“Get the fuck away from her.” I pushed my way between the two of them and it was then I recognized the guy. It was the brother of the asshole who’d hit her. I didn’t know what they’d been talking about and I didn’t care.
“Take it easy dude we were just talking.” I pushed him back against the wall and kept my hand in his chest. “You don’t talk to her, you and your family stay the fuck away from her.”
“Matthew…”
“Get in the car, now.” She turned and headed for the car looking over her shoulder at us. I waited until she was out of earshot before looking back at him. Dropping my hand from his chest I stepped back, my blood was up and I knew that I would do some serious damage to this guy if I hit him. “Stay away from her.”
“It’s a free country she can talk to whomever she wants to.”
“That maybe but you and your family aren’t on the list. Not after the shit your brother pulled, now I’m warning you for the last time, stay the fuck away from her or I’ll break your fucking face. And tell your asshole brother to stop asking about her or I’ll have him brought up on charges for attempted assault. He knows what the fuck I’m talking about, I suggest unless you and you folks want to deal with that shit the whole lot of you stay the fuck away.”
I left him there and walked back to the car where she was still standing by the door. “What the fuck were you doing with him Kadyn?”
“Matt calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down what the fuck were you thinking?”
“He wouldn’t take no for an answer and I didn’t want to cause a scene, I thought it would be fine since dad was right inside.”
“I don’t want to hear it you don’t put yourself in that position again.”
I slammed the car door after seating and buckling her in. The day had gone from bad to fucking worst in less than an hour.
“Matt you need to calm down.” She turned to me as soon as I climbed behind the wheel.
“Kadyn you need to pipe down right now, you’re in enough shit as it is.”
“I wasn’t doing anything Matthew.”
“Kadyn…”
She had the good sense to zip it the fuck up. Seriously?
“Did you not hear me the last time? What the hell is so hard to understand?” I kept my voice as controlled as I could in the moment because I knew I was running on fear and anger. After seeing that sick shit on the computer and then coming up on them like that, it was too much for one day.
“He just wanted to apologize, he said that Dan told him it was an accident.”
“He fucking punched you in the face how is that an accident? I already beat his brother’s ass into the ground and now you do this shit?”
“Dean never hurt me Matt, he just wanted to clear the air.”
“There’s no air to clear you don’t have shit to do with them anymore, not the mother the sister the brother the dad, no one. They stood around and let that piece a shit thump on you and you think they’re your friends? I should really spank your ass for this. And before you tell me it’s the same thing it’s not. Taking a hand to your ass for doing some dumb fuck thing is not the same as folding my fist and punching you like a dude. I promise you if you do this shit again I will tan your ass no joke.” I wasn’t surprised to find that my hand was shaking when I turned the key in the ignition.
I drove straight to my house and took her inside. She was pouting and sulking but I didn’t care, she’d scared the fuck out of me. If I hadn’t gone looking for her I would’ve never known where the fuck she was or that she was in danger. I used to think my brother was crazy for tagging Carrie, thought it was an invasion of privacy or some shit but now I see that shit in a whole new light. She’d probably accuse me of being worse than Bruno again but I don’t give a fuck. I’m going to have more tracking devices on her ass after this than the space shuttle.
“Go on upstairs I’ll be right there, and fix your face, you know you fucked up.”
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry I’m not gonna run back there and beat the shit out of him if that’s what you’re worried about. You need to call your dad and let him know where you are.” Once again I found myself needing to get away from her because with everything that was going on inside me I had no doubt I really would turn her over my fucking knee. I think I’ve lost my damn mind, I didn’t want her afraid of anything, didn’t want anyone having that kind of power over her again. How the fuck was I supposed to take care of her?
I went in search of Josh because I needed to calm down before I spoke to her again. I found it ironic that I was going to the hothead to cool my jets. “What’s wrong now?”
“I found Kadyn talking to that asshole’s brother outside the diner.”
“Oh boy, he alive?”
“Yeah smartass. I have a serious problem here bro; I don’t know how to let her out of my sight. All this shit that’s going on is fucking with my head, it’s like there’s no safe place unless she’s with me. I know that’s a fucked up way to think but I can’t shake it. How the fuck do you let lil sis out of the house?”
“It’s not easy, sometimes I trail her ass even though she’s tagged, especially in the beginning when she first got better and would go places by herself. I understand the fear. People say shit like don’t let fear rule you, it’s not so much that it rules you, it’s more like you’ve learned to be more careful. You learn that everything isn’t always what it seems. We have to let them live their lives but we just can’t take any chances that’s all.”
“What the fuck ever happened to being teenagers? I don’t remember mom and dad ever telling us about this shit happening when they were growing up.”
“No, they had Bundy, Son of Sam and the night stalker in their days. Nothing’s changed, if anything these fuckers upped their game and got worst. I’m not going to live in fear but I’m not going to walk blind either. You’ll figure it out, I did.”
“I guess you’re right but right now all I can think of is never letting her out of my sight again. I think I have to tell her about Bruno, I don’t want to but I think I should. Maybe that will help her overcome some of her fear to know that he’s been caught. If they ever get around to arresting his ass.”
“They’ll take him, if they don’t we’ll do what we have to do. Where’s Kadyn you left her at the diner?”
“Nah she’s upstairs I better go up and take care of her. We’ll check on that thing later I don’t know how fast they move on these things or if we’ll have to call them again. I hope not, I hope that the men and women who’re taxed with looking after the public would take those pictures seriously enough to at least check the shit out. If they don’t I’ll send all that shit to the media and expose their asses for inaction.” He gave me a thumbs up and went back to what he was doing as I left the room.
Ms. Kadyn was lying back on our bed reading when I walked in the room like she hadn’t just given me a damn heart attack. “You calm now Mr. Crazy?” Huh she must’ve picked that up from Carrie. I went and sat next to her before pulling her onto my lap. I took some time to get my words together. Today had been a turning point for me, I think my eyes were finally open and whatever innocence I might’ve had left was no more. I didn’t want that for her, she’d lost too much of hers already, besides she was a girl, she didn’t need to concern herself with that filth.
I needed to find a way to shield her without treating her like a lesser being or making her feel like one. We were young and had our whole lives ahead of us, but neither of us would ever be your normal teen. Life had taken care of that and I was left now with the daunting task of how to move on from our pasts. Where was the line between protecting her as her man and treating her like she didn’t have a mind of her own? It was a tough question and one that I didn’t really have an answer to. All I know is that I didn’t want anything to touch her no matter what, so I went with that.
“Babe I want you to listen to me and listen to me very carefully.
I know what society says; they say that if your man tells you what to wear, who to hang out with and where to go that he’s being an abusive asshole. That’s not me, I’m never gonna be that guy but I am going to tell you not to do things that I think will cause you harm. It has nothing to do with your past, that’s just the way I am, I would’ve been this way with you no matter your background.
I don’t want anything to happen to you, try to understand this. You’re my life and only a fool wouldn’t do everything possible to take care of his life. If anything happens to you it would kill me plain and simple and I’m not about to let that happen. One thing that I absolutely do not like is other guys in your life. I don’t give a shit what anyone else says I don’t trust the fucks. I’m not saying you have to run and hide if some guy says hello to you on the street, but no going to their house, no meeting them anywhere for any reason. Let’s put it this way, when I start going to other women, which by the way will never happen, then you have a free pass; until then that door’s closed, and if anyone tells you that that’s no good fuck ‘em.
I don’t expect you to live like a nun, you don’t have to hide away behind walls for the rest of your life but whatever I need to do to protect you I will. The next four years away at school I’m probably going to be a nutcase, that’s only because I love you and I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen Matthew. You’re the one who told me to stop living under a shadow remember? Now you’re acting as though you want me to go back to being afraid. I like not having that fear all the time, like waking up with happiness instead of dread.”
“And I’m happier than you’ll ever know that you feel that way. I’m not trying to get you to go back to fear, quite the opposite, I want you to enjoy your freedom. I just need you to understand that while you’re doing that that I’ll always be in the shadows watching over you. At times that may seem intrusive I’m just letting you know from now that it’s going to be a part of your life. I think that every man has that right, to look out for his woman and his family when that day comes. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, I know it’s my job as the man to take care of you and that’s what I’m going to do. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
“Yes I think so; you’re saying that you want me to run free while you do all the worrying, that doesn’t sound very fair to me Matthew. How can you be happy if you spend every minute watching out for me? What kind of life will you have? I can’t do that Matthew, that’s exactly what I didn’t want for you.”
“No babe that’s not it, I have no intention of living in a bubble or giving up my peace of mind to worry. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there might be times when I do things to ensure your safety that might not be the most conventional. I’m just letting you know in advance so you won’t be surprised when it does happen and to let you know basically that there’s nothing that you or anyone else can say to stop me from doing those things. When it comes to your safety I won’t take any chances. So that means no meeting the brother of the guy who tried to rape you even if you think it’s safe. I don’t think it is, and if I’m trying to protect you and you keep putting yourself in danger that’s going to cause problems. To eliminate those problems before they start I’m laying it out for you now. You need to write this down somewhere or some shit Kitten? because I’m dead serious about this.” Dammit, she rolled her eyes at me and then shook her head; way too much time with the Steele women.
“Do you understand or not?” I shook her slightly on my lap and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I understand that you’re a worry wart; seriously Matthew you don’t have to worry, I won’t put myself in any danger. Even though I wake up smiling these days I never forget what my life was like. I’m grateful to you though for helping me get over some if not all of my fear. I don’t think I could’ve done it without you. I never in a million years thought this could be me and now it is and I love it. Anyway Carrie and Nessa and your mom already warned me what I had to look forward to. And watching Josh with Carrie I think I can handle your brand of nutty. Just don’t expect to always get your way okay?”
“Babe I don’t get my way now, you’ve become a royal pain in the ass in case you haven’t noticed, ever since you started hanging with the girls.”
“I have not.” She smacked me one in the chest and next thing I know we were kissing. “Wait a minute baby.”
I reached into my pocket for the forgotten ring and opened the box. “I was going to give you this this weekend but I don’t want to wait any longer.” Her eyes widened and she looked at me before reaching out her finger to touch the stone.
“Matt.” Her voice was a soft whisper as her eyes filled with tears.
“Give me your hand baby.” She was shaking like a leaf as she lifted her hand for me to place my ring on her finger.
“I take you Kadyn Daniels to be mine now and forever.” I slid the ring onto her finger; it was a perfect fit. I wonder if she noticed that it wasn’t so much a proposal as it was a claiming.
I didn’t make love to her then even though I wanted to, I had too much on my mind. So after a heavy make out session we headed downstairs so she could show off her ring. I had the fleeting thought that I should’ve kept a journal of my life in the last few months because this shit was stranger than fiction. Most days I didn’t even remember Patricia or the time we had together. It was as if my heart was too full of us, Kadyn and I, and there was no room for anything else. Now with my ring on her finger I was hoping for only the best for the future. “I promise to never let you down Kitten.” I hope like fuck I can keep that promise.
Chapter 27
Things got hectic after that; after the family had given us their blessings and the women went off with their wedding planning it was time to get back to the other matter. By now it was evening and Bruno should be home if he hadn’t already been taken into custody. I called James after all to send him there on a separate matter, sort of killing two birds with one stone. I decided to wait and see how things unfolded before giving her the new phone to call her mom. I know she was a little sad that she couldn’t share the news of our engagement with her as we had with her dad but I wanted everything to be perfect for her.
She kept saying she couldn’t wait for her mom to meet me; I had a few reservations. I’m sure any woman who’d been through what she had with her daughter wouldn’t be too trusting of any man that came into her life, but I was hoping to win her over with my charm. I’d have to keep her away from Josh and dad though until after the wedding at least. One look at those two Neanderthals and the jig was up.
While she was occupied Josh and I locked ourselves away in one of the rooms on the top floor and set up shop so to speak. We had the monitor up and running and I‘d decided to tape it just in case I wanted to show her at some point. I still wasn’t sure how much I wanted her to know but I do know it would be good for her to see his demise; it may bring her some sort of peace.
“Sit down bro you’re making me nervous.” I paced back and forth as I waited for something, anything to happen on the screen. Now that things were moving I wanted it all over and done with so we could get on with our lives. It was very important to me to give her a fresh start free of all this and I wanted it to begin this weekend. Starting college was a new phase in our lives, one that I wanted to mark a new beginning in more ways than one; the dream without the taint of the nightmare.
“I hate this waiting bullshit, how long does it take them to get their shit together anyway? Those kids could be in danger right now and they haven’t made a move yet.”
“That’s the way it works bro, I guess they have to verify shit first before they do anything, I don’t know. I think they have to process everything from beginning to end, they have to think about the court case and shit like that if it comes to that so they have to gather evidence the right way so it doesn’t come back to bite them in the ass later. From the looks of him he doesn
’t suspect anything, which is good just chill.”
“That’s bullshit, they should’ve been at his house in ten fucking minutes flat. Who’s to say those kids aren’t in danger at this very minute? What the fuck kinda system we have here anyway? Those are babies for crying out loud. Maybe I should just let James off the fuck while he’s there.”
“Nah, thought of that but that’s too easy and besides we don’t know the whole story. If we off him and he has kids tied up somewhere we may never find them. Let the feds do their thing, if they don’t move by tonight we’ll go with your next plan and send them to the networks. You’ve already made up a little press kit to send them right?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking of sending it out anyway whether he’s arrested or not, I don’t want there to be anyway that he can slip through this noose this time. With the public on their ass they might be forced to actually do something this time. I thought of a way to let him know that this was for Kadyn, that it’s because of her that’s he’s going down.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
I told him of my plan and Joshua being the vengeful fuck that he is added some twists of his own.
Around dinner time there was still nothing doing so we went down with the others where all the talk was about the wedding. Stan and Carrie’s dad were here tonight as well so we had a full house, which meant mom was in her glory. Kadyn kept looking at her ring and playing with it with a secret smile on her face. “You happy baby?” I kissed her temple as she sat next to me on one of the love seats in the drawing room where everyone was sitting around shooting the breeze.
“I’m very happy Matthew, and you?”
“You have to ask?” I gave her a tight squeeze and tuned back into the conversation, which had switched to school and what we had planned for our future. It was after ten by the time everyone was leaving and I was antsy as fuck. We’d left the recorder running but I didn’t want to miss anything. I was being pulled in two different directions, I wanted to make love to her to seal the deal and I wanted to watch him get taken into custody. Only then will I feel like he was finally out of her life for good because the shit he had on his computer was more than enough to send him away for a very long time.
Rebound: Passion Book 2 Page 18