A Heart of Darkness

Chapter 2. The Don's Girl

Kaylee stretched in her gigantic bed noticing that a rather large and warm body that was usually wrapped around her was missing. She opened one eye and felt around the covers for him. He was gone...again... He'd gone to bed with her last night and disappeared sometime during the night.

Sighing in exasperation she sat up and threw a pillow at the spot Brandon usually laid. She never knew what to expect from him in the mornings or at night. There were times when he'd be out very late doing god knows what to some poor soul and she'd end up falling asleep alone in bed. Sometimes she was awake when she heard him come in, but pretended to be asleep just to see what he was up to. He'd stand over her bed staring down at her for a minute before going to the shower and then he would return and haul her into his arms. He wouldn't immediately go to sleep. He'd run his fingers through her long hair, tenderly kiss her cheek, then bury his face in the side of her neck and inhale deeply before passing out. He'd hold her so tightly in his sleep, his body molded to hers that she had to practically wrestle the man away from her just to go to the restroom in the middle of the night. And every time she left his side, he'd immediately awaken, glance in the direction she was walking to make sure she wasn't leaving the room and then close his eyes again. He never went back to sleep until she got into bed and he dragged her back to him.

Too bad, she wasn't so highly aware as he was or she'd know when he left her side in the middle of the night. She had a difficult time falling asleep when he wasn't there, but when he was, his big warm body wrapped around her would send her into a very deep sleep. Something about being in his arms relaxed her, made her feel safe. Nothing could harm her when she was in Brandon's big strong arms. His enemies would have to plow through him to get to her and that body of his was pure steel muscle.

Yes, Brandon made her feel secure and at peace, but always in the back of her mind, was that uncomfortable thought that maybe he'd kill someone that night. He'd once promised her he would never intentionally kill a man when she became stressed over his second job. That was it...that was all he gave her to make her feel better...The man never wanted to talk to her about what he did. He was pretty tight-lip and stubbornly ignored her or changed the subject when she continued to pry. She supposed he was trying to protect her. Ignorant was bliss and she did have a very blissful life despite the dark shadow of his second job lurking in the back of her mind.

She had everything a woman could want, she told herself. A handsome loving man (who threatened and beat the shit out of people), a beautiful home (that was filled with scary looking men guarding it from what danger?) more money than she knew what to do with (blood money). "Ahh!" She let out an annoyed yell and got out of bed. Why couldn't she just wake up with her boyfriend by her side just like any other normal relationship? She had no clue when he'd left or how long he'd been gone and he never answered her phone calls until after the job was over.

She took a long shower, put on her favorite floral maxi dress, slipped into white sandals, and pulled her long hair into a high ponytail. She felt refreshed and ready to start her morning. On weekends, she cooked a huge breakfast for Brandon and his loyal friends. She knew she didn't have to, but since they practically lived with her and protected her from some unknown danger every day, she felt the least she could do was feed them. Despite the men whose job was to stand outside the house like soldiers, Brandon still had one or two of his closest friends stay in the house with her while he was away.

She walked down the long hallway and down the steps to the kitchen. She and Brandon had their own little separate part of the house located on the second floor and far away from the main rooms on the first floor for privacy and protection. The second floor was off-limits to the men unless there was an emergency. She could stay there all day and not see any of the men who roamed the first floor unless she wanted to. However, if she needed to leave she had to deal with them each and every time, which was extremely annoying. She longed for the days of living at her apartment where she could leave anytime she wanted to without letting anyone know where she was going...she thought for a moment...wait...no...that wasn't right, she still had to let Brandon know where she was going, even then he was overprotective, but at least she had to deal with one man and not twenty.