Protected: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

by Lexi Blake

  “I doubt that since you weren’t there when it started. I was at the end of the aisle. I saw him walk up to her,” the elderly lady said, pointing a finger at the witness. “She was perfectly happy until he showed up. She’s terrified of him. And he put his hands on her when she tried to walk away. I know how a man breaks a woman’s arm. That’s what he was going to do. How many times has he hurt you, honey?”

  Tears pierced her eyes. No one asked her that. Back home they believed anything Brock told them. Here she’d tried to keep it secret. No stranger had ever stood up for her, had ever offered her solidarity.

  “Regina, what are you doing?” Officer Jones asked.

  “Stopping you from making a false arrest, partner. I want to see the camera footage. I’m going to need names, too.” Officer Regina Lonzo took control, pulling out a notepad and glancing around. “I need the cam footage and I’m going to run you both through our system. Is there anything I should know? Were you two married or simply dating?”

  “We were married until he went to jail. That was when I divorced him.” The words came out of her mouth dull at first, and then gaining steam.

  “He wouldn’t allow it before, would he?” her savior asked. “My name is Esther Klein and my husband did the same to me. And you won’t find anything improper about me. Not even a speeding ticket. My son is on the force. Call him. He’ll tell you I’m of my right mind and my eyesight is quite good. His name is Jimmy Klein. He works under Lieutenant Brighton.”

  That name seemed to work magic on the male officer. Officer Lonzo merely put a hand on her shoulder. “I believe you, Mrs. Klein. Besides, our friend here didn’t get that handprint on her arm from having fun.” She looked up at her partner. “You gotta slow down and take in all the evidence. No one gets that kind of wound after she’s maced an asshole.”

  Genny glanced down at her arm. Sure enough, there was a red handprint where he’d gripped her so tightly he’d almost broken her arm. Something about seeing that mark on her body turned her cold. She’d been fooling herself.

  “Damn,” Officer Jones breathed. His eyes went steely and he turned his attention to Brock. “I think we should have a talk, sir.”

  Officer Lonzo gave her a smile. “He’ll be good now. Sorry, my partner is going through a rough divorce. I’m afraid it’s made him overeager to believe guys. He’ll get over it because it’s almost always the asshole guy’s fault. You okay?”

  Genny nodded her head. “I’m all right. It doesn’t hurt.”

  “That’s because you’re in shock,” she said. “It’s going to hurt like a mother later. I’m going to get some pictures. You want to press charges?”

  Her first instinct was to say no. It never worked and it only got her in more trouble. It would enrage him further.

  “You divorced him, hon. Time to make him understand that was final,” Esther Klein said.

  “He assaulted me,” she said, taking a deep breath. “He told me I had to go with him. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt my son. He recently took out a five-million-dollar life insurance policy on him and I think he means to collect.”

  The officer’s eyes went wide. “Oh, we’ll see about that.”

  The doors slid open and Wade was suddenly running in, his boots pounding on the floor. His hair had gone a little wild and he was followed by her boss. Ian Taggart walked in at a more leisurely pace, a drink in his hand.

  “I made Big Tag drive me in. Oh, baby, are you okay?” Wade was running his hands over her as though he could sense where she was hurt.

  “Made me? I live for this shit. Yo, Regina, what’s happening? That’s my new admin, you know. Did she brutally murder someone? I could buy that.” Big Tag took in the scene with a nod of his head.

  “I had no idea she was yours.” Officer Lonzo smiled and reached out a hand, shaking Ian’s. “If she works for you and she hasn’t attempted murder yet, she’s a saint. Rycroft, she’s good. He got handsy with her and she took care of him. We got a witness and I bet the CCTV footage will make everything clear.”

  Officer Jones had Brock in handcuffs, pushing him along. “Asshole tried to tell me she started it. His witness admitted that this guy paid him a hundred outside in the parking lot to lie. Big Tag. How’s it hanging?”

  “Like low-hanging fruit, my man. Don’t have kids. They’re little animals who don’t understand Daddy can’t make more of them if they hit him in the balls with their Barbie dream houses,” Ian replied. “This Howard? Because I got a file on him I would like to finish up.”

  Brock was too busy staring at Wade. His eyes glazed over with hate as he looked at the place where Wade touched her. She moved away, breaking the contact.

  “I swear to god if you touch her again, I’ll kill you.” Wade started toward Brock.

  Ian moved in front of him. “He didn’t say that, Regina. What he meant to say was something else entirely that didn’t put a target on his back in case the fucker actually does get killed. I know. I’m trying to train the puppies properly. Why do you think I came here with him? I forgot my water bottle or I’d squirt him in the face. Does anyone have a newspaper I can roll up?”

  Her boss’s humor was utterly lost on her. Genny had gone numb again as though it was her only defense. She was cursed and she was going to bring Wade into it. He was already in it. Brock was looking at him like he couldn’t wait to wrap his hands around Wade’s throat.

  She would get him killed.

  She’d been stupid, thinking she could have something for herself. She watched as they hauled Brock away, but she knew he would be out in hours if not days. And he would come after them again.

  “Baby, talk to me.” Wade had turned away and was getting into her space. He pulled her into his arms and she could feel his heart beating. “I thought I would show up too late. I was terrified he would take you.”

  He would. At some point in time, there would be a reckoning. Brock wouldn’t let them be. He would come and if she let it happen, he would take them all down.

  “Baby, it’s okay.” Wade looked back at his boss. “Maybe we should take her to the hospital. I think she’s in shock.”

  Ian didn’t say a word, merely stared at her as though trying to figure out what was going on.

  Officer Lonzo looked back at her. “I need some information from you and I called the EMTs. We need to document that arm.”

  Wade looked down at her arm and his face went bright red. Ian had a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from going after Brock.

  “Cool down, Wade. You can’t kill him in front of the police. Why don’t you go and get Genny a bottle of water?” At least Ian was calm. “I’ll wait here with her. Take a deep breath and don’t make things worse for her.”

  Wade nodded and walked off toward the deli.

  “I’m going to get my tablet so I can make a report. I’ll be right back.” Officer Lonzo stepped away.

  She was left with her boss.

  “You’re going to do something stupid.” Ian sat down on the bench in front of the cash registers.

  “You think pressing charges is stupid?” Somehow she hadn’t expected that coming from him. Men usually thought the system was fair and that she should try to work within it.

  “Nope. I think whatever you’re about to do is going to be spectacularly stupid, but I can’t stop you. You’re going to leave Wade.”

  He seemed to be a mind reader. “I can’t…”

  Ian held up a hand. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can’t put him in danger. He’s a trained bodyguard who puts himself in front of bullets for people he doesn’t love. It makes no sense for him to do it for the chick he’s been pining over for years.”

  Her boss was excellent at making her feel dumb. “You don’t understand.”

  “I understand better than you think. I’m also smart enough to know that I can’t stop you, so I’m going to make you a deal. You let me set everything up. You don’t run off on your own.”

  That wouldn’t work. “If I stay here, he kn
ows where I am.”

  “And if you run, he wins. I’ll have Mitch file for a restraining order today. Your custody hearing is in a couple of weeks. We’ll let Brock keep his visitation rights.”

  “What?”

  “If we fight him on visitation, we look unsympathetic,” Ian said. “Not that I give a shit, but judges take things like that into account.”

  “But if we allow him supervised visitation, we’re trying to work with him,” Wade said, holding out a bottle of water. “And we get to pick the supervisors. I think it’ll be fun to see how Brock handles it when Ash shows up with Boomer in tow. I hope Brock has a well-stocked fridge.”

  “Why can’t Ash pick if he wants to see his dad?” she said quietly because they weren’t done. Not by half. She was putting off the stupid stuff she needed to do.

  “If Ash gets on the stand and explains that his dad is abusive, we open it up to questions about why a whole town and legal system neglected to help you,” Wade explained. “We can do that, but they’ll fight back. We need to get something on Brock, something that will put him back in jail, or strong proof that this is what he’s always done and they’ve been involved in covering it up. We’ll get it, but we can’t fight this war on more than one side at a time. Get Brock and then we go after everyone who failed you.”

  His whole world was becoming mired in her problems. Why was he doing this? Guilt. He’d failed her once and he was determined not to do it again. He would give his life to make up for that one mistake.

  She’d been wrong to come here. She shouldn’t have let Ash talk her into this. “I’m moving out.”

  Wade’s eyes widened. “What?”

  Ian took a long sip from his drink. “There it is. I need to make a couple of calls. You two hash this out. Wade, don’t have a heart attack.”

  Well, at least she didn’t have to worry about him meddling anymore. She looked up at Wade. “You heard me. I’m moving out.”

  He frowned down at her. “Over my dead body.”

  Her hands fisted at her sides. “That can be arranged. I’m leaving and that’s it, Wade. I know you don’t get this yet, but he could hurt you.”

  “Let him. I’m ready.”

  She pointed a finger at him because he was proving her point. “You don’t understand how dangerous he is. I do. I’m going to deal with this my way. And it’s not the only reason I’m leaving. Moving in with you was stupid. We broke a long time ago and there’s no putting us back together. I’m not going to spend one more minute confusing the hell out of my son.”

  “Don’t bring Ash into this. You’re not doing this for Ash.”

  “I’m doing it for me and one day you’ll realize I’m doing it for you, too. We jumped into this and we shouldn’t have,” she explained. “I’m clinging to you because you’re familiar. You’re trying to save me out of guilt.”

  He shook his head. “I love you.”

  “You don’t even know who I am.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because I don’t know who I fucking am, Wade. I have no idea. I was your girlfriend and getting ready to be your wife and then I was his. I’ve never once been me.” Those hated tears were coming now. “When he told me to hang up on you, I did. I didn’t even think about it. I obeyed. And when you tell me to do something, I immediately push back. Again, I don’t think, I react. I’ve been doing it for so long, I don’t know how to do anything else. I can’t anymore. I can’t be anyone’s thing.”

  He moved in, staring down at her with somber eyes. “I don’t see you that way.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I can’t see myself as anything else.” What did they have if it was so easily crushed? “I want to be on my own. I need to be on my own. Please don’t make this hard for me.”

  His jaw formed a tight line. “I don’t understand. How does this help anything? Who’s going to protect you?”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Ms. Harris.” Officer Lonzo was back, her eyes politely on anything but the two of them.

  “Don’t think this is over,” Wade said, stepping back.

  But it was. It had to be. She turned to the officer and started to give her statement.

  * * * *

  It took everything he had not to walk over and pick Genny up and take off for parts unknown. He would stop and get Ash and they wouldn’t ever look back.

  Except apparently she would. She would look backward and forward until she found a way to get away from him. What had he done? Why was she doing this? It hadn’t been five minutes since the cops had shoved Brock in a patrol car and she was thinking of running off on her own?

  “You don’t have to wait.” He could feel Big Tag slide up next to him. The boss had stepped away for a good ten minutes, talking on his phone, probably gossiping like the old biddy his massively muscular body hid inside. Charlotte probably knew what had happened, and soon everyone would know how he’d fucked up.

  He just wished he understood. He knew one thing. There was no way he was leaving. “I probably should stay since she’s going to need a ride.”

  Big Tag didn’t look at him, simply kept his gaze on Regina and Genny. It had been a stroke of luck that Regina Lonzo had been the officer called to the scene. She worked under Derek Brighton and was also a member at Sanctum. Wade had personally instructed her training group. Regina was smart and did her job with both savvy and compassion.

  “I’ll take care of her,” Big Tag said. “You should stay away from your place for a while. She’s going to need a couple of minutes to get her stuff ready.”

  He turned on his boss. How the hell was this happening? They’d been happy not twenty minutes before. “You’re not taking her anywhere. Why the fuck are you helping her?”

  “Because someone has to or it’s going to go straight to hell. Do you want her out there on her own?” Big Tag nodded toward the door. “Ah, the cavalry is here. Go get a beer and chill, man.”

  Hutch was walking through the door. He glanced briefly at Genny and then his eyes were on Wade. “Hey, what’s going on? Tag told me to get my ass down here.”

  “I want you to take Wade out. Go grab beers or something. Do that talkie thing so many people do and keep him from killing anyone,” Tag said.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He couldn’t. He had to talk to her, had to make her understand. He sure as fuck wasn’t going to waste his time drinking beer.

  Tag’s eyes narrowed. “She’s had a rough day and she’s not thinking straight. Don’t make this worse on her. I’m taking her somewhere safe, and Jake is already on his way to pick up her son. If you let me, I would like to help her out. She’ll stay at Adam, Jake, and Serena’s guest house. It’s secure and she’ll have a panic button if she needs it, but she can be as on her own as she should be right now.”

  “Genny? She’s leaving Wade?” Hutch asked, but there wasn’t a terrible amount of surprise in his tone.

  Wade turned on the kid. “Don’t you even think you have a chance with her. I catch you sniffing around her and you get to see what the inside of your gut looks like, I swear.”

  He expected Hutch to say something witty, some one-liner that was wholly inappropriate for the situation. Instead, Hutch grew somber. “I flirt with her because it’s safe to flirt with her. I wouldn’t ask her out because she shouldn’t be in a relationship right now.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” The last thing he needed was some kid giving him advice. He had a couple of years and vast amounts of experience compared to Hutch. He didn’t spend his life behind a computer screen.

  Hutch didn’t seem to pick up on his mood. “It means we should grab a beer. There’s a bar next door. I’m going. If you would like to know what you’re doing wrong with Genny and how you’re going to lose her, you can follow me. Or you can push her and then you’ll find out on your own.”

  Hutch turned and walked out.

  He looked over at Genny. How could she think what he felt for her was guilt? He w
as crazy about her. He always had been. Well, except for all those years when he hated her. When he’d left her alone.

  “Go with Hutch. I’ll take care of her. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Big Tag promised.

  How could he say that? “You don’t think this is stupid?”

  Tag finally turned those icy blue eyes on him. “Walking away from you because she needs some space? You thought you could fix her in a few weeks? She’s fucked up, man. You can’t fix this in bed no matter how much you want to. You can’t tell her you love her and magically make her whole again. This is not a problem that’s solved with a kiss and a cuddle.”

  “You don’t know a thing about it,” Wade spat back, anger curling in his gut.

  He shrugged. “Hutch does. Hutch knows a lot about it, but I don’t see you running after him in a quest for knowledge.”

  He couldn’t run after anyone. He had to stay close to Genny. His anger deflated in an instant, replaced with a sad inevitability. “I don’t want to lose her.”

  Tag’s eyes turned somewhat sympathetic. “Then I suggest you trust your brothers and go get a beer.”

  “The last time I trusted my brother, she spent fifteen years in hell.”

  “I’m not your blood, man,” Tag said, shaking his head. “And I’ve learned my lesson. To honor my brothers, I have to take care of the women they love. Even above their own safety and happiness. I learned that a long time ago, so hate me now, but you’ll thank me later. Hutch won’t wait forever. I don’t know how he does it, but he’ll be in a broom closet with a waitress before he can finish his first beer, and then he’ll be useless.”

  He glanced back and Genny was still talking to the police. She looked incredibly vulnerable standing there. He felt like if he took his eyes off her for a second, she would disappear. She’d been gone all those years. How could he let her go again? He’d let her down and she’d paid the price and he wasn’t going to do it again. She would have to deal with it. He couldn’t stand that horrible feeling in his gut. Guilt.

  Shit.