I reach my arms high above my head, stretching out the aching muscles in my back. I’ve been sitting at my computer now for six hours straight. I say computer, what I really mean is two keyboards hooked up to four screens, and this is just my home computer. The one in the warehouse has even more screens.
I tend to get lost when I press my finger on the space bar and bring it to life, the LCD screens drawing me into their web and not letting me go for many hours at a time. Whether I’m playing a game, writing code, or making a new device; I like to drift to that place in my mind where everything is quiet and nothing else but what is in front of me matters.
“Evan?” I jump at the voice and spin around in my chair, almost slipping off it at how fast I turn.
I grab the edge of my desk to stop myself from falling, my eyes connecting with Geena’s dark-blue ones before scanning the rest of her face. Her lips are pulled into a grim line and her foot is tapping against the floor where she sits on my couch that also pulls out into a bed.
“Hey,” I say, my voice small and betraying me, but I really don’t want to rile her up by talking too loud. “I didn’t realize you were—”
“Here?” she interrupts.
“Yeah,” I whisper, standing up and straightening my t-shirt out that is full of creases. Her eyes narrow even further when she sees what I’m wearing—one of the many slogan t-shirts that I own.
I swallow against my dry throat, my feet shuffling on the floor as the atmosphere becomes thicker.
“You don’t even remember, do you?”
“Erm…” I frown, having no idea what she’s talking about.
She throws her hands up in the air. “You were meant to meet me at my place!”
I cringe as she shouts, hating how it fills the small space of my cabin. She always does this, she thinks that the louder she shouts the more impact she’ll have when it’s really the opposite. As soon as she raises her voice, I freeze, my mind taking me back to a time when that’s all that ever happened.
I’ve never told her about my childhood—about my past—all she knows is that I was adopted at nine years old. It isn’t that I didn’t want to tell her, it’s that I knew she didn’t want to know. I’ve never felt like I wanted to open up about it anyway, and maybe I never will. But that’s okay because I have my own way of dealing with it. I may be an adult now, but those memories will never fade. I can close my eyes right now and see and hear everything as clear as if it was happening to me in the present instead of the past.
Movement brings me out of my own head and I watch as she stands up, her mouth still moving as she continues to shout. My ears buzz with white noise as I stare at her with wide eyes, not one word of what she’s saying getting through to me.
It isn’t until she storms past me, shoving her shoulder into my chest and making me stumble backward that the white noise stops. The slamming of my door vibrates against the walls causing my muscles to unlock and I finally manage to move, pulling the door open and following her out.
Her head whips around, her eyes narrowing in on me before she spins back around.
“You’re fucking useless! Why the fuck I put up with you, I don’t know!”
“Geena,” I plead, following her across the gravel that covers the whole compound.
I reach out for her but she pushes me away, making me stumble again.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” she screams. My eyes widen as I see her face covered in a mask of pure anger.
I open my mouth to say something—anything—but nothing comes out.
“Hey!” a voice shouts and when I look over, I see Kitty standing in front of her place, boxes surrounding her as she moves out of the compound and into her own place with Charlie. She steps forward but I give her a look and a quick shake of my head, telling her—begging her—not to get involved. The last thing I need is any of the guys witnessing this. She comes to a halt but I can see that she wants to say something—do something.
The sound of a car door shutting echoes around the compound and I watch as Geena speeds over the gravel, dust kicking up as the gates open and she drives through them before another car pulls inside.
“Evan?”
“Not now, Kitty,” I sigh, looking at the ground and slumping my shoulders forward before walking back into my cabin.
It’s all my fault, if I hadn’t have gotten so engrossed in my computer then I would have remembered that I was meant to be at her place. I should have set an alarm on my phone. Stupid, stupid!
I stand by my front door, looking into the small cabin that I call home. Geena hates this place, much preferring me coming to hers instead. She’s constantly telling me that I got the raw end of the deal, that the other houses on the compound are so much nicer and that it isn’t fair that they got those houses and I ended up with this.
It doesn’t matter how many times I tell her that I don’t want and never did want one of the other houses; it never seems to sink in. This is me. This cabin is where I feel the most relaxed. I don’t need a big house with five bathrooms and eight bedrooms.
Having too much space with lots of hiding spaces makes me nervous, but then she wouldn’t understand that because she doesn’t know what used to happen to me.
The cabin is basically one giant room of open space. As soon as you walk through the door, you step into the living room/bedroom/office/kitchen. My computers sit off to the right along with my chair that cost more money than anything else I own apart from my car, but it’s a pretty freaking cool chair. The black and red leather that covers it houses speakers: it’s a special shape that helps your back from aching when sitting for long periods of time.
Then in the middle I have my couch pushed up against the wall that pulls out into a double bed, to the left of that is a small kitchen, just enough for me to cook something simple. Next to that is a door that leads into a shower room along with another door that is storage for my clothes and that’s it… it’s all I need.
Well… apart from my safe room below, but no one knows about that.
There’s nothing on the walls apart from the wood that has been treated: I love the cozy feel. Nothing else compares to it, and I’m proud to call it mine.
I don’t know how long I stand here for, staring at it all without really thinking of anything in particular, but a knock on my door gains my attention and my breath catches, wondering if Geena came back to tell me off again.
No, it can’t be her, she wouldn’t have knocked.
I ignore the slight shake to my hands and the fast beating of my heart at the thought of it being her. I know that I shouldn’t ignore it, I shouldn’t feel like this, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
I take a deep breath, pulling the door open and releasing it as I see Luke standing there, hands on his hips with his head turned toward the warehouse.
“Luke?”
“Evan.” He puffs out a breath, turning around and meeting my eyes. His ice-blue ones are guarded, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. “That guy you were looking for for Kitty? He’s here.”
My brows rise high on my forehead as I step out of my cabin. “Kitty’s guy? Really?”
“Yeah.” He nods as I jog down the steps onto the gravel and then walk over to the warehouse with him beside me.
For months now, since Kitty first went to rehab, I’ve been searching for the guy who used to be her bodyguard, but after several emails and messages all with no replies, I started to think that the guy was a ghost.
“You saw him?” I ask Luke.
His guarded eyes meet mine and his lips turn into a grim, straight line. “I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope,” he says, popping the p. “Why turn up after all this time?”
I chuckle and shrug my shoulders, saying simply, “Because Kitty asked him to?”
Luke makes a noise in the back of his throat before I pull the warehouse door open.
Everyone is scattered all over the place but my eyes immediately zone in on Dean where he stands in front of my computers, moving the mouse and bringing the screens to life.
“No!” I shout, darting around the meeting table and over the mats to where he’s standing. “Don’t touch.” My voice comes out weak so I clear my throat. “That’s mine, you don’t touch, nobody touches my things.” I know I sound like a petulant child, but this guy can’t come in here and start touching my stuff.
“Hey, man, I got it.” He holds his hands up in the air, his mouth pulled up into a smirk as his deep voice surrounds us. “You Evan?”
“I am.” I nod, crossing my arms over my chest and just now realizing that I’m wearing the same clothes I was yesterday. I really should have at least changed before I came over, but Geena has my head in a mess and I don’t know which way is up and which way is down right now.
I never know which Geena I’m going to get: whether it’ll be the one that I first met—the kind one, the one who was soft spoken—or whether I’ll get the one who flies off the handle at the smallest thing, who talks down to me.
“Nice to meet you, man. I’m Dean.” He holds his hand out and I stare at it for a fraction of a second before placing my hand in his and shaking it. “I got your message but I was on an assignment so I couldn’t get back to you, but I tracked you down and figured if you were here then Kitty would be too.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “How did you track me down?”
His eyes widen as he stares at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. “I erm… I pinged the message that you sent me.”
I watch him for several seconds, not knowing whether to be impressed or suspicious.
“She’s here,” I finally reply, tilting my head to where she’s standing talking to Ty and Charlie.
“I know.” He turns around and stands shoulder to shoulder with me. “She’s grown up a lot, eh?”
“I suppose.” My eyes widen and I cough to cover up the awkwardness that I feel.
“Anyway,” he says, clearing his throat. “I heard you’re the best there is.”
“Huh?”
“The best computer expert—you know you’re a big name in the cyber world?”
I puff out my chest, a grin widening on my face. “Well… I don’t like to brag, but—” I cut myself off when I realize that the only way he would know that is if he’d been asking about me, which in turn means that he’s been asking about all of us.
My gaze skirts to his as I assess him. I’m good—no, great—at analyzing people when I first meet them. He’s not giving me any bad juju though, so I let it go and turn to face Kitty as she walks toward us.
“I see you’ve met the geeky one.” She says this with a smirk on her face so I know she’s joking, but I still throw a palm over my chest as I gasp.
“You wound me!”
“Shut up.” She laughs.
“Shouldn’t you be going off to your new house?” I remark, a grin on my face.
She pushes me gently on the shoulder, but I grab it, pulling a pained face and groaning. “Damn, Kit, you’re so violent.”
She snorts and jumps slightly as Charlie comes to stand beside her, his hand wrapping around her waist. “You ready?” he asks.
“I—well… what about Dean?”
Dean looks at her and then me, finally turning his attention to where Ty stands leaning against the doorframe to his office, watching us all intently.
“I’ll be good, you go and set up your new home and I’ll come by tomorrow—I mean, if that’s good with you?”
“Of course, it is!” She reaches up onto her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Dean’s neck. He whispers something to her that I don’t quite catch and she nods her head in reply before pulling back and walking out of the warehouse with Charlie.
“Evan? I need a word in a couple of hours.”
“Okay,” I say, looking down at myself. “I’m gonna head home and grab a shower.” I look at Dean and then Ty, puffing my chest out and using my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, “I’ll be back.”
Dean laughs and Ty shakes his head but I just smirk at the impression because I got it spot on.
I head for the warehouse door, my eyes widening as I realize that Luke has been standing there the whole time, watching us. I raise a brow as I get closer to him.
“He’s been asking about us,” he says, his voice low. “Why would he ask about us?”
My brows knit together as I turn to take a quick look at Dean who is now talking to Ty. “He seems okay.” I shrug.
“Yeah, well, I don’t trust him. He gives me bad vibes.” Luke crosses his arms over his chest, still staring at him. “I don’t like him being here.”
I shake my head, patting him on the shoulder. “You need to take a chill pill and relax.”
He makes a noise in the back of his throat so I quickly remove my hand and pull the warehouse door open.
He’s only voicing my own thoughts that Dean must have been asking about us, and yeah, it could be suspicious, but we don’t know the guy. Add in the fact that Kitty asked me to find him, then I trust he’s here for Kitty and not for any other reason.
I take one last look at Luke before the door closes. I know Luke won’t let him out of his sight: he hates new people.
* * *
“That’s it for today, ladies,” I announce, clapping my hands. “Remember to put your name down for next week’s class on the way out.”
They all scatter, collecting their bags and water bottles, chatting among themselves as I start to clear away the small mats and equipment that I use to teach the self-defense classes that I run.
I’ve been running them at the local community center for years now; helping women defend themselves against anyone they need to.
When Kaylee first came to the compound, I recognized the signs of abuse right away—I’ve seen it enough over the years when I volunteered at the women’s shelter that my dad runs. It’s one of his many charity ventures along with his environmental business.
Being in that environment and seeing the physical abuse that the women had to put up with was what made me want to teach self-defense in the first place. At first it was at the shelter and then I started at the community center, and now, six years later, I teach two classes a week on Monday and Friday.
“Evan?” I look up at Haley, one of my regulars. “I was wondering if it would be okay to bring my niece with me next time?”
I roll up the mat and hook it under my arm before widening my stance. I wish we could afford the proper mats, but money is tight at the center, so I have to improvise with yoga mats. “How old is she?”
“She’s sixteen… but… she’s not exactly in with the ‘cool kids,’ if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” I blow out a breath, reading between the lines and knowing exactly what she means.
When I was in high school, if I wasn’t being picked on for being a nerd or a loser, then it was because I had two dads. I let them push me and push me right to the edge until one day, I hit back. I went for the biggest and baddest one, knowing that if I took him down, the others wouldn’t bother me anymore.
It worked, they didn’t say a single word to me again, but by that stage, the damage had already been done and I was wary of every single one of them. It’s not like I had any friends to talk to, to hang around with—not like before high school.
That’s how I built my profile up in the cyber and gaming world, becoming somebody through the screen of a computer. The anonymity that the screen gives you allowed me to build my confidence back up.
“It should be fine, as long as you have her parents’ consent.”
“Of course.” She smiles and then turns around, heading out of the door with the two other women she comes to this class with.
I never ask their stories because to me it doesn’t matter as long as they want to learn how to defend themselves. That’s what I’m here for, to teach them how to defend themselves if they ever find themselves in a situation they feel uncomfortable in… or worse.
Most of these women have already lived through domestic abuse or have even been attacked. But people tend to be reactive instead of proactive and I’m determined to help people be proactive, and Haley’s niece is as good a place as any to start.
I continue to pack all of the stuff away, putting them back on the shelves in the equipment room that sits next to the main room of the community center.
The center isn’t big, only housing three main rooms, one downstairs and two upstairs, all of which are in constant use from seven in the morning. In the summer months, they have fairs and fun days, trying to raise money to keep the place open and provide kids with somewhere stable to come to a couple of times a week after school and during school breaks.
I close the door and walk back into the room I was using, grabbing my bag off the floor and switching the lights off as I exit and closing the door behind me.
“Can I have a word?” Roy asks from behind me as I’m about to walk out of the main doors.
I turn to face him, taking note of the bald patch in the middle of his head, surrounded by wisps of gray hair and his dull brown eyes. He must be nearly eighty by now, but the old man is still going strong and determined to keep this community center open for as long as he can.
He’s a jack of all trades. He balances the books, hosts events, fixes anything that is broken, keeps the grounds in good condition, and also cleans. He’s here from the time the doors open until they close.
“Sure.” I shrug, following him into his office that sits behind the reception desk.
He walks around the various boxes that line his floor and to his old wooden desk that’s scattered with folders and paperwork.
“I wanted to let you know that I’m cutting my hours down.”
“’Bout damn time.” I chuckle.
He laughs with me for a minute until he sobers. “You know we aren’t exactly flush for money…”
“Uh huh.”
“Well… I can’t afford a normal wage, not with the way things are right now so I put an ad in with a program.” He pauses, his eyes flitting over my face before finally landing back on mine. “I still pay them, but not what I would if they were employed normally. It’s like a ‘back to the workplace’ kind of thing.”
I frown at him, not quite understanding why he’s telling me this. “I don’t get what you’re saying, Roy.” I lean against the doorframe, folding my arms across my chest.
“I know what you do with MAC… I know you put the bad guys away.” I stay silent, waiting for what he has to say. “The person I’ve employed has just come out of prison. They’ll be helping me with closing at the end of the night, cleaning the place… that kind of thing.”
“Hold on.” I lift my hand in the air, palm forward as I stand up straight, taking a step toward him. “You’re employing a criminal?” Silence. “You know some of the people who come here come for sanctuary, to get away from whatever shit is going on at home.”
“I know,” he says, swiping his hand down his face. “But it’s the only thing I can afford. I just wanted to see if you can keep an eye on them?”
“You should’ve said something to me, I would’ve helped out more.”
“You have so much going on already.” He shrugs. “It’s a done deal.”
I drop my shoulders, blowing out a breath and looking out of the window at the darkened sky. I know that he’s getting on in age; he can’t keep being here for fourteen hours a day, he needs the help, but I can’t help thinking that this could be bad if people knew, if people found out that the new employee is a criminal.
It could ruin the reputation of the center; people would start to question if they’re safe here.
“Who else have you told?” I finally ask, bringing my eyes back to him.
“Just you.”
“Good.” I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder. “Don’t tell anyone else; we keep it between us.”
He nods his head in reply before I walk out of the building to my car.