My Protector

Chapter 4

Kayla's POV:

My leg was killing me as I ran down the sidewalk. I cut through an alley that way I wouldn't be on the main street anymore. I will get to the shelter through the back entrance. I'm only spending the least amount of minutes I possibly can and then I have got to go. I can't stick around here anymore.

I got about halfway through the alley before I couldn't run anymore. My lungs were burning and my leg was hurting and throbbing. I leaned up against one of the buildings and moved my jeans so I could make sure the gash in my leg was still doing okay. When I took a look I could see that it was starting to bleed a little again. Looked like my running may have pulled a little too hard on the stitches and caused some minor bleeding.

I'm not going to worry about it. I will walk the rest of the way to the shelter so I don't irritate it any more than I have to. The shelter wasn't far from here, just a little ways down. I should be able to get to it easily and quickly, hopefully without being spotted.

I made it to the back door of the shelter and slowly opened the door. I peeked in to make sure they weren't in there waiting for me. I walked into the open room where they serve the meals twice a day and walked through to the staircase that would lead up to the room with the cots. I couldn't help but constantly look around and behind myself over every little sound that I heard. I did my best to keep my ears open and listen to everything they picked up.

I quietly walked up the stairs and down the hallway. Once I was next to the door that entered the room I couldn't help but almost run in towards the cot where my bag was left at. I got to it and knelt beside it to look under the cot, only to realize that my bag wasn't there! Dammit! I shouted in my head.

I felt like crying because it was my ticket of getting out of this town quickly. I felt the feeling of being a failure and already wanted to give up.

"What's the matter, baby? You looking for something?"

I felt cold suddenly and all the blood drained from my body. The sound of that voice is one I could never forget. I slowly stood up and turned around. About 10 or more feet from me was Jonah! He was standing there with the evilest grin possible holding up my bag that had the little bit of change that I had to pay for my bus ticket.

My heart was racing and fear swept over me. If he was here, his men were nearby but I didn't see any at all when I came in here. How did he know my bag was in here?

"Did you really think we wouldn't have searched this place after you took off?" He said almost laughing at my stupidity for coming back here.

I wish I never came back. I should have just gone the opposite direction and forgotten about the money that took dad and me almost two weeks to get.

I started to step away from the cot towards the door. The only way is to run. I took off as hard as I could towards the door. The moment my body reached the opening a man in a black suit stepped forward and I ran right into him.

He felt like a brick wall and the hit knocked all the air out of my lungs as I fell backwards against the floor.

"Did you honestly think you would be able to get away once we found you?" Jonah taunted me as I looked up at the man I just ran into.

He had no expression on his face and he was wearing sunglasses. He reached down and grabbed my arm and yanked me up off of the floor.

"Let me go!" I shouted at him and pulled but all he did was tighten his grip.

"Turn her around and let me see her." I heard Jonah say behind me.

The guard or whoever he was pulled me and managed to turn me around harshly to where he was now holding both of my arms behind my back. Jonah walked up to me and rubbed my face with his hand.

"You sure did turn out beautiful like I thought you would." He said as a grin appeared on his face.

"You're a mess but very beautiful." He continued as his eyes started to wonder.

I sucked in and spit as hard as I could into his face. He instantly was no longer grinning. He smacked me hard in the face and caused my lip to bleed. The metallic taste was seeping into my mouth.

"You will respect me either by choice or by force." He told me as he glared into my eyes.

"Bring her." He said and he headed out of the room that had all of the cots.

I struggled in the guy's grip and tried to get free but I wasn't having any luck. He pulled me with him behind Jonah. I was struggling enough that it caused him to move a little slower than Jonah was walking so by the time we got out into the hallway, Jonah was already going down the stairs. The guard dragged me with him and we started our descent down into the cafeteria below.

With it being in the middle of the day there isn't usually anyone in the shelters because they are out when it is nice and trying to get drugs or change or whatever it is they are wanting each day. Jonah was almost to the outside door when we got to the bottom of the steps when I lifted my leg and I kicked behind me as hard as I possibly could. Hitting the guard in the leg causing him to shout out in pain from me hitting I think his kneecap.

His grip loosened just enough that I swung my head up and headbutted him in the face. He completely let go of my wrists and I took off towards the back exit.

'You i***t!" I heard Jonah yell at the guard and I glanced back.

The guard was holding his nose that had blood running down his face. I couldn't help but get excited about what I had done and I couldn't help but smile at what I had accomplished. I continued to run out the back entrance with Jonah hot on my trail.

"Kayla!" I heard him shout my name as I ran through the alley towards the main street of town.

Regardless of how my thigh was feeling right now, I had to keep going. I got out onto the main street and almost ran into someone which caused me to stumble. I glanced over and saw the guard with a bloodied face coming out of the front of the shelter. He looked really pissed off right now and he was no longer wearing his sunglasses. I'm thinking they got broke when I hit him.

I turned the corner away from the direction they were coming from and ran down the street. I know there is a bus stop around here somewhere.

I was running into the section of the street that had a lot of shops like newspaper stands and hot dog stands and other various vendors which caused the sidewalk to be pretty full. The number of people trying to purchase their items caused me to slow down and I really had to push through some of them.

"Kayla! You won't get away!" I heard Jonah again behind me but I wasn't going to stop or look behind.

Once I got through the crowd of people around those shops I could see the bus stop just ahead. Even though I didn't have any money for a ride I had to get on that bus! I could see the last of the people getting on and I was still a distance away yet.

"Hold the bus!" I shouted and waved my hand as I got closer.

One person getting on the bus looked over and saw me but they just got on and I don't think they said anything. I knew there was no way I would be able to outrun Jonah. Not with my leg throbbing like it is and I could already tell that he could run faster than me even if my leg was healed.

"Hold the bus!" I screamed even louder almost cracking my voice in the process.

I waved my hand again but the bus shut the door and started to pull away. s**t no! I shouted in my head. Seeing the bus start to move was causing me to feel tears in my eyes because I knew he would get me if I didn't get on that bus!

"Stop the bus!" I shouted when I got close to the back of the bus and I hit it hard with the palm of my hand.

"Kayla!" I heard him again and he sounded so close!

"Stop the bus!" I shouted again and hit it again as I started to move up the side of the bus.

Suddenly the bus put on its brakes and stopped. The driver opened the door and I jumped on.

"Go go go go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and forced the driver to shut the door.

The moment the door shut Jonah was right there and smacked the door with his hand as well.

"Go!" I screamed at the driver as I held the lever to keep Jonah from pushing in the door to get on the bus.

The driver pushed the latch to lock the door in place and started moving the bus again. Jonah hit the door and the look he was giving me told me that if he ever caught me I might as well just pray that he kills me quickly. There was no way from the way he just looked that he was going to let me get away with this without doing something to me.

I sighed a sigh of relief when the bus pulled out onto the street. I felt so relieved to be on the bus and away from him. My heart was thumping so hard in my chest that I knew everyone on board could hear it. I took another breath to try to calm my breathing down and took the last step up into the bus to find a seat.

"Bus fare ma'am." The driver said to me.

I turned and looked at him, scared that he was going to dump me off right here when he found out that I had no money. We weren't far enough away from Jonah for him to drop me off yet.

"I...I don't have any money." I said to him.

Suddenly my fear took over and I couldn't stop myself from almost getting on my knees and begging.

"Please, sir! I'm begging you, don't kick me off the bus. Not yet! Let me stay on just for a bit." I said to him in a voice that meant this would mean death if he were to kick me off now.

:He glanced over at me and I saw his face soften when he saw me. He looked back over at the road in front of him. He sighed and blinked his eyes and nodded his head.

"You can stay on to the next bus stop." He told me.

"And, how far away is that?" I asked him.

About 15 minutes from here." He said and smiled at me before looking back at the road again.

"Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much this means to me." I told him.

"I think I know why you got on this bus and I wouldn't want to let you off if that meant that man got you. I couldn't live with myself if that were to happen." He told me.

I couldn't help but feel a little happy and relieved at the situation and turned to walk to an open seat. Everyone on the bus was looking at me. Some of them I could tell pitied me, others looked worried and others just didn't seem to care. Some of them even had the look of wanting to know more about my situation. I just walked without looking at any of them and sat down in an empty seat.

I couldn't help but look behind us constantly hoping that we weren't being followed but it looked like we were okay. All the cars changed regularly and none of them stayed the same for long. Most of them passed us so I felt pretty comfortable that no one was following us.

I leaned back in my seat and relaxed. The moment I leaned back images of Jaxson flooded my mind. He was so handsome and sexy and the kindness he showed me was more than what I could ever forget. I had a feeling he was always going to be on my mind from now on but I know I could never go back. Today is the first and last time I will ever see him. Maybe someday, if I'm lucky I could come back here and find him again but I'm thinking that it will never happen. Jonah will never let me go and he will always be hunting me down.

After a few minutes, the bus slowed down and the next stop was just ahead. I sat up to get ready to get off. Once he was stopped I walked to the front of the bus and walked down the steps. Before stepping completely off I took a moment and looked around to make sure I couldn't see Jonah lurking around somewhere.

Once I saw that he wasn't there I got off the bus and started to walk away. I need to get off of the main street. Whenever my dad thought he saw someone suspicious watching us, or he thought someone was following us, we got off of the main streets. We hid in alleys and went through public buildings to get to another place. Sometimes we even went into the sewers if we could.

As soon as I could I was in an alley and I ran. I looked behind myself periodically to make sure no one was following me and they weren't. It didn't take long before I couldn't run anymore and I had to stop. I was several blocks now from that bus stop and the sun was starting to set. I always hated the nighttime when we had to sleep outside.

At least then I had my father to protect me, now I am all alone. I walked till I got to a bridge in town that went over the river and decided that tonight I was going to sleep under the bridge. There's usually a small area underneath that you can tuck yourself up into and hide.

I looked around several times to make sure I didn't recognize anyone and I ran to the edge of the road and I climbed over the guard rail and ran over to get under the bridge. I slid myself up underneath it and hid. I put myself in a place where there weren't many views from where I was sitting. There wasn't a lot of space to hide but I think it will work.

I need to protect myself from others walking around who might want to hurt me or something also. It's not just Jonah I have to watch out for at night. There are other animals that come out at night in some towns and some people try to rob you. Even though I don't have my bag they could try to take the clothes that I'm wearing. Even though mine aren't in good shape, some have even less than what I have and they will do what they can to get it.

One time my father and I managed to get a blanket and when night fell, and the temperature dropped, it didn't take long before he was in a fight with some other guy. My dad finally gave it to him when he pulled a knife out and threatened him with it. We ended up sleeping that night huddled together to try to stay warm.

Some areas get pretty cold at night even though we are in the south, especially over here in the more desert-like areas.

I had a hard time falling asleep. All I could think about was my father and missing him. I cried a few times thinking about him and because of the pain in my heart I was still feeling. I also struggled with thoughts of Jonah and a few times I started to drift off but woke up suddenly thinking that he had found me.

Now that I know he is here and knows that I am here, I don't think I will be sleeping very well for a long time to come. Oh Jaxson, I wish you were here to protect me even though I'm sure it would probably just get you killed but that doesn't mean I don't want you here. I've never been alone before and I'm getting really scared.