Protect Me (14 page)

“Abbi!” She could hear him yelling out and she ignored it. She just kept walking, as fast as she could.

“Oh my God Abbi are you ok? You look like you have been crying.” Judy came up to her quickly.

“I’m fine, some guy stepped on my foot and it just made my eyes water. Can we go back downstairs please?” Abbi glanced towards Judy who was giving her a cautioned look.

“Sure we can go find Ashley and see how her manhunt is going. Did you see Ryan anywhere in there?” Judy slightly smiled and placed her arm inside of Abbi’s as they turned back towards the stairs.

“Nope, didn’t see him.” She lied.

As they made their way towards the stairs she tried desperately not to look back, but she did. Her red face met those handsome dark eyes she had been longing to see ever since Sunday. Hell who was she kidding, ever since the first night she had seen him in the bar. She turned back around and pretended to ignore that she knew he existed, along with her heart that now felt shattered into a thousand pieces. But she did, she ignored it and inside her head she reminded herself that she had come here with a very nice guy, and that her goal tonight was to have fun and that was just what she was going to do. Besides she barely knew Ryan and why should she let something as simple as him kissing another girl hurt her feelings. He wasn’t hers, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. As they made their way down the stairs Abbi walked straight up to the bar near the dance floor.

“Yes, can I have a Jack and Coke with lime and a water moccasin too, please?”

“Well it looks like someone is ready to party, hell yeah!” Judy smiled as she ordered herself a lemon drop.

The two girls toasted their shot glasses and tipped them back. Abbi allowed the burn to linger a minute before she washed down the shot, along with the knot in her throat. No man was going to get her tears.

*****

The party had been in full swing. He spent the first few minutes doing the routine, shaking hands, schmoozing with people inside the party. Introducing himself to the wives of a few agents he knew well. He went down into the lower kitchen and made sure the caterer’s had been able to get everything on board. They would be casting off in about ten minutes, so if they hadn’t there would be no time now, though he held the ultimate call he wasn’t trying to postpone the party if he didn’t have to. Once all the arrangements were confirmed he made his way back into the main parlor. The crowd had grown substantially and he hoped that he could make his way into one of the many lower lounges and just relax for most of the party.

He made his way out onto the main deck, slipping behind the dancing bodies to the stairwell leading up to the captain’s tower. The second floor was not as crowded, but there were still quite a few people that had attended this year. He checked his ear piece to make sure it was on and that he had live feed from the agents working the entrance and the two others working undercover in the party. He wanted everyone to have a great time, so he had asked that his agents working on the ship blend in, however he still wanted everyone to be safe. And the problem with parties in LA sometimes is that all you have to do is know a name to get in.

He removed the ropes blocking off the next flight of stairs, before clasping them back behind him and making his way up to the captain’s tower. As he approached he saw an older man dressed in black pants, black dress shoes, and a white uniform shirt with gold embellishments on each sleeve; the same gold leaf embellishment that was displayed from the center of his black billed hat. He walked up to the man extending his hand.

“Sir, thank you for being able to accommodate us tonight. I know it was last minute since our regularly scheduled Captain was unable to be here. I’m Ryan Dixon, I am the owner of the vessel, if there is anything you need to request please don’t hesitate to ask.” Ryan shook the man’s hand. Just the day before he had gotten word from Archibald, his regular captain, who explained that his daughter was going into labor and he would be flying out that evening to Tampa, Florida.

“You can call me Eddie, and it’s no problem at all sir, I am very glad to accommodate. I assume you received all of my credentials from the main office.” He shook Ryan’s hand back firmly.

“Yes we did. I am glad to have you on board with us sir. Are you sure there isn’t anything I could get for you.”

“No, sir. I have everything I need right here. Are we still scheduled to depart at nine p.m.?” The man picked up his itinerary.

“I will confirm that now sir. Please excuse me just a moment.” With that Ryan stepped back outside of the glass enclosed room and placed his hand up to his earpiece pressing a small button before he spoke “Aaron, come back.”

“Go for Aaron.” A static voice came through Ryan’s earpiece.

“I would like a confirmation for departure at nine o’ clock.”

“Ten four sir, we are go for launch. We will be waiting here on the dock for your return.”

“Copy, out.”

“Aaron, out.”

Ryan motioned a confirmation to the Captain who then relayed the message to his second in command and the deck hands. Ryan’s 145 foot yacht was elegant, but he had purchased it solely on the fact that it was the top in its safety class, but could still cruise at optimal speeds being practically undetectable to those on board. He walked over to the stairwell leading back down to the second parlor as he felt the familiar rumble of the engines below his feet, before the feeling hummed off. He entered the second floor parlor and made his way to the bar, he needed to loosen up and relax a little bit.

As he made his way towards the counter a flash of blonde hair caught the corner of his eye. Turning he saw Isabelle, damn if this night wasn’t getting any better. She was making a beeline directly towards him with a grin from ear to ear on her face. He stepped up to the bar and motioned for the bar tender. He was going to need something strong to deal with this conversation.

“Ezra Brooks on the rocks please.” He nodded towards the bartender.

“Well hello Ryan, I haven’t seen you out in a few days.” Isabelle stood poised and confident in front of him. Wearing a skin tight black dress showing every bit of legal cleavage she could. Short enough to leave nothing to the imagination, as her fake blonde hair spilled down onto her shoulders.

“Yeah, I don’t really do the bar scene much these days.” He said taking a sip of his drink as he leaned against the bar counter.

“Oh, that’s not what I hear. I just assumed maybe you were feeling ill, the night you left early.” She ran her hand down his arm.

He suddenly felt a sense of electricity enter the room. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but he knew it wasn’t from Isabelle. “No, felt fine. Just wasn’t feeling it. Listen Isabelle, I hate to turn you down. But you’re not really what I am looking for right now.” His head was spinning, and it wasn’t from the liquor as this was his first drink of the evening.

“Oh really? Are you dating men now or something because that’s the only conclusion that I could come up with that would make you turn me down.” She leaned closer to him “I have all night Ryan, you just let me know when you change your mind.”

He was caught off guard when he suddenly felt her lips press against his. It all happened in slow motion, he tried to step back but his body refused to move and suddenly he felt as though the whole scene was being watched. As he turned his head towards the crowd breaking the kiss, he saw her, Abbi. The electricity had been coming from her, and damnit she had just seen everything. He could see the look on her face as she quickly turned away from him. That was his chance and he had ruined it, well a trashy gold digger had ruined it. He should have backed away, he didn’t want Isabelle. How could he not have seen her advance coming?

He quickly turned and headed in the direction Abbi had just left, shouting out her name in hopes that she would come back. He willed her to come back so he could explain what had just happened. As he made his way out onto the deck he quickly scanned from left to right and then caught her figure out of the corner of his eye. She was heading towards the stairs with Judy, he saw her reluctantly look back at him. Her eyes red and swollen, Jesus he had actually hurt her. His gut tore in two, he had no idea why, but every fiber of him wanted to protect her and keep her from being harmed. Yet here he was being the center of her pain.

He ran his hands against his short cropped hair before heading back into the parlor. He found his drink sitting in the same spot, the condensation running down the sides just as he imagined her tears had been running down her face. He grabbed his drink and took a long swig. He should have done them all a favor and just stayed his ass at home. As he stood there brooding against the counter he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

“Hell of a party man, I think there are twice as many people here as last year.” Jace said looking around before his gaze fixed on Ryan. “Hey man, what’s going on. Please don’t tell me you’re stressing over Isabelle. I just saw her leaving, listen I kind of got a little drunk the night you left me hanging and invited them. I really only wanted to get in her friend’s panties. I didn’t think they would actually come until they emailed me with their information.”

“I’m not worried about Isabelle.” Ryan continued to stare off towards the back of the bar counter, taking another long pull from his drink.

“Oh, well what’s wrong then man? Oh shit, is it that girl again? Dude, why don’t you just call her, you have her number.”

“Because I highly doubt she will talk to me at this point.”

“Yeah, and why do you say that?” Jace had a hint of irritation to his voice.

It was enough to send Ryan over the edge. “Because she just saw Isabelle kiss me. Shit Jace, I really wish sometimes you would just stay out of my business.” Ryan slammed his glass down on the counter and turned to face Jace. “If you hadn’t pushed me to hook up with Isabelle that night, she wouldn’t be here tonight and if she hadn’t been here tonight, I might damn well be with Abbi right now.”

“Hey man, cut the shit. You called me that night, you needed to
clear your head
remember. You’re a grown ass man who is acting like a pussy because you’re scared. Look, I know I drive it home every time that we just need to focus on the good time for the moment. But that’s just because there’s no point in settling down until you find the one. But when you find the one you gotta go after it.” Jace looked Ryan straight in the eyes; most men would have backed down from his rage. But this was why he trusted Jace more than anyone.

“Shit, yeah I know. I’m sorry. I just feel like I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t.”

“Well, the only way you are really gonna find out what’s going on is by talking to her.” Jace placed his hands on both of Ryan’s shoulders and turned him toward the exit. “If it’s the same Abbi I saw come up with Jeff, she just walked downstairs. Go.”

After a few shots with Judy, the two girls made their way back into the party. Abbi could feel her body starting to sway along to the music as she pranced back into the main parlor. Oh yeah, the shots were definitely starting to do their job. Making their way back inside, they found Jeff standing over to the side with Ashley and the earlier mentioned prey. Abbi made her way over to his side and threw her arm around his waist. Partly for support standing and partly so he wouldn’t think about the fact that she had been missing for the past hour or so.

“Well there you are beautiful. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to send out a search party.” He smiled down at her.

“No, I just told Judy that I wanted to see the boat and I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation earlier.” A hiccup escaped her lips as she finished her sentence. She shot a smile of embarrassment up at Jeff.

“Well, I see you found you way to the bar. I’m happy to see you’re finally having a good time. You seemed a little nervous earlier.” He motioned to the dark skinned man standing across from him “Abbi I would like for you to meet Gabe. He is a co-worker of mine. Gabe this is Abbi, my date.”

“Hello, Abbi.” The man extended his hand and she shook it glancing at Ashley who looked like she was about to mount him at any given moment.

“So, what do you ladies say we go out onto the deck and get our groove on?” He wiggled his eye brows up and down as he took Abbi’s hand and lead the group out onto the dance floor.

Oh help me now
. If this man was expecting her to keep a rhythm with her ass he was sadly mistaken. The group made their way out into the middle of the dance floor, at first she bounced side to side. Oh yeah, this was sexy, but as she started to relax she slowly started to feel the music. Her hips swaying side to side as Jeff’s hand traveled down her body. Judy, across from her, moved like a dancer. She looked so graceful, as if dancing were her true calling. Ashley came in front of Abbi and grabbed her hands and danced along with her. As Gabe came up behind Ashley and placed his hands on her hips, she could see Ashley grinding back against him. In an effort to be seductive, Abbi tried the same move on Jeff. She hoped she didn’t look like a flailing chicken. When his hands took her by the hips and his groin swayed into her back side she knew it was working.

This was what she needed, to have a good time with people who actually cared about her. She felt Jeff’s hands travel down towards the bottom hem of her dress and slowly pull it up. Whoa buddy, maybe after a few more shots, but she wasn’t getting down and dirty on the dance floor. She turned to face him and slowly grinded her body against his. And then before she knew what was happening, he reached and grabbed each side of her face and kissed her. Her body stilled, she felt his lips press hard against hers. Roughly he parted her lips with his tongue sliding it into her mouth and twirling it around in hers before running it along her lips. He sucked hard at her bottom lip, as his hand traveled into her hair tugging her head back as he finished his assault on her mouth.

She felt as though she were too deep underwater and needed to swim up to get air. She pushed carefully away from him taking in a deep breath, before smiling up at him. Space, she needed some space. She leaned into him and over the music, excused herself to go get another drink. He smiled as she turned towards the bar, a figure on the stair well caught her eye and as she looked to her left she saw Ryan standing just above the last step. He had seen Jeff kiss her and he looked pissed.
Oh well buddy, you snooze you lose.
She realized she had stopped walking and quickly regained her composure to make it over to the bar. She could feel the electricity in her skin going wild as he made his way closer to her.