Protecting Lyndley

by Amanda Bennett

  I flipped open the box and pulled out my very own pair of silver Manolo Blahniks. I silently jumped for joy in my very expensive dress. After a few minutes of celebrating, I slipped into my new shoes and latched my pretty new necklace around my neck. When my hair fell down over my shoulders, I couldn’t help but frown at my appearance in the mirror.

  Compared to everything I had on, I looked entirely too plain. I reached for my makeup bag quickly adding some much needed mascara, eye shadow and a deep red lipstick. When I was finished I looked at my reflection once more and smiled, but the smile quickly faded when I realized that having my hair down, was concealing my amazing new jewelry.

  I swept my hair up in a messy up do and slowly started making my way downstairs. I wasn’t exactly sure where Ky was at the moment, but I knew that he must have been waiting for me somewhere. As I hit the last three steps, my gaze caught his and I found myself tripping over my own two feet. Without hesitation, Ky was instantly at my side. His strong arms kept me from falling flat on my face and I had never been more grateful to have him around than in that moment.

  Twenty

  Ky

  One look at her and she instantly took my breath away. My insides were busy doing summersaults as my mouth went dry with the bundle of emotions running through my system. Of course I thought she was beautiful before, but seeing her in that dress had me falling head over heels for the gorgeous girl in front of me.

  I watched as she descended down the stairs, a wide smile plastered across my face. When she almost fell, I didn’t hesitate to run and be at her side. When I caught her, those emerald green eyes that were concealed by blue contacts, sat staring back at me in horror. I wanted to laugh, to let her know that it was more than okay, but the better part of me kept silent as I helped her stand on her own.

  She stood back with a small smile touching her lips. Her hair was swept up and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I had never seen her hair up except for when she put it in a ponytail to go running, but this look, this look was much different.

  “Can you stand okay?” She simply nodded as I pulled another blue box out from inside my jacket pocket.

  “No, Ky. I can’t accept anything else from you. How can you even afford all of this?”

  “This is the last one, I promise. One of the perks of being in witness protection, we have money at our disposal.” She didn’t respond, she just nodded and took the box from my hand.

  “Oh my god, Ky. They’re beautiful.”

  “Just like you.” I reached for the box and placed the shoulder length teardrop diamond earrings in each of her ears. “Perfect.” I whispered.

  She turned back around to face me. “You look beyond handsome.” Her voice was just above a whisper and her face was flushed.

  “I don’t think I could even sufficiently put into words how you look tonight.” I quietly responded.

  We both stood there for a moment, taking each other in. I finally tore my gaze away from hers and checked my watch. “We need to get going.” She looked back at me confused.

  “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

  “And I still won’t be telling you.” I laughed. “It’s a surprise. Come on, let’s go.” I reached my hand out for hers, and to my surprise she gladly took it.

  We pulled up in front of the building I worked at about thirty minutes later. I could tell by the look on Lyndley’s face that she was still confused. I smiled as I reached for the door handle and exited the car. I walked quickly around to open her door and led her inside. Once we were inside the lobby I turned to explain what exactly was going on.

  “So, apparently they are throwing some big company party tonight. I wasn’t sure how you would feel about coming with me, so I figured I would surprise you instead. You mad?”

  She looked up at me with unshed tears in her eyes. “Of course not. It’s all just so amazing and glamorous.”

  I smiled down at her and took her hand in mine. “Ready, wife?”

  “Ready, husband.”

  We walked into the decadently decorated ballroom on the bottom floor, instantly fitting in amongst the sea of tuxedo and evening gown clad people. This was definitely a first for me. Being a country boy, I had never experienced the life of a millionaire. It was surreal and I was having a hard time taking it all in. I knew I didn’t fit in, but Lyndley seemed right at home. She squeezed my hand reassuringly and I led her through the crowd of people, over to where my boss and Sheena stood.

  “Mr. Moore, nice to see you.”

  “Well, Mr. Parker look at you, and Sarah you look stunning.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “Please, call me Ron.”

  “Thank you, Ron. This is a beautiful event.”

  “Well, that you’ll have to thank my wife for. She definitely has a knack for these things. Don’t you, honey.”

  Lyndley begrudgingly looked over at Sheena as she linked her arm through mine. “It’s a very beautiful event, Sheena.”

  “Isn’t it though?” Of course Sheena had to be a snotty bitch about it. “Well, we have to make the rounds. I hope you both enjoy yourselves.”

  Soft music began playing from the band up front and something inside of me took over. I escorted Lyndley to the dance floor where a few of the other couples were dancing.

  “What are you doing?” I could tell she was hesitant to be seen in front of all of these people she didn’t know, but I tightly gripped her hand as I placed it against my chest.

  “We’re dancing, princess.” I wrapped my free hand around her waist, pulling her securely into me. In that instant, everyone else faded away. As my gaze met hers, I could see her eyes dancing with all the excitement around her. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

  “I think maybe once or twice.” She smiled.

  “Well you do.” We didn’t speak another word for the next two songs. With every step that her and I took, I could feel my heart falling further for her. For whatever reason, fate had brought us together and now that we were sharing this moment, I couldn’t imagine anything better. I could only hope that she could look past my insecurities and rough edges long enough to feel the same.

  Twenty One

  Lyndley

  I could feel my heart erratically beating for the gorgeous man that held me close as we danced. This was a side of Ky that I had never seen before, and I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet. As much as I had fought against him, I secretly found myself needing him. He was my safety and security, but would that ever be enough? Or would I always want more than that?

  When the next song came to an end, Ky led me off the dance floor and over to a table full of people. When we first approached the other couples, I found myself being extremely nervous, but after a few minutes of light conversation I felt more at ease.

  “Ky, who is this ravishing woman you have with you?” An older gentleman was standing in front of us.

  “This is my beautiful wife, Sarah. Sarah, this is John.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, John.” I held out my hand to shake his, but was surprised when he kissed the back of it instead.

  “The pleasure is all mine, young lady. Now I know why Ky doesn’t bring you by the office.” I blushed instantly.

  “Aw, you’re too kind.”

  “Well I’ll see you two in just a bit, I suppose.”

  “You will.” Ky quickly responded.

  John left us alone and we took our seats at the table we were standing in front of. I turned in Ky’s direction, wanting to thank him for everything he had given me and this amazing night, when a loud voice came through the speakers. My smile quickly faded and I turned in my seat, giving all my attention to Mr. Moore who was the one speaking now.

  “I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and celebrating with us. It’s not very often that we can get everyone in the same room for longer than a minute or so.” Everyone broke out in laughter. “Well tonight is a special night. We wanted to take t
he opportunity to introduce you all to a few of our newest employees. So without further ado, I would like to bring up the following individuals. We have our newest partner Ky Parker, our new trader Jo Bixly, and our newest and youngest assistant, my beautiful wife Sheena.”

  There was a roar of clapping as each individual stood and made their way up to the stage. Suddenly Ky was turning in my direction and planting a long and heated kiss against my lips, before he took off to catch up with the other two. I was left stunned into silence as I watched his gorgeous tuxedo clad ass making his way up the stage.

  I watched as Ky stood next to Sheena, who literally could not take her eyes off of my “husband”. Despite the jealousy that I felt, I also felt lucky to have such an amazing man looking out for me. I was lost in my thoughts, when I suddenly heard Ky’s voice echoing through the vast open space. I looked up just as he was searching me out, and I couldn’t help but smile.

  Ky was halfway through his speech, when I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. I half expected John to be next to me, but when I turned around I came face to face with the one person I never expected to see here. Lorenzo sat next to me, his hand firmly grasping my thigh.

  “If you say a word, I promise you will not get out of this place alive. Now as soon as your lovely husband is done speaking, you will excuse yourself to the restroom and make your way out front. Nod if you understand me.”

  I rapidly nodded my head in his direction and then fixated my gaze back on Ky. He had just looked at me again, and I forced a happy smile so that he wouldn’t think anything was wrong. When he looked directly at me, I knew that he knew something was off.

  “Just play fake happy wife, Lyndley. That’s what you have been doing since you left Chicago anyway, isn’t it?”

  I quickly turned my head in Lorenzo’s direction. “Who are you?” My lips quivered in fear as I spoke and I knew Lorenzo noticed.

  “It’s not important. All you need to know is that I will be the last person to see you alive. You have ten minutes.”

  When I turned back around in complete and utter shock, he was gone. I scanned the room for him, but came up empty. I could feel my hands shaking in my lap, as I waited for Ky to finish his speech. Finally, the room erupted with cheers and Ky sat down next to his co-worker on stage. I wasn’t exactly sure how this was all going to end, but I knew if I didn’t excuse myself soon Lorenzo would have no problem coming in after me.

  Everyone was completely fixated on Sheena as she made her way up to the podium to start speaking, so I took this as my chance to slip out. I grabbed my purse and silently made my way towards the back of the room and over near the restrooms. I wasn’t sure where Lorenzo had gone, until I felt the cool metal of a gun poking into my back. I took in a gasp of air as the full weight of the situation came crumbling down around me. This was it. This was the last time I would see Ky, and the end to my once seemingly perfect life.

  “I’m not sure where you plan on taking her, but I would seriously rethink it.” Ky’s voice boomed through the small hallway that Lorenzo had taken me down and I was instantly relieved. That was until Lorenzo’s arm went from around my waist to around my neck.

  “Come any closer and I will shoot her right here for everyone to see. You wouldn’t want that now, would you?”

  Ky quickly reached behind his tux jacket, pulling out a handgun and aiming it straight at Lorenzo and me. “I’m going to give you ten seconds to lower your weapon and let her go. And just so you know, I rarely miss.”

  I slowly started counting to ten in my head as I closed my eyes and prayed for this night to be over. When I reached nine, I could still feel Lorenzo’s arm around my neck and I knew this wasn’t going to end pretty. Everything happened in a flash of a second. The steady beating of my heart and the cocking of Ky’s gun were the only sounds I could hear. My eyes slowly fluttered shut as I looked directly at Ky.

  Seconds later, a gun was going off and my eyes shot open in shock. I didn’t know whose gun it was until I felt Ky’s hand gripping my arm and tugging me away from the spot I was currently standing in. Everything passed by in a blur and my mind wasn’t responding until we were in the safety of Ky’s car, and he was buckling me in.

  I watched unblinking as we sped out of the parking lot and out onto the main road. I could barely hear Ky’s voice through the ringing in my ears. When I turned towards him to respond to whatever it was he was saying, I could feel my body quickly going into a state of panic. Suddenly I could feel the warmth of my tears falling down my cold cheeks. I wasn’t sure why I was crying, but it was enough to make Ky pull over.

  His hands clutched my face in them as he looked at me in fear. “Lyndley? Lyndley, please answer me.”

  I let my eyes slowly shut as I took a second to gather my thoughts. More tears ran down my face, and Ky was there to catch them. “I’m okay.” I whispered through my soon to be hysterics.

  “Lyndley, you don’t seem okay. I need to know that you’ll be okay for a minute.” I nodded my head over and over, trying to reassure him and myself. “I’ll be right back.”

  The words hadn’t fully sunk in until he was opening his door in front of our house and getting out. Before he could make it all the way out, I was grasping at his jacket sleeves. “Please don’t leave me, Ky.” The tears were now steadily streaming down my face.

  “I promise I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

  Without another word, he was gone. I let my head fall into my hands as I let every emotion I had bottled up inside, quietly spill out. I knew that I was in constant danger, but I never imagined in a million years that my past would be so quick to find me in my present.

  Twenty Two

  Ky

  I ran into our house as fast as my feet would take me. I knew I didn’t have much time to gather some of our things, that and I really wasn’t too comfortable leaving Lyndley out in the car by herself for longer than necessary. Without a second thought, I immediately ran up to Lyndley’s room. I scanned the room for her bag and quickly started depositing all of the things I thought she would want to hold onto, and then I did the same in my room.

  I was almost out the door when I caught sight of her running shoes in the far corner by the back door. I contemplated for about a half a second on whether or not to grab them, but in the end, I did. I knew she would be thankful for them later. I slammed the door behind me, and ran straight for the car.

  I threw all of our belongings in the back seat and jumped in, heading for where I wasn’t quite sure. As I merged into oncoming traffic on the freeway, I took a second to glance over at Lyndley’s hunched over frame and I immediately began to worry. Of course when I eventually spoke to her, it came out more asshole than nice, but I was in protection mode. My first priority was to get her to safety, not coddle her.

  “Lyndley, I need you to sit up and look at me.” My tone was harsh and to the point. When she still made no attempt to move, that’s when I started getting angry. “Lyndley, I need you to sit up now! Look at me, damn it!”

  She slowly raised her head and looked over at me. “What?” Contempt laced every word she spoke.

  “You need to get out of that dress. There’s a bag of your clothes in the back.” I pointed behind me as I searched for my cell phone. Instead of responding, she just simply listened to what I said and reached behind my seat.

  Once I found my phone, I quickly dialed Tom. “Dunn here.”

  “It’s me.”

  “Jesus Christ, Ky. Where are you guys? Your shenanigans were all over the nightly news.”

  I took in a deep breath trying to keep myself calm, for Lyndley’s sake. “We’re on the highway heading south west. Where should I go?”

  “Give me a second, I’m finding out. I’ll be right back.”

  I nervously began tapping my fingers against the leather steering wheel, as I impatiently waited for Tom to come back on the line. I looked over at Lyndley, realizing that she was now comfortably dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, my t-shirt in fact. I took
in a strangled breath as the thin fabric pulled against her full heaving breasts. I was caught in my own dark fantasy, just as Tom’s voice came on over the line again.

  “Okay, I need you guys to keep heading west. When you get closer to the outskirts of Pennsylvania, then I need you to call me back for the address. Ky?”

  “Yeah, Tom.”

  “Do we know who he was?”

  I knew Tom needed to know for his report, but I wasn’t comfortable saying his name in front of Lyndley, so I muttered a “yes”. “I’ll talk to you soon.” I hung up the phone and made my way onto the connecting freeway that would take us out to Pennsylvania. I could only imagine the place we would end up this time.

  ~~~~~

  A short while after I hung up with Tom, Lyndley fell asleep. We were now only about an hour and a half away from the address Tom texted me, and as much as I wanted the company, I couldn’t find it in my heart to wake her. She looked so serene, that and I wasn’t ready to deal with her attitude that I’m sure she would have.

  I glanced at the small glowing clock on the dash, and couldn’t help the yawn that escaped my mouth. It was almost three thirty in the morning and I was dead fucking tired. I swear this job was going to be the death of me. As I rubbed my eyes for what felt like the tenth time in the last ten minutes, I felt a cold hand clasp around my bicep. When I looked over in Lyndley’s direction, she was alert and staring at me with a look that I had missed seeing from a woman of her caliber.

  “Where are we?” She whispered.

  Her voice lulled my reverent beating heart. “We’re in Pennsylvania. We still have about an hour and a half to go though.”