Protect Me (The Protector Series Book 1) Read online

  “Shiloh? What’s wrong?” Nat asks as she rushes to me.

  “I’m fine,” I manage to get out breathlessly. I fall to my knees and try to focus on something else, anything other than the throbbing pain in my right side.

  A cool rag is placed on my forehead. “Bubba? What is it?” I hear Macie ask softly.

  “It’s all right Mace. Will you get me one of my pills? Please?”

  I hear her running down the hallway and silently thank her for returning so quickly. She hands me a tiny red and black pill with a cup of water. I swallow the pill and down the glass of water. I’m feeling back to my normal self within minutes. I stand and start making my way to the couch, but then I see Nat leaning against the wall across from me. She has a scared look on her face and she’s studying me more intently with every step I take.

  “Are you all right?” she whispers.

  I nod at her as I sit down on the couch. I take in a deep breath and let my head fall back as I relax. No more than ten minutes go by before I hear the sirens of the ambulance coming toward our complex. I know why they’re here: they’re coming for the little boy who lives on the first floor. I’m almost positive he has appendicitis, which is why I took one of my pills; when I know there is nothing I can do to help someone, I take a pill to let myself feel normal again.

  Nat and Macie emerge from the bathroom. Macie is beaming at me as she twirls the end of one of her braided pigtails.

  “Mace, you look beautiful, but why aren’t you in your pajamas?” I ask her.

  “Well…” she starts.

  “We want to go to the movies,” Nat interrupts.

  “The movies? On a school night?” I question.

  She nods before explaining. “Sometimes girls just like to get dressed up and stay out late. I’m sure you understand.” The way she’s raising one of her eyebrows at me as if she’s daring me to say no causes me to keep my mouth shut. I smile at Macie as I nod my agreement.

  “I’ll have her in bed before eleven,” Nat tells me as she grabs hold of Macie’s hand.

  “Thanks, Shi! We are going to have so much fun!” my little sister squeals excitedly.

  I can’t help but laugh. I forget how easy it is to make her happy, and in that moment I’m even more thankful for Nat because she gets it. She really gets it, probably better than anyone else.

  I manage to sleep for an hour before I have to shower and get ready for work, and the girls aren’t back when I leave. I drive my truck to the park and pull into my usual space. It’s unusually quiet tonight. I close my eyes and attempt to focus—on what, I have no idea. Nothing happens. I see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing.

  Tap tap tap.

  I jump at the sound of someone tapping on my window. When I see who it is, I’m instantly angry.

  “Bennett, what the hell are you doing here?” I hiss at him as I slam my truck door shut.

  “Nice to see you, too,” he says in his abnormally deep voice. He likes to think his voice is intimidating. It’s not.

  “I’m working. What do you want?” I cross my arms over my chest and wait for his response because I know it’ll be good.

  “We need your help, Shiloh. Just give me a chance to explain,” he says in a rush. I’m shaking my head before he finishes his sentence.

  “No,” I say coolly.

  “Hear me out,” he says, raising his hands in front of his chest and taking a step back as if I’m some sort of scared child and he’s trying to put me at ease. Instead, it pisses me off more.

  “Bennett, I said no. I don’t want to hear it. I’ve got too much to risk; you know that.”

  “It’s not like the other times,” he starts, trying to use his persuasion on me.

  We’re interrupted by a high-pitched yelp. Neither of us have time to look around before we’re both gripping our right thighs and groaning in pain.

  “Where’s it coming from?” Bennett asks, sounding hoarse.

  “Left, behind the bushes,” I tell him as I start hobbling in that direction. We’re about four feet away from the bushes when the pain intensifies—a lot. We fall to the ground simultaneously. I can hear heavy breathing coming from the other side of the bush. “Who’s there?” I call out, barely getting my voice above a whisper.

  “I knew it,” a female voice says.

  “Ah, fuck. Where’s my pill bottle?” I hear Bennett ask behind me. I know he’s talking to himself so I don’t bother turning to look at him. I’m focusing on the bushes, waiting to see who comes out and hoping I don’t get another jolt to the thigh any time soon.

  The pain starts easing up just as I hear the female giggling behind the bushes. I hurry to my feet and half hop, half jog to see what’s going on. I freeze when I see who is sitting on the ground. She has a rag wrapped tightly around her right thigh and a bloody knife sitting on the ground beside her. Her cheeks are flushed and sweat is beading together on her forehead, but she’s still smiling—a fake-ass, disgustingly happy smile.

  Penelope Adams.

  “I knew it. I knew you were one of them,” she says through her manic giggling.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask, playing dumb.

  “She knows, man. I was trying to warn you,” Bennett whispers from behind me.

  I stand there staring at him with my mouth agape, speechless. Bennett makes eye contact with Penelope and doesn’t look away until she turns her back to us and walks away. I know Bennett forced her to leave, just like I did back at Nat’s apartment. I also know she won’t stay away for long.

  I follow Bennett to the parking lot, still trying to take in the fact that Penelope Adams knows about us.

  “How much does she know?” I ask him.

  “As far as I can tell, she only knows the basics:, that we can feel other people’s pain and inflict that pain on someone else if we choose to.”

  “How did this happen?” I ask him as I run my hand through my hair.

  “Kevin says her dad knew about us, too. He probably told her stories when she was young,” he answers with a shrug.

  I let out a heavy breath of frustration. “I’ve got to get home to check on Mace,” I say.

  “You know you have to come to Seattle, right? At least until we can take care of this situation.”

  I give him a quick nod before getting into my truck and slamming the door. I still haven’t come up with an explanation for why I’m home before midnight when I pull up to our building.

  When I open the door, I see Macie and Nat sitting on the living room floor. They’re painting each other’s toenails at the same time. Macie is straddling Nat’s foot while Nat is leaning slightly forward and to the left in order to reach Macie’s foot.

  They both look up when they hear the door shut. I smile as both of their eyes grow with panic.

  “I was just about to go to bed, Shi,” Macie says in her high-pitched voice; I know she’s nervous when she talks like that.

  “Uh, yeah, we just wanted to do our toes really fast,” Nat says, not making eye contact with me.

  “Macie, I need you to go pack your things. You’re going to visit Aunt Mandy for a few days,” I tell her. Her facial expression changes to worry at the sound of our fake aunt’s name—Mandy is actually Bennett’s mom. She has a house in Florida and has helped me with Macie in the past.

  “But, why?” she asks quietly. I give her a look letting her know we aren’t discussing it right now. She nods and walks to her bedroom.

  “Where does Aunt Mandy live?” Nat asks, sounding confused.

  “Florida. She won’t be needing a sitter for a while, but I’ll let you know when she’s back.” I turn and start walking to my bedroom, hoping she’ll drop it. Of course, she doesn’t.

  “In Florida? What’s going on? Why did you all of a sudden decide to send her to Florida?” she asks hotly as she follows me down the hall.

  “I’ve got to go to Seattle for work. I’m not sure how long I’ll be there and I can’t take her with me,” I answer without stop
ping to look at her.

  “Seattle is like an hour away. Will you not be coming home to sleep?”

  “No,” I say curtly.

  “But, what about her school work? She’ll get behind and you can’t just let her miss school for an unknown amount of time.”

  I can’t hide my irritation any longer. She follows me into my bedroom and I shut the door behind her. I know she can tell I’m angry because she takes two steps back.

  “What do you suggest I do, Nat? You think I should just take her to Seattle with me, despite how dangerous it will be? Or perhaps I should let her stay here and fend for herself? You think I want to send her away? Why would I want to do that?” I curse under my breath because I know Macie is probably eavesdropping outside the door. I should have kept my voice down.

  “Let her stay with me,” she says confidently. I stare at her, wondering if I heard her correctly.

  “I’ll keep her, Shiloh. For free. I can get her to the bus for school before I go to work and the bus will drop her off at the coffee shop afterward. We can stay here so she’ll be more comfortable.”

  “I’m not sure you know what you’re signing yourself up for, Nat. You’ve got enough on your plate,” I say, shaking my head.

  “Stop it. I know you saw the look on her face when you told her where she was going. I’m here and I’m offering to help you out and make things easier on her. The choice is simple.” She crosses her arms over her chest and tilts her head to the side. I know she’s trying to intimidate me, and it’s working.

  I grip the back of my neck and groan. “Fine, but she has to be in bed by nine on school nights.”

  “I can do that,” she assures me before leaving my room.

  I can hear clapping and giggling in the hall and I can’t help but smile. I knew that would be her reaction; she really does like staying with Mandy. She would just rather stay with Nat.

  I’m shoving some of my things into a Nike duffle bag when Macie comes into my room.

  “What’s going on, bubba?” she whispers. I wait until she shuts the door to answer her.

  “Someone knows what I am, Mace. They know, and they’re hurting themselves in order to hurt me. I’ve got to go to Seattle with Bennett to get this taken care of.”

  “Who knows?” she asks, still whispering.

  “That doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about anything. I won’t be gone for long, okay?”

  She nods before leaning in to hug me. “Thank you for letting me stay with Nat,” she says, squeezing me tighter.

  “Love you, Mace,” I tell her before kissing the top of her head.

  “Stay safe, Shi.”

  This will be the third time I’ve had to leave her since we’ve been on our own. The first two times were only for a little over a week; hopefully this time will be the same.

  Macie is asleep by the time I finish packing and Nat is reading on the couch. Once again, the television is off.

  “You don’t watch much TV, do you?” I ask as I sit down beside her. She folds the corner of the page she’s reading before closing her book and looking at me.

  “I like to be able to hear in case Macie wakes up or something.” She shrugs.

  I stare at her for a minute, appreciating her for loving my sister as much as she does.

  “She loves you, too. You know that, right?”

  She nods. “She told me the first night I stayed with her. Thank you for letting her stay, Shiloh.”

  I smile at her as I stand. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

  She looks up at me with a barely there smile and watches me leave. After I shut the door, I stand in the hallway for a moment. I can’t help feeling like I should have said something else or done something before leaving, but I shrug it off and try to focus on the real problem.

  Nat

  The day after Shiloh leaves, I get a cell phone in the mail. It has his number programmed in it and a picture of him with a dorky grin as the background. When I’m on my lunch break, I get my first text message.

  ShiBaby: Did this morning go smoothly?

  I roll my eyes at the name that pops up on the screen.

  Me: It was fine…ShiBaby.

  ShiBaby: I like the sound of that. I’ll call tonight.

  Macie gets to the coffee shop an hour before my shift ends. She does her homework and drinks a hot cocoa while she waits for me to finish up. On our way back to the apartment, we stop to get some groceries. I’m shocked to find out that she loves fruits and vegetables. Fortunately for me, she also loves mac and cheese and pizza rolls. She begs me to let her get a twelve pack of Pepsi, but I know Shiloh doesn’t like her to have caffeine. We come to an agreement and get caffeine-free root beer instead.

  Shiloh calls around seven o’clock while I’m doing the dishes and Macie is in the shower.

  “Hello,” I say as I put the last of the dishes away.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” he asks. I’m a little taken aback at how much deeper his voice sounds on the phone.

  “It’s good. We’ve had dinner and she’s finished her homework. She’s in the shower now. Do you want me to have her call you back?”

  “Well, do you not want to talk to me?” he asks. I can tell he’s smiling on the other end.

  “I don’t have much to say. Uh, thank you for the phone. Where do I go to pay the bill?”

  “I’ll be taking care of that, Nat. What did you have for dinner?”

  “I had a grilled cheese sandwich. Macie had a grilled cheese sandwich and broccoli with ranch dressing.” I make a disgusted noise as I tell him about the broccoli.

  “Oh great, you don’t like vegetables, do you?”

  “Um, I love potatoes. That counts.”

  He laughs into the phone and I smile at the sound of it.

  “Is that Shi?” Macie asks before running down the hall toward me. She’s wrapped in a blue towel and water is still dripping down her arms, but I hand her the phone anyway.

  “Hi, bubba,” she says to him. I see her eyes light up at the sound of his voice before she turns to go to her bedroom. I consider standing outside her door and possibly overhearing some sort of detail about what Shiloh is really doing in Seattle, but I resist.

  A half hour later Macie comes into the living room. She plops down onto the couch and sniffs a couple of times. When I glance over at her, I can see that her eyes and nose are red.

  “Macie, is everything okay?” I ask her.

  She nods and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “I just miss Shi. I worry about him when he’s gone.”

  I put my arm around her and bring her against my side. “He will be back before you know it, Macie. You know you can use this phone to call him any time, okay?”

  “Thanks, Nat. Can I watch a little TV before I go to bed? Please?”

  I look at the clock and see that it’s already five ’til nine. “How about I read to you instead?”

  She considers my offer for a second before agreeing. I follow her to her bedroom and she grabs a book off her shelf. I wait patiently for her to get comfortable underneath the covers before I lie down on top of them.

  I read thirty pages of James and the Giant Peach until she falls asleep. I take a picture of her sleeping peacefully before turning off her bedside lamp.

  I grab my book before getting comfortable on the couch and send the picture of Macie to Shiloh with a message letting him know she misses him but is okay.

  ShiBaby: Thanks for that. I miss her too.

  I assume he is working or getting ready for work, so I don’t reply. The phone beeps with another message from him less than five minutes later.

  ShiBaby: What are you doing now?

  Me: Reading on the couch.

  ShiBaby: You know, you can sleep in my bed if you want. I’m sure it’s more comfortable than the couch.

  Me: The couch is fine. Shouldn’t you be working?

  ShiBaby: I am. Well, sorta. What are you reading?

  Me: Sorta?? To Kill A Mockingbird
. For the hundredth time.

  ShiBaby: Yes, sorta. I read that once…

  I try not to get upset at him for being so vague. I know I’m not supposed to know what it is he actually does, but that doesn’t make me want to know any less.

  ShiBaby: I need you to send me a picture of yourself.

  I drop the phone onto my lap, then pick it up again and reread his message.

  Me: Never in your life, Shiloh.

  ShiBaby: Not that kind of picture! I meant one for your contact.

  Less than a minute passes before his next message comes.

  ShiBaby: But, if the other kind of picture is ever an option…I’ll take it. ;)

  My cheeks are red from embarrassment just thinking about taking a picture like that. I turn on the front-facing camera and take a picture of me glaring. I send it to him without a message.

  ShiBaby: That’ll work!

  Me: Goodnight, Shiloh.

  ShiBaby: Night, Nat.

  ***

  It doesn’t take long for Macie and me to fall into a routine of our own. She always does her homework while she waits on me to finish my shift. She showers right after dinner, and then we walk over to my place so I can shower while she talks to Shiloh on the phone. Sometimes I’ll talk to him for a minute or two; he’ll ask if I need anything and I always tell him no. I send him a picture of Macie sleeping every night. He always replies instantly. Some nights he’ll text me until I fall asleep, and others he’ll tell me goodnight right after receiving the picture.

  “It’s been two weeks already,” Macie says glumly as we walk to the bus stop by the coffee shop.

  “I know, Mace. He’ll be home soon.”

  She nods at me but doesn’t look any happier.

  “Why don’t we go out for ice cream today after school? I’m off work, so I’ll just meet you in front of the school so you won’t have to ride the bus, okay?”

  This makes her perk up a little. She hugs me tightly before climbing onto the bus. “Love you, Nat,” she says over her shoulder.

  “Love you,” I say even though she can’t hear me anymore.

  When I get back to our building, I go to Shiloh and Macie’s apartment. I’m not sure why, but it feels more like home than mine does.