Shifting Perspectives

Skye began to giggle again as Kyle looked at Priya in surprise again. "Wha--why did we go through all that measuring--ah, right."

Priya grinned at Skye. "He's got a brain in his head too."

Kyle stood and confirmed no one was looking in the shop windows before he helped Priya and Skye up to their feet. They were both moving a little tenderly, but neither complained. He pulled on his boxers as the ladies tidied themselves.

Priya slipped away, only to return in a minute with two suits. She explained the feature, and Kyle took them into the change room. The first one fit well, and he pulled the curtain back to see the ladies grinning at him.

"It's okay?" he asked.

"You look yummy! Mum is going to eat you up!" Skye gushed.

Priya's eyes widened. "I thought Kyle was getting the suit to attend a party with you!"

Skye jumped in before Kyle could speak. "I don't need a fancy suit to enjoy a little time with Kyle. Mom has a work function tomorrow night, and Kyle is her date. He's just too good to keep all to myself, as you now know as well."

Priya was still frozen with surprise as she looked at Skye.

The front doorbell jangled loudly as it was roughly shoved open.

The three at the back of the store looked forward, but only Skye responded. "Shit. Owen."

"Skye! Terry told me he saw you walking along the street on the arm of some ponce, and there he is!" the thug growled.

Kyle examined the man as he approached through the store like an oncoming storm; he was maybe an inch shorter than himself, wore his brown hair in a short buzz cut, had a square-jawed face with pale blue eyes set just a little too close together, and a nose broken and reset poorly more than once. He also had broad shoulders on a thick, blocky body. He looked strong and had big hands, which showed multiple scars from rough use. As threats went, he definitely ranked up there with runaway trains, earthquakes, and volcanos. Kyle felt a cool dispassion slip over his mind, and he didn't fight it as it would serve him.

"Owen, if you came here to make trouble, turn yourself right around and leave! Mr. Graham won't tolerate any foolishness in his shop," Priya snapped.

"Fuck off, curry nigger! I'm here to talk to Skye!" Owen barked in return.

Priya bristled immediately, but Owen intimidated her, so she glared at the man and said nothing.

Kyle gave Skye a gesture to proceed with her confession to the big man, and Skye's eyes widened in fear. Kyle's calm silence made her nod and turn to the angry man standing before her.

"Owen, I was going to call you later today. We need to talk. You remember I told you I wasn't going to be your girlfriend anymore--"

"I remember you said some stupid stuff, but we still fuck, so you're mine." He looked at Kyle, who held his gaze, unfazed by the potential violence in the big man's expression.

"I told you that I wasn't your girlfriend because I don't love you. When we get together for a little fun, that's all it is--"

"No! You're my girlfriend. I love you, and we have great sex. You don't get to suddenly say it's casual like you're some kind of skank like Priya," Owen insisted.

"I don't love you-"

"NO!" Owen roared, and swung a big meaty paw at Skye in an open-handed slap.

Kyle had been expecting that and tugged Skye out of the way of the blow, so she only felt the wind of its passing.

Then Kyle stepped forward and hit Owen three times. He began with the solar plexus, the move he knew best. Quickly followed by a sharp jab to the throat, further preventing Owen from sucking in a breath. The precision strikes hit different nerve clusters, which left the man incapacitated for the next blow. He quickly adjusted his angle for the strike against the side of Owen's neck and caught the man's look of genuine fear. As the final blow struck, Kyle felt nothing as he put the brute down. After he confirmed Owen was unconscious, he looked at Priya.

"Call the police. Get them to collect Owen. Now." Priya jolted, then quickly nodded and rushed off to make the call.

Kyle looked into Skye's stunned eyes. "You'll give a statement to the police when they arrive, and so will I. We'll tell them the complete truth. Is this understood?"

She nodded.

Confirming he had time, Kyle stepped into the change room and quickly switched back into his street clothes, putting the formal wear back onto the hangers. He closed his eyes and took a moment to let the almost clinical serenity slide off, and his hands began to tremble from the rush of unspent adrenaline. He struggled to control his breathing, and when he'd regained a semblance of calm, he stepped out to see Skye looking at him with wide eyes, Owen on the floor where he'd left him, and two officers hustling to the back of the shop. They stopped and looked down in surprise.

"Shit! Is that Owen Richards?" one asked, and Skye nodded. "Put down by this fella?"

"Only after Owen took a swing at me!" Skye insisted.

"Why would he try to hit you, miss?" the second officer asked.

"I told him I didn't love him, and he couldn't accept that I was breaking up with him," Skye answered.

The second officer glanced at Kyle again, then back to Skye. "For this bloke?"

Skye snorted nervously, then blushed. "I wish. He's just a friend from Canada."

The two policemen looked at Kyle suspiciously.

Kyle's eyebrows rose. He felt he'd better make his statement before this went off the rails.

"Ms. Livingston and I came to this shop to rent a formal suit. We met Ms. Singh, who assisted me in selecting a one. Mr. Richards entered the shop visibly upset. He said one of his friends spotted Ms. Livingston and me walking arm in arm on the sidewalk to this shop. He was verbally abusive to Ms. Singh, using racial and sexual slurs. He then confronted Ms. Livingston. She explained that she'd broken up with him several months earlier but continued to see him casually. Mr. Richards indicated this meant she remained his exclusive girlfriend, and he loved her. He didn't react well when she informed him that she didn't love him in return," Kyle sighed as he looked down at the unconscious man. "When he tried to backhand Ms. Livingston, I rendered him unconscious and asked Ms. Singh to contact you."

The two officers were staring at Kyle strangely. "Who did you say you were?" one finally managed.

"Kyle MacDenny. As she indicated, I'm Skye Livingston's friend. I'm visiting from Canada for the holidays."

"Are you in law enforcement, Mr. MacDenny?" the second officer asked. "Executive Security?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, I used to be an investment manager, but I'm between jobs at the moment."

"Mr. Richards is a big man. How did you incapacitate him? Did you use a weapon?"

"No weapons. Size isn't an advantage if you never get to use it. I know how to disable an opponent before they can act," Kyle explained without going into detail.

Seeing Kyle wasn't going to incriminate himself, they turned to Owen, who was beginning to come around. When his eyes opened, he saw Kyle watching him calmly and jolted with fear. Then he noticed the two police officers bending down to take his arms.

"Arrest him! He hit me!" Owen yelled, his fear still evident in his voice. The officers paused and looked at each other.

"Were you verbally abusive to the shop worker?" one officer asked sternly.

Owen's mouth worked for a bit, then he found his voice. "I just told the truth. She is a skank!"

The officers pulled him to his feet. "Did you attempt to physically assault Ms. Livingston by slapping her?"

Owen's expression was swinging between despair and rage. "She's talking bullshit."

"We're done. I never want to see you again! You tried to hit me!" Skye snapped.

"I love you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Owen spat.

"If you did, you wouldn't have tried to hit me! What the fuck kind of love is that?" Skye exclaimed. She shook her head and gave him a look of disgust. "I'm not your girlfriend, and I'm certainly not your punching bag! Get help."

With an enraged roar, Owen tossed the police from his arms and surged at Skye. Seconds later, he was squealing and writhing on the floor with Kyle kneeling on his back, pressing a thumb hard against the nerves behind his right ear. Owen twitched then went quiet as the pain took him out once more.

Kyle stood up and moved back with a frown when the two officers finally managed to get back to Owen. They were giving Kyle troubled looks. Neither had seen exactly how Kyle took Owen down as they'd been too busy trying to get off their asses.

"Can you put cuffs on him and get him away from Skye? Has he proven to you yet that he's dangerous and unstable? As Skye said, he needs help," Kyle growled. Skye was clinging to his back, staring in morbid fascination at Owen's slack expression and the way his jaw wasn't hanging straight any longer.

One of the officers noticed the state of Owen's jaw as well. "Shit! You broke his jaw!"

"Would you have preferred Owen breaking Skye's?" Kyle asked as he held the officer's eyes.

The two policemen shared uneasy expressions. "Where can we reach you?" one asked.

"I'm staying with the Livingstons," Kyle answered. Skye mumbled the address, and the officers nodded.

They cuffed Owen, and each grabbed an arm and carried him out of the shop.

"When did you learn how to fight like that?" Skye asked him when the door closed.

"You're one badass fighter!" Priya cheered.

"I'm not, actually," Kyle grimaced and shook his aching hand. Owen's jaw had been particularly hard, but Kyle had been lucky to land his hammer fist punch at precisely the right spot to break the hinge. "I just taught myself disabling moves, and I was ready to move before he could get ready. In a regular fight, I'd likely get my ass kicked." He looked at Skye. "Are we going to have trouble with this guy, Terry, Owen's friend? Once word gets out that he was beaten, am I going to have to face a gang of angry thugs?"

Skye shook her head, but Priya was much more confident in her denial. "Owen was the loose cannon of the group. He was the loud one, the show-off. The rest of the guys are just regular blokes. They'll be upset to hear he tried to hurt Skye." She smiled evilly. "I'll make sure word gets out that's exactly what he was trying to do when he was stopped so violently." She kept the fact that she'd caught Owen's second attack on her cell phone from the side of the room. She was looking forward to watching it tonight as she remembered how well Kyle smashed her.

Kyle thought about the benefit of having Priya drum up support for their side and realized that was a good idea. He nodded to Priya then held up the suit. "I'll take this one."

Priya grinned and bit her bottom lip. "I have to admit, when you knocked the stuffing from Owen the first time, dressed in black tie, it was like watching James Bond fighting."

Kyle snorted. "I hope that's the last time I have to act out such a scene in this suit."

The pretty clerk filled out the rental form, and Kyle signed it as she put the outfit into a carrying bag.

She came around the small counter to give Kyle a hug. "Thank you for turning yet another dull shift into an exciting afternoon."

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well," Kyle said with a smile.

Skye tugged his arm, so he stepped back from Priya and picked up the suit bag to follow Skye from the shop.

"Are you okay?" he asked her once they were outside.

Skye clung to his arm as she marched them at a brisk pace towards her home. "No! I feel like I might come apart at any second, so I'd like to do that at home, please," she choked out.

Kyle increased his pace and maintained it until they marched down the hall in her building to her front door. She fumbled with the keys and stopped to steady her nerves. She unlocked the door and rushed inside, with Kyle following. He closed it behind them.

The moment Kyle released the handle, Skye spun, threw her arms around him, and buried her face against his neck. Her tears exploded forth, and after a moment of surprise, Kyle gently wrapped his free arm around her. The tears became sobs, and her body began to shake, but Kyle held her tight.

Helen came rushing from her bedroom at the other side of the condo with a concerned look in her eyes.

Kyle held out the suit bag for Helen to take, and when his hand was free, he stroked Skye's hair until he felt her begin to relax. The sobs became softer then stopped. She sniffled and rubbed her face against his jacket.

"You're lucky this is a leather jacket as its machismo is impervious to tears," he said quietly and heard her snort gently. "Come on, let's sit in the living room and fill your mum in on what's going on. She looks like she's gonna have kittens!"

Skye burst into hiccups and giggles. She turned to see Helen waiting to get some answers. She released Kyle and rushed over to hug her mom.

"Oh my! What happened, dear!" Helen gasped.

Skye led Helen to the couch and tugged off her coat. Kyle took it from her and hung it up with his as the two women spoke quietly. Kyle took a seat across from them and remained quiet to give them their private moment. He heard Helen gasping from time to time, then she was hugging her daughter, and tears were falling again.

Helen suddenly released Skye and leaped to her feet to rush to Kyle. She pounced on him, dragging him down to the cushions of the couch to kiss him again and again. He began to chuckle at how fierce her kisses were becoming.

She pulled back to look him in the eye. "Why are you laughing at me?" she asked in surprise.

"It's just your aggression is so... surprising!" he said as he forced down his chuckles.

"You protected my baby from that crazed brute, twice! I can't thank you enough!" she exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to just stand there and let him hurt her," he snorted.

"But you fought him, and he's such a strong young man!" Helen said with a tremble.

He shook his head. "Like I told Skye's friend, Priya, I'm not a fighter. I learned how to punch someone to stop a fight before it starts. I'd get beaten to a pulp in a real fight. If Owen had been a little more cautious, I'd have been the one in the hospital. I was just very lucky that he was a shittier fighter than me."

Helen looked over at Skye. "Hospital?" she exclaimed.

Skye nodded with big eyes. "Kyle broke his jaw. It was hanging down...." She looked a little green.

Kyle squirmed. "Yeah, it wasn't the prettiest sight, but it's a devastatingly effective move." His stomach took that moment to grumble, and Helen's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"I've made a lovely stew for dinner tonight. Something to warm the insides on a cold night."

Kyle sighed happily. "Sounds delicious!"

They untangled, and Helen directed Kyle and Skye to the dining room table while she brought out the tureen of homemade stew. A fresh baguette was in a basket on the table with a bottle of red wine.

"Could I ask you to do the honors of opening the wine?" Helen asked Kyle. He nodded and got to the task as Skye watched him with a small smile from her seat next to him.

Helen returned, and he poured for them.

When everyone was seated and raising their wine, Helen spoke again. "To good friends who are there for you when you need them the most."

Kyle nodded and heard a sniff from Skye. He looked in her direction, but she just dabbed her eyes and smiled at him.

They ate in relative silence, just enjoying the warmth of the good food, good wine, and good friends.

As the meal wound down, they caught each other yawning and shared smiles.

Helen placed her hand over Kyle's on the table once they finished eating. "Kyle, I was going to ask you to share my bed tonight, but from the looks Skye is sending your way, I think she was hoping you'd join her. From everyone's yawns, the best compromise would be for us to all share my king-sized bed--to rest!" she finished with emphasis to ensure Skye understood.

Skye nodded in complete agreement as the day had taken too much out of her. She did want Kyle beside her tonight, not for sex but to ward off the nightmares or to calm her if she had one.

"That would be lovely, and thank you for the delicious meal," Kyle said with a nod.

The three friends tidied up the dishes and kitchen together, though Helen and Sky protested Kyle should just relax as their guest. He insisted, and they graciously and quickly accepted. Mother and daughter smiled at each other as they enjoyed having Kyle nearby.

They finished up and got ready for bed. Soon, Kyle found himself resting back in the middle of a mattress with a smiling woman on either side of him. They pushed up on their elbows, and each gave Kyle a sweet, sensual kiss.

With the two ladies cuddled in on both sides, Kyle let his exhaustion take him away.

He wasn't the only one to be comforted by the closeness. Skye's dreaded nightmares never became more than uncomfortable images that flitted by in her dreams. Helen's dreams were filled with dancing as she was excited about the following night.

For her, it couldn't come soon enough.

Chapter 4

Kyle did his best not to gawk at the immense stone edifice they were driving towards.

"Whose place is this again?" he asked.

Helen smiled over at him as she skillfully slipped her car into a spot behind another parked vehicle on the long driveway. "Some very generous sponsors to the hospital. Reginald and Francis Dunsfield. Apparently, they've been hosting the hospital's Christmas parties for years. They built a wing on the hospital as well. I met them once. Wonderful people!"

"Do they have twenty children?" he asked before they stepped out of the car. She looked at him curiously, and he gestured to the expansive stone mansion.

She chuckled and shook her head. "No, just three, all grown and living their own lives elsewhere."

Helen had spent the day at the hospital as it was a workday. Skye snuggled against Kyle on the couch as they watched TV. It was a decompression day for the young woman, and Kyle was fine with that.

It was late afternoon when Helen returned, and they got dressed for the party and headed out.

Kyle offered his elbow and walked Helen up the drive to the front door. She gave their invitation to the man at the door and went inside. Helen left her overcoat with a young woman, and Kyle put the ticket in his jacket pocket. They moved further into the home, and Kyle looked around in appreciation.

"Nice place," he said.

"Thank you! We call it home," a voice said from Kyle's right.

Looking towards the speaker, Kyle found himself under the scrutiny of the intense grey eyes of an older man with a bushy white mustache linked up to white sideburns. His white hair was just a little wild as well.

Helen beamed a wide smile at the older gentleman. "Mr. Dunsfield! So lovely to see you again! Thank you for hosting the party in your beautiful home!"

Kyle noted the man's gaze softened considerably when he looked at Helen. "It's our pleasure, and please call me Reginald. It's wonderful to see you again as well!" he said as he held her hands in his. Kyle could see the gentleman genuinely liked Helen, and that brought a smile to Kyle's face.

The grey eyes returned to their scrutiny, and Kyle struggled to keep from grinning now that he knew the man was protective of Helen.

"Let me introduce my good friend, Kyle MacDenny," Helen said with a pleased smile.

Kyle shook the man's hand and gave back as good as he got as the grip tightened.

"Reggie! Let go of the boy's hand before you break something," a woman's voice scolded from behind Kyle. Begrudgingly, the man released his grip.

"This one shows no sign of such frailty," Reginald grumbled as Helen's eyes widened with concern.

"I meant your hand, you silly man," an older woman with graying red hair replied as she moved to face the recent arrivals. "Hello, Helen! So good to see you again! I overheard you introduce this young man as Kyle?"