But before he can reply, there’s an almighty crash from the bar.
We all look up in unison and watch as Luis’ head gets smashed into an empty glass before he tumbles unceremoniously to the floor.
The men around me are on their feet in an instant, ready and raring to fight.
But my eyes are on his attacker. His back is turned to me, and he’s clothed head to toe in black. But there’s no mistaking him.
I fucking knew it. He’d come after me.
Now I need to get the hell out of here before I got myself in any more trouble.
I instantly stagger to my feet and push through the crowds in the opposite direction, realizing as my heel slips, that I’m slightly more intoxicated than I had thought.
As soon as I step outside, I beeline to the row of motorcycles parked outside. There’s no time to call a cab. From the sound of it, the fight in the bar only seems to be getting louder.
“Hey!” I call out to a guy wearing a helmet who looks like he’s about to ride off. “You wouldn’t mind giving a girl a ride, would you?”
For a moment, I think he might just ride off. But the almighty crash of smashing glass has us both glancing nervously back at the bar.
He jerks his head, beckoning me over, and I gratefully slide onto the seat behind him.
The engine revs, and I have just enough time to wrap my arms around him before we shoot off into the night.
It’s thrilling to watch the city flash by, and I’m so distracted that I don’t realize we’re heading over the Brooklyn Bridge until we’re halfway across.
“I was heading to Harlem,” I shout, but my voice is clearly lost in the wind because my savior just presses on.
Finally, the roar of the engine slows to a gentle purr, and I glance around to see that we’re pulling up into Bay Ridge.
There are certainly worse places to find yourself in the early hours of the morning, so I don’t complain as I hop off the seat.
“Thanks,” I throw him my best disarming smile. “You really got me out of a tight spot. I’m gonna head to the train, but I’ll see you around.”
What I don’t expect is for his arm to lash out and grab my arm.
“Hey, what are you?—”
But the rest of the sentence burns up in my throat.
With his other hand, he whips off his helmet, and those endless, midnight eyes glare at me angrily.
“You’re going fucking nowhere,belle.”
13
TEO
“What the hell, Teo?”
I could kill her.
Iwillkill her if that’s what it takes.
But she’s looking at me like that, with her big chocolate eyes all wide and innocent. As if she hadn’t just thrown herself into a den of vipers. That is what pushes me over the edge.
“The only thing that should be coming out of your mouth is a fucking apology,” I growl as I throw my helmet to the ground.
She has the audacity to look startled. “An apology? For what?”
