Page 15 of The Cleaner

“Freddie, Emmanuel, take these fucking pricks out of here; teach them a lesson about not touching girls who are drunk and can’t say no.”

My heart stammers against my chest. Is he for real? He’s protecting us? Why?

The three men are dragged out of the room, two of them crying about being hit by a girl. But the guy with gorgeous brown eyes stares at me without blinking. It’s kind of unnerving, but at the same time I feel a sense of ease.

“Get your friend dressed, then I’ll take you both home,” he instructs, turning his back on me and walking out of the room, flipping on the light on his way.

The room fills with brightness and I’m able to see Clodagh better. She doesn’t look good. She’s got tear stains on her face, her eyes are huge, and she’s trembling.

“Are you okay?” I whisper, my heart racing as I take in her sorrow-filled eyes. I hate seeing her like this.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “I couldn’t fight them off. I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t come in.”

I pull her against me and hold her tightly. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

It takes us ten minutes to get her dressed and out of the room. The man is waiting for us at the top of the stairs. One of his friends is back; not the one with the woman, the other guy. He’s also gorgeous. He doesn’t have long hair like the first guy, but short dark brown hair and a scar that goes across his eyebrow.

“Emmanuel is going to carry your friend to the car, okay?” the guy tells me. “You’re both safe with us.”

I nod, then glance at Clodagh, who looks terrified and like she just wants to leave. "Thank you," she whispers, her voice trembling.

The man with the scar half smiles, his eyes full of concern and solely on Clodagh. "You're safe now. Come on, let's get you both out of here."

We leave the house and Emmanuel puts Clodagh in the back seat, before giving a chin lift to the other guy. I watch in shock as he turns and walks back inside the building, leaving us alone with his friend.

“My name’s Maverick,” the guy who saved us tells me. “What’s yours?”

“Lisa,” I reply, glad I’m able to keep my voice strong.

I watch as he opens the front passenger's side door for me. I slide into the car, nervous as hell, wondering if I’m making the right choice or if Maverick is a serial killer.

I give Maverick Clodagh’s address and he drives in silence. I’m thankful that it’s only a short journey. I turn to the back seat and see Clodagh fast asleep.

“How old are you?” Maverick asks as we get closer to Clodagh’s home.

“Sixteen. How old are you?” I ask with a furrowed brow, wondering why he’s asking for my age.

"Twenty-one," he says, his voice rough and gravelly. "You shouldn't have been there. You're lucky you weren't hurt or worse."

"I know," I reply, feeling like a small child being scolded.

I watch in fascination as his lips twitch. "Although, for a sixteen year old chick, you're pretty badass. You took down two of those fuckers, and I have no doubt you'd have been able to take down the other without anyone's help."

His praise makes my heart melt. Damn, I didn't expect that.

"Just be careful, Lisa. There are some assholes around," he cautions me.

Little does he know that I know firsthand about said assholes. I've learned a lot over the past three years. One, is to be cautious about people. I don't let many in. Two, is how to protect myself if needed. Orna thought it would help with my anger if I took self-defence lessons. Three, is I've been hurt before, so I won't let anyone do it to me again.

When we pull up to Clodagh's home, the front porch light is on, which means Tammy's asleep. Shit. I'm going to have to wake her up. Clodagh's going to have a lecture when she wakes up in the morning. I also have a feeling that Tammy will be calling Orna in the morning.

Ugh, that's not something I want to experience first thing in the morning, but Clodagh’s safe and that’s all I care about.

Chapter

Seven

MAVERICK

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