Chapter 142 Kylie
Noah's P.O.V.
Yegor smirks at me. I have never cared for him, but he was Dakota's uncle, so I just stayed away from him as much as possible.
"What is a dummy like you going to do to me? I have a gun." Before he finishes speaking, I grab the gun and disassemble it like Dakota taught me. She always said you don't need a gun to fight. He’s still holding the woman, though, and she looks terrified.
"You have nothing but your mouth now." I'm a lot bigger than he is. I'm not a kid anymore, and I see something in his eyes that I've never seen before when he looks at me—fear. I step toward him, and he lets the woman go as he backs up. I pull her over and have her stand behind me.
"I always knew you were a snake," I tell him, taking another step toward him. I hear a door shut to the side and glance over to see Dakota with two large men.
"I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. So, did you lie about everything? Was Dominick really your son?" Dakota asks as she comes to my side.
"He wasn't my son; that was true. You should never have been made head of the family. The title belongs to a man. When my dad shut down some of the operations because of you, it cost me a lot of money. You don't know shit about running anything." I turn to look at the man I elbowed in the face, and the two men who came with Dakota are picking him up off the floor.
"We're done talking. Right now, we're taking you to the compound." Dakota looks at the men, and one holds on to the other man while the other walks over and grabs Yegor.
"That should still be my house. You shouldn't even be there!" Yegor yells as the man pushes him out of the warehouse. Dakota hugs me tight.
"I'm so sorry this happened. Are you okay?" She looks me over like the mother hen she is.
"I'm fine." I hug her back.
"Who's your friend?" Dakota asks, looking at the woman I just realized is hanging on to me.
"Yegor picked her up off the street to use as a demonstration of what he was going to do to me," I explain.
"I'm Kylie," she says softly. Dakota looks from the woman to me and smiles.
"We're going to take these two idiots to the compound. I'll have another car take you two. I'm Dakota Kondrati. Do you live close by?" She takes Kylie's hand and begins walking, but Kylie won't let go of me, so I walk with them.
"I stay in a shelter down the street," she whispers. Dakota puts her arm over her shoulders.
"Not anymore. Will you come to our house with us? We have plenty of room. It's the least we can do after my uncle kidnapped you." Kylie looks at me.
"Will you be there?" I feel my face getting hot. Women don't ever talk to me.
"Uh, yes." I'm going to hit Dakota if she starts laughing.
"Okay, I'll go. I can clean your house or cook. I don't expect any charity," Kylie says.
"How old are you?" Dakota asks as we walk outside.
"I just turned twenty last week," she replies.
"I'll tell you what. I need someone who is not associated with my family to help my assistant, Shea, and me with some day-to-day tasks. Like setting up meetings and doing other office duties. Would you be willing to help out with that? Noah can help get you started. I'll pay you well and give you a place to live." Kylie throws her arms around Dakota as she starts to cry.
"Thank you so much. I've lived on the streets since I ran away when I turned fifteen. My stepdad started raping me, and I knew I had to get out of there. No one has ever helped me before. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you all of that. I just didn't think people like you existed." Dakota hugs her back and winks at me. What was that for? Why is she looking at me like that?
"I'm glad we can help. I promise your life is going to get a lot better now. Welcome to the Kondrati family. You and Noah take this car. I'll see you in a little while." Dakota gets into the other car, and I open the door for Kylie. She climbs into the back and slides over. I get in and shut the door.
"Should I get my clothes from the shelter?" Kylie asks. I squirm a little. I'm not used to one-on-one conversations with people I don't know.
"Do you have anything there you want to bring? If not, then Dakota will make sure you have everything you need. I'm sure your room will already have been cleaned and stocked by the time we get home. That's how Dakota is." Kylie turns to look at me.
"No, I don't need anything. Thanks for saving me in there. Most people don't care about a woman from the streets. I thought he was going to kill me." She reaches over and squeezes my hand.
"You're welcome. I didn't want you to get hurt." She doesn't take her hand away, and I squirm again. I don't know what to do.
"Does your girlfriend live with you?" I stop squirming and look at Kylie.
"I don't have a girlfriend. I've never had one. Women don't like men like me." She tilts her head and narrows her eyes.
"What do you mean they don't like men like you? You're a big, handsome man. What's not to like?" I look out the window. I'd better tell her the truth so she can see that men like me can't be with women.
"I have autism." I expect her to be repulsed and take her hand away, but she takes my hand and holds it between both of hers.
"That doesn't seem like a reason not to like you. You're unique. We all have something that makes us different. There's no normal or one-size-fits-all, so don't let people make you think you're not as good as anyone else because of something that's not your fault. Do you know how many people look at me like I'm a whore because my stepfather raped me, and I live on the streets? Not everyone like me sells their body for money. I've been too scared to get close to people because of how he and my mom treated me." I turn and look at Kylie, and she smiles.
"I would never think you're a whore because of what he did to you or where you came from. No child should have that happen to them. Thank you for saying what you did." I look down, and Kylie leans over to kiss my cheek. My face gets so hot it feels like it's on fire.