by Dace Everan
George took her half-empty coffee and placed a plate of food in front of her. “Eat, Keena,” he ordered, putting her coffee on the table next to her. He looked at Paula. “Sandwich, she-devil?”
Paula shook her head. “No, I told your lovely brother we would meet for lunch.”
* * * *
George settled in next to her on the couch. “What do I do, Keena?” he asked. Shit, Paula had left over twenty minutes ago and he’d clammed up. He had kept himself busy in the kitchen cleaning up his mess, too afraid to go to her, afraid to upset her further. His fucking hands trembled. He’d never had his hands tremble like this around any female, around anyone in his life.
Keena shook her head. “I don’t know,” she whispered. She had never asked anyone to help her before. Not a man. She had just run, run and never looked back. “I shouldn’t have called.” She shifted to rise. She should go. This wasn’t his responsibility. She should not have brought this on him.
George grabbed the near-empty plate from her, placing it on the end table before she spilled it all over the floor. He hauled her into his lap. “Don’t ever say that, Keena. I told you I would help if you ever needed me. I meant that. Don’t you dare tell me you shouldn’t have called!”
Keena whimpered, circling her arms around George. “He scares me, George. He shouldn’t have found me. I kept a low profile, always used cash, and no one knew my last name.” George brushed his hand through her hair. Keena buried her face in his shirt. “Don’t hate me, George. I had to take her. I know I shouldn’t have.”
He shook his head. “Never hate you, sugar,” he whispered, grip tightening. “Mad you never told me how bad it was, though.” She should have said something, that her crazy ex-husband was chasing her, that she had a child!
Keena peeked up at him. “Can I shower? I want a shower.” She didn’t just want one. She needed one. Again.
George nodded. “’Course, sugar,” he whispered, throat swelling with emotion. One day, this woman would not feel the disgust she felt right now. One day she would be healthy again. He was sure of it. He had to be. He would make sure of it. Deeogee whined.
Keena swallowed the sob trying to escape. “Come, Deeogee. You can come with me.”
George smiled. She was adopting the old girl as her protector. Good, Deeogee loved Keena and was hurting at the pain she sensed pouring off of her. Deeogee looked at George. He petted her big, furry head. “Go on, girl. Watch over, Keena,” he whispered.
* * * *
Lila sat across from Keena. She stretched her hands out across the table, holding Keena’s tightly. “Keep on talking, Keena. Almost done, hon. You’re doing great,” she encouraged.
Keena shuddered, closing her eyes. She looked back at the worker, at the lawyer. The worker looked like any other with the blank look on her face as she jotted down notes. She was stone-cold, as if she could take in any atrocity done to a human. Keena could only imagine the ugliness this woman had witnessed on her job. The lawyer, at first, had looked cold and very proper. The more she spoke, the paler he got. His hand shook slightly as he took notes. It was obvious he didn’t usually work with women who had been through what she had.
Two hours they had been here. Two hours she had relived her entire three-and-a-half-year marriage to David. They hadn’t even touched on last night yet. Her eyes darted across the room. George sat on the couch, hunched over, elbows on his thighs, and a dark look on his face. He hadn’t said anything, never moved, just sat there and listened. Jared had paced back and forth, sat, got up, and paced some more. He wasn’t handling it well at all. Lila had held her hands throughout the entire meeting. Minus the times she had pulled away and hid them under the table when she couldn’t control the trembling in them.
It was near supper when the place cleared. Lila and Jared wanted to stay, but George had kicked them out, told them to go home to Anne, to get some rest. They had another meeting in the morning to deal with. Keena watched as he went directly to the kitchen and started cooking once Lila and Jared had left. Keena sat on the couch, unsure of what to do. Deeogee stayed at her feet. She should never have called him. She should have run, should have forgotten this place and started over somewhere else. Tears rolled down her face and she sobbed.
George placed the plate of pasta in front of her. “Eat, Keena,” he ordered, taking a seat next to her. She glanced at him, her hair falling forward, blocking his view of her face. “I want his whole name,” George demanded.
Keena shook her head. “He has money. He’ll get away with it like he did all the other times,” she whispered.
George grunted. He was pissed. How could a man get away with treating a woman like this? “Name, Keena, and don’t say anything but his name,” he ordered.
“David Filton,” she said, her eyes closing, tears streaming down her face.
Chapter Eleven
He couldn’t include Jared and Sam in his hunt. He clenched his fists and glanced at the half moon in the sky from his window. He could hear Rick piddling around downstairs in his apartment, and the light voice of a woman. He gritted his teeth. He shouldn’t bother Rick either.
He glanced back into the living room. Keena lay on the couch, staring blankly at the TV, Deeogee curled up on the floor below her. She hadn’t moved for hours, just lay there, shuddering and sobbing quietly. He had held her after supper till she passed out in exhaustion. She had awoken with terrifying screams that had sent cold chills down his spine. He rubbed his jaw. She had struck out. That was a good sign. She had fight in her. She was going to make it through this. It was going to be a long and painful process, he was sure, but he was gonna make damn sure that she knew she had people who cared for her. Who loved her. Holy shit.
Was he actually thinking the L word? He couldn’t. He didn’t even know her. He released the breath he had been holding. Holy shit. He was in trouble. His gaze met hers and, yup, his heart skipped a beat and the possessive feeling he had felt the first time he had laid eyes on her grew tenfold. He decided right then and there. He would make sure she made it through this and was on top of the world by the end of all this bullshit. She would get her daughter, and she would be free from her ex. She would be able to start a new life and be safe, because she would have the Keepher men watching over her.
* * * *
Rick took the stairs two at a time up the back steps to George’s apartment, Kyla close behind him. She had shown up and wanted to see Keena, said she saw some dude hanging at Keena’s place. They needed to tell George. He might want to go take a piece out of the fucker before the authorities got a hold of him.
George opened the door, surprised to see Rick, let alone Kyla. “How the hell did you get out here, girl?” he uttered at the sight of Kyla. He was pretty sure Lila didn’t allow Kyla out this late with the car.
Kyla smirked. “Asked Mom for the car,” she answered.
George narrowed his eyes. “And she let you take it?” He was pretty fucking sure Lila would definitely not allow that to happen.
Kyla screwed up her face in thought. “Funny, I just can’t remember what her answer was.” She sighed dramatically, passing him on her way inside. Seeing Keena on the couch, she shrugged off her coat and tossed it on his loveseat before grabbing the remote and nudging Keena till she had Keena’s head in her lap. She flicked through the channels before putting on some action-packed killer movie. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Keena’s temple. This would be a good distraction. Senseless, fake violent movies.
George raised a brow at Kyla’s spunk, as well as her choice of show. He was sure the last thing Keena wanted to watch was violence. “Kyla, Keena, we’ll just be downstairs,” Rick called, grabbing his brother’s arm and dragging him from the room.
Kyla waved a hand. “All right, we’ll be up here eating your food, Uncle George. Oh, I am curious about your place,” she threw in there. She giggled, looking around the living room. She should really break in sometime and hang a gaggle of monkeys across his living room. It wou
ld be the ultimate funny joke. Yup, she would definitely have to work on that one.
George rolled his eyes. He just couldn’t get away without her mentioning curiosity. Brat, she was a spoiled brat. He hoped Rick got his hands on her. Maybe swat her mischievous little ass. Ha! Who was he kidding? Rick would never swat her unless it was something Kyla wanted.
George glanced around Rick’s messy apartment. “I honestly don’t know why girls would ever come here,” he muttered, tossing a pizza box off the couch before taking a seat. Yuck, he could feel creepy crawlies everywhere. Not literally, but germs. Did Rick not understand germs?
Rick chuckled. “Wanna go take a drive? Kyla said she drove by Keena’s and saw that Rolls back there.”
That caught George’s attention. He would love to hunt the fucker down and rid Keena of the fucking bastard. Let her have her life back, her daughter…He growled.
“I have a friend I wanna call.” He decided he would be a good boy. Keena needed someone to help her right now, not someone to play hero for her. She needed him by her side, not out hunting down her ex. He knew what being there for someone was about, and he was going to be here for her.
Rick arched a dirty-blond eyebrow. “Seriously, you have the opportunity to go beat his ass and you’re going to stay here?” He was utterly surprised. It wasn’t like George to sit back and let others take care of things. Shit, he knew George had it hard for the girl. He’d thought George would jump at this.
George stood, shaking his head. “Not a kid anymore, Rick. I can’t just go beating up the bad guy…Other ways to get him,” he replied, heading for the door. He would make sure this fucker would never be able to get to Keena ever again.
Rick looked stared at George’s back. “Seriously?”
George waved a hand. “Thanks, but no. The law will handle it this time around. I will not let him get away with what he did. With everything he has done. He needs to pay for putting her through this hell, for putting her children through hell.”
Rick stood in his messy living room in utter shock. He grabbed his phone, dialing his older brother. “Jared! He said no!” He couldn’t fucking believe it! What in the hell was happening to the knock-the-fucker-down-then-ask-questions guy that George used to be? Frick! He couldn’t remember a day it had been any different. George always got physical, threw his strength around, and then questioned a person.
“Of course he did, Rick. Stay away from Keena’s old place. Let George handle this how he will.”
Rick grunted. “This is not right, Jared. That guy deserves—”
“Deserves what will come to him, Rick. George needs to be there for Keena right now. This is not your concern. By the way, tell that little sweetheart she’s in shit when she gets home, would you?”
Rick grinned. “Oh, come on, you can calm mother hen down. She only took the car, and technically she’s safe. She’s with Uncle George.”
Jared scoffed. “Not Uncle George I’m worried about. It’s his neighbor.”
Rick scoffed. “I’m insulted. You think I would take advantage of sweet Kyla!” he said, a smirk on his face.
Jared released a breath. “Rick…just…that’s Lila’s daughter,” he reminded him. He had been stuck between a rock and a hard place ever since he realized his little brother was falling in love with Kyla. Sweet little Kyla, who was technically his stepdaughter now.
He knew Lila was uncomfortable with the thought of Kyla and Rick together. He wasn’t sure if it was because she had married into the family, or if she was just being an overprotective mother. It could be their ages as well. He wanted to opt for it being the overprotective mother hen in his wife. He could not see her judging Rick. Not when it came to love. He was sure it would all play out eventually. Either way, he would be ready to be there for both his wife and his little brother. Well, as best he could be without ticking off both of them.
Rick grunted, shoulders slumping over the constant reminder why he couldn’t be with Kyla. “Yeah…look, I’ll talk to you later. Tell Lila Kyla’s up at George’s. She didn’t come here to see me!” He pressed the end button before Jared could say anymore.
George took a seat at the end of the couch, placing Keena’s feet on his lap. Poor pet, even her feet were in rough shape.
Kyla chewed her lower lip, petting Keena’s head with her hand. “I met him once, before Keena disappeared,” she whispered. George needed to know what kind of man Keena’s ex was, what she had picked up of him.
George grunted. He didn’t want to hear about the piece of shit.
“He was overly protective of her,” Kyla whispered, and it wasn’t the good kind of protective she had seen with Jared and her mother, or even Sam and Paula. David’s protective had been…scary.
George grunted. “Those kind always are,” he whispered. He knew what Kyla was getting at. He could feel her discomfort at even talking about the scumbag.
Kyla looked at him. “You’re protective of her,” she pointed out lightly.
George sighed. “Different, sweetheart. I let her do what she wants. I will be there for her if she needs me.”
Kyla furrowed her brow in thought. Yup, he was just like Jared and Sam. She wondered if Rick would be the same, too. Did he feel that way about her? Did he even like her?
George scrunched up his brow. She looked like her mother when she did that. Kyla looked at him, a serious look crossing her face. George readied himself for whatever it was she was about to say, because he had seen that look on her face before, and she was going to either speak her mind or ask a serious question.
“Mom told me to stay away from Rick,” she blurted. Oooh, she shouldn’t have said anything! Her whole body cringed. How embarrassing. What had possessed her to speak out?
George raised a brow. Why the hell would Lila say that? Unless, of course, she knew Rick had something for Kyla. “Why?” he asked. He needed to know the whole story here.
Kyla grunted. She didn’t want to share her feelings with this uncle of hers. She really shouldn’t have said anything. Damn it!
Keena peeked up at Kyla. “You and Rick aren’t together?” she asked quietly. She had thought they were together. They seemed so comfortable with each other. He was always touching her in the most romantic, innocent ways. Like newfound lovers. They made her smile. They gave her hope that one day she would have a man handle her with that gentleness.
Kyla’s eyes grew wide. “No!” she said way too fast.
Keena sat up, inhaling a shaky breath. She leaned against George and tucked her feet under the blanket. The blanket scratched her sore, bruised and cut feet, but it felt good to be in a safe haven. “That was too quick, Kyla. You used to do that when you had a crush on boys in school. Remember Kendal?” she reminded her friend.
Kyla blushed. How could Keena even bring that up? Oh, God, please don’t let George ask any questions.
Keena hugged the blanket around her shoulders. “You’re nineteen, Kyla. I think you can make your own decisions. Not saying go hop on, or anything like that. Your mom should be happy you made it this far without doing half the crap the rest of us did,” she replied, eyes closed.
She still couldn’t stop the stream of tears. They just fell freely now. She knew one day they would stop. She just wished they would stop now. She didn’t like crying. It made her feel vulnerable. She inhaled a weak breath. She needed to be strong. She needed to keep her head about her. For Carmine. For herself. She dared peek at George. For this man who had shown her nothing but gentleness.
She released a shaky breath. “I thought you and Rick were together, and just keeping it from everyone, the way both of you kept looking at each other the other night at dinner. The way he was at his parents.” She shrugged. “He acts how George does with me…” she whispered.
But she and George weren’t together. Her heart broke into a million pieces. She wanted to be with this man, to be able to stay in these strong arms for the rest of her life. He could hold both her and Carmine close and protect them.<
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Kyla stared at Keena. Rick liked her? What the hell! Her heart fluttered and her brain sped into a million different directions.
Keena peeked up at George. “I think I’m going to go to sleep.” She needed to stretch out. Her body was cramping and she wanted to bury herself under a million comforters. George’s guest room had the most comfortable bed, and he had added extra blankets.
George nodded. She looked exhausted.
“Can I take Deeogee?”
George nodded. “I don’t think I have a choice, Keena. She won’t go anywhere but with you,” he murmured, and he was okay with that.
Keena nodded. Sitting up, she leaned towards Kyla. “Thank you for coming. You should really talk to Rick about whatever it is you two have.” She stood. “Come on, Deeogee, go pee,” she ordered, heading for the front door.
Kyla sat in shock for a few minutes. She half-listened to Keena as she let Deeogee out and then back in before walking down the hall to bed. Holy crap! Keena knew she liked Rick. She looked at George. He was looking right at her. It was time to go. She was not staying to chit-chat. She’d said enough this night.
“Going to go home. I…talk to you tomorrow,” she mumbled, jumping from the couch and grabbing her coat. She clumsily slipped it on and took note of how George followed her to the front door, a smirk on his face. Yeah, laugh it up Uncle Monkey Man.
After making sure Kyla made it to her car safe and sound and was on the road, George returned upstairs and went about the house, flicking off lights. His heart clenched at Keena’s sobs. Poor pet. He yearned to go to her, to crawl in and hold her tight, and assure her she was safe.
He stopped in the doorway of his bedroom, surprised. Deeogee lay at the foot of the bed. Keena snuggled in under his covers. The weight on his shoulder’s lightened. She trusted him enough to go to his bed. He flicked off the lights, stripped off his shirt, removed his socks, and crawled in with her. He pulled her close and promised he wouldn’t let anything happen to her ever again.
