Protect Me (31 page)

“She’s at the creek. I know it,” I tell him. “There was some guy looking for her this morning when I was leaving her apartment. It felt off when I spoke to him, but he said he knew her from a few months back. I think it was Garrett. I think he’s here and he’s been looking for her all day,” I seethe at my brother.
 

“Shit. I’m on my way. Get to Lia and I’ll get on the horn about Garrett,” Jake says just before he hangs up.
 

I reach the edge of town and floor it. The speedometer reaches very close to triple digits, but it feels like I’m crawling. I can’t get there quick enough. The ten-minute drive to my parents’ property goes much faster when you’re going dangerously fast.
 

I start to slow down as I approach the edge of the property. I don’t want to pull up the lane and scare her, or whoever is out there watching her; waiting for her. I park the car in the ditch along the road and jump out. I grab my cell phone, flip it to vibrate, and run around the hood of the car. I take off jogging up the lane that I know by heart. The moonlight is bright and high in the sky, which gives me just enough light to see by. The quarter of a mile evaporates quickly and I’m approaching the clearing a few moments later.
 

I slowly scan the land, watching for any sign of movement. When I don’t see anything, I quietly walk towards the shack. I’m on alert as I continue to scan the area. The birds are loud and the crickets are singing. Yet
the silence is deafening, and I see no sign of Lia.
 

As I approach the shack, I press my ear against the door. It’s unlocked, but closed. I slowly push open the old door and step inside. It takes me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they do, I’m staring down the barrel of a .22 caliber handgun.
 

“Lia?” I ask through shaky breath.
 

“Nate?” she whispers, the whites of her eyes wide with fear.
 

“It’s me, baby,” I say as I step forward and grab the gun from her trembling hands. She lets go easily and comes willingly into my embrace. I pull her tightly against me and inhale the sweetness of her shampoo. The sobs that rake through her body tear me up inside. Listening to her cry is the worst thing in the world. Well, that and being without her like earlier.
 

“Shhhhh, it’s okay, beautiful. I’m right here. Everything is okay now,” I say as she fists my t-shirt in a death grip. I feel the wetness of her tears soak through the front of my shirt, but I don’t give a shit. She can cry all over the entire shirt if it means she’s in my arms.
 

After several minutes of rocking and just holding her, Lia finally settles down. I look down at her bright eyes and know that I’ll do anything for this woman. “Come on. Let’s go outside. Jake is gonna be here any minute,” I tell her.
 

“You came for me,” she says while still rooted in place inside the old shack.
 

“Of course I came for you. I love you too much to just let you go like that,” I confess and place a soft kiss on her lips.
 

Lia allows me to lead her outside into the night. We take about a half dozen steps away from the shack when I hear a twig snap somewhere close by. I stop and am instantly on high alert. If it were Jake, he would have announced himself by now.
 

“Stop,” I whisper. “Get back inside the shed. Barricade yourself inside and don’t open the door for anyone other than me or Jake,” I start to say, but before Lia can turn and get inside the building, I hear the sound of a gun cocking.
 

“I wouldn’t do that, Amelia. I think you should stay right where you are,” the voice says into the night. He’s close by, somewhere off to my right, but I don’t see him yet.
 

Lia grips onto my hand so tightly I’m afraid she’s going to break bones. Yet, I feel no pain. Her breathing is hitched and fear radiates off her body tenfold.
 

After a few moments, the man connected to the voice finally steps out from behind a tree. He’s pointing a large revolver at me as he slowly makes his way towards us.
 

Garrett. It’s the man from the alley.
 

I stand up straight and slowly draw Lia behind me. My dad’s .22 that I grabbed from Lia is still sticking
out of the back of my pants, and I slowly reach for it.
 

“Don’t move,” he says. “I don’t want to have to shoot you, but I will. I’m here for Amelia. Whether you live or die is entirely up to you.”
 

“You’re not leaving here with her unless you kill me,” I tell the asshole in front of me.
 

“Well, then, that is your choice, Nate. Amelia, please come here, sweetheart,” Garrett says from his position about ten feet in front of us, pointing the gun steadily at my chest.
 

“She’s not going anywhere near you,” I spit back at him, gripping Lia’s hand tightly. Her body is pressed firmly against my back as she tries to hide. The sound of her crying enrages me even more.
 

“Oh, but she is. Amelia has been a very bad girl lately. I’m going to show her the error of her ways,” he says with a cocky smile. I’m going to punch that smile off his smug face.
 

“By beating her some more? You’re not a man. You’re a pussy. Anyone who treats women the way you do is nothing more than a parasite. You’re a fucking worthless waste of oxygen, you no-dick fuck. You want to knock someone around? I’m ready to play anytime,” I taunt the asshat in front of me.
 

“Give me my woman,” Garrett yells at the top of his lungs.
 

I make a quick grab for my gun and point it square at his chest. We’re in a standoff now, each
pointing our weapons at the other. Neither one afraid to pull the trigger.
 

“Nate, he’s not worth it,” Lia whispers from behind. “I can’t let you kill him. Not for me,” she says in a small but firm voice.
 

“Don’t you understand? I will end this asshole so you never have to run scared again. The only thing I want in this world is your happiness. And if me killing him and going off to prison gives you that, then I’ll take it. For you,” I tell her as she steps around to face me.
 

“He’s not worth it,” she says as I try to push her back behind me. “No, Nate. I’m not afraid. He’ll never be able to take the one thing I hold closest to my heart and that is your love. He’ll never take that from me,” Lia says as she steps into my embrace.
 

My arm holding the gun remains firmly locked in place. Lia presses herself against my side. “Don’t kill him,” she whispers. “Please.”
 

I look down at her intense blue-gray eyes. Gorgeous eyes that are filled with so much love and affection. Without removing my eyes from hers, I slowly lower the gun to the ground.
 

“Dumbass,” Garrett laughs as he continues to points the gun at my chest. I don’t take my eyes off Lia’s. If I’m going to be shot, I want the last thing I see to be her amazing eyes and her beautiful face.
 

I hear the shot, but I feel nothing. There’s none of the pain I would imagine I’d have with being shot.
Lia pulls herself tighter against me as I take in my surroundings. I check Lia over quickly but don’t see any blood. I finally look up at Garrett, and he’s lying on the ground, not moving.
 

“You guys okay?” Jake hollers from the tree line just off to the side.
 

“About damn time you showed up,” I yell back with a smug grin on my face.
 

“Some people say thank you for saving their lives,” Jake says as he slowly makes his way towards Garrett, gun drawn and pointed at the suspect.
 

“If you wouldn’t have stopped to get your nails done, you would have been here ten minutes ago and my life wouldn’t have been in jeopardy,” I throw back at my brother.
 

A rustling sound comes from the North as I see Maddox break through the thick brush along the edge of the clearing.
 

“Shit, Jake. You couldn’t wait for me before you shot the bastard?” Maddox says as he approaches from the other side.
 

“He was pointing the gun at Nate. I didn’t want it to go off, and then I’d be stuck dealing with the wrath of my mother,” Jake says as he kneels down next to Garrett.
 

“Is he dead?” I ask without moving.
 

“Hell no,” Jake says. “I shot the prick in the leg so he couldn’t run. Looks like he fell and hit his head on
this rock when he went down,” he says with a chuckle.
 

I pull Lia against my body. She’s shaking from head to toe. I hear the distant sound of sirens approaching and know that the cavalry is almost here. I pull back just slightly enough to look down at Lia. She’s safe.
 

She’s free.
 

“Do you remember when you asked me what my dream was when you first brought me here?” Lia asks with shaky breath, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.
 

“Yes,” I croak out over my own dry throat.
 

“Well, my dream is you, Nate. You’re my dream,” she says strongly.
 

I grab my girl and slam my lips down onto hers for a bruising kiss. I revel in the feel of her skin brushed against me, her lips pressed firmly against mine, and her breath fanned out over my face.
 

“I love you so fucking much,” I tell her as I devour her mouth with another fierce kiss. “So fucking much,” I add in between breaths.
 

“I love you, too,” she whispers as she threads her arms around my neck and kisses me back with everything she has.
 

She’s my light. She’s my happiness. She’s my home.
 

And I love the ever-loving shit out of her.
 

I watch from the back of the squad car as they lift Garrett off the ground and push him towards the waiting ambulance. When he came to, he started spewing all sorts of crap about his daddy’s money and how he was going to make Jake pay. Of course, that didn’t stop Jake from reading him his rights as two other cop cars and an ambulance pulled up.
 

“You doing alright?” Maddox asks as he crouches down in front of me. Nate is over giving a quick statement to one of the cops and Jake is busy recounting the events to his lieutenant.
 

“Yeah, I guess. As good as can be expected,” I say with a small smile.
 

“You did good, girl. You don’t have to worry about that guy anymore,” he says.
 

“Is he going to be alright?”
 

“Unfortunately, yes. Jake only shot him in the leg, and he even missed the major arteries. They’ll take him to the hospital first and as soon as he’s released, he’ll be escorted to County Jail. He has a whole slew of charges ready to be filed against him, so chances are, he’s going away for awhile.”
 

“God, I hope so,” I say, more to myself than anyone else. “And Nate? He’s not going to be in any trouble is he?”
 

“No, he didn’t fire his weapon. It’s a registered gun and he’s licensed to carry. According to his statement and yours, he was acting in self-defense and only pulled his weapon after Garrett’s was trained on him. You’ll both need to go down to the precinct and give a formal statement, but I am confident that there won’t be any charges against either of you.”
 

“Thank you,” I whisper as I lean forward and give him a hug. “For everything,” I add.
 

Maddox returns my hug and says, “It was nothing, honey. You’re going to be a wonderful addition to the family someday,” he says with a wink, which makes me laugh. “And besides, Avery would have kicked my ass all the way to Wednesday if I let anything happen to you. She’s kind of attached.”
 

I smile widely and give him another hug as Nate and Jake walk up. “Get off my woman, Jackson,” Nate barks.
 

“She hugged me, dude. I can’t help it that women find me irresistible,” he adds like salt to a wound, earning a growl from Nate.
 

I stand up and pull Jake into a tight hug. “Thank you,” I whisper.
 

“It was nothing, Lia. Not only was I just doing my job, but I sure as shit didn’t want to listen to my
brother whine and cry for the next fifty years about how I got him shot,” Jake says with a cocky grin.
 

“Let go or I’ll shoot you and it won’t be in the leg,” Nate says nodding down to his groin region as he pushes Jake back and out of my arms. He grabs me and hugs me close as Jake and Maddox both smile and shake their heads.
 

“I was just telling Nate that we all need to head down to the station to give your statements. Avery is meeting us there with the good coffee since the shit we have at the station sucks. Shit, she’s probably already there creating a scene because we’re not all there yet,” Jake says with a rueful shake of his head.
 

“Are you kidding? You know your sister is always late and won’t be there for another thirty to forty minutes,” Maddox adds with a laugh.
 

“What’s going to happen next?” I ask the three men in front of me.
 

“Well, first you’ll give your statement at the station. Then it’s a waiting game. We will have to see which way he pleas, and I’d bet my lifetime subscription to
Sports Illustrated
that he will be entering a plea of not guilty. More waiting, then. I’m sure the D.A. will want to speak with you at some point, but probably not until we get closer to the trial,” Maddox says.
 

“Trial? I’m going to have to testify, aren’t I?”
 

“Probably, sugar. The Monahan family has a lot of money and a lot of notoriety to throw at this thing,
and I can’t imagine he’ll go down without a fight,” Jake adds.