Protecting Lyndley Read Free Page B

quickly made my wa y out to my truck and headed to the car rental place up the street. I was instantly dreading having to drive all the way to New York with this girl, and I hadn’t even met her yet.
    I made it to her house in less than thirty minutes, and just in time for Tom to call and ream my ass for being a few minutes late. I glanced around outside, taking in the expensive neighborhood around me. She definitely wasn’t hurtin’ for money that’s for sure. I took in a deep cleansing breath and headed up the steps to the door.
    I pulled my hand back ready to knock, when a large muscular man answered the door. If this guy was here to look after her, what the hell was I doing here?
    “Hi, I’m Deputy US Marshal Wakely. I’m here for Ms. Caverly.” I was a big guy, but this guy dwarfed me in height and size. It was quite intimidating.
    “Nice to meet you. I’m Detective Dawson. Come on in.” He waved me past him and into a small living room off of the front of the house. “Lyndley, I mean Ms. Caverly will be down in just a minute. Can I get you something to drink?”
    I could go for anything alcoholic, I thought to myself. “No , thank you.” We both sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Ms. Caverly finally graced us with her presence. Glad to know she thought I had all fucking day.
    She came in so quietly, I almost didn’t realize she was in the room until I looked up and saw her. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her waist length honey blonde hair cascaded down her back, and her emerald green eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She was captivating and all consuming, leaving me a bit breathless.
    Between the alco hol swimming around in my brain and the tightness in my jeans, I was having a hell of a time pulling myself together. Her little detective friend cleared his throat, and that’s when I finally spoke.
    “ Hi, I’m Deputy US Marshal Wakely. I’ve been assigned to your case.” I held out my hand for her to shake, but she cowered away from me. Her hair fell forward a bit, concealing her right eye as she looked at the ground. I had to fight the urge to push the hair back from her face, to get a better look at her.
    “Hi, I’m Lyndley.” She looked up briefly from under her long lashes. “Can I get you something?”
    “No, I’m fine. Thank you though.” I motioned for her to take a seat across f rom me, and surprisingly enough she did. It didn’t take long for her to warm up to me. She eventually sat back and looked directly at me. I can’t say I was surprised though. I had a knack for making women want to open up to me.
    “So what exactly happens now?” Her voice was soft and gentle, doing things to parts of me that had been neglected as of late.
    I glanced over at Detective Dawson. “I’m sorry Detective, but this is where I ask you to leave.”
    “Does he have to?” It was strange the way she was taking up for him, but I brushed it off to a comfort thing.
    “I’m sorry, but from this point on you and I are the only ones who will know where we go and what happens.”
    I could see sadness sweep across her crestfallen face. “I guess this is good-bye then?” She whispered in his direction.
    “I suppose it is.” He st ood and pulled her into a loving embrace. There was definitely something more to them than just a detective and witness kind of relationship.
    I stayed put on the couch as Lyndley walked Detective Dawson to the door. I tried not to listen in on their good-byes, but when I heard her small cries echoing through the hall, I couldn’t help it. I silently stood and waited for her to return, when she did, I handed her a Kleenex from the coffee table and reached for her to take a seat next to me.
    “I’m very sorry for all of the loss you are experiencing, but nobody can know where we go from here. Do you understand?”
    “I’m not an idiot. I know how the witness protection thing works, it just sucks.”
    I sat back in awe of the girl sitting in front of me. No