Protecting Lyndley

by Amanda Bennett

  I let out a scream, but was instantly silenced when a hand covered my mouth. I was about to bite down, but stopped when I heard his voice low in my ear.

  “It’s me. I need you to stay quiet. Is there another way out of here besides the front door?” I nodded my head into his hand that was still covering my mouth. “Okay, lead the way, but stay down on the ground.”

  I nodded again, and then his hand disappeared. I made my way back to the bathroom hoping he was following. I snagged my purse off of my bed as I passed by it and as soon as both of us were safely in the confines of my bathroom, I kicked the door shut. The smoke hadn’t infiltrated the bathroom yet, and I was thankful to be able to take in a deep breath.

  The shiny metal of the Marshal’s gun is what caught my eye this time. I hadn’t even known that he had a gun on him, but I guess when you’re a US Marshal, you generally keep a gun on you. When my eyes met his, he was looking back at the small window behind him, and I knew exactly what he was asking. I nodded my head and started making my way over to it.

  “Wait. Let me make sure there aren’t other people surrounding the house.” I blinked a few times, letting his words sink in. I watched as he pushed open the window and stick his head out. “Okay, we’re clear. Do you want me to go first?”

  My eyes went wide at the thought of having to drop down from a second story window. “I’m not sure.”

  “I’ll go first and catch you, but I need you to be fast about it. If whoever it is gets through that door, we’re fucked.”

  I vigorously nodded my head in his direction before I glanced back at the closed door. I quickly stood and ran to lock it, and then made my way back to the window that he had already gone out of. “No time for second guessing.” I muttered to myself as I pulled myself through the small window.

  “Drop down, Lyndley. I’ll catch you, I swear.”

  He was standing directly below me. I took in a deep breath and let myself free fall into his waiting arms. My eyes were squeezed tightly shut when he caught me. I was afraid to open them, but I knew if I didn’t move quickly, someone would find us. My eyes shot open as the sound of gunfire echoed throughout my backyard.

  The Marshal grabbed my hand, and began running. We made our way out my back gate and around the corner to the other block. I didn’t know where we were headed, but if we were going on foot, we weren’t going to make it very far before they caught up with us. Just as we turned another corner, a black sports car came into view.

  He quickly hit the unlock button on the keychain, throwing me inside and then climbing in the other side. Before I could ask too many questions, he was screeching the tires and taking off at full speed. After I had caught my breath and we were a good twenty minutes away, then I decided to speak.

  “Thank you.” I sighed.

  “Just doing my job.”

  I didn’t expect him to be so blunt, but I guess in his line of work, not getting attached to the witness is key. “So now that we’ve ran away from the bad guys, what should I call you?”

  He quickly glanced over at me with a smirk. “Everyone just calls me Wakely.”

  “Do you have a first name, Wakely?”

  “I do.” And that’s how he left it.

  Six

  Ky

  I wanted to tell her my first name, I really did, but my job wasn’t to get close to this girl. It was to protect her. As much as I felt indescribably drawn to her, I still had to keep my head in the game. I never should’ve let my guard down, not even for a second. We were lucky to get out when we did. Had I not been thinking with my drunken mind and dick, we probably would’ve been out of there sooner.

  It had been about thirty minutes since she last spoke. I glanced over at her and noticed that she had fallen asleep. It was probably for the best, given the fact that I wasn’t sure how far of a lead we had on whoever was after her. It’s hard to protect someone from people who you don’t even know what they look like.

  I grabbed my cell phone from the small compartment underneath the stereo and dialed my boss. “Hey, Tom. We ran into a bit of trouble.”

  “And what kind of trouble would that be, Wakely?” His sarcastic tone was making me want to find a drink.

  “Whoever they have coming after her, came to her house. They used some sort of mixture between a smoke bomb and a flashbang. Luckily we were upstairs and could get away, but they were definitely prepared.”

  “Jesus Christ, Wakely. Did you not check the perimeter before you went inside?”

  “Of course I did, Tom. Whoever it was, knew someone else would be there with her. We’re on the road now, but I honestly don’t know how much of a lead we have.”

  He let out an aggravated sigh, “Okay, well let me make a few calls. I need the both of you in South Bend, Indiana in the next hour and a half. Do you think you can do that much?”

  I swear if I could punch his ass through the phone, I would. “Yeah, I think I can handle that much. I’ll call you when we get there.” I hung up the phone and tossed it in the back seat. I caught a glimpse of Lyndley when I turned back around. She looked so peaceful sleeping with her blonde hair covering a small portion of her face as the sun illuminated the facets of her hair.

  I turned back to the road and continued to drive in silence. The only thing that let me know she was still breathing, was the small whistle of air when she exhaled. I rolled my eyes at my adolescent behavior. I needed to concentrate on keeping this girl safe, but all I could do was think about the way she affected me.

  We were only about twenty minutes away from South Bend when she started to stir. I wasn’t sure of the reaction I was going to get when she was fully alert, but I braced myself for the worst. Her emerald green eyes were fixated on me, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from my throat.

  “Well, morning sunshine.”

  “Where are we?” Irritation laced every word she spoke.

  “Just a few minutes away from South Bend, Indiana.”

  “Why are we in Indiana? Wait, we have to go back. I have to say good-bye to everyone. I have to get my things.” She was now sitting up frantically looking around.

  The way she thought it was just that easy, made me laugh. “Sweetheart, we can’t go back and you know that. As far as your family is concerned, you are dead.”

  Her mouth dropped open in sheer horror. “How can you do that? My family will be crushed. I haven’t even called Claire to tell her about Reese. I need to go to his funeral. I need to see my parents and my sister. No! I refuse to go with you. Take me home.”

  “As much as I would love to take you home, and be over this whole situation, I can’t.” Man, why couldn’t she just go back to sleep?

  “You’re telling me I can’t change my mind?”

  She had her arms crossed over her chest and she looked like a pouting five year old when they didn’t get their way. “Are you serious right now?”

  “Of course I am.”

  “First of all, you can change your mind, but all those lovely people that you love so much, could all end up dead. And secondly, these people are obviously very serious about killing you. You really think they’ll just give up? If that’s what you think, then I feel sorry for you.”

  “Do you even have an ounce of compassion in that asshole brain of yours? You are so negative. I’m sorry I’m freaking out a bit, but how would you feel if you had to leave behind everyone and everything you have ever known?”

  She turned away from me as she stared aimlessly out the window at the barren world around her flying by. Deep down I knew how shitty this situation could be on someone, but it amazed me how all of them just assume that it would be easier to stay.

  “I know what it feels like. So stop acting like you’re the only person this has ever happened to. I’ve seen plenty of families get torn apart because of this. So just simmer down, princess.”

  She didn’t say another word as we approached the first drug store in town. I parked the car and reached for my phone in the backseat.
Of course little miss princess had to assume I was making a move on her. Yeah right.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  I sat back in my seat and held up my phone. “Just needed my phone.”

  “Oh.”

  I shook my head in disbelief as I dialed Tom’s number. After three rings, I was about ready to chuck my phone out the window, but then he answered. “Bout time. Where do we go from here?” I growled.

  “Sounds like you two are having a good time.”

  “Oh yeah, the best.” I replied as I looked in Lyndley’s direction. “Directions please.”

  “Well y’all got about twelve hours worth of driving to do. Maybe in that time, you two can learn to play nice. I mean she is your wife now.” Tom let out loud laugh.

  “I’m glad you find yourself amusing, Tom.”

  “I’ll text you the address where you need to go. Everything is all set up. I’ll meet you there tomorrow morning with your new identities and such. Safe driving.”

  I hung up without saying a word, silently cursing at Tom. I was hoping she wouldn’t start in with the inquisition, but boy was I wrong.

  “So where to?”

  “New York.” I replied.

  “Wow, I’ve never been. Have you?”

  “No. We have twelve hours to go. Is there anything you need from inside?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good.”

  “Be back in a second.” I couldn’t get out of that car fast enough. That girl had a way of suffocating the life out of me without even trying. I locked the doors of the car when I got out, mainly to see the look on her face, but also for safety.

  “Hi there, anything I can help you find?” A petite brunette stood behind the counter, just praying I would say yes.

  “I think I’m good. Thanks.” I started to walk toward the hair dye section, but found myself at a loss as to what color to get.

  “For your girlfriend?” The brunette was now standing at my side.

  “Wife, actually. She’s naturally blonde, and I can’t decide what color would look best on her. Any suggestions?”

  “Here, this one will look great.” She pushed the box into my hands and walked away. Apparently wife was the wrong thing to say.

  I glanced down at the box in my hand and noticed she picked fire red. I laughed at how jealous this girl was and she didn’t even know me. I placed the box back on the shelf, and continued to peruse for a more suitable color. Lyndley’s face had permanently been engrained in my brain, so I had no problems imagining what she would look like.

  I was about to give up when my eyes landed on a beautiful copper brown color. The girl on the front of the box had green eyes just like Lyndley, and they kind of looked the same. I held it up picturing her and nodded. This color would look nice. I grabbed three boxes and made my way up to the cash register. I grabbed a couple of magazines and an assortment of candies before paying.

  Luckily, a guy that I hadn’t seen when I first walked in was ringing me up. The jealous brunette must’ve gone on break or something.

  “Anything else I can get for you?”

  “Nope. I think I’m all set.”

  “Alright, you have a good day.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed my bag and made my way out to the ornery blonde waiting for me. By the look on her face, she wasn’t very happy with me. Round three, here we go.

  “You seriously had to lock me inside? I’m not a child.”

  “Well that’s debatable.”

  “You really are a dick, aren’t you?”

  “You could say that. Here, these are for you.”

  I watched as she rummaged through the bag to see what I had purchased. She held up one of the boxes of hair dye like it was a dead rat. “What the hell is this?”

  “You’re going to have to change your hair color, and we will probably have to get you some colored contacts once we get there. They know what you look like.”

  “I know that! But, I’ve never dyed my hair. I never even experimented with it in high school or anything. Man, this sucks.” She pouted.

  “Yeah, staying alive really does suck.” I responded sarcastically.

  “I’m done talking to you now.”

  “Finally.” I turned out of the parking lot, and slammed my foot on the gas. The next twelve hours couldn’t pass by fast enough.

  Seven

  Lyndley

  I had kept my word. For exactly twelve hours and thirty-seven minutes, I had not uttered a single word to him. Instead, I found other ways to annoy him. I messed with the radio, said I had to pee at least once every few hours, even when I didn’t have to go, and I even tapped my fingers against the dashboard to the beat of almost every song. Needless to say, he was completely over being anywhere near me now.

  “I have to make a phone call, do you think you can stay put for a minute?”

  Even after twelve long hours, he was still aggravated with me. I nodded my head in his direction, and silently laughed as he slammed the car door behind him. Apparently I had read all the signals wrong back at my house. If I could annoy him this badly in less than thirteen hours, just imagine how bad it’ll get when we have to spend the next couple of weeks or months together.

  I watched him intently as he paced back and forth in front of the car. My nerves weren’t on edge as they probably should have been, but his obviously were. He was constantly looking around him and back and forth between the gas station and me. I wanted to tell him that I was okay, and he didn’t have to worry so much, but right now I honestly don’t think he would care either way.

  A few minutes later, he was back in the car and we were headed to who knows where. We were still on the outskirts of New York, but it was absolutely beautiful outside. The crisp fall air whipped me in the face as I rolled the window down just a bit, and it was refreshing.

  “Can you roll that up please?” He groaned.

  I glanced over at him, irritation written all over my face. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Oh I couldn’t be more serious.”

  “Listen up Mr. U.S. Marshal, I’m not a child. You don’t get to tell me what to do, or treat me like some sort of mud you stepped in. If I want the window cracked, then it’s going to stay cracked.” I kept eye contact with him long enough to get my point across.

  “You’re a real treat, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told.” I turned away from him in my seat and sat staring out the window, again. I was already wishing I were as far away from this man as I could get. We spent another twenty minutes driving until we hit some of the worst traffic I had ever seen. “Is this how traffic always is?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Don’t worry. We will rarely use the car. We mainly just needed it so we didn’t have to fly.”

  I nodded in agreement, but never looked in his direction. I wasn’t about to start being nice to him because he finally decided to stop being a prick for two seconds. I could hear my stomach growling, and I clutched it wondering when we were going to eat? We had been living on nothing but gas station food for the last thirteen hours.

  “Your stomach is loud.”

  “Well maybe if I had been able to eat anything besides junk, it wouldn’t be.” I snapped back.

  “Do you think maybe you could try to keep it quiet.” I wasn’t sure if it was sarcasm or just his abrasiveness talking, but either way he was grating on my last nerve.

  “Are you always this big of an asshole? Since the second I met you, you have gone out of your way to be especially douchey to me.”

  “I’m pretty sure douchey, isn’t a word.”

  I let out an exasperated groan. Obviously he was just an asshole all the damn time. Another ten minutes later, we were still stuck in traffic and practically in the same spot we were before. I wanted to just jump out of the car and walk, regardless of how much danger I was in.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t want to do it. Trust me.”

  “You have no idea what I was thinking.�
� It was like he could read my mind, and that scared me.

  “You’re thinking it would be faster to just get out and walk. I know New York traffic sucks, but I promise we’re almost there.”

  My mouth fell open in shock for a brief second. I couldn’t believe how right on he was about my irritating thoughts. Maybe he had just been doing his job long enough that he knew what most witnesses were thinking.

  “How much further do we have to go?” I lowered my voice, trying to bring out the softer side in him.

  “Are you seriously asking me if we are there yet?” He glanced over at me with a smug grin on his face. I wanted to punk him right where it counts, but I bit my tongue and sat back.

  We travelled a few more blocks, when his phone began ringing. His conversation consisted of yeahs, mmhmms, and an okay.

  “So what’s the word?”

  He looked over at me as the car rolled to a stop and our eyes locked on one another. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat and my heart rate spike. As much as I hated to admit it, he was gorgeous. His eyes were as blue as the clear sky and his lips were calling my name, urging me to touch them. I shook the naughty thoughts from my mind and looked away. Even if he wasn’t willing to admit it, there was definitely something between us.

  “We’re here.” He pointed at the brownstone right outside of the car. “Give me a second to check out the place, and then I’ll come back out for you.” I nodded as he exited the car.

  The outside of the brownstone was captivating. It was a gorgeous grey colored brick, with wrought iron railings that led up to the front door. I wasn’t sure if the entire place was ours, but I could only imagine what the inside looked like. The neighborhood seemed very upscale as all the other surrounding brownstones looked just as new and nice as this one.

  I reached for the handle, wanting to get out and stretch my legs but even more, I just wanted a chance to look around. Before I could even open the door, Wakely was back outside and reaching for the handle.