Soul Protector (Soul Protector Series)

by Amanda Leigh Cowley

  I cringed as a couple of Mike’s mates moved closer to her.

  Joe was only half-perched on his chair, ready to step in if it got ugly. I tugged on his t-shirt. “Joe, get her to sit back down, this is not going to end well.”

  I knew Mike had a sharp tongue, but I was sure he wouldn’t physically hurt her. It was his friends I was worried about.

  Joe shook his head. “You know what she’s like once she’s got a bee in her bonnet. There’s nothing I can do to stop her.”

  Mike was stood facing Kerry with his arms crossed. I could tell he was enjoying winding her up. A smile formed on his lips as he began to retaliate.

  “Just pop your dummy back in your mouth and go and sit down with your nice little friends. We certainly don’t need Gracie and her posse to entertain us.”

  Kerry rocked back on her heels. “Oh is that right? Or could it be that you’re jealous?” She started jabbing her finger in the direction of his chest. “Well I’ve got news for you Mike. Gracie may have spent the last few months moping over you like some lovesick puppy...”

  Shut up, Kerry, shut up.

  “… In fact, after what you did, she’s been a complete mess. She wouldn’t come out with any of her friends, had no interest in anything - totally heartbroken over a prick like you.”

  Both Dan and Mike turned their heads in my direction and I felt their eyes burning into me. The plastic stirrer I’d been absentmindedly fiddling with snapped under the pressure of my touch. I looked down at the table and wished the ground would swallow me up.

  “But…” she carried on, “just a few short days ago, she perked up. She’s sorted. She’s got someone else and she’s over you. So you’re too late, Mikey boy. Got it? You’re too late.”

  I looked up and noticed Mike had stepped back from Kerry. He was still looking my way with a mixture of disbelief and concern. One of his mates, who I recognised as Craig, took Mike’s place and put his face up close to Kerry.

  “Shut up little girl,” he spat, and gave her shoulder a hard shove.

  “Hey, don’t touch her,” shouted Joe, jumping out of his seat. Dan got up with him.

  A couple of staff scrambled to get out from the bar to intervene, but it was Dan who got there first. He pushed Craig hard, knocking him away from Kerry. Craig quickly found his balance and squared up to Dan.

  “Come on then,” he said to Dan with his face all red and twisted, “you and me.”

  Dan stood his ground, towering above him.

  “Gents pack it in or take it outside,” shouted one of the barmen.

  I was relieved when Mike jumped in-between the pair of them, turning his back to Dan and putting his hands on Craig’s chest. “It’s okay mate, we’re leaving,” he said firmly. “Come on lads, let’s go and find somewhere with a better atmosphere.”

  Craig was panting. He didn’t take his eyes off Dan as he walked over to his pint and downed it in one go before slamming the empty glass on the bar. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and followed his mates out the door.

  Mike trailed the group and just before he left, he took one last look in my direction. I thought he was going to say something, but in the end he just turned and walked out of the pub.

  Joe, Dan and Kerry made their way back to our table. The previous happy atmosphere was replaced by a tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

  “I’m sorry Gracie,” Kerry whispered, “but he needed telling.” She was clearly shaken. I leant over and stroked her arm.

  “It’s okay; I know you were only trying to help.”

  “Dickheads,” muttered Joe.

  I looked up at Dan to see what his take was. He didn’t say anything, but his body language spoke volumes. Before, he’d been leaning towards me, our legs touching. Now he was turned towards Joe and putting as much distance between us as possible.

  I had to get him talking. I needed to know everything was okay between us. I took a deep breath. “Dan, thank you… for helping.”

  “Yeah mate, you were awesome,” Joe added.

  Dan’s eyes flicked over in my direction. I desperately tried to interpret his expression, but it was unreadable. I sagged as he turned and directed his reply to Joe. “No problem. I was glad to help.”

  My mouth became unbearably dry. I cleared my throat and took a sip of my drink.

  Kerry was chatting about Craig being a psycho. She did her best to include me and Dan in the conversation, but it felt forced and awkward. It was obvious the earlier buoyant mood had completely disappeared.

  Icy dread washed over me as Dan pulled his jacket off the back of his chair and started to slip it on. He smiled towards Kerry and Joe. “Listen guys, it was great meeting you, but I’ve got an early start in the morning.”

  “Oh mate, come on, one more for the road,” said Joe, unaware of the undercurrent.

  “Sorry I can’t. I really do need to go.” I noticed he directed the last sentence towards me. I swallowed hard, trying to force down the lump that had lodged in my throat. I knew I couldn’t hold on to someone like him forever, but I couldn’t believe I was about to lose him so soon.

  We should go too,” said Kerry, pushing her seat back to stand up.

  “Wha..?” Joe looked baffled, but after a stern look from Kerry, he relented and stood up.

  “Do you need a lift back, Gracie?” Kerry asked, looking from me to Dan.

  I shot Dan a hopeful look too, but he was either oblivious, or he chose to ignore it.

  “Yes please,” I answered in a small voice.

  Dan turned to face us. “Right, see you around then guys.”

  “Yeah, see you again mate. We should do this soon,” said Joe.

  Kerry raised her eyebrows in his direction.

  Dan looked at me, and my heart swelled for a second as he started to speak. “Goodbye, Gracie. Take care of yourself, okay?”

  With that, he turned and disappeared out the door.

  Kerry squeezed my arm as we picked up our bags and traced his footsteps into the cool night air. “I’m so sorry hun.” She looked as miserable as I felt.

  We had to walk near Dan’s car, and I saw him slinging his jacket into the open boot. The thought of never seeing him again made my heart squeeze. I realised I couldn’t just let him walk away without a fight. I had to at least try to make him see sense.

  I turned to Kerry. “Listen; can you just give me a couple of minutes to talk to him?”

  “Sure, see you in a minute,” she said, “good luck.”

  Kerry and Joe carried on walking towards Joe’s car at the far end of the car park. I turned to see Dan close the boot, and then climb into the driver’s seat. He grabbed hold of the door handle, ready to shut it.

  “Dan, wait,” my voice came out croaky.

  He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. It still took my breath away when I looked at his face, but instead of making me feel exhilarated, all I felt was sadness. He didn’t say anything. He sat there, looking at me, all the warmth gone from his eyes.

  I almost didn’t want to have the conversation with him - if I put off talking to him, maybe I could pretend everything was okay, and that way I could exist for a little while longer without the pain I knew was coming my way.

  I took a deep breath. “Dan, are you upset with me?”

  He paused for a moment, fiddling with his key fob, and then looked up with a tired expression.

  “You never said.”

  “Never said what?” I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

  “You never said you were in the middle of a break-up.” His voice broke on the last two words.

  “I’m not,” I rushed, desperately trying to recover the situation. “Mike and I broke up months ago.”

  “But Kerry said all this time you’ve been a mess, heartbroken was the word she used.”

  Kerry and her big mouth...

  “Heartbroken? I wouldn’t go that far. Kerry was tipsy. She always exaggerates when she’s had too much to drink.�
� I tried to keep the desperation from my voice.

  He climbed out of the car and came to stand next to me. He looked down at my face and studied it. I held my breath. I couldn’t bear being so close without touching him and I had to fight hard to prevent tears trying to form.

  “Gracie, are you honestly telling me you’re over him?”

  I held his gaze and answered him truthfully. “Yes. Completely.”

  He looked away for a few seconds, and I could see he was frowning.

  “But you’ve been moping for the past few months. And you magically recovered, when, a couple of days ago?”

  “Well, I was moping, sort of… but I’m fine now,” I said, clinging onto the tiniest fragment of hope.

  Dan narrowed his eyes, and I saw his jaw muscle tensing. He leaned in closer, putting his hand up to my face. I flinched, my childhood legacy causing me to react, but he just ran the pad of his thumb down my jaw line, while he studied my features. I wondered if he was going to tilt my face towards his like the other night, but this time he sighed and dropped his hand back down by his side.

  My eyes flicked over his face as I desperately tried to read his expression. I didn’t like what I saw. His eyes had turned cold and distant, and I could feel him slipping further from my reach.

  “How can you be so sure?” he asked.

  Oh I knew. I was certain beyond all doubt that I was well and truly over Mike, but as I looked into the full depth of Dan’s brown eyes, I couldn’t stop tears springing into my own, because I knew then it was over. I’d lost him.

  How could I tell him I only thought I’d loved Mike, that I now knew those feelings couldn’t have been real, because they paled in comparison to the way I felt about him? How could I tell him I’d fallen head over heels in love with him in such a ridiculously short space of time? I had never felt this way about anyone before, and I knew I would never feel so intensely about anyone again. If I told him all that, I was sure it would be too much too soon, and he would run for the hills anyway.

  Unable to look at his face any longer, I stared down at my feet.

  “I just know,” I said quietly.

  Before he could comment, I heard Kerry’s raised voice behind us. I looked over expecting her to be beckoning me to join them, but her and Joe weren’t alone, there were three other people with them; Mike’s mates. Dan reacted quicker than me and started running in their direction.

  I followed behind, as fast as I could in the stupid heels, and tried to make sense of the scene in front of us. Craig had picked up Joe and pinned him against a wall. Kerry was screaming at him to put Joe down, but one of the others, a tall guy covered in tattoos, stood blocking her way. I noticed Mike wasn’t with them.

  I looked harder and saw a flash of steel pressed up against Joe’s cheekbone.

  “Dan, he’s got a knife.” I shouted, rushing to keep up with him. I could feel my heartbeat crashing against my ribs.

  “Put him down and back off,” Dan ordered, slowing his speed as he approached them.

  Craig turned to look at him. His eyes were wild.

  “You forgot to say please.”

  The other two guys laughed.

  “Anyway, what are you going to do about it, pretty boy?” mocked the fatter one, who’d just been watching the others until now.

  Puffs of steam from Dan’s breath came thick and fast, but he managed to keep his voice level. “Let him go and back off. This is the last time I’m going to ask you.”

  “Hmm, this fella’s got no manners, let’s teach him a lesson,” said the one who’d been keeping Kerry at bay. He shoved her hard, sending her to her knees and lunged at Dan.

  I looked away for a split second, a reflex action, but when I looked back, Dan was standing rubbing his knuckles and the other guy was lying on the floor, out of it. I looked down at him and was relieved to see his chest rise and fall.

  Kerry took the opportunity to scrabble up from the floor and jump onto the back of Craig. Craig let go of Joe and staggered backwards. He spun round with the knife in his hand trying to dismount Kerry.

  I was trying to work out who to help, but everything was happening so fast it was chaos. One wrong move and someone would get stabbed.

  Dan, quick to react, turned and pounced at Craig. He grabbed hold of his arm, and I prayed he would be able to release Craig’s grip from the blade. Instead, my heart squeezed in terror as Dan’s eyes fell closed.

  Everything seemed to go into slow motion at that point. I wanted to scream and shout, but I couldn’t. I wanted to run over and help, but my legs felt heavy and wooden. All I could do was stand there, paralysed, and wait for the inevitable.

  As I watched, I thought I saw a shimmer in the space around them. It was as if we’d stepped into the desert for a minute and the heat was rising from the surface.

  Dan’s eyes flicked open. He stepped backwards and turned round towards the fatter guy. He’s just turned his back on a knife.

  To my amazement, Craig stopped what he was doing and wrenched Kerry off his back, telling her he wasn’t going to hurt her. Meanwhile, Dan had got the plump guy pinned down on the floor and he was making a hell of a fuss.

  “Stop resisting, and it won’t hurt,” Dan told him, looking round to survey what was happening to the others.

  Meanwhile Joe had gathered his senses and was heading towards Craig, who quickly spun round, and deposited Joe on the floor.

  “Just leave it mate, I’m not going to hurt anyone,” he said to Joe.

  That’s when I understood. Dan had switched.

  Kerry took the opportunity to fling herself at Craig, but he grabbed her arms, and spoke to her in a low, steady voice. “You need to calm down, Kerry. It’s over now.”

  I heard footsteps and saw the landlord Mark, and a couple of his bar staff come running in our direction.

  “Right, we’ve called the police. They’re on their way.”

  Craig released Kerry from his grip, and flung the knife down on the floor at the feet of one of the barmen, who promptly picked it up and put it in his pocket.

  Mark knelt down over the tall guy Dan had knocked out earlier. “I think he’s going to have a bit of a headache in the morning.”

  One of the other barmen took over holding down the chubby guy. Dan straightened up, brushed himself off and looked over at me.

  “Gracie, go home with Kerry. If you come to the Police Station, you’ll get dragged into it all. We could be there all night.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t care. I’m coming with you.” Please let me come with you.

  Dan moved closer and spoke so only I could hear.

  “Please, Gracie, there’s going to be some awkward questions. It’ll be difficult enough with Joe there, but I need you to make sure Kerry doesn’t come and put her foot in it.”

  He was pleading with his eyes.

  “Okay, no problem,” I said, feeling myself deflate. I really didn’t want to leave his side, but after everything he had done for me, and my friends, this was one last way I could help him.

  “Thank you,” he said, giving me a crooked smile.

  I watched him as he turned, walked over to Craig and bent his arm up behind his back. Initially Craig didn’t resist. This time I watched closely when Dan closed his eyes. As I expected, the faint shimmer re-appeared creating an ethereal image. When Dan opened his eyes, I saw his facial muscles twitch as he tensed his body. For a while Craig looked like he was just daydreaming. Dan took this opportunity to drop him to the floor, keeping his arm firmly bent behind him, and then sat on top of him. As if a switch had been flipped, Craig’s eyes grew wild and his face contorted with anger as he struggled and hurled abuse at Dan.

  Dan looked over at me and winked. A silent understanding passed between us. Everyone else looked bewildered, unable to work out why he had been so docile just a few moments ago.

  I didn’t know if I was relieved or not when I heard sirens in the distance. I was pleased we were out of danger, but worried at what lay
ahead for Dan.

  “Gracie, Kerry, go now, before they get here,” shouted Dan.

  Mark nodded. “You should go. Don’t worry; we’ll give a statement to say who started the trouble in the bar, and who was holding the knife when we came out.”

  Kerry rushed over to give Joe a quick kiss. “Call me as soon as you can,” she urged him, forcing a weak smile.

  I turned to look at Dan one last time. He was looking up at me. His shirt was ripped and he was covered in dirt, but he still looked amazing. I wanted to say something smart to win him back. Hundreds of words spun through my mind, but I couldn’t conjure up anything that would bring him back to me. He nodded his goodbye and looked back towards Craig who was still trying to resist. I bit my lip, turned around and followed Kerry to the taxi queue up the road.

  ~

  In the cab I managed to stay strong, convincing a tearful Kerry it wasn’t her fault, and everything would be okay. After the taxi dropped me off and I waved goodbye to her, I crumbled. In the sanctuary of my flat, I curled up in a heap on the bed and let the tears fall. I wondered how the evening could have ended so badly when I’d been euphoric only a few short hours before. I cried so much, I gave myself a headache. Exhausted I walked into the bathroom, and peered into the mirror. My eyes were red rimmed and puffy. I blew my nose on a tissue and dabbed cold water under my eyes.

  After finally accepting Dan really wanted me, I had well and truly blown it. I kicked the bath, instantly regretting it as pain shot up my left foot. Then I blamed Kerry for inviting me out in the first place and blabbing out my personal details. If I’d stayed in, everything would still be okay. Hindsight was a wonderful thing. Finally I turned my anger towards Mike. Why did he have to turn up? It wasn’t his local. He’d only ever visited that pub with me before.

  I made my way back into the bedroom, fighting the urge to pick over my conversations with Dan. The central heating was turned down low, but the room felt stuffy and it was hard to breathe. I cracked open the window and as the cold breeze filtered inside. I sucked in a deep breath, filling my cheeks with air, before slowly blowing it out.