UNDER THEIR PROTECTION

Freedom.

A sigh fell from my lips as my eyes fluttered closed. The music coming from my headphones blocked out the sounds surrounding me. I enjoyed the few minutes I had to myself without my father or brother looming over me.

Opening my eyes, I glanced around and then headed down the aisle with all the chocolate bars. I was happy today and that was reason enough to have a little celebration of my own.

Father never allowed me to have anything sweet. When I was little, our housekeeper used to sneak me candy when my father was at work, but things had changed a lot since I turned six.

Sadness flooded me, making my shoulders slump.

My eyes darted over the different chocolate bars. It felt like they were all staring at me, begging me to choose them. I licked my lips and reached for one but paused when another caught my eye.

The song changed at that moment, making some of the sadness fade. It was familiar, a song I already knew all the words to.

Grabbing the chocolate bar, I held it to my chest and gave in to the urge to move my body.

A second later I instantly regretted it.

My phone slipped out of my hand when my body collided with another. I gasp, stumbling backward and losing my footing despite my best efforts to steady myself. Squeezing my eyes closed, I held my breath as I waited to hit the floor.

Thankfully it never happened.

Big hands gripped my upper arms, stopping my fall. I stumbled into the man when he jerked me forward. There was no mistaking the muscular length of his body pressed to mine. Or the smell of his aftershave filling my nostrils.

I sucked in a shaky breath, followed by another.

My heart was racing in my ears, blocking out the song currently playing.

Swallowing, I pressed my palms against the man’s chest and pushed. His fingers tightened around my arms and for a moment, I feared that he wasn’t going to let me go. But then his hands slipped away and he took a step back.

I blinked at him. My eyes instantly locked his chest and then slowly trailed up, higher and higher until they locked on his face.

Shit, he’s tall.

My family consisted mostly of men. They were all a few inches taller than me, but their height didn’t compare to the stranger. The man though, made me feel small with his muscular frame towering over me.

“S-sorry,” I stuttered, taking another step back.

His lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. Bending, he picked up my phone and earphones.

Dismay filled me when he turned the phone around and revealed the cracked screen.

“At least it still works,” he said softly.

I nodded, watching as the screen lit up when he pressed the button.

He held the phone out towards me but I hesitated.

Interacting with strangers was something I did regularly, but it wasn’t something I enjoyed. It made me feel uncomfortable.

“I know a guy who can fix it.”

I blinked and instantly reached out to take the phone from him. “That’s okay,” I muttered. “It’s still usable.”

As long as the phone still worked there shouldn’t be any problem. I winced when I thought of how my father would react if I asked him for my pay to buy a new phone.

The man cleared his throat, making my eyes snap up to his.

Golden brown eyes locked with mine.

He’s really beautiful. Colour flooded my cheeks as soon as the words flashed through my mind. Men couldn’t be beautiful, could they? Men were handsome.

“S-sorry again,” I apologized. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

He smiled, not a full smile but just a slight curl of his lips.

I stepped aside at the same time as he did. We ended up stepping in the same direction and bumping slightly into each other again. Another apology fell from my lips that he waved away.

We moved at the same time again.

Gripping my arms to steady me, he took a small step back and gave me another crooked smile. He squeezed my arms and then let go as he stepped to the side.

“After you, my lady.”

Giving him a small smile, I hurriedly walked away.

But when I reached the end of the aisle, I couldn’t help but look back.

My eyes widened when I found the man staring at me.

Swallowing, I spun around and hurried away.

Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Shaking away the peculiar thoughts filling my head, I was just about to push my earphones back in my ears when I caught sight of a familiar figure.

My shoulders slumped and my stomach rolled with dismay.

Knowing that the freedom I was just enjoying ended, I rolled my earphones up and pushed my phone into my pocket. For a moment I stared at the chocolate bar I still had clutched in my other hand.

With a twist of my lips, I dropped it onto a nearby shelf and spun around.

“Lizabeth.”

I froze.

Dominic reached me and instantly gripped my arm. His hold didn’t hurt, but it was only because I was following him without fighting. I knew there was no use arguing or making up an excuse as to why I was at the shop.

“How did you find me?” I asked him instead.

He pursed his lips.

“Dom－”

“We always know where you are,” he interrupted me.

His words made a shiver race down my spine. It was a lie, I knew it was.

“I have an important meeting today,” he hissed under his breath. “Dad wants me to sweet talk the bastard and I can’t do that if I have to worry about where you are.”

I frowned. His words might seem caring, but it was the exact opposite. In other words, he was kindly letting me know that my father had told him to keep an eye on me because he was scared that I would embarrass him.

As if I could do worse than what he had already done to himself.

Reaching his car, Dominic pulled open the door and pushed me forward. I stumbled but regained my balance and climbed into the car. I flinched when he slammed the door shut and hurried around the front of the car to climb in behind the wheel.

“Who’s the meeting with?” I asked.

He glanced at me. “An investor.”

My frown deepened.

Who would be interested in investing money in a failing business? The fast food joint my father owned was falling apart. Selling greasy cheeseburgers and overcooked fries was not a billion-dollar business. The Chinese restaurant across the street from us made more money in a day than we made in a week. I didn’t know how the business was still up and running.

But I never questioned it, because it wasn’t a woman’s place to stick her nose into a man’s business.

I sighed and relaxed against the seat as Dominic started the car.

Just as we pulled away from the curb, the handsome stranger walked out of the shop. Our eyes locked only for a second.

And then he was gone.

“Who was that man you were talking to?” Dominic asked after a few minutes of silence.

I shrugged. “I bumped into him.”

He muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear.

It didn’t matter either way. The handsome man was a stranger that I wasn’t going to see again. My shoulders slumped the further we drove. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if I had my own life without my father and brother’s shadows hanging over me.

In a family of five, I was the only girl.

Mom died during childbirth and that was something Father never made me forget. It was the reason why he hated me so much.

Dominic and I were close in age. We used to be closer when we were younger. One day it all changed, and I had no idea why.

Sometimes I would think back and try to remember if I had done something to make him hate me like everyone else in the family. Not that it mattered, what happened wasn’t something that could be changed.

A sigh fell from my lips.

“I don’t want any trouble today, Lizabeth,” Dominic said softly. “I need to focus on this meeting. Please just focus on the job and don’t fuck up any orders.”

“I won’t.”

We both knew it wasn’t a promise I could keep. Working as a waitress was not something I wanted to do. I hated serving the customers. I hated the way some of the regulars stared at me.

The car slowed and then came to a stop in front of the restaurant. Dominic immediately got out of the car, making me hurry after him.

Most of the staff were already there.

I ignored them as I walked into the staff room to grab my apron. Tying the strings around my waist, I took a second to suck in a shaky breath and then walked out of the room.

“Remember what I said,” Dominic hissed as I passed him in the hall on my way to the front of the restaurant.

I’m not going to fuck up, I repeated over and over in my head as the minutes turned into hours.

Rush hour was the worst. For some reason, there were a lot more people around. It unnerved me. So much so that I did exactly what I promised my brother I wouldn’t do.

I fucked up.

My eyes were focused on the tray filled with three cups of coffee I was trying to balance while I made my way through the tables towards the back.

In the next second, I tripped over something.

A cry fell from my lips as the tray slipped out of my hands and the coffee cups dropped to the floor.

All but one.

It landed on a man’s lap.

I flinched when he jerked to his feet, muttering curses.

Apologies fell from my lips as I grabbed some serviettes from the closest table. I pressed it to his pants and tried my best to dry some of the coffee.

The pants were expensive; I noticed in dismay. Even if I offered to have it dry-cleaned, I would never be able to afford it.

Strong fingers suddenly wrapped around my wrist, stopping my movements.

“You keep doing that and we’re both going to be in trouble.”

My eyes snapped up and then lowered again. The confusion cleared when I realized what the man meant.

I had been unconsciously wiping a hand over his crotch in my haste to clean the coffee from his pants before it stained the material. Colour flooded my cheeks.

There was no missing the bulge there.

“Mr. Moretti, I’m so sorry!”

As fast as the colour flooded my cheeks, it drained from my face again. The glare Dominic threw my way was enough to make me shiver. His eyes said it all. Father was going to hear about it and punish me for fucking up.

“I must apologize for her－”

“It’s fine.”

I looked at the man again and with a start, I realized exactly who I had spilled the coffee on.

It was a stranger from this morning.