Protecting Lyndley

by Amanda Bennett

  “I meant no offense Mr. Caverly, honest, but she deserves all the finer things in life. She deserves a man who doesn’t have his own demons to work on. Your daughter is unlike any other woman I have ever met. She brings out a part of me that I had been burying deep inside for far too long. I guess I just don’t think it’s fair to make her feel like she needs to fix me.”

  Mr. Caverly put his hand on my shoulder and looked me straight in the face. “Everyone has a past, and everyone has something they need to face in their life, but if I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that having someone you love by your side makes those demons worth fighting. I know you don’t know much about us, but I’d like to tell you a story if you don’t mind listening?”

  Thirty Nine

  Lyndley

  I rolled over once again and finally couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to get out of this seedy motel room and get back to being me. No more moping around and feeling sorry for myself. I glanced over at the other bed and Ruger was still sound asleep. I quietly slid off of the bed and grabbed my running gear from my bag. I tiptoed into the bathroom and quickly dressed before Ruger had a chance to wake up and tell me I couldn’t go. Lucky for me, he was still passed out when I slipped out the front door.

  The sun was glistening off of the rooftops and small mountains as I stepped out into the morning. I took in the glorious view as I stretched my legs before heading off in the opposite direction as the motel. I started out at a slow pace, but the further I got away from Ruger the better I felt. I had fallen into a good pace when I heard faint footsteps behind me on the dirt trail I was currently on. I glanced back a few times, keeping an eye out for any and everything unfamiliar, but nobody was there. I shook my head thinking that my mind was playing tricks on me, and then put in my headphones turning up my iPod as loud as my ears could stand.

  I was doing okay as I neared the gas station we had passed last night, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. All the memories of Ky and I on our morning runs came flooding back in and I was finding it hard to keep myself together. I pushed myself to go faster, trying to forget about Ky all together if I could. Unfortunately, my mind wanted to do nothing else but think about him. I could see his face clear as day with that mega watt smile plastered across it as he teased me. That’s when my chest began to hurt uncontrollably. Not because of the exercise, but because thinking of the man I could no longer have, literally broke my heart.

  I could barely see the hotel come back into view as tears began to cloud my vision. The pain in my chest had yet to subside, and I was almost certain it wouldn’t anytime soon. I ran until my lungs burned with every intake of breath. It was the only thing I could think to do to ease the pain of my constant breaking heart. I could see Ruger come out of the room across the street from me, and I was thankful that I at least had him, for now. I looked both ways down the street to run towards him, but I felt myself being pulled back instead.

  I tried to scream out, but realized that there was a rag over my mouth and a very large hand holding it firmly in place. I immediately began kicking and screaming, trying to fight whoever it was that thought they could take me away when I was so close to going home. Home, oh how I missed home. I missed my family, my friends, my job, and more than anything I missed Ky. I didn’t want to play these games anymore. If I ever got out of this horrible situation, I was determined to tell him exactly how I felt and make it work, no matter the cost. Either way, this was not how my life was going to end.

  Everything began to fade into black as I felt my body being dragged away from where I had just been. I tried one last time to scratch or kick, but my body was slowly giving out. There was nothing left for me to do but ride this out and see where I ended up.

  ~~~~~

  I tried to open my eyes but it was proving to be quite a challenge. My vision was blurry and I couldn’t make out any objects around me. My eyelids were heavy and the only thing I could see were tiny rays of bright excruciating light that felt as though they were burning my corneas. My eyes fluttered shut and opening them again was not an option. The blackness pulled me under once again, and I just didn’t have the strength to fight against it.

  I wasn’t sure how long I was out for, but I was suddenly woken up by cold water being splashed in my face. I sat straight up, gasping for air as my eyes forced themselves to focus. Unfortunately for me, what they were focusing on was somebody I never thought I would ever see. Ray Nelson, one of the biggest crime lords in all of Chicago stood in front of me with a wicked grin that would make anyone cringe.

  I tried to move my hands to wipe the water from my face, but they were bound behind me. As I looked around, I found myself bound to a chair in some sort of a basement. I was beginning to get frantic, but didn’t want him to know that I was, so I tried to keep as calm as possible given the situation I was in. I flung my hair out of my face, and looked straight into Ray Nelson’s eyes. I could feel my heart rate spike as he inched closer to me.

  “So, you’re the lawyer huh?”

  “What gave you that idea?” I spat.

  “Oh we have a snarky one, don’t we?” He was talking to someone I couldn’t see, but I wasn’t worried about that at the moment.

  “I wouldn’t say snarky.”

  “Well, then what would you say Ms. Lawyer?”

  “Well first of all, I’m an assistant lawyer. Secondly, I have absolutely nothing to say to you.” My words were laced with disgust.

  His hand came down hard across my face, causing it to hit my bad shoulder. I bit down as to not scream out from the pain that was radiating throughout my face and arm. There was no way I was going to let this asshole get the best of me. I spit out the blood that was pooling in my mouth onto his shoes just before his other hand came down on my cheek. Ray bent down so he was now face to face with me. I could smell stale tobacco and booze on his breath and the odor was making my stomach turn. If I got lucky, I would throw up on him just to piss him off.

  “Listen to me, little girl. You have no idea who you are messing with. Do you even-“

  “I know exactly who I’m messing with. I’m messing with a piece of shit coward who hires people to do his dirty work for him because he’s too chicken shit to do it himself. That sound about right, little boy?”

  Nelson threw his head back in laughter, but when he looked back down at me his laugh had faded. Before I knew what was going on, Ray Nelson was shoving his finger deep into my bullet wound. I tried to stifle my cries of pain, but the pain was becoming unbearable. My mouth fell open and my glass shattering screams filled the empty cement room.

  Ray pulled his finger out and held it out in front of my face. “You may want to watch your tone with me. I wouldn’t want to have to do that again. Now, tell me what you know?”

  Blood was slowly pooling in my mouth from biting down on my tongue, and as soon as his face was close enough to mine, I spit all that blood right on his face. It splattered in all different directions and I couldn’t help but smile. Nelson was quick to jab his finger back into my open wound and slowly start twisting it around. This time, I didn’t make a sound. I could feel the warm salty tears falling down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to let this man break me.

  “Coward, huh? What do you think about me being a coward now?” I was getting to him. He was trying to conceal his frustration with me, but I knew better.

  “You can do whatever you want to me, but I won’t tell you anything you want to hear.”

  “Maybe we just need a little bit of incentive for you to talk. How about I make a little phone call to one of my guys that’s sitting at your parent’s house watching the place for me? Would that make you want to talk?”

  “Leave my family out of this.” I growled.

  “Oh, if only I could. Unfortunately for you, you’re leaving me with no other choice.” He reached for his phone, but looked back at me before he dialed. “Last chance.”

  “Tell me Ray, how did you manage to get yourself freed fro
m prison?”

  “Oh see, that’s the best part of the story. I had a little help, and his name is…well how about I just let you meet him instead.”

  I glanced around Ray and saw a tall figure start walking towards me. Just as his face came into view, I sucked in a strangled breath. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was my boss. My brows pulled together in confusion as he took a seat next to me. I opened my mouth to ask one of the thousands of questions I had, but the words wouldn’t come out. I was involved in something that was far bigger than I could’ve ever imagined, and now it would seem that I was about to pay the ultimate price for the situation that my boss put me in.

  Forty

  Ky

  I sat there fully engulfed in what Mr. Caverly was telling me. It was nice to get to know Lyndley’s family, especially when she seemed to have a hard time talking about them. I couldn’t fathom why she wouldn’t want to tell me about the amazing people that raised her. After speaking with Mr. Caverly I now knew where Lyndley got her confidence and enthusiasm for her job.

  He told me all about how he grew up extremely poor, and it wasn’t until he married Mrs. Caverly that he made something of himself. I found myself relating to him far more than I thought I would. Apparently they found out that they were having Lyndley when they were only seventeen years old. Both of their parents thought they were too young to get married and start a family, but Greg and Anna did what they felt was right for them. They married a year later and have been together ever since. I suppose you can never judge a book by its cover.

  “Would you care for another drink?” Mr. Caverly held up his empty glass as he asked.

  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  As Mr. Caverly made his way inside the house, I stood and took my half empty glass and made my way out to the middle of the yard. With every sip I took, I found myself thinking of Lyndley and how much I missed her. This all just felt so wrong. This wasn’t how I was supposed to meet her family, not without her by my side. I had envisioned both of us walking hand in hand as we entered her house. Her family would have been overly welcoming and instead of introducing me to them as the Marshal that had been protecting her, she would’ve introduced me as her boyfriend.

  I could picture myself fitting in quite nicely with the rest of them. We would sit around and laugh as we told them about how we could barely even stand to be in the same room with one another at first, but how over time we realized that we couldn’t fight against fate. Her sister would ask a million questions, wanting to get to know the man that was vying for her sister’s attention, and her mom would be beyond excited that Lyndley had finally found someone who treated her daughter like the princess she was.

  It should’ve been anything but what it was right now. I stood there in a daze wondering about what my life with Lyndley would look like if I hadn’t been so stupid. With every passing second that I wasn’t with Lyndley I regretted leaving her. I regretted leaving her in complete and utter disarray as I drove away from the one person who cared for me, regardless of my flaws. How could I have been so blind to all of it?

  “You doing okay over there, son?”

  I turned towards Mr. Caverly and drained the remaining scotch from my glass, just as he handed me a fresh one. “Thank you.” I held my glass up and nodded at him before I drained that glass as well.

  “Tell me something, Mr. Wakely.”

  “Please, call me Ky.” I interrupted.

  “Tell me, Ky. What is it about my daughter that made you fall for her? Because I like to think I know my daughter quite well, and well…let’s just say, she can be quite stubborn if given the chance.”

  We both laughed in unison at the truth behind his words. “Honestly, Sir.”

  “If I have to call you Ky, then you will have to call me Greg.”

  I nodded. “Honestly Greg, it was her carefree independent nature. She fully embraces life, good or bad, and she is who she is without apology. I’ve always been a little rough around the edges. When I was a small boy I dealt with things that no child should ever have to endure. I had an alcoholic for a father. A father who thought of me as more of a punching bag than a child, and a mother who overdosed when I was nine because she loved her heroine more than her own little boy. And even when I finally got away from the monster of a father that I had, and thought that I would have a better life because he was gone, well I was proven wrong once again.”

  “I’m very sorry for all of that, Ky.” I knew he was being sincere, but I didn’t need his apology.

  “You know, when I was growing up in the seven different foster homes I was moved to, I never felt sorry for myself. I knew I was dealt a shitty hand, but I was determined to make myself better because of it. I’ve never used my past as an excuse to slack off or to get by with doing the bare minimum. I made damn sure that despite the obstacles I had faced at such a young age, that I would never be like them. That’s why I decided to become a Marshal. I never had anybody looking out for me, and I never felt safe no matter where I was. I wanted to provide that for people. I want to make people feel safe again.”

  “You know, one day you’re going to make a great husband. I just hope that the person you find to give your heart to, loves you just as deeply as I can see you will love them.”

  “Maybe one day.” I pressed the rim of the crystal glass against my lips and let the small remaining bit of amber liquid glide down my throat. I set the glass down on the outside table and pushed my hands into my front pockets. “Greg, can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Of course, Ky. You can ask me anything you want.”

  “What did you do before you became a college football coach?”

  He seemed a bit caught of guard by my question. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I’m not trying to be rude but how can you afford a place like this on a college coaching salary.” Lyndley’s dad looked over at me, perplexed. “I’m sorry. I’ve overstepped my bounds. I didn’t mean any offense, honest.” I was about to excuse myself and head back inside, but then Mr. Caverly began to speak.

  “I used to work for the CIA. I actually just retired only five years ago. Much like your job, it was a dangerous one. I loved what I did, but with my girls getting older, I never wanted to put my family in jeopardy. You know? It was a tough decision, but it was one that my wife and I agreed on. We’re all much happier now, so I know it was definitely the right decision.”

  “I see.” My phone started buzzing in my pocket and I quickly glanced at the screen to see that it was Ruger. “Will you excuse me for a second, Greg? I need to take this.”

  “Of course. I’m going to head inside and see how lunch is coming along. Just come on in when you’re done.”

  I gave him a grateful smile and answered the phone. “Ruger? What’s going on?”

  “We have a problem, Wakely. Lyndley’s gone.”

  My heart sank the minute her name left his mouth. “What the hell do you mean, she’s gone?”

  “When I woke up this morning, she wasn’t in the room. I have been out searching for her since eleven o’clock. I’ve checked every gas station and motel in a ten mile radius, but everyone swears they never saw her.”

  I was livid. “What the fuck were you two doing in a hotel room together? Tom said he told you guys to stay at your ranch for the night.”

  “Wakely, kinda not the point right now, but if that’s what you’re going to hang on then I’ll tell ya. I didn’t think it was safe to stay at the ranch seeing as John Nelson’s body was just hanging out in the barn. Now get over it, some new information has come to light and this could end up being bad, really fuckin’ bad.”

  “How bad?” I think deep down I knew exactly what he was about to say, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go there just yet.

  “I went through her bag and the only thing I can see that is missin’, is her running gear. She must’ve gone out for a run this mornin’ while I was still sleeping.�
�

  Lyndley and her damn running, I swear she was so damn stubborn sometimes. “Where are you?”

  “We stopped last night at a motel that’s a couple hours away from her house. Listen Wakely, I need to tell you something, but you have to stay calm.”

  Those were words I hated hearing from anybody not just a fellow Marshal. “Tell me Ruger. Now!”

  “Ray Nelson is out of prison. He was released last night. We’re not sure how just yet, but Tom is workin’ on it as we speak.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me right now? What happened to the whole he died in prison bullshit? How the fuck could this happen?” My anger was quickly turning into rage as the thought of losing Lyndley was starting to turn into a reality. I pushed my hands back through my hair and let out a loud angry breath.

  “Look, I’m not sure how long she’s been missin’. It could’ve been five minutes before eleven or an hour, I honestly don’t know. You need to get out here. We need to scour the entire town and see if we can find anything.”

  I could hear Ruger talking, but not a single word registered in my brain. My mind kicked into overdrive and I was trying to figure out where these people would take her, and if she was even still alive. Panic began to settle in as I imagined all the awful things that these people could be doing to her. I knew I couldn’t go looking for her in my current state of mind, so I took a few deep breaths and went into planning mode.

  “All right, we’re running out of time. From my calculations, she’s been gone for at least four hours, give or take. I’m going to jump in the car and start making my way towards you. Now do you remember any old abandoned warehouses around you or old mills or farms? I honestly don’t think Ray Nelson would take the time to drive her all the way back up here.”

  “When we first hit the town limits I noticed an old rundown roller mill. It’s about ten miles east from where I am. Unfortunately, I stopped in the middle of farm country so there are at least a hundred or so farms just from where I am standin’.”