who was too close to me, and now I understand why—but despite the intensity I can’t turn it off. I open my eyes and try shaking my head, but I still feel everything.

  Sweat is running down my face and I’m sucking in a deep breath when I hear something in the hall. I get off the couch and put my ear to the door that leads out to the hallway. She’s there, outside my apartment. I can hear her breathing. Without thinking about how crazy I’m going to look to her, I jerk my door open.

  Nat is fumbling with a set of keys, trying to open the door across from mine. Her hands are shaking so badly she can’t get the key into the lock. I step beside her and grab the keys from her hand. My intention is to unlock the door for her, but she turns around fast while simultaneously sticking her boney elbow out and hitting me right in the chest.

  “Oohf,” I groan, bending over to catch my breath.

  “Shiloh? What are you doing? Give me my keys!” she screeches.

  “You…broke…my sternum,” I moan.

  With a panicked glance toward the elevator, she jerks the keys from my hand and successfully unlocks the door. She steps inside and quickly shuts the door in my face. I’m still bent over, my hands resting on my knees now, supporting my body weight while I try to catch my breath. A moment later she’s opening the door, grabbing my arm, and hauling me inside the apartment she just unlocked.

  I look around and notice that it is a nice apartment. I mean, the setup is identical to mine and Macie’s, but this one has much nicer furniture and the kitchen appliances are all stainless steel.

  “Are we breaking and entering right now?” I ask with raised eyebrows.

  She glares at me before answering. “It’s my boss’ apartment. He’s letting me stay here for a while.”

  My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. The note I left must have really gotten to him. I’d had no idea he would do something like this or I would have done it sooner. “Wow, must be a nice guy,” I mutter as I look around once again.

  “Marty is great. Why are you here? Did you chip me with a GPS tracker in my sleep or something?” she asks. Her breathing is starting to even out and in turn, mine does the same. I take a long deep breath before nonchalantly answering her. “Oh, we live across the hall, Macie and I.” I shove my hands in my pockets while watching her take in that bit of information. I can’t help but smile at the look on her face. She draws her eyebrows together while squinting her eyes at me like she doesn’t believe a word I’m saying.

  “What?” I shrug.

  She slowly shakes her head, still in disbelief.

  “Why were you running?” I ask her.

  Her eyes go wide and she quickly goes to look out the window. I follow her and look down at the empty sidewalk. “Who are you running from, Nat?”

  “My foster mom,” she says quietly. “She came into Aunt J’s today. Thank God she didn’t see me. I had to fake being sick so Marty would let me have the afternoon off. I ran the whole way here, I was so afraid she would see me.”

  She keeps talking, but it’s just rambling. I don’t understand half of what she’s saying. She keeps looking out the window and shaking her head.

  “Nat? Nat!” I attempt to pull her out of her panic mode.

  “What?” she asks, making eye contact with me, finally.

  “She didn’t see you. Nobody followed you here. Take a breath and calm down.” I maintain eye contact with her as I slowly reach out to put my hand on her shoulder. To my surprise, she doesn’t flinch. Instead, she takes a deep breath and relaxes under my touch.

  “I can’t let them find me. She would tell Declan.” Her eyes grow wide at the realization that Declan could find her once again. I have a lot of questions to ask, but I know this isn’t the right time.

  I take her hand and guide her to the couch. After a moment of hesitation, she sits down beside me. “Nat.” I wait for her to look up from our still joined hands and meet my eyes. “I know you don’t want to, but you can trust me. I swear, you can always trust me.”

  She nods and looks down as tears fill her eyes.
I squeeze her hand before standing. “Why don’t you rest for a bit while I go pick Macie up? You can come over for dinner around six if you’re feeling up to it.”

  “How can I say no now that we live less than two feet from each other?” she says with a small smile. I smile back at her before letting myself out.

  I think Macie is going to break the truck windows with her squeal when I tell her where Nat lives. Mace doesn’t have many friends at school, and she has already put Nat into the “best friend” category. Excited doesn’t even come close to describing her reaction.

  As soon as we get home, Macie goes straight to her room to do her homework without me even asking her to. Once the homework is finished, she takes a shower and dries her hair with the blow dryer, which is unusual for her. I poke my head in her bedroom to let her know the pizza will be ready soon and see her messing with her hair in front of her mirror. I can tell she’s frustrated by the look on her face as she drops the piece of hair she’s been working with and angrily jerks her fingers through the tangled strands.

  “Everything all right in here, Mace?”

  “No. I want to braid my hair before Nat gets here, but I can’t figure it out. All the girls in my class wear braids in their hair. Mine looks the same every single day,” she says with a pouty face.

  “I can try to help. Want me to hold some of your hair back while you work on the braid?”

  “No, thanks anyway,” she says while rolling her eyes. I hate moments like these, moments when she needs and deserves to have a mom here to help her, moments when my advice isn’t enough. Thankfully, the beep of the oven puts the moment on pause.

  I hear Nat’s door open. I open ours and she gives me an awkward glance before letting herself inside the apartment.

  “C’mon in,” I mutter under my breath.

  “Macie, are you in here?” I hear her call out, and when Macie responds, Nat disappears to find her.

  I’ve just finished setting paper plates and drinks on the table when Macie emerges from her room. Two perfect braids are going down either side of her head and there are tiny pieces of light blue ribbon tied at the end of each one.

  “Nice braids,” I tell her.

  “Nat did it for me. She’s going to teach me how to do it myself. She said I can practice on her hair.” She beams.

  When Nat walks out behind her I mouth, “Thank you.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal because she has no idea how many times I have listened to Macie cry about not being able to wear braids to school and about not being as pretty as the other girls. It’s a very big deal.

  Macie smiles and twirls the ends of her hair all through dinner. Her first frown since Nat has arrived is directed at me after I tell her to go watch a movie while I talk to Nat. She chooses not to argue but is sure to make it obvious she isn’t happy with me.

  “So,” I start.

  “So, how often do you want me to babysit?” Nat asks.

  “Well, I work nights Monday through Thursday. If you could just stay with her from ten to six then I’ll be home in time to get her up for school.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you work nights. Where exactly do you work?”

  The unavoidable question. I have no way to answer her honestly no matter how much I want to.

  “I’m a security guard,” I lie.

  “A security guard? So, that’s how you were able to hurt Declan just by grabbing his arm?”

  “Something like that,” I say as I shift in my chair, praying she will change the subject.

  “Would I stay here with Macie? Or would she stay at my place?”

  Nat keeps tucking her hair behind her left ear while we talk. I wonder why she’s doing it; is she nervous, or is it just out of habit? There are so many things I want to know about this girl.

  “I’d rather you stay here with her if you don’t mind. She will sleep better in her own bed, and I like to keep things as routine as possible for her.”

  “Okay,” she says simply.

  “Okay? You’ll do it?” I ask, shocked that she agrees so quickly. We haven’t even discussed pay yet.

  “Of course I will. Macie is one of the only friends I have. Why not get paid to hang out with her?” she says with a smirk.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re going to sit there and tell me my bratty little sister is your only friend? To my face? What am I, then?” I ask, raising my arms in the air.

  “I don’t know, Shiloh. What are you?”

  She blushes and I smile. “I’m definitely not not your friend, Nat.”

  She smiles as she tucks that piece of hair behind her ear again.

  “So you’ll stay here tonight? With Macie, I mean.”

  “Sure.” She nods.

  “How much do you want me to pay you?” I ask softly.

  She looks me in the eyes while she considers this. “I don’t want you to pay me. But, there is something I’d like…”

  “What is it, Nat?”

  “I want to take the online GED course. I don’t need a weekly paycheck. If you would just pay for the course, and maybe let me borrow your laptop while I’m here, that would be great. I wouldn’t use it until Macie is asleep of cour—”

  I wave my hand between us to cut her off. “Deal. I will absolutely pay for you to get your GED. I’ll call about it first thing tomorrow.”

  She smiles—a real smile. She doesn’t duck her head or look away as she does it; she just smiles as wide as I’ve ever seen her smile. In that moment, I know I would do anything to see that look on her face again.

  “Shi, stop staring at our guest like that. You’re freaking us out,” Macie says before she and Nat start giggling. I shake my head as I push away from the table to stand.

  “I guess I’ll leave the two of you alone. I could use a couple extra hours at work anyway.”

  Macie wraps her tiny arms around me before running to her bedroom, calling for Nat to follow her.

  Nat looks at me shyly and gives me a small wave before disappearing down the hallway, and just like that, I can’t wait to come back home.

  Nat

  The first night I stay with Macie is nerve-racking. She falls asleep before ten and I have nothing to do. I consider going to my apartment to grab a magazine but am not sure if that is part of typical babysitting protocol. When Shiloh walks in, he finds me asleep on the couch with drool running down my chin and onto my chest. As if that isn’t humiliating enough, I quickly realize I have no toothbrush. I give an awkward, closed-lip smile before bolting out of his apartment and into my own.

  Over the next few weeks I develop a routine: I work at the coffee shop until closing time, study for my GED exam, teach Macie how to braid her own hair, and successfully manage to be less awkward in front of Shiloh.

  The GED course Shiloh signs me up for is a self-teach program. I finish the entire course in three weeks and study day and night to make sure I pass the test the first time I take it, which will be tomorrow at 10 o’clock in the morning. To say I’m nervous would be a serious understatement. Thankfully, Shiloh takes the night off to stay with Macie while I study.

  When my alarm goes off the next morning, I’m using Shiloh’s laptop as a pillow and notice I haven’t finished the practice test I’d been trying to get through. After glancing at the clock, I know I don’t have time to finish it now. I take a quick shower and stop by Aunt J’s on my way to the testing center. Marty gives me a big hug before shoving a hot cocoa in my hand and pushing me out the door.

  I try to breathe and calm my nerves as I walk the three blocks to the public library. I can feel my hands sweating as I ask the older woman at the front desk where the testing center is. She points me in the direction of the stairs and tells me it’s the first door on the left.

  “Hello. May I help you?” asks a woman with bright pink glasses on the end of her nose as she opens the door.

  “Uh, I’m here to take a proctored exam.”

  “Of course. What exam will you be taking today?”

  “It
’s to get my GED,” I tell her. She walks to a desk in the far corner and sits down behind a computer. Her hot pink fingernails make loud clicking noises as she types on the keyboard.

  “What did you say your name was?” she asks without looking up.

  “Oh, I never said. Uh, it’s Toby. Toby Nathaniel Adams.”

  The woman looks up at me then. I wait for the usual response, but instead her eyes are wide and look like they are filling with tears. We stare at each other awkwardly for a moment before she turns back to her computer. After typing something, she hands me a piece of paper that has the information I need to log into a computer and take my test. I’m finished within two hours and I burst into tears when I see the results come across the screen.

  I don’t even remember making it to the apartment complex, but I must have run the whole way. I’m red-faced and sweaty when the elevator doors open on my floor. I stop in front of my door but don’t open it. I turn and start knocking on Shiloh and Macie’s door instead. It takes longer than usual for Shiloh to answer the door, and when I see his rumpled clothes and bedhead, I realize he’s been sleeping.

  “Oh, you were asleep. I’m sorry, I’ll just come back…” I trail off as I start walking back toward my door.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m up now. What’s going on?” he asks. His voice is raspy from sleep. “Have you been crying?” He takes a protective step closer to me.

  “Well, I went to take my exam this morning.”

  “Shit, I completely forgot. How did it go?”

  I can tell he is nervous to hear my answer. I try to play it off by letting my eyes well up and sticking my bottom lip out a little.

  “Aw, Nat, it’s all right,” he starts.

  I interrupt him by throwing my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist while shouting, “I passed! I did it!”

  Shiloh stumbles backward a couple of steps before regaining his balance and hugging me back. He laughs and cheers with me before setting me back on my feet. “I am so proud of you,” he says, squeezing me one last time.

  Now my eyes well up with real tears. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve heard anyone say that to me?” I ask quietly.