Protecting His Forever Page 7

  “Hi, sweetheart.” His breath tickles my ear. Shuddering, I raise up to meet his gaze.

  “Hi,” I whisper back before sealing my lips to his. He growls low in his throat as he bites my bottom lip. Gasping, I press him harder to me while his hand flexes on my ass and pulls me closer, if that’s even possible.

  “Get a room!” someone yells from behind us.

  Pulling back, I look behind Kane’s shoulder. Chase is leaning against his truck laughing at us, an older man standing beside him. Smirking, I flip him the bird. Tapping Kane’s arm, I motion for him to put me down on the ground.

  Getting a good look at my brother and Kane’s Military Sergeant. He’s freaking hot for an older guy. He even has tattoos.

  Kane sets me down but doesn’t let go of me. Instead, he tucks me close to his side.

  “Holy hell. I just came.” A woman’s voice says from behind me.

  My eyes widen. Who the heck is that? My head shoots around like the exorcist.

  A very pregnant woman and Brae are standing by a car. Brae looks down at the ground, blushing.

  “I’m Jessica.” She smiles and walks over to me.

  Returning the smile, I shake her hand.

  “I invited Jessica, if that’s okay. She’s new to town,” Brae pipes in.

  My mom pops her head out of the door. “Let’s eat, everyone.”

  “Damn. There must be something in the water,” I hear Jessica mutter under her breath, and Chase chuckles. Shaking my head, I make my way to the dining room. Kane pinches my butt hard. Jumping, I smack him equally as hard in the chest. He winks.

  My mom puts more plates on the table. It’s like freaking thanksgiving with the amount of food this woman made.

  “Mom,” I call her.

  She looks up at me. I point over at Jessica. “This is Jessica.” I then point at the Sergeant who is standing toward the back. “This is Ethan’s and the guys’ Sergeant.”

  I watch as she looks at him with a blush on her face. The Sergeant walks toward her. “Nice to meet you, I’m Dave.” He extends her hand for her to shake.

  Blushing deeper, she shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you too.”

  Looking at Ethan wondering if he’s witnessing the same thing, I see that he’s scowling at them both. Laughing silently, I pull out my seat to sit down.

  My mom giggles and sits down too. My mom has never reacted this way toward a man. She never even dated to my knowledge.

  We all sit down and eat together. Chase and Jessica have us laughing so hard I’m crying. Jessica is like a more pervy Chase.

  The Sergeant, who I now know as Dave, has had his undivided attention on my mom. I really hope that something comes out of this for her. She deserves to be happy. More than anyone else I know.

  Kane has his hand on my leg. My body is noticing all too much at how close his hand is. Sucking in my bottom lip, I squirm in my seat. If only his hand would slide a little bit closer.

  “Everyone want to go out on the back patio?” my mom interrupts my thoughts. Everyone gets up and follows her outside.

  “I could watch that man’s ass all day every day.” Jessica grunts and tilts her head to the side to look at Chase’s butt.

  Laughing at Chase’s stunned expression, my face runs into a hard back. Grabbing my stinging nose, I back up. “What the fuck?” Kane growls at Ethan.

  “What are you doing?” I ask Mom, who is standing stoic on the porch blocking the door. Her face is pale and looks scared.

  “Kane,” I stutter out worried about my mom.

  “Mom, what is it?” Ethan pushes her to the side so he can see what’s wrong.

  “No. No. No, no, no.” She shakes her head in disbelief backing up. She swings around to look at me with wide eyes. Something is seriously wrong.

  “I finally found you, bitch,” a deep voice says from outside.

  My mom gasps but only just shakes her head in disbelief. Everyone pushes their way outside. Kane holds me tightly to him. Seeing the man, my eyes widen. He looks a lot like Ethan. This man is evil; you can see it on his face and the way he’s leering at my mom. Kane is stiff beside me. He moves so he is in front of me and the other half of my body is hidden by Chase so I’m only able to peek out slightly.

  The man is staring at my mother evilly before his eyes glance over the rest of us. He can’t see me. His gaze snaps back to my mother who has tears rolling down her face. Who is this man? How does he know my mom? Pushing away from Kane, I start to go to my mom.

  “Where’s our bitch of a daughter?” he roars at her.

  My head shoots back like I’ve been smacked. Kane’s body stiffens, and I can feel the rage radiating off of him. Putting my hand on his back, I peer around him once more.

  This man has this vibe about him that just screams malice.

  “Ah I see, Evelyn. You have a new dick to suck.” He laughs darkly, and I can hear his foot creak on the steps.

  Beside me, I see Chase grab Ethan who is about to charge the man.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Ethan yells.

  “Ethan, is that any way you’re supposed to talk to your father? Speaking of children, where's that blonde bitch that took you guys away from me? She was the whole entire reason for your leaving.” He makes a huge deal out of looking around the field and the driveway.

  Kane’s hand touches my back, pressing me harder into him. Fisting his shirt, I try to stay completely silent. I’m scared out of my mind, but I know Kane won’t let anyone hurt me. I always dreamed my father was a good guy. Now my hope of ever having that is shattered.

  “Get off my property now! I give you one fucking minute before I kill you myself. You will not touch a hair on my daughter’s head. You kidnapped me.” Her voice hitches at the end.

  My heart stops. My mom? Kidnapped? Oh my God! I try to hold in the sob, but it slips through. Kane starts backing up toward the door.

  “You!” he yells.

  Kane stops backing up and lets his arms fall from my back.

  “You, you big fucker. What’s behind you?” Kane stiffens.

  “None of your damn business, that’s what. I advise you to get your ass off this property before I remove you myself.” Kane's voice is chillingly calm.

  “Ahh, you’re hiding something. Is that my daughter?” He cackles, and I can hear him walking around.

  “Here, bitchy bitchy bitchy. Come give your daddy a hug,” he taunts me. My hand grips Kane’s shirt tighter. Closing my eyes, I try to block everything out. I peek around Kane.

  The man sees me and a grin comes across his face. “Well, well, well. It’s my daughter, the slut,” he gloats at me. “You took everything from me!” he screams, spit flying from his mouth.

  He takes a step toward me. Kane pushes me back gently and then walks up to the man until they are nose to nose.

  “I won’t fucking tolerate you talking to my woman that way. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from. You better get off this property or suffer the consequences. Your choice.” Kane is a couple of inches taller than him and twice his size. Any other person would have been intimidated.

  Shuddering, I hug myself. “Just because I don’t have her today, I will get her another day. Something happens to me? I have someone else who wants her just as bad. Wants to make her suffer.” My father licks his lips before bringing up his hand. He makes a gun symbol and makes a pop with his mouth likes he’s shooting me.

  The man is too busy looking at me to notice Kane rearing his hand back. He punches him hard on the jaw, his head snapping back with his eyes rolling in the back of his head. He falls to the ground with a thump.

  My eyes never leave the man who is lying on the ground. Unmoving. This man planned my attack. He all but admitted it. That letter I got wasn’t an accident. It was because of him.

  What kind of father would do this to their daughter? I slide down to the ground holding my head trying to wrap my head around this. All these years I thought something happened to my dad and she didn’t want me
to know. No, this man is crazy and kidnapped her.

  The silence around me is deafening. Nobody moves; the only thing you can hear is their breathing. Warm hands touch my arms. His smell envelopes me in a cocoon of security as he pulls my hand away from my face. Looking up, I see Kane staring at me with concern. Lifting my arms, I wrap them around his neck.

  He lifts me off the ground and my legs wrap around his waist. He hugs me tightly to him. My face on his shoulder, tears running down my face and soaking his shirt.

  I can feel him walking, but I don’t look up. A second later I feel the couch cushions under my legs as he sits down. Snuggling deeper, I all but try to crawl into him. His hand is on the back of my head pressing me into him where I can hear his ragged breaths.

  He kisses the top of my head, and I let out a sigh. Everything will be okay. I have Kane.

  ~*~

  I must have fallen asleep. Looking up, I see my mother sitting beside me and Dave sitting beside her, holding her hand.

  My mom notices I’m awake, so she scoots closer and frames my face with her hands.

  “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

  “Mom, don’t be sorry. I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of this,” I start.

  “Baby, that man. What he said to you…” A new batch of tears roll down her face.

  “Mom, it’s okay. Trust me, I’ll be fine.” Giving her a reassuring smile before turning to Kane, I tell him, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

  He nods, and I can feel his eyes on me as I walk out of the room.

  After doing my business, I hurry back to Kane. He’s sees me coming back and his body relaxes. This event has put him on edge. Standing in front of him, his hands go to my hips. He pulls me down into his lap, holding me close.

  Ethan sits on the couch in front of us. He’s looking down at the ground with his elbows resting on his knees.

  “The police came and got him while you were sleeping,” Kane whispers into my ear.

  “I need to tell you guys everything. I tried to protect you, but this changes everything.” She looks at me and then back to Ethan before she starts.

  “Twenty-seven years ago, I was kidnapped.” Ethan’s jaw clenches and he looks over the wall by the door.

  “I was walking home from work and this guy lured me into this house. I just moved to the city, and I was a country girl and where I grew up, I trusted everyone. He invited me in, and I thought why not?” She takes a deep breath and looks at her hands. “I was stuck in that house for four years. I never left, my parents think I’m dead. I was in Hell for years and I got pregnant with Ethan.”

  “He wasn’t ever mean to Ethan; I was beyond grateful for that. This man thought that everything he was doing was normal. The only thing that kept me going was Ethan and my unborn child. Living in a basement apartment day in and day out was depressing.” She wipes her tears from her face and looks straight at me.

  “You were born, Sydney. He didn’t like that you were a girl… actually, I’m not sure what it was. The way he looked at you was evil, pure hate. He wanted to kill you. I heard him plotting to kill you during one of the rare times he let me out of the basement. I was in the kitchen cooking his dinner, so I took Ethan and you, and I never once looked back. I hitched a ride with a trucker. Every few months I would pack up everything and leave again, because I was scared he’d find me and hurt my babies.” She sniffles and looks down at the ground, ashamed. Then her face crumbles. My strong mother who has done everything she possibly could for us is sobbing heart breaking sobs.

  Crawling out of Kane's lap, I sit down beside her. When I pull her to me, she wraps her arms around me, sobbing onto my neck. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I see Dave staring at my mother. His hands are lifted as if he wants to pick her up. Nodding my head, I let my arms go, and he picks her up off the ground. She sobs into his chest as he carries her upstairs.

  Ethan's whole entire body is red; he is about to explode. I lean across to the other couch, placing my hand on his knee. “Ethan, it’s going to be okay.”

  His head snaps to me. “Okay? Are you fucking stupid? He has it out for you, Syd. He tortured Mom.” He stands up and punches his fist through the drywall.

  “Hey! Don’t ever talk to her like that again. Understand?” Kane tells Ethan.

  “I’m sorry, Syd. Emotions are running high right now.” Ethan shakes his head and paces the room.

  Kane stands and stalks over to my brother. “You’re not the only one. But, you have no right to talk to her that way. Not my woman. He and his buddies are a threat that I plan to eliminate.”

  Standing up, I put my hand on Kane’s arm. “I’m fine, Kane. Ethan didn’t mean anything.”

  “I felt helpless when you were scared, and that’s a feeling I’m not used to nor one I will tolerate. You bring shit out of me that I haven’t felt before. You’re my everything, and I will protect you with every fiber of my being. I will dedicate myself to cherish, love, and protect you at all costs. Your happiness means everything to me.”

  Stunned, my mouth drops open. He takes my face into his hands and leans down to gently kiss my forehead. I’m left speechless.

  “I approve,” Ethan says from behind me.

  Kane nods his head. “Doesn’t matter if I had it or not. She’s mine.” Looking back and forth between Ethan and Kane, I’m confused. My brain is warped from Kane’s admission. Did he just admit he loved me?

  ~*~

  Hours later we finally head home. I’m absolutely exhausted.

  “I hope my mom will be okay,” I finally say, breaking the silence.

  “If she is anything like you then she will be fine.” He smiles and kisses my hand.

  I’m headstrong, stubborn, and not someone who backs down easily. Today, I felt helpless. My dad being that way shocked me. He admitted that he planned my attack, the letter… I’m left reeling, not able to wrap my head around it.

  As we pull up in front of my house, I notice that all my flowers have been cut and thrown to the ground. The swing is thrown out into the middle of the lawn.

  “Sydney, I want you to stay in the truck,” Kane tells me as he looks at my house.

  He grabs a gun out of the middle console and steps out of the truck. Of course I’m going to follow him. There is no way in hell I’m staying in the truck by myself. As soon as Kane has his door shut, I open my door and hop out. That turns out very well considering I land right on my butt.

  “I told you to stay in the truck,” he growls as he helps me off the ground.

  “You told me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen,” I argue.

  “Stay behind me, Sydney, I mean it.”

  “Okay! I will.” I throw my hands up in defeat. He takes a hold of my hand and leads me into the house. Someone obviously trashed my yard, but hopefully nothing inside was damaged.

  Walking up the porch steps, Kane walks straight for the door. When he jiggles it and it’s still locked I sigh with relief, but he shakes his head no at me.

  “Could be the backdoor.”

  He takes my key out of my purse and unlocks the door. He pulls me through the house checking to make sure everything is clear. He lets go and walks into the kitchen.

  Hearing a crash, I nervously whisper, “Kane?’

  “Everything is okay,” he reassures me. Letting out a deep breath, I walk in the kitchen. On the floor, a vase is shattered and white roses mingle within the glass. Kane is holding a card in his hand.

  “What is that, Kane?”

  He hands it to me. Gotcha now, Bitch. See you soon. This time no one will stop me. I’m watching your every move. Your father was stupid and exposed himself, but not me. I’m always one step ahead of you.

  Letting the letter fall to the ground, I realize I have to tell Kane about the other letter.

  Nervously, I turn to look at him.

  “Kane? I… uhh… I have to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “This isn’t the first time I
have gotten a letter.”

  “What do you mean, Sydney?” he asks calmly, but I can see his struggle to remain in control.

  “One month ago I found a letter on my car. I thought it was an accident or something. Now I know it wasn’t.

  “Sydney!” he growls and runs his hands through his hair angrily.

  “I’m sorry! I was scared, and I was in denial, okay?”

  “Sydney, promise me you won’t hide things like this from me again. You’re putting yourself in jeopardy. Don’t you understand that I would do anything for you?” He runs an angry hand over his face.

  Tackling him with a hug, I tell him, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I would do without you, Kane.”

  He rubs the back of my head and back. “You won’t have to find out, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Nine

  We’re staying at Kane’s house instead of mine. Honestly, I don’t want to be at my house knowing that I’ve been watched and someone that’s out to harm me knows where I am. I’ve never been to Kane’s house. We’ve always planned to stay at his house, but something always came up.

  He lives close to Ethan where all the houses there are really nice. We pass by Ethan’s house and keep on driving until he slows down by a driveway with a huge gate. He pulls up to a pole with a keypad and after opening his window, he enters the code.

  The gate opens, and I get a good view of the house. It’s an old country-style home. White with huge white pillars that reach to the third floor. Black shutters and huge windows show the glow of inside of the house. A chandelier hangs on the porch.

  My mouth hits the ground. I knew Kane had money considering he owns several businesses, but this? I never expected this. I look to Kane, to his house, and back to Kane.

  “Wow.”

  “Come on, sweetheart, let's get inside, and I’ll cook you some dinner.”

  He gets out of the truck and walks to my side. He lifts me out of the truck, but my eyes never leave the house. This is my dream house.

  Kane tugs on my hand, bringing me out of my thoughts. He leads me up to the front door, unlocking it, he disarms the alarm beside the door. He steps out in front of me, and I am hit with smell of new leather. The whole entire house is wood and the interior is southern, right down to the horse shoes like my mother’s.