One
Kellie
I walked into Nighthawk Security months ago with nothing—well, not literally nothing. I had the clothes on my back, my car loaded down with clothes, pictures, and a few things that have always been near and dear to me. When you were trying to run from your past and start over, it didn’t give you many options to pack everything you owned and possessed.
When I left Arkansas after everything was said and done, it wasn’t hard. It should have been though. It should have been a devastating blow, much like it was to my jaw that had been wired shut for weeks on end. But it wasn’t.
After everything that happened, as soon as the wires came out, I put all my possessions in the back of my four-door Honda Accord and left. My aunt and uncle had tears in their eyes during the whole process, but as soon as Liam was sentenced to jail for only one year, I knew I had to escape. I mean, come on. One year for clocking me in the jaw so hard it was broken, and that’s all they gave him? I’d stood in the attorney’s office with tears streaming down my face and trying not to hyperventilate. What would have happened if my neighbor hadn’t heard my screams? How much further would my once childhood friend have gone?
I never saw it coming. Heck, I never thought of Liam in any other way than a friend until the moment he barged through the front door of my apartment one Friday evening. I’d just gotten off my part-time shift as a waitress, something I did while attending community college. The bigger colleges were out of my budget even with scholarships, and there was no way I was going to ask my family to help me. They had already done more than their fair share, which included welcoming me into their home with open arms after my parents passed away when I was sixteen years old.
I went to college part-time all while maintaining my job and having my own place to live at the age of twenty. Liam would come over and we’d hang out, watch television until my eyes were tired. Then I’d shoo him out, never leading him on.
That night everything exploded, I was lucky that old man Martin was able to pull Liam off me. Not only did he break my jaw, my ribs were bruised, and I had a gash where I fell after that final blow. I wasn’t sure what was worse when I woke up in the hospital, the look on my aunt Ro’s face or the devastation on my uncle Howie’s, or the way I looked. I tried to crack a smile, but it didn’t form, and it caused us all to cry when I realized something was wrong with my face.
They soothed me, and when it was time for me to be discharged from the hospital, my uncle and his friends had already moved everything into a storage unit and brought my clothes to their house. I was lucky enough not to have to testify, only having to do a deposition. What with the pictures and hospital records, they had enough proof, plus with the mess of his hands, and blood splattered clothes. It showed everything without him confessing.
When the dust had somewhat settled, having the wires taken off and my hair growing back from where they had to cut it in order to stitch me up, I told them my plans to move. It was hard for them to swallow that pill, but in the end they understood. All that was left was for me to sell was what furniture I had in my storage unit, unenroll from college, and hit the road.
“Kellie.” I look up from the computer screen to where I was staring off in the distance. It could have been the email I just received from the State of Arkansas letting me know Liam was being released three months early, due to good behavior, even when the defense attorney pleaded for him to spend his remaining months behind bars. It was no use, and if this had happened right after I was beaten down to a bloody pulp, I probably would have crumbled.
“Hey, Slade, is everything okay?” I reply.
“Yeah, I need you to run this over to Frank at the police station.” He hands me the folder.
“Okay, I’ll take my lunch break while I’m out that way too. Do you want me to pick anything up?” I offer.
“I’m good. Taylor is bringing something with her, but Bridger, Drake, or Leo may want something.” He nods his head toward the back of the office where a row of rooms for each member of Nighthawk Security is located.
“I’ll go ask and then be on my way.” I put my computer on sleep, tidy up my desk space before standing up and smoothing my skirt down.
Slade acknowledges me with a nod of his head, then he heads out the front door for God knows what. It’s something I’ve noticed about these men—they can’t sit still. Half the time they’re in and out of the office several times a day.
I meander my way looking into Leo and Drake’s offices. Both are empty, so I make my way to Bridger’s. The tension that has been building between us is off the charts. There’s something about him. He’s the jokester of the group, always drops one-liners, makes me laugh when I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Too bad my guard is so high, I’m not sure I’ll ever allow a man into my world again.
Two
Bridger
I can hear the click of her heels coming down the hallway. My office is the last one she’ll come to. It doesn’t matter though. With my hearing, I knew right away what Slade was offering, I’ll be surprised if Taylor is even coming this way. It’s more likely he’ll go to her.
She makes her way to just inside my office. She’s come out of her shell some over the last few months. When she first landed at Nighthawk Security, I swear she was scared of her own shadow. There was something about her though. The three of us—Slade, Drake, and myself—knew we needed someone to help man the day-to-day bullshit, and since we lived in this small town, there weren’t a whole lot of prospects.
Kellie walked in the door with a small smile on her face. The way her eyes would dart to each of us as we rattled off questions told me she was hesitant at first, then she loosened up as the clock ticked by. I still remember exactly what she was wearing: the black pant suit she wore complimented her body. The way her blouse was buttoned all the way to the column of her throat, not giving a hint of any skin. Her pants, though, they might as well have been painted on her body. It gave the perfect sophisticated look with a hint of something dark and decadent. Her dirty blonde hair was long and she had it curled. It was so long it was hanging well past her breasts, much like she wears it still to this day.
When she got up to leave, my eyes were glued to her shapely legs and an ass that I knew I wanted my hands full of. Slade cleared his throat, narrowed his gaze, and I sat up straighter in my chair. I knew it wasn’t the time or the place, and Kellie looked like she wanted and needed the job. The three of us talked, I ran a background check, and even with what I came back with, we hired her. If anyone could keep this woman safe, it would not only be me, but my brothers as well.
“Hey, I’m heading to run an errand and get lunch. Want me to bring you anything back from the deli?” Kellie asks. Her head is down, her hair in her signature soft curls, hiding eyes the color of Spanish moss hanging on a tree and lips that form the perfect pout without actually pouting. Today, she’s wearing a green top that’s tucked into a flowy floral skirt. It stops above her knee, showcasing her legs, and the shoes only elongate them.
“Hey, how about we ride together? I have something I need to do myself.” I stand up, not giving her the option to allow me to go with her or not. I’ll even drive us. Kellie may not think we don’t know about her past, but you can bet your ass I know everything and then some, including the email she got about her abuser.