Maya didn’t like being forced either. But then the wind turned, pulling notes of citrus from her jacket and making her remember the bruise she’d spotted on Harper’s cheek. Her struggling against Kieran’s grip. The horrifying fate awaiting someone considered owed to a creature like him.
With those thoughts in mind, she could give only one answer.
“I can keep her safe. Her and the others.”
Natalya let out a small sigh. Tiny flames sprang into her pupils, heat radiating off her dangerously beautiful figure.
“This needs to be done fast and without mistakes. You’re not the only predator who’s showing them interest. Do not fuck this up.”
Then, in a blink, Natalya was gone. Leaving Maya alone in the cold, quiet forest.
Chapter 4
“Ow!” Nell cringed away, raising her hand towards her bloody forehead. “You said you wanted to help. That doesn’t feel like helping.”
“It feels like cleaning the wound, you idiot.” Harper dabbed the wet cloth against the cut. “Now sitstill.”
Nell grimaced but did as she was told, letting Harper push back her curls so she could get a better look at the injury.
“How bad is it?” Nell said, wincing. “Please don’t tell me I’ll need stitches. I can’t afford a trip to the emergency room right now.”
The woundhadlooked like a doctor’s visit would be necessary, but closer inspection showed it was just a tiny scratch near her hairline. Head wounds looked scarier than they were.
It wasn’t the first time Nell had been dragged into the staff room because a sudden injury needed fixing. She possessed the same level of grace as a drunk newborn deer.
“No stitches. If I keep pressure on it, it’ll stop bleeding soon.” Harper gave her a long look. “This is what happens when you wear heels more than a couple inches high.”
“My heels weren’t the problem. Those guys were. When they start fighting, I’m not the one who’s supposed to get them to stop hitting each other. Colton didn’t even interfere until I was already bleeding.” Nell sighed. “I’m so sick of him. I thought Patricia was hiring a new bouncer.”
“Well, Darryl is a dick. He probably put a stop to it, like he does most of her suggestions.”
Though Harper wasn’t one for giving creepy-ass Colton any kind of slack, the confrontation hadn’t been that serious. The injury didn’t come from a direct assault but from Nell trying to calm down two men who didn’t want to be calmed down and then tripping over her own feet in the process. They’d dealt with worse.
Nell nudged Harper’s knee. “Hey? You okay?”
“You’re bleeding, and you’re asking ifI’mokay?”
“It looked like you disappeared for a second. What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” Harper managed a smile. “It’s just been a while since I did this. I’m rusty.”
Nell smiled, too, as weakly as Harper imagined her own looked.
Nell was part of why they’d left Shreveport a year prior. Her last boyfriend had a rotten temper, culminating in a lot of broken drywall and a restraining order the cops didn’t bother enforcing. She’d kept to the story that he’d never hit her, despite the bruises she’d been wearing, but he’d donesomething. Something bad enough that she’d sworn off dating after getting away from him, stating that she wouldn’t start again until she learned how to pick better people.
But that was just one reason they’d left. Felicia’s—the club they’d all worked at—burning down was another. Adding in a healthy dose of grief, combined with an encroaching army of lawyers, and they’d all wanted to get out of Louisiana.
It just sucked thatthiswas where they ended up.
“You should go home. Unfray your nerves somewhere an audience isn’t watching,” Harper said.
Nell inspected herself in the vanity mirror. The cut had stopped bleeding, leaving only a small red mark, but it was still visible.
“I can’t. My car broke down, and I need this shift to pay for repairs.”
Harper picked a few stained bills out of her bag. “How much? I can front you what you need so—”
“No, you can’t. You have an apartment deposit to save up for. I’m fine, besides.”
