‘Mr. Parker said to inform you that if you need anything from him, to let me know,’ he hands me a business card that has his name and contact details printed.
‘I won’t,’ I hold it out for him to take back. ‘And you are?’
‘Kris McCarron, Miss Parker, security services,’ he refuses to retrieve the card from my outstretched fingers. ‘Why don’t you hold onto that, Ma’am,’ he suggests.
‘Because I want nothing from my father,’ I answer, stubbornly.
‘I can understand that, Miss Parker. But, your father has insisted I take care of your safety,’ he elaborates.
‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ I laugh, almost hysterically. ‘Thirty-one years of being fatherless, and now he wants to take care of my safety?’ I gasp. ‘Priceless!’
‘Yes Ma’am,’ his lips tilt, reminding me of Nate. An ache pulses within my chest, he will be so mad at me.
‘I will take the card, Kris,’ I announce. ‘But, not for my father’s sake, you seem like a genuine guy, you can report back that I accepted the card, but just so we are clear, I will not be using it to contact anyone, okay?’
‘Of course,’ he nods. ‘You have a good day, Miss Parker,’ he slips out of the vehicle and climbs back into the SUV.
I drive out of the airport to my mobile phone ringing. I let it go to voicemail and refuse to look at the caller ID, deciding I can face the music once the debt is clear. It continues to ring for the duration of the journey to Marshall, where I park up and purchase some pepper spray and a pen knife for protection. I’m not sure I could actually stick a blade into someone’s skin, but it provides me peace of mind in case of an emergency. An emergency like that dirty sum bag, or anyone else come to think of it, laying an unwelcome finger on me.
By the time I arrive at the arranged meeting point, my stomach is tied up in knots of apprehension. The car park is full of patrons visiting the diner along their intended route. I ensure the doors of the vehicle are locked in the case he hijacks the car, me and the money. I also reverse into the parking space to prevent anyone from approaching from behind and I sit and wait.
Without ever seeing him with my eyes before, I know it’s him when I watch a man drive in the car park in an orange battered pickup truck, a sure way to stay unnoticed, I think not.
The guy obviously wasn’t the brightest. First of all, he ejaculated DNA over my back, placing him at the scene of a crime. Then, he meets in a diner to collect drug money with a vehicle that would be instantly recognisable to almost anyone who saw it.
He parks in a vacant space in front of me, his face fitting the image I previously imagined of him, perfectly. He sneers a grin towards me, his yellow teeth noticeable from even this distance. His hair is greasy and shoulder length, and as he steps out of the pickup truck, I notice the balding of his crown. My eyes drop to his fingers, and my body shudders.
Grabbing the bag, I open the door and lock it behind me. I don’t need for him to find an excuse to corner me in the vehicle.
‘Get in the car!’ He demands, walking around the passenger side.
‘No,’ I step out into the open space of the car park.
‘I said step inside the car, fucking bitch!’ The white froth in the corner of his mouth almost makes me vomit.
I step further into the open space, ‘No!’ He steps towards me I step back. ‘I have your money there is no further business between us.’ I announce.
‘I fucking decide if there’s any more business, you fucking whore.’ He steps forward, and I push the bag into his grasp.
‘I’m telling you that you take the money,’ I pull out the pepper spray from my pocket and aim it towards him, ‘or I spray you with this, and I take the money back with me, you decide.’ I direct the canister at his face.
His lip curls, ‘you think you have the ace card, you fucking cunt.’
I step back as fear grasps me.
‘I’ll take the money, and you will get in the car with me. Otherwise me and my pals will be back and ruin you.’ He promises.
‘No!’ I shout, the bubbling of hysteria rising from the pit of my stomach.
‘I need a little light relief,’ he grins, and I feel the blood drain from my face.
‘Step away from her,’ a voice of authority growls.
The creep turns, the bag of money clenched tight against his chest with one hand and lifts a knife out of his back pocket with the other. I turn to see Kris, dad’s security guy, with a gun pointed at the creep.
‘This is your final warning, step away from the lady,’ his tone has changed to one of arctic coldness. ‘Sophie, step behind me, darling,’ he instructs softly, without diverting his gaze from the creep who is debating his options, his eyes flickering from Kris to me. I hide behind Kris, the trembling in my bones increasing at the realisation this could soon all be over.
I hear activity behind me, ‘Denver police department, put your gun down,’ loud voice booms.
Shit! What now? I jump at the loud noise.
‘Boston private investigator, Kris McCarren,’ Kris booms back, as he moves his gun slowly down and slides it towards the cops without taking his eyes off of the creep.
The creep takes the opportunity to lunge forward with his knife directed towards Kris, who effortlessly tackles him to the ground, pushes his hand up his back, his face in the concrete floor of the car park and his knife thrown to the side.
I am shaking as activity surrounds us, people in uniform scatter around gathering the creep and retrieving him of the bag of money. I glance around for a familiar face, confused at the mayhem. Where the hell did Kris appear from, I left him at the airport?
‘London!’ A familiar voice roars.
I turn to the sound, Nate is striding towards me, his face blank, his eyes alight with an emotion I’m not acquainted with, anger perhaps?
‘Nate,’ my voice is husky, my body all of a sudden cold, despite the heat of the day.
‘Jesus, fuck!’ He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me tight, ‘what the fuck did you think you were doing?’ he scolds me.
‘I can’t breathe, Nate,’ I complain. He releases his grip only to hold my face between his hands. ‘You could have been killed!’ He growls, but the light in his eyes doesn’t match the aggression of his tone.
‘I couldn’t stand by and do nothing,’ my teeth are chattering as shock sets in.
‘We were on it, babe, the DNA came back, we knew the bastard,’ he enlightens me.
‘You fucking bitch, you will regret this,’ the creep spits over, the venom in his voice tangible.
I feel Nate stiffen before releasing me and lunging forward to grab his jaw. ‘You are threatening my woman?’ he asks.
‘You think it’s just me in this?’ he grins his yellow teeth. ‘You know I’ll get word that the bitch double-crossed us, the bitch is toast!’ He laughs, his hands handcuffed behind his back, an officer holding him static. Nate lifts his knee and delivers a hard blow to the creep’s balls. His face crumples and he lets out a shrill scream.
‘You fucking cunt!’ he cries, his body sliding to the ground into a heap.
‘You or any of your pals comes anywhere near her, and I will make your life a living hell, you get me?’ Nate bends to the heap wriggling around on the tarmac.
‘Fuck off!’ he rolls in agony.
‘You think that’s bad you see what they will do to you in prison, big man. Rapist, sex pests, don’t have it easy once word gets out.’ Nate threatens, kicking him in the gut for good measure.
‘That’s enough, Austin,’ another guy pulls Nate away from the creep.
I am observing the whole scene objectively as if it is happening to someone else. My body is trembling at the realisation that this isn’t over at all, will it ever be over? Why didn’t they let me give him the money?
Kris appears beside me, ‘you okay, Ma’am,’ he touches my arm. I jump at his touch. ‘Sorry,’ he steps away, providing me some much required space.
‘This is n
ever going to end, is it?’ I whisper over to him.
‘No one will hurt you, Miss Parker. I am here to protect you,’ Kris announces, calmly. ‘Your father has employed me to take care of your needs, Ma’am.’
My father? The man who walked away from me thirty-one years ago, after blaming me for his wife’s death, my mother? Nothing makes sense anymore.
‘Actually, I can take it from here,’ Nate’s cold voice penetrates the mist of confusion that is currently clouding my thought process.
‘No,’ I whisper.
‘Come on, babe,’ Nate cajoles, gently. ‘Let’s get you home, we may have to make a quick detour to the sheriff’s office, to make a statement,’ he warns.
‘No!’ I turn to him. ‘I want to go home; this is never going to end. I want to go home, Nate.’ I beg.
‘We got him, Sophie,’ he steps up, and I dissolve against his chest.
‘What about his friends?’ I sob, into his chest.
‘Listen,’ his lips touch my hair. ‘How about we go and make the statement, grab your things and drive to Denver, stay in my apartment and let things settle down for a while?’
‘I need to go home, Nate,’ I whimper, exhaustion flowing over me.
‘Not yet, babe, I need more time,’ he whispers, his voice hoarse.
********
Chapter Ten
Nate’s loft is amazing, and planted slap band in the middle of Lodo, as he calls it. Apparently, it stands for Lower Downtown. Seeing as I have only passed through Denver City on the way to Krystal, all I can say is that up close the skyline sitting against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, is incredible.
Nate had been true to his word and sped up the interview process at the sheriff’s office, aware of my delicate emotional state. After updating the Sheriff that we were only going as far as Denver if they needed to confirm any details, we stopped by Ollie’s apartment and collected my belongings before driving to Denver in relative silence.
When we arrived to the busy city traffic, Nate pulled me into his side and inhaled my scent as if he needed the fix.
‘You okay, London?’ He murmured against my hair, his voice soft.
‘I don’t know,’ I admitted, feeling detached from both my emotions and my body.
‘Just take some time to feel,’ Nate advised, I nodded, but have no idea whether that was at all possible. The events of the past few days had been entirely surreal, handling the emotions they provoked wasn’t something that was going to be easy to come to terms with.
Worst of all was the memory of having had that creep’s hands all over my body. How do you process that? How do you move on and not envisage his hands in the place of someone else’s touch, Nate’s, for example?
Next, came the subject of my dad, and how he rejected me for the third or fourth time, I’m not quite keeping a tally here, but I do know he fails to disappoint at every turn. Given the chance to make amends, I stood by and watched as he repeatedly kicked me in the teeth.
Regardless of the fact he came through for me with not only the money to pay off Ollie’s debts, but by sending Kris to protect me, I knew it was done for selfish reasons. I guess, from some profound corner of my being I was hoping that he had finally decided to take responsibility for me, as a father, and cared an ounce about my welfare. In reality, that was unlikely. I had notified him in no uncertain terms that if I was eradicated, he would be next in line. He was plainly keeping me safe, to keep himself safe, now that sounds more like him.
It had taken a call from Nate to my dad in Boston, to call Kris off of safeguarding me. Nate had argued that he wasn’t leaving my side and was perfectly capable of taking care of me himself. Eventually, dad had spoken to Kris and asked him to stand down for now, but to be on alert in Denver in case he was needed.
The open planned loft space was sparse, but definitely Nate. It held the essentials, a modern, well-equipped kitchen area separated by a breakfast bar that led into a space that held, what looked like, a sixty-inch flat screen TV hung onto an exposed brick wall. A corner group sofa sat facing the TV and an oblong coffee table sat in front holding a small pile of folders, obviously in connection with his work.
Nate showed me around, pointing out the bathroom, which held a claw footed tub that I ached to soak in, for hours preferably, then up four steps to the rear of the apartment that led to the mezzanine, which held the master bedroom. A huge wooden sleigh bed dominated the room it’s grey bedding perfectly tucked around the thick mattress.
‘You have a housekeeper?’ I stated, because the place was immaculate.
‘Yeah, I never know when I’m going to be here, so I have someone who comes in once a week and stocks up the fridge and does a sweep through.’ He steps closer and wraps his arms around me from behind, his face moving to my neck. ‘Tell me what I can do?’
I tense, stepping out of his embrace. He allows me to extract myself, but the frown on his face exposes his displeasure at my withdrawal.
‘Do you think I could take a bath?’ I question, softly, my stomach clenching at the thought of the creep leaning up against my back, his erection digging in my spine, his stagnant breath surrounding me. I can still smell the rancid scent of his rotting body.
He nods, his lips tight, ‘sure,’ he turns and jogs down the four steps disappearing into the bathroom. I know my retreat must have injured Nate, but right now I can’t think of anyone else’s feelings but my own.
I wrap my arms around myself as I glance around the perfect bedroom. I prevent my mind from wondering about how many women have had the privilege of waking to Nate in this room. Instead, I concentrate on finding what I need from my luggage and follow in Nate’s direction.
I am laying back against the arc of the luxuriously crafted bath with Nate’s back against the front of me, his glorious hair brushing against my chest as he lay between my legs. As unorthodox as it was, this was the most favourable position for me right now. The thought of someone behind me, even if it was Nate, their hands moving around the front of me, was too much for me to bear.
He had stood before me naked as the day he was born and asked me to sit forward to allow him to comfort me. I had tensed, my stomach curling, my face paling at his suggestion. Nate’s facial expression had dropped to one of devastation until I explained that I was anxious after what happened in the office of Jessie’s. Then, I observed as what appeared to be relief flashed over his face only to be instantly replaced with anger. His glorious sapphire eyes darkened with something I knew to be hatred.
‘There was nothing you could do, Nate,’ I reminded him.
‘I was supposed to be protecting you,’ he repeated.
My heart ached for him, was this how being in love felt? That’s when I shimmied back against the back of the tub and invited him in. He had complained that he would squash me, but I assured him that I simply needed to wrap my arms around him and feel something other than numbness. He obliged, his hands taking my calves and wrapping them around his hips, holding them firm against his bare skin.
‘Your ribs?’ He had worried.
‘Lay the other side,’ I had encouraged.
It felt so good being wrapped around Nate, as we approached the subject of my dad and how I had succeeded in persuading him to provide the money for Ollie’s debt.
‘I thought you’d gone home to London, I was looking in the wrong place,’ Nate admitted. ‘I would never have guessed you would turn to your dad for anything.’
‘I would do anything to make this all stop,’ I confess. ‘Even if it meant bowing down to that piece of shit.’ I run my hands through his soft hair as he absorbs my words.
‘You give it to him?’ Nate requests, after a moment of quiet.
‘Oh yeah, straight down the barrel,’ I laugh, softly. ‘I found the whole thing surprisingly cathartic.’ I relay to Nate, the very one-sided conversation in the security office.
‘That’s good, baby,’ I feel him begin to relax beneath me. ‘How d’you know to take out the batte
ry of your mobile?’
‘Read it somewhere,’ I informed him.
He sighs, ‘I nearly lost my mind, not being able to get to you,’ he admits, his tone defeated.
‘I’m sorry,’ I move my lips to his hair, and he squeezes my legs tighter around him.
‘Glad you are still here, babe,’ he mumbled, ‘but, don’t ever pull that shit again, you could have gotten yourself killed playing the lone ranger.’ My body is too tired to react to his command, although internally I shrug, I answer to no one. ‘You hear me?’ He prompts.
‘I don’t take orders, Nate, and right now I truly don’t have it in me to argue,’ I update him.
He sighs deep.
‘What did you mean when you said you need more time?’ I question, softly.
I feel his slight tense, followed by a prolonged silence before he answers, ‘more time with you. I’m not ready to let you go,’ he confesses, although his tone suggests he isn’t entirely comfortable with his admission.
‘Nate,’ I whisper, my heart skipping a beat.
‘I know, you wanna go home,’ he scoffs, ‘just not yet, Sophie, I need more time.’
My insides warm despite my brain informing me that things are moving incredibly fast between us. What started out as a sexual fling was rapidly becoming something that had the potential to transform into something wonderfully permanent.
‘We agreed, Nate,’ I close my eyes and whisper, fighting against the urge to submit and agreeing to remain inside his protection. Because, when I’m in his arms I’ve never felt safer.
‘I know,’ he turns his head and lifts those glorious eyes, which I could happily swim in forever, to mine. My chest aches at the admiration in his tender gaze. I stroke a finger down the stubble on his strong jaw and take a gulp of air into my emptying lungs.
‘I can’t stay here Nate, even more so now,’ I prompt him, ‘you know that?’
‘Why?’ He presses. ‘We have Lee Myers in custody, he won’t be going anywhere for a long, long time,’ he promises.
Linking a name to the low-life that has made my life hell over the past few days, distracts me momentarily from our conversation. ‘Lee Myers sounds like a good strong name rather than a weasel,’ I shudder. ‘I hate to point this out to you, Nate, but the debt is still a debt,’ irritation runs through my veins. ‘You should have let me pay him off,’ I sigh.
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