Protecting My Hart (Protectors Series Book 1) (3 page)

“What are you doing in here?” I manage to force the words past my throat.

“Came to have some fun,” Tiny sneers.

“JD’s gonna be mad that you are in here.”

“He ain’t ever gonna know.” Griz grins wickedly. They both move closer to me; Griz is blocking my escape to the door.

“What do you want from me?” I try to distract them, but they keep getting closer. I curl up more and press further back in bed. I really am trapped, and my heart is beating wildly in my chest. Fear has consumed every part of my body, and I am desperately trying to keep a clear head and figure a way out of here.

“I think you know what we want, and we know you want it too. Been watchin’ you a long time now, been waitin’ for you to tell me you wanted me too. We saw you the other day, saw how you looked at us. Can’t wait for my dick to fuck that cunt of yours and fuck it hard,” Griz growls out.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I never gave you a look or a signal. I don’t want this,” I try to make my point, explain the mistake.

“Fucking bitch, don’t lie!!!” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Three hard rough blows strike my face at the hands of Tiny, and I can feel the split in my lip and the blood running down my chin mixing with the tears that are flowing freely.

“
HELP! SLYDE HELP!”
I scream out. Sobbing, hoping he hears me.

“Shut the fuck up, you little slut!” SMACK! across the face again. “Slyde ain’t here; nobody here is gonna help you.”

Terror, plain and simple, that’s what I feel. My blood has run cold with the reality that there is no one here. The only man who would protect me from these animals isn’t here, and I have no way to escape. I won’t let them have it easy though. I’m going to fight them, and they are going to have to kill me first. There is movement, catching me off guard and then they both attack. My shirt is shredded and Tiny’s hands are on my body, touching me, groping me so roughly it hurts. He straddles my stomach, and I scream again and claw at him, any part of him I can reach. Griz has my pants pulled down and his hands are at my waist to remove my panties. I thrash wildly, kicking, screaming, clawing—whatever I can to do thwart their attack.

Hands reach in my hair and my head is yanked to the side. “Listen here you little slut. I told you to shut it. No one here is going to help you. Now, either you can be a good little slut and cooperate or we can tie you up and you won’t be able to move,” Tiny growls in my face.

“HELP!” I scream again SMACK! The pain continues to explode in my head as the tears continue to fall.

I’ve just finished my meeting and was able to give my report; they are easier when JD’s not in town. I’m looking forward to my conversation with Hartley tonight. Any time I can spend with her, I take. That girl, fuck. She is somethin’ special. I have spent the last few years getting to know her, what she likes and dislikes, and about her past, which isn’t pretty. She’s beyond beautiful and so damn strong after everything she’s been through. She’s told me she wants to live in Montana someday. I can picture her there—happy. I often wonder why she stays in a place like this, but then I remember that she is trapped in a way. JD pretty much has control over her in every aspect, but he seems to be good to her. I’ve heard him blow up at her a few times, but as far as I can tell he just yells. I feel bad for Hart, she does nothing to deserve his rage, and she stays out of the way and mostly secludes herself in her room. I know that the other guys terrify her and honestly I can’t blame her. I like the fact that she isn’t afraid of me though; we can enjoy conversation, and I love watching her light up when she describes the different books she’s read. I’m pretty sure I have fallen in love with her, but she belongs to JD, and like I said, he seems to treat her well, and I can’t compromise my position by trying to make her mine. Therefore, I love her from a distance, and I just hope that one day I will be able to convince her to be my girl.

“HELP!”
I hear the scream the second I step into the house, and my blood chills at the terror in Hartley’s voice. Running to the back of the house, I bust through the door to her room. Tiny is on top of a mostly naked Hartley who is sobbing while he’s groping her and smacking her. Griz is between her legs reaching for her panties. What. The. Fuck.

“What in the motherfucking hell are you two bastards doing in here!?!” I shout, turning both of their attentions to me. Rage has filled my body to a deathly level and these two are the targets for when it’s unleashed.

“None of your fuckin’ business, Slyde. Go find your own slut to fuck and leave us alone.”

“You will get off her now, or I will kill you both. In fact, I might just do that anyway, for fun. JD is gonna have your dicks for this. You know he doesn’t share, and Hart is his!”

“Fuck off, Slyde, what he don’t know won’t hurt him.”

“How about I hurt you two and we be done with this bullshit?” I snap back, and Griz comes at me. He swings, and I dodge the punch by grabbing his arm, twisting it behind his back, and slamming him into the wall. I hear the crunch of bone and know his nose is broken, then I pull him back and my fist connects with his face as my knee connects with his gut and I toss him out of the room. He slouches against the wall on the floor. Tiny, who is nothing like his name, comes at me next. I don’t even give him a chance to swing and simply connect my fist with his face, two, three, four times, spinning him with his back to the open door. Another successful uppercut to the chin and he staggers out of the room and to the floor as well.

“I fuckin’ catch either of you even lookin’ at her again and I
WILL
kill you!” I slam the door and breathe deeply to bring my anger under control. Turning back to Hartley, I see she is curled on the bed sobbing. Reaching the bed, I gently touch her shoulder; she screams and jerks away from me.

“Shhh, Hartley, it’s me. It’s Slyde. You’re safe now, Tesoro.” I keep my voice soft. Her hand shoots out and latches to the front of my shirt gripping tightly.

“SSSlydddde,” she chokes out.

“Yeah I’m here.” Softly caressing her cheek, I try to see the damage the sons-of-bitches caused, but it’s dark, and I can’t see much. I switch on the light on her bedside table and when my eyes fall back on her face, I become enraged again. Her lip is split and bleeding, her cheeks red and bruising. Nothing around her eyes, which is good, so I don’t think they will turn black. “Hart, let me get you cleaned up, OK?” She doesn’t say anything, but she lets go of my shirt. Rushing into the bathroom, I grab a washcloth and wet it with warm water and fill a cup with warm water as well then place them both on the nightstand.

“Let’s sit you up a bit, Hart.” I try to keep my voice soft and gentle but seeing the bruises marring her beautiful skin enrages me, and I have to remember to stay calm for her. I help her sit up gently and she winces.

“Is it just your head, or did they hurt you somewhere else?” She shakes her head. Her sobs have slowed, but the tears continue to fall. Using the cloth, I carefully wipe her face, cleaning off the drying blood. Her eyes lock to mine, and my heart shatters at all that I see.

“Your lip is going to be swollen a bit and you are going to have some bruises, but nothing appears to be broken.” Hart just nods slightly. “I’m so sorry, Hart, I didn’t think anyone would come after you. They all know better. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”

“I told them no. They didn’t listen.”

“I know, Tesoro. I know.” Hartley clutches the front of her shirt, trying to keep herself covered, and I realize that they tore her clothes.
Fucking shitheads
. Leaving the cloth on the nightstand, I go through her clothes, finding another large shirt and pajama pants. I help her change and get her settled back into bed. I begin to gather up the stuff from the table when I feel her hand touch mine, and I look down at her.

“Will you…please can you…I’m scared…Slyde, please…please stay.” Her voice quivers and fresh tears fill her eyes. I can feel the tremors run through her body with her hand still touching me. I can’t refuse this girl anything and immense pride and protectiveness floods me at the fact that she wants me to stay with her.

“Yeah Hart, I’ll stay. I’ll sleep in the chair.”

“No. Stay with me. Here. Please.” She pulls me closer to the bed. My heart thumps erratically. I simply nod and slip off my boots and climb into bed behind her. She turns over to face me and scoots closer. I don’t hesitate and wrap my arms around her tightly. I can still feel her shaking, and I hate it.

“You’re safe, Hartley. I promise. Sleep, Tesoro, sleep,” I whisper softly and feel her body beginning to relax. Her skin is soft against mine, her body feels wonderful, and I can still smell the sweetness of her shampoo. I force my body to stay in control while my mind goes wild. I get to spend the night with mi Tesoro in my arms. I know that tomorrow morning is going to be torture, but at this point in time, it’s completely worth it.

Every morning since the night of the attack I’ve woken up with a smile on my face. This is because every night including the night of the attack I have fallen asleep wrapped in Slyde’s arms. Never in my entire life have I ever felt so safe and at peace. He’s gone before I wake up but the contentment I feel is still there. Slyde has been sweet to stay with me just to make sure I’m OK and that none of the other guys bother me. I know that this means way more to me than it does him, and that’s OK. However, with being so close to him every night, feeling his body warm against mine, his breath, hot, caressing my skin, his strength surrounding me, I’m achingly aware of how my body reacts to him, and it’s becoming clear that it’s more than just my heart that wants him. Again, I know it’s one-sided, but maybe I could convince him just for one night. I have been spending the last few days thinking about what to do. I don’t think I can stay here anymore. JD doesn’t love me; I’m not sure he ever did. Why he would, or anyone else would for that matter, is beyond me. I don’t love him, and I don’t feel safe here anymore. I have to leave. I’ve been trying to figure out if JD would just let me leave, be happy to get rid of me. Part of me thinks that he will, the other part thinks he’s going to go ballistic, and I have no freaking clue which part to believe. I know where he keeps some of his cash; I could take some and disappear during the night. Or I could ask Slyde to help me leave—I know that he would. No, I can’t do that. I can’t bring him into this. It’s not his problem, and there is no reason to turn JD against him, which will happen for sure if JD got pissed that I left and found out that Slyde helped. No, I have to do this on my own. I just have to wait for the right moment.

“Hey, Tesoro,” Slyde’s voice floats into the room as he steps in carrying a bag of food. Dinner. Just like the other nights since the attack, he’s brought me food.

“Hey,” I answer back with a smile and close my book.

“Chinese tonight, hope that’s OK.”

“Oh absolutely. I love Chinese.”

“I know.” His response takes me a bit by surprise, and I freeze momentarily with the slight hope of something but no, it can’t be, why would there be? I push the crazy thoughts out of my head. We eat and chat; Slyde tells me more stories about his buddies Kash and Beamer, making me laugh. The three of them got into a lot of trouble. A loud bang snaps my attention to the door and we hear arguing.