Page 31 of Bared

“But why?” As her posture stiffened, her blade arm drooped. That was an even better bonus.

“Because Carris is here too.”

The switchblade clattered all the way to the pavement. The woman’s arm, along with the rest of her body, was limp and trembling. Brick kicked the weapon away—but not too far—before stepping next to her. If she was going down, he swore to be there for the catch.

“Desonnum.” Fox’s face on the phone screen was tight. “I am sorry, my friend. I did not want to tell you this way, but we must get you to safety.”

“But Requiemme—”

“Her too,” the Arcadian vowed.

“But even I do not know where she—”

“We will find her. I promise. I will make sure of it. Right now, you have to trust Brickham. Listen to him. Every moment that you are out there and exposed—”

“Well, I’m liking the sound of that.”

She snapped her head up. This time, Brick was right there with her—before he spat the F-word in a growl to rival Geralt of goddamned Rivia. Yeah, yeah, fantasy computer world bruisers had bad days too—but that’s what the Exit Game button was for. No such magical switch like that here. This was real life—complete with yet another interruption that he didn’t need but never ruled out.

“Gervais. I have that correct, oui? Good. Well, bonsoir.” He sidestepped over, ensuring the bastard wouldn’t be able to eyeball Jayd without confronting his chest. “You know what that means, douchebag? That happy hour is really over—especially for you. I know, I know. That’s like shitty action movie lines on the bartop trivia machine. But you get the picture, right? You’re not doing this tonight, man. At least not with her.”

Gervais squared his stance, tossed his head back, and cocked his brows. “Because you are? Because you were so fast on the draw back at the bar, right?” He curled up one side of his lip, as knowing as Elvis Presley before a hip roll. “Oh yeah, asshole, I saw you there. I also watched you listening and leering at everyone like a goddamned pervert.”

“Not everyone,” Brick asserted. “Only dickwads that looked ready to pull shenanigans as soon as I took a second to pay my tab.”

“Ferme,” the guy spat. “Remy and I made our moves like proper gentlemen!”

“Ah, yes. And then escorted us out to the alley, like ‘proper gentlemen.’”

While the princess couldn’t be blamed for her attack, escalation was the last thing this encounter needed. Before Brick could convey as much, Gervais shifted forward again.

“Now there’s that sexy, sassy mouth I like so much.”

Well, shit. Then there was that.

“Look, man.” With a heavy breath, Brick pulled up every peacekeeping move from his practiced playbook. He was calm and cautious, counteracting the asshole’s wired energy. The guy was ready to fight or fuck. Maybe both. Probably badly. “There’s nothing for you to gain here—”

“Nothing!”

“But getting into some trouble and pain,” he went on, as if Jayd hadn’t been trying to sabotage her own rescue. “If you don’t believe me, talk to your unconscious friend in the alley behind the bar.”

Gervais sneered. “My friend? You think I give a rat’s backside about that fucker?”

Brick sighed. Nuclear catastrophe wouldn’t kill the human race. Stupidity would. “Whatever. Just move the hell on, Gervais. The night is still young.”

“Yeah?” the idiot spat back. “And so’s my left hook, dickwad.”

Stupidity. Human extinction. Period.

Because the dumbshit had just handed his war plan to Brick on a silver platter. Before Gervais was finished with the threat, Brick had shoved Jayd aside and ducked the asshole’s sweep of a left hook. But Gervais was investing a lot into the movie star move, including his full weight. When his fist met nothing but air, the jerk stumbled forward and tripped. Down he went, landing on his face with a bone-on-brick crack.

“What the? Ass. Hole!” the bully screeched, choking on the blood from his busted nose. “This is not okay!”

“That much is very true,” Brick muttered. In an okay world, he’d be able to stick around and show this choad what happened to pricks who lured women into alleys for “good times.” In an okay world, he’d be hauling up Gervais by his balls and then ensuring the guy prayed for mercy every time he took a piss.

But this wasn’t that world.

And he had to make a smarter choice.