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Then again, she was a grown woman. No longer the cute little girl I’d seen across the street moving into her little dorm room.
And baptism by fire was one way to initiate someone into my lifestyle.
“Dani, just do as I’m asking. Duck behind that dumpster and don’t you move, no matter what you hear. Got it?”
She swallowed hard. “Max?”
I growled. “Just call him. And stay down. Do as I’m asking you to do, gorgeous.”
I helped her to slide behind the dumpster before I started back down the alleyway. When I had peeked around the corner originally, I saw the two men come out of the club and go over to my bike, their eyes caressing my metal beauty as if they had a right to. But one of the guys moved quickly, practically snapping his neck as he peered over his shoulder.
And I’m pretty sure he spotted me as I dashed back for Dani.
I knew they weren’t the friendly sort, either. They were both dressed in black. All black, like those guys who jumped me just outside her dorm building. I wondered if they knew the men that attacked me. Or maybe they were two of the four guys there that night.
One of them did tell you that was nothing but an appetizer.
In the pit of my gut, I knew this was connected. I didn’t know how to prove it. But my gut never steered me wrong. It always kept me safe. It always kept my men safe. It always kept my brother safe.
Now I hoped it would keep Dani safe.
I stood in the middle of the alleyway, thankful that they hadn’t turned the corner yet. Maybe if they saw just me standing here, they’d get their focus off Dani. Because I was almost certain they’d seen her in the wake of me trying to get away from them. I squared off my shoulders as two shadows rounded the corner. My hands balled up into fists as I stood there, my feet shoulder-width apart. I was ready for a fight. I was ready for a possible takedown. I was ready to re-open some injuries.
What I wasn’t ready for was Dani getting hurt.
God, I hope she’s calling Rupert.
The massive men kept walking until they were only twenty or so feet away from me. Then they stopped. They both looked me up and down before grins spread across their faces. After they were done drinking in their fill of me, one spoke up.
“Looks like the right guy to me.”
The second man nodded. “I’d say so.”
I licked my lips. “What do you want?”
I braced myself for a battle as the first man took a step toward me.
“There’s someone who wants to speak with you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m sure they do.”
The second one nodded. “You can make this easy, or you can make this hard. We’re prepared for either.”
I snickered. “Tell me who wants to speak with me and that’ll determine how we do this.”
The first man smiled. “And spoil the fun? Nah. We don’t ever get this much fun in our profession.”
The second man rolled up his sleeves. “So you can either come with us, or we’ll take you ourselves.”
“Your choice, tough guy.”
I drew in a deep breath as both of the men stood there. I wasn’t sure if Dani had done as I’d asked. So I didn’t know if there was any point in pausing. Or buying myself time until Rupert got here. However, I did know a few things about this situation. Things that weren’t happening.
I wasn’t going with two fucking strangers to meet their mysterious boss.
Nor was I leaving Dani behind to be found by someone else.
“You know what, boys? I think I’ll take my chances,” I said.
