Page 35 of Protectors

“For the last damn time, Ghost will never be with you because you will never accept his best friend. Geek and him share their girls and it’s rare for them to have one-on-one time with a female. Maybe if one of them is out with the other guys or something, but that’s it. You think you’re enough to come in and make Ghost change his mind about how he’s viewed his future for most of his life? You’re not. So, this is the last time I’m about to say this shit to you. Leave. Ghost. Alone. He. Doesn’t. Want. You,” I growl out, enunciating each word before proceeding to beat the fuck out of Liz once again.

I land one punch after another to her face and body as she tries to cover herself from my hits. No matter what she does, Liz can’t protect herself from me. Everything has built up inside to the point I have no clue what the fuck I’m doing until I feel strong arms wrap around my torso and hold me close. Without looking over my shoulder, I know it’s Ghost who’s pulled me off the skank. Geek steps up and rests his large hand on my cheek, his skin rough and calloused as he gains my attention.

“Liz, this is your last fuckin’ time doin’ this shit. Ever since Alana got here, you’ve been nothin’ but trouble and we’re all sick of it. Now, when you were all told you weren’t welcome here, somehow you manage to enter the clubhouse in a pathetic attempt to stake a claim on a man who doesn’t want you. The last thing Alana needs to deal with is your bullshit and yet here you are once again bein’ a piece of shit. Deegan, Kian, lock her the fuck up in the cells until we can figure out what to do with her,” Vault says as Liz’s entire body goes rigid.

“I’m telling you all right now, I want to get my hands on her,” Bailey speaks up as she walks over to us with my mom. “This bitch needs to be taught a lesson once and for all. You don’t fuck with my niece for any fucking reason. This is a pattern with you from what I understand and before you get put out bad, I will beat the fuck out of you. I’m sure all of my nieces want to do the same. If you didn’t know, Alana’s twin sister is here and her sister-in-law as well. Every man and woman in this fucking room considers this girl family and you will soon learn what loyalty and family mean.”

“Fuck yeah she will,” Haley says, making her way over to stand with our aunt and mom. “I might not look like much, but when it comes to my family, you have no fucking clue what lengths I’ll go in order to ensure she’s safe, protected, and happy as hell. You’re trying to ruin her happiness with your petty bullshit and no one wants you here any longer. You’ve outstayed your welcome and the guys are fed up with your bullshit.”

The guys take Liz down to the cells in the basement as she shrieks and tries to plead her case with anyone who will help her. No one steps forward and comes to her rescue. Liz looks around the room just before she disappears, a look of fear and something else fills her eyes. It’s almost as if she can’t believe her actions have led her to this situation. That no one is coming to her defense. I want to laugh at how fucking ridiculous the situation is, but the day is finally catching up to me and exhaustion fills every inch of my body.

“Are you okay, Tink?” Ghost asks me, turning me so my face is buried in his chest as he holds me close to his body while Geek steps up behind me and I’m surrounded by the men I’ve fallen in love with.

“I’m okay. Just tired of the bullshit with her. I love you guys and no one's gonna take you away from me,” I answer, Geek and Ghost going still as I look up at them to find them looking around the room at our family and friends.

“I love you, Tink. So fuckin’ much that words can’t even begin to tell you how much,” Ghost tells me, his voice breaking with the emotion filling him.

“I love you, too, Sweet Angel. I’ve loved you for the longest time and I don’t give a fuck who knows it,” Geek adds in, his warm breath fanning across my neck causing goosebumps to cover my skin as he nuzzles his face even closer.

The common room erupts in cheers as my men lead me to the table my parents, Pops, Haley, and her men have taken for themselves. Kaden sits down in a chair as Colton pulls out the one next to him. I’m handed over to Colton as he pulls me into his lap. Instead of looking out at my family, I bury my head in his chest and wrap my arms around him because I need the safety and comfort of him and Kaden right now.

“Are you okay after today?” Colton finally asks me, his voice almost a whisper as he lowers his head to my ear so I can hear him without everyone else knowing.

“No. It was a lot. I had to fight against a panic attack the second we left the compound. Deegan knew and didn’t leave my side. Kian went into all the stores for me so I didn’t have to deal with people. I wasn’t expecting to be gone for so long,” I answer him honestly, my voice showing how close to tears I am as I snuggle deeper into him as Kaden starts rubbing his hand up and down my back while maintaining the conversation he’s having with Pops and my brother Kyle.

“We’ll eat dinner and then take you to bed. You can have a hot bath to relax and then we’ll give you a massage. Tomorrow you can take the day off from Phantom Ink and spend the day with your family. Mom wants to spend time with you and I think Natalia will be here by the late mornin’,” Kaden tells me, his voice rumbling against my back as he leans into me.

“That sounds so good,” I respond, turning in Colton’s arms to pay attention to my family as they talk.

When I look at Pops, I find his eyes already on me as worry fills his face. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he looks me over as he’s done repeatedly over the years. If anyone knows how shattered I am and how much this situation is actually putting me through, it’s him. Pops seems to always know when one of us needs him and I know tomorrow he’ll pull me aside to talk to me without everyone around.

We eat dinner with everyone in the common room and I try to participate in the conversation going on around me, but it doesn’t work. My mind is a jumbled mess with the anxiety still trying to consume me. I hate that I feel this way and there’s nothing I can do to combat it. Debbie and I have been working on ways to fight these attacks as they come up and some of the techniques she’s taught me, work to a certain extent. At the end of the day, nothing ever truly takes them away. I don’t think they’ll go away until Terrence is caught and I know he can’t ever touch me again.

By the time Kaden and Colton take me home, I’m done. I don’t want a hot bath, the massage, or anything else. All I want is to climb into bed and pull the covers over my head while I’m surrounded by the men I love. Instead, I let Colton and Kaden take care of me in the way they want. They fill the tub for me with hot water and one of the bath bombs I picked out. Neither one of them leave my side as I let the water cover me to my neck and keep my eyes closed as I calm down after the long, trying day. When they get me out of the bath, I’m dried off by Kaden as Colton disappears into our bedroom. By the time I get out of the bathroom, there’s a beach towel laying in the center of the bed and the night stand is filled with various lotions and massage oils. I’m laid out on the towel as my men get to work massaging my entire body from my feet all the way up to my head. I don’t even know how long they take care of me because I fall asleep in the middle of the massage, dreaming of our future and the love I have for the men next to me.

Chapter Nineteen

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