Billionaire Protector

by Kyanna Skye

  “Tony!”

  The sound of her voice fell flat. It didn't carry.

  “Tony!” Nothing came out, and she was starting to get breathless from screaming. Every breath she pulled in brought the mist with it. She could feel it filling her, making her lungs and throat scream. She was going to drown in this mist, and he was there. He was there somewhere, and she couldn't call out to him.

  Then the horn sounded, cutting through the mist and she shot up. It was the sound of Tony's phone going off. He grabbed it.

  “What's going on?” He listened for a moment then answered, “Get it taken care of.” He hung up and turned to Lana. “We've gotta go, now.”

  “Why?” She stood up.

  “There's no why or how come.” He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. “We're leaving, and there's no questions.”

  He rushed out of the house and they nearly ran over what could only be described as a hood rat, with pulled-tight, black hair, a cursive tattoo on her neck, and an arsenal of rings on her hands.

  “You son of a bitch!” She rushed at him with her bright-green nails held out like claws. He dodged her effortlessly and started to walk down the stairs. Before they managed to get down, the girl grabbed Lana's hair and nearly tore her scalp off.

  “Ah!” She screamed.

  “Okay.” Tony dropped her and with the full force of his gait, ran up to the girl. “You're a lying skank and I want you off my property right now.”

  “What about our baby!?” She crouched down on the ground, bawling.

  “What are you doing here?” His voice could move mountains.

  “I'm out.” She got up and started running into the darkness.

  Tony wasted no time in throwing Lana over his shoulder again and throwing her in the car.

  “You got a girl pregnant and now you're trying to disown the child. I don't know what I'm doing here. You are the lowest life form on the planet. What would happen to me if I got pregnant?” She turned to him. He was leaning with his head sitting on top of the steering wheel, trying to catch his breath.

  “Not one word. I can't handle this right now.” He threw the car into gear and started racing through the field, avoiding the road. Lana was staring at him, his teeth bared and the veins bulging out of his neck. He was breathing so fast, it scared her.

  “What is going on, Tony?”

  “I said no questions!” He turned towards her.

  “Why are we avoiding the road?”

  “What'd I just say?”

  “I just found out that you dumped a woman you knocked up. I don't really care about your no question rule. I wanna know what's going on, because obviously, Tony, you're terrified.

  “Stop!”

  She ducked when she heard the crack, so powerful it nearly crushed her eardrums. Lana had never heard anything like it, but she knew what it was immediately. Somebody was shooting at them. Tony slammed on the gas and flipped the car around so he could get behind the black SUV that shot at them.

  “Stay down. Don't move.” He reached into the backseat and pulled out an assault rifle along with a thick, what must've been bulletproof, blanket. Everything was black. All she could hear was that crack, crack, crack, like the world itself was snapping open. Every single time she heard that sound, she felt certain that he was going to die. He wasn't wearing the blanket; she was the one that was protected. He was out in the open, and one of those bullets was going to hit him in the head.

  It wasn't fair. He should've been protected too. If he wasn't, she wasn't going to be. She threw the blanket off and sat up. Then she stared him directly in the face and said, “Hand me a gun.”

  “No!”

  “I am not letting you do this alone.” She reached into the back seat for the gun case and was thrown forward. Her head hit the dashboard and a stream of warm liquid fell down her face. She looked to her left to find him rushing out the driver's side, blasting an automatic.

  He was going to die and she was going to be standing in front of his casket surrounded by all the men that kept this disgusting life going. She hated it!

  The SUV turned around and started zooming past in the other direction. Tony took out his phone and called somebody. “No casualties. Just get them out of here.” He waited. “No. No. We're all safe. I don't want them alerted.”

  “All right.” She jumped out of the car. “What is going on?” she demanded as she dashed up to him, inspecting him for any dark spots of blood.

  “Do you care about me, Lana?” he said as he got in her face. “Huh, do you care?” He didn't wait for her to answer. “Don't you ever put yourself in danger.”

  “I—”

  “I won't let you get hurt.” He pulled her in as close as he could and held her tight. She was on fire, still blazing from the day before and the thrill of the gun battle they'd just gotten into, but she couldn't ignore what she just heard.

  “Who is she?”

  “Oh, no. You are not starting that crap. She was lying, Lana! I already told you that.”

  “I think you took a bullet for that woman and whoever that demon was in the SUV shot you. I think you want to move on because things went sour, and now she's pregnant and you don't want to deal with it, and I can't be with a man like that.” She walked around back to the passenger seat and got in.

  “She's crazy, Lana.” He stood outside her window.

  “That's what everyone says about their exes.”

  “That's no—”

  “She hurt you, it's bad blood, and you're right, Tony: it's none of my business.”

  “I'll tell you everything that happened, and I should've done it in the first place.”

  “I don't want you to say a single word to me. Now get in the car and take me straight home without getting me shot.”

  “I'd risk my life for you.” He stared her down, and even though it killed her, she let him without giving him a single glimpse of remorse or sympathy. She turned cold and stared straight ahead while she felt his heart breaking.

  He did what she said, and took her home without saying a word until he dropped her off in front of her house and said, “I love you.”

  She got out without responding.

  Chapter 18

  Lana's whole body was on fire, screaming for something, anything to let out that one, fiery burst of anger that had been building up inside her all night. She was angry at Tony, she was angry at herself, she was angry at the world, and not one thing would make this right because he was going to lie to her no matter what she did.

  Oh, he'd make her feel good and safe. He would make sure that everything was taken care of. If she stayed with him, she'd never have to hustle or fight to survive. She'd always have him, taking care of her, but he wouldn't be loyal. He'd be betraying her with his every word by lying straight to her face.

  What kind of man abandons his own child before it's even born? That woman was furious. The look in her eyes when she saw him was enough to tell Lana that she was telling the truth. That woman, whoever she was, had been wronged by Tony and instead of taking responsibility the way any decent man would've, he’d left her to fend for herself.

  He'd rather lie about her, betray her and leave her there, probably crying because she knew that there would be no way she could take care of her child alone. People don't talk about what it's like for single mothers. They're everywhere. People see them every day, but they don't talk about the fact that child care costs as much as a minimum wage monthly income, or how they don't get a second alone. Then there's the added cost of taking care of a child.

  Even a woman with a degree, a good one, would have to struggle and give everything she had just to make sure she could get up, go to work, and make sure that child was fed. Lana couldn't even stand the sight of a man that would do that to a woman, and she certainly wasn't going to be his human sex doll if that's the kind of man he was.

  Lana dressed as fast as she could and rushed out the door to go to work. The entire way there, she thought about just ho
w much she hated herself for getting fooled by him. She should've been more careful, and ran when she realized that there was something strange about him, but he was too powerful.

  It was his fault, honestly. The way he moved, his husky voice and pronounced muscles created an aura around him that nobody, not even the coldest, strongest-willed nurse, could ever resist. He did this. He was the reason she was hiding behind the already filled clinic, trying to keep people from seeing her cry. He did this. He lured her in and he decided that he couldn't trust her enough to tell her anything but the most basic facts about himself.

  She was so angry she could have killed him and would've if she thought he had a chance. He had to have her, every single part of her. He couldn't leave anything. She told him about the trailer, her deepest secret. Nobody ever knew that her ex was an addict. Nobody ever went to her place. She dreaded the thought of anyone knowing how she lived, but she gave that up for Tony.

  She walked inside the building and immediately ran to the back. The doctor was holding a gigantic man down, trying to strap him to the gurney, but it wasn't working.

  “Ah!” He thrashed and threw a right hook at the doctor, but he missed, and when Lana got a chance to wrap the leather strap over his chest and pin his arm down, she took it.

  “You wanna die or you wanna get that bullet out of you?” the doctor barked.

  “GET IT OUT!”

  The doctor should've let him bleed out. It was no wonder the man was so upset, Lana thought bitterly. He had a gash in his stomach. When a person is shot in the stomach, the acid seeps out and eats away at the skin. It takes twenty minutes of gruesome torture before the person passes away.

  At least they died. Lana would have to deal with the pain Tony caused her for the rest of her life. She was heartbroken. She didn't have the energy to hustle, or the stomach to look at a man she knew was going to die. She couldn't function because she let Tony into her life and he betrayed her.

  That's what it was: betrayal. He told her that she could trust him, and he lied to her. He told her that she could be safe with him, and they were shot at. He told her those things time and time again, and every single time she gave into him and let him take her.

  He'd probably be waiting outside the clinic again, but she wouldn't go with him. Not this time. She'd finally found a reason to walk away and she was going to stick to it. He abandoned a woman carrying his child and left her to fend for herself.

  Lana found herself in the break room almost as soon as she was done helping the doctor with that man in the OR. She needed coffee. It wouldn't help with the anxiety, it would probably make it worse, but at least it would give her the energy she needed to run around and help these men.

  She walked out with confidence, only to find that most of the beds were empty. The receptionist was disposing of some bodies in the incinerator and looked up at Lana when she walked out. “Cheer up,” she said.

  “What do you mean cheer up?” Lana got in her face.

  “Just that he's not the one, but that's okay. There's somebody out there for you.”

  “How do you know?” She threw her cup down onto the ground.

  “He's my uncle. He told my father this morning. He won't even leave his house. He's so upset.”

  “Well, good, because he shouldn't have lied about that woman.”

  “Kirstie is a lady, not a woman,” a voice behind her said, “and you're right. He shouldn't have lied about her.” Lana turned around to see a young, medium-built man with tousled, brown hair.

  “What?” she asked. He was staring at her.

  “Everyone else is sleeping and I have a bullet in my arm.”

  “You do, don't you?” She got up to meet his eyes. “Why should I take it out?”

  “Bad day?”

  “Bad evening.”

  “I heard.”

  “You heard, did you? What did you fucking hear?”.

  “He knocked my sister up and tried to abandon her. He should face the consequences.”

  She sanitized her hands and put on a pair of gloves.

  “And he should've told you about her. They're saying that's why you left him.” He ducked down to get a look at his foot. Somebody shot his little toe and the bullet had been lodged in between his foot bones.

  “I think that women should be equal partners in a relationship. I'm not going to be some human sex doll he can show around.” She sat up to address him. “I'm a human being.”

  “I was so pissed when I heard that he got with you, honestly.” She started pulling out the bullet.”

  “Why?” she asked, staring up his legs.

  “Because he doesn't treat women the way they're supposed to be treated, and after what he did to my sister, he doesn't deserve to be with anyone. I was worried. What if he did that to you?”

  “Oh, I'd have killed him.”

  “And I wouldn't blame you,” he said.

  She dressed the wound and began stitching him up. “I'm not making the same mistake again.”

  He reached down and lifted her chin. “You deserve to be treated like a princess.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Let me try. Go with me tonight. I'll show you the city.”

  “I don't even know your name.”

  “Marco.”

  She looked back down and resumed stitching. “Marco, you're involved in this life, and that means that you could put me in danger. You'd never tell me about your business, and you probably see women like me,” she finished stitching, “as possessions.”

  “I'm not a part of this life. I'd never get involved in anything so sick.” He stood up and offered her his hand. “And you don't know me. I tell everything to the woman I love.”

  “What do you want to do?” She cocked her head to the side.

  “Take you out to eat and maybe walk down the beach.”

  “Why do you want me? Because he had me? Who are you?”

  “I'm just me, and you'll never know until you get to know me.”

  “I need your word that he won't find out about this—nobody,” she pointed around the room, “can know about this.”

  “Of course,” he answered.

  “I get off at 6.”

  He flashed her a smile. “I'll see you then.” He turned around and walked out as if he hadn't been shot at all.

  “I knew it,” the receptionist called out from behind the desk.

  “Knew what?”

  “When I saw him come in, I knew you'd get with him. Marco's a charmer. You'll like him.”

  Chapter 19

  Lana didn't have a single dress to wear. Her lipstick was down to the nub and all her eyeliner pencils were completely shot. She had to remind herself that if that mattered, so many men wouldn't be going for her. It was the first date. It would be casual, and if it was formal, she wouldn't take part in it, because she was not getting swept off her feet by a cocky billionaire.

  It didn't matter, honestly. Marco seemed simple, wearing a black tank top and faded jeans when he was in the clinic. He didn't seem like a tuxedo kind of guy. His boots were stained with mud and his jeans had holes at the bottom of the pant legs.

  Tony was rough, but he didn't get his hands dirty. Marco was rugged and as tough as Tony was, with scraggly hair on his chin and a wild look. When he came to pick her up, she noticed the way his eyes kept darting back and forth.

  He was an animal.

  “Come on.” He pulled her outside and into the passenger seat of a white corvette.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To a restaurant.”

  He pulled onto the road so fast her head slammed into the back of the headrest, and he didn't stop, not once. When they hit a stop sign, he gassed it without a second's notice onto the major street where he whipped between cars while ignoring stoplights.

  He turned to her. “This okay?”

  “Heck yeah, it is!” She threw up her arm “WHOOO!”

  “We never get stopped. Nobody cares. The only time people investigat
e is when we kill somebody, and even then, they grease the wheels, so I have my way with the city and tear into her every single chance I get.”

  He snarled and let his eyes move over her.

  She leaned back and let the thrill just pass her over. They stopped at a seaside shack with a ship's wheel hanging on the wall next to a net. The place looked like a dump. The paint was chipping and the whole thing was being held up by a pier that looked like it was mostly cardboard and barnacles.

  “What's this?” she asked.

  He sucked in air sharply through his teeth. “The best fresh catch in the city.”

  She was eating fresh catch with another gangster, and she didn't have a single problem with it. Tony would hate this. He would've ripped the man's head off, and thrown him to the sharks. Nothing gave her more joy than imagining the look on his face if he saw them together.

  “It's not that bad,” he said.

  The carpet was peeling away from the floor.

  “It's terrible.”

  “Sit down.” He led her to a booth.

  “Fine.” She took a seat.

  The waitress, a ball of wrinkles, came up to their table, dressed in an ancient, white shirt that had yellowed over the years. “Hi,” she was cheery as a Japanese schoolgirl. “My name is Glenda and I'll be taking your order.”

  “We'll have two clam chowders, two beers, and a sampler basket.”

  “Hey,” she said as the waitress walked off. “You didn't even give me a chance to order.”

  “Everything else tastes like crap.” He took a roll from the breadbasket in the center of the table and took a bite of it. “You're gonna love it. I promise.”

  “So,” she stared out the window next to her. “You're not involved. That's what Tony told me. What makes you different?”

  “I cut ties with the family completely. They don't like it, but they accept it.”

  “And the money?”

  “Trust fund.”

  She sighed.

  “You don't trust me, but you won't know unless you take the risk.”