“I’m going to make you pay. You and the pathetic man you’ve replaced me with. You think some nerd like him is going to keep me away? You’re mine, and you’re coming backhome with me.” He hisses the threat. I need to get away. I have to warn Bash.
Using all my strength, I bring my knee up between his legs, slamming into his balls. He howls and pulls back from me. The movement gives me all the leverage I need. Remembering Miss Congeniality, I go for his solar plexus, knocking the wind from him. Momentarily stunned, I extract myself from him.
“I’ll never choose you. You’re not even half the man Bash is,” I snap at him in a low voice, then run toward the exit. Unlocking the door wastes precious seconds I don’t have, and when I emerge, I run straight into a chest.
“I’m sorry. I…” The words are a blubbering mess.
“Lizzy, what’s going on?” Nik demands as he grabs me and steadies me. He crouches down until we’re at eye level and shakes me. “Lizzy, focus. Tell me what happened.” The urgency in his voice pushes through my haze.
“He’s in there… In the bathroom,” I choke out.
“Who?”
“Vincent.”
He looks back and forth between me and the bathroom door, indecision written all over him. “Fuck!” He pulls out his phone, and it doesn’t take a genius to know who he’s talking to.
“He’s here, in the bathroom… He confronted her… Get over here now. I won’t leave her, but we don’t have much time before he escapes.”
Within a minute, Bash is rounding the corner, fury etched into his features. He’s more furious than I’ve ever seen. He stops for a moment to look over me. “Lizzy, are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine,” I lie. I’m not physically hurt, but I’m not okay. I’m petrified.
Bash storms into the bathroom, his gun raised. I hear him checking each stall. We haven’t let anyone in or out, but thereare windows. Before he reemerges, I know Vincent’s gone. The glower on his face only confirms it.
“I’m checking the back. Stay with her,” is all Bash says before he’s out of sight.
The minutes crawl by. Every second that Bash is out of my reach, worry fills me. Vincent knows about Bash. He wants to hurt him. I know Bash is capable, but what if he gets caught off guard? So much could go wrong.
“Enough of this bullshit,” Bash seethes as he enters the room. “Until further notice, we’re on lockdown. No work, no zoo, nothing. We’re moving into the compound. Dom has room for us in his mansion.”
I can barely keep up with what he’s saying. I don’t know what the compound is, but after being close enough to be touched by Vincent, I won’t object to anything.
Nik nods and steps away with his phone to his ear. Bash leads me to my locker and starts clearing it out. He leads me to a stall to change out of my uniform. Tendrils of fear crawl up my spine at the thought of being alone in a bathroom again. But, to my surprise, he locks himself in the stall with me.
He watches as I undress, but it’s not with lust in his eyes. His eyes are hard, fierce. He’s in protector mode. His head is on a swivel as we leave the zoo.
When we get in the car, my phone beeps. I check it, scared it could be Vincent, but to my relief, it’s only Tom. I feel guilty that we left him so abruptly, that is, until I see his text and wonder what the hell Bash told him.
Tom: Stay safe out there. Don’t leave your boyfriend’s side. From, Tom
“Did you tell Tom anything about Vincent?” I ask Bash since that’s the only way Tom could know I’m in danger.
“No, why?”
I show him the text. His brows furrow as he reads it, then he huffs out a laugh. “I suspected Tom isn’t as oblivious as you think. He was army intelligence before retiring to zoo maintenance.”
“What?”
“Angel, that man has been skeptical of me since he first heard my last name. I can almost guarantee he knows about the Syndicate.” Bash shrugs his shoulders at my bewildered expression. “That’s a good thing. He knows something’s out there, and he can take care of himself and Betty.”
My shoulders slump in relief. Guilt overwhelms me that I never even considered they could be in danger because of Vincent. Because of my close connection with them.
Everything is falling apart around me. My carefully curated world is crumbling because of that bastard. As Nik and Bash strategize around me, making phone call after phone call, I close my eyes and focus on breathing. I’ve seen Bash do breathing exercises before and copy what he does.
Eventually, my pulse calms and I convince myself it’ll be okay. I have Bash and Nik and the Syndicate. They’ll keep me safe. They have to.
Sensing my unease, Bash grabs my hand. “Don’t worry, angel. We’re going to keep you safe.”
