Page 4 of My Secret Protector
I wrinkle my nose. “Nope, never.”
She glances around and then chews on her bottom lip. I can tell she has something she wants to ask me about.
“Something you need to get off your chest, Lily?” I take a small sip and almost curse when the scalding liquid touches my tongue.
She twists her hands in front of her. Lily is so shy. I was surprised when I found out she was dating Dax, one of the football players. He’s sweet and all, but also funny and a little wild. They make a good couple though and anyone can tell they’re gaga over each other.
“I heard about the breakup with Tim. I just wanted to say I’m sorry things didn’t work out. I thought he was a good guy, but obviously he turned out to be a bit of a jerk. I heard he was seeing Sara behind your back.”
I raise an eyebrow. Lily doesn’t talk much, but she hears everything. “We weren’t really a couple so there was no breakup.” I shrug. “We just went on a few dates. I’m good.”
Lily places a hand on my shoulder. Her blue eyes are filled with empathy. “I just wanted you to know I’m here.” She gives me a small smile and looks around the room. “I know I’m not as fierce as Liz over there, but I can still knee someone in the balls if you need me to. We’re all sisters here.”
I chuckle as I think of sweet Lily kneeing Tim where it hurts. I wave her off. “I’m really okay. I’ve been through worse things, I promise.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “I know you have. We all have. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still hurt sometimes. We’re allowed to suffer from the little things too. Even survivors can have chinks in their armor.”
I nod, and then sigh. “I won’t lie. It hurt a little. I just wanted to be in a normal relationship. I guess I wanted to feel like I could be.”
“What happened to you in your past wasn’t normal, Flora. But you are normal, or as normal as normal gets.” She chuckles. “That sounds crazy, but there really is no such thing as truly normal. We’re all just trying to make it through this the best we can. I can promise you this though, my friend.”
I take another sip of the hot coffee and grimace. Damn me and my caffeine addiction. “What’s that?”
She indicates each woman in the room with a nod of her head. “I can promise you that having a friendship with these women is worth a hundred Tims. We’ve got your back no matter what.”
A small lump form in my throat. For ten years of my life, after my parents died, I felt like I could count on no one. Now, between Sunny and these women, I have the family I never thought I could have.
As I leave the community center that night, I glance around warily. A shiver sneaks up my spine. I feel someone’s gaze upon me. Lately, I’ve had this feeling a lot. The feeling that someone out there is watching, waiting. But oddly, the presence doesn’t feel menacing. It feels…protective. I shake my head as I get into my car.You’re losing it, Flora. Really starting to lose it.
Chapter Six
My job is to blend into the background of people’s lives. To be so innocuous as to be imaginary almost. She could never blend. She could never be invisible no how matter how hard she tried. -Lev
Why does she come here week after week? What kind of special club is she in? I try not to ask myself questions about her, but I end up doing it anyway. After two months of following the lovely and enticing Flora Thorpe, I’ve started doing a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do. But the one thing I haven’t figured out is what this group of women talk about while she’s here for two hours every week.
The small, rundown community center is the last place I would expect my Flora to go, but somehow, she ends up here every Wednesday night. The same group of women meet up in a sterile room in the back of the building. They’re obviously close, but what they talk about is anyone’s guess. I hazard a guess that a man would not be welcome into their small, tight-knit circle.
I suppose the reason I’m most attracted to Flora is that she is a complete conundrum. She’s a privileged girl that comes from a wealthy background. She’s a cheerleader, for God’s sake. But she doesn’t act snobby or condescending. I’ve overheard her conversations with her best friend, Sunny. I’ve seen her with her shy, slightly awkward friend Molly. I’ve watched her do things for others when she thinks no one is watching. I know she loves baking when she’s in a shit mood, and that she knits as a secret hobby. The girl is full of incongruities that manage to make her well…absolutely perfect, in my eyes at least.
When I was first given this assignment from my MC president, I scoffed at it. I’m one of the best in the business, a silent protector who costs a fortune and who is fuckin’ good at making sure people don’t get killed. There are people out there that have bounties on their head, bounties that they know nothing of, and I’m the only thing standing in between them and their own mortality. I am quiet, unobtrusive, and deadly. I was made for this job. Watching a fucking twenty-two-year-old cheerleader was not supposed to be on my itinerary, but here I am. And the thing is…Flora has a bounty on her head put there by one of the dangerous of them all. My gut clenches with that thought.
Flora gracefully exits the side door of the community center. I went in before and checked it out. The space was clear. No unknown threats for my Flora. I’ve had the other women in the group checked out too. They’re all legit and harmless. The one named Frankie gave me pause because of her families’ ties with the mob, but I can’t find a thing about her family that links with Flora. I can’t figure out what these very different women have in common. Obviously, it’s the psychologist leading the group who must be their leader, but what do these women have to discuss each Wednesday? A goth girl, a housewife who started her own business, a mob princess, another college student, and my beautiful Flora? There’s very little to link them together, unless as the presence of a psychologist suggests, they’ve all endured the same trauma.Is it about losing her parents or is it something else? Has someone hurt my Flora before?
That thought makes me stomach lurch and my fists ball up in rage. I hope to God no one has ever hurt my Flora. Her uncle’s job makes her a prime target, and Carmucci’s men are ruthless. The thought of one of them getting ahold of her…well, they won’t live long. Neither will anyone who has ever touched a hair on her golden head.
I watch as the dark-haired girl with the nose ring talks animatedly to Flora. She nods her head, and they share a small hug.
What would it be like to touch my Flora like that? To touch her so freely and be touched by her? My cock stirs at the thought, and I close my eyes. I can practically scent the smell of lilacs from here. She always smells like them.
As Flora leans down to get into her small, red convertible I make my way to my bike, hidden discreetly among the trees.
I’ll spend my night watching her, as I always do. She’s mine to protect after all.
Chapter Seven
What if there is a guy out there who is worth the trouble? What would I do if I met him? -Flora
The bass of the music drives a wild beat through my body. I throw my hands up in the air and close my eyes. I hear the other people in the club gyrating their bodies next to me. I can even smell them and feel the heat from them, but in my mind right now they don’t exist.
