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Reaching the door to the apartment, I raised my hand, ready to punch the code on the device outside the building, but my hand hung in the air in front of the black keypad.
The two men who’d been at my heels were reflected in the glass door of the building. They had stopped at the bottom of the steps, and their eyes were focused on me.
My lungs expanded and my heart rate increased as I tried to figure out what to do.
I noticed other people passing by behind the pair of men. I lowered my hand, deciding I’d be safer on the street than in the building. They might force their way inside if I opened the door.
I turned around, not sure what to do or say. But what choice did I have?
“You’re Les’s roommate?” one of the guys asked. His eyes roamed over my body, the slow and torturous gaze of a man mentally undressing me.
Les? Ohh, Leslie. “Who are you?” I asked instead, hating how my voice quavered.
The other guy, whose face looked like he’d been pummeled recently, started to ascend the stairs, which caused me to take an immediate step back. But there was nowhere to go, and my body pressed against the door. “We need to talk to you, love,” the guy said in a soft voice as if he was a friend of mine.
Yeah, sure. Did he think sugary words would get me to open the door? I might be from a small town, but I wasn’t that naïve. “Please leave.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that.” The man was now on the same level as me, and his face was inches from mine. I wasn’t sure where the other guy was—I couldn’t see anything past this hulk’s torso.
“Let us in.” He propped both arms over my shoulders, his palms pressing to the glass door on each side of me. My mind scrambled as I thought about what to do, and yet, my mouth wasn’t opening. Why wasn’t I screaming?
“Get the feck away!”
The back of my head hit the door as I heard Adam’s voice.
The guy in front of me lowered his arms and turned around. I caught sight of Adam shoving past the guy at the bottom of the steps. He leaped up the steps two by two and grabbed hold of the man near me. He shoved him up against the building.
I shifted away and tucked myself in the corner.
“What’re you doing here?” Adam yelled, raising his fist in front of the lecher. The man’s face remained unchanged, even his hands hung loose and casual by his outer thighs. He had no intention of fighting, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. But the entire scene filled me with terror, and I shrank to a squat before them.
“We’re here to prove a point. Do what you’re supposed to, or no one around Les is safe,” the guy responded, flicking Adam’s arm with his index finger.
Adam took a step back and dropped his hands to his sides, but I noticed his fingers remained tucked into his palms. The muscles in his jaw twitched, the veins were prominent in his throat. I’d seen that look before—it was the look of a man who was ready to attack. “If you ever come near her again, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”
The man tipped up his chin and straightened the lapels of the black biker jacket he wore. “Then you know what ya need to do.” The man looked over at me as he sniggered and then brushed past Adam.
Adam stood firm, watching the two men as they started down the street. When they were out of sight, he turned his attention to me. “Anna.” He knelt down next to me, his chest heaving up and down. “Are you okay?” He took my hands, but I flinched and retracted from his touch, pulling them to my chest. I snapped my eyes shut, fear still swelling harsh inside me.
“I’m so sorry. Are you all right? Did they touch you?” There was an edge of anger to his voice. His hand came down over mine, but this time I didn’t pull away. I opened my eyes and looked up into his blue ones as I pushed up to my feet. He rose with me.
“I—what . . . what was that? Who were they?”
“Let’s get you inside, and we’ll talk.” He punched the code, and we went up the three flights of stairs in silence. My heart rate began to normalize as we entered the apartment and locked the door.
I dropped my purse on the floor and moved to the couch, still in shock at what had happened. But what exactly had happened? And what did they want Adam to do?
“Jesus Christ. I’m gonna kill Les.” He came into the living room and slumped down in the chair. He popped open the top two buttons of his dress shirt and wrapped a large hand around the back of his neck. “You can’t stay here. Les—Leslie . . . he’s in a bit of a jam, and anyone connected to him—”
“I’ve never even met him.” A breath of air rushed from my lips as I tried to digest the situation. This was crazy. Where would I live? I had started looking for a new place but hadn’t found anything.
“You can stay with me.” He was staring at the ground beneath his feet. His elbows rested on his knees, his hands clasped, hanging in the air between his thighs.
“No,” I managed.
“Why not?” He looked up at me now.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate, for one. Plus, I don’t know you.” I bit my thumbnail and crossed my ankles, regretting the fact that I’d worn a pencil skirt. It was difficult to sit on a couch and not worry about flashing him. Of course, that appeared to be the least of my problems right now. “Maybe I should go back to Kentucky. Maybe I shouldn’t be here.”
