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“Smart mouth, huh? Let’s see if we can’t put that mouth to good use.”
“That’s original,” Maria muttered. “You want my purse?” She dug the teddy bear out and tucked it under her arm. “Here. Just take it and go.”
Instead of taking the bag, the man reached forward and yanked the bear from under her arm. Panicked, Maria reached out to grab it, but the man was too quick. He danced just out of reach and laughed. “A teddy bear?” The man laughed. “Baby, I’ve got something much bigger for you to cuddle with tonight. Want to see?”
Suddenly, the smile died from his face. Maria stiffened when she felt someone touch her arm.
Jarik.
“I suggest you give the lady back her things and be on your way,” he said in a low voice. “I promise you, she will not need your company tonight.”
“You, pretty boy?” the man jeered. “You gonna take the two of us on?”
“Jarik, no,” Maria whispered. He may not be her favorite person, but it made her stomach twist to think of him getting hurt trying to defend her. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah. Why don’t you walk away, pretty boy?”
Jarik didn’t look at all anxious. “I’ll ask you once more to return the lady’s possession willingly before I take it by force.”
The man threw the bear up in the air and caught it easily as he laughed. “I don’t think so.”
Maria gasped, and Jarik suddenly struck like a snake coiled in darkness. The two muggers never stood a chance. In less than ten seconds, the two men were cursing, holding their bleeding faces and hobbling away.
It was an impressive, but she was too shaken by the whole experience to fully appreciate it. Moving almost on autopilot, she grabbed the bear from the street where it had been dropped. Trying to brush off the dirt and mud gave her something to focus on, since she couldn’t quite bring herself to face him. She was feeling too raw, too vulnerable—and that was not something she allowed anyone to see.
“Maria?” Jarik asked quietly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thank you,” she said stiffly. Rather than tucking the bear back in her tote bag, she clutched it to her chest and started toward the hotel. Before she could get far, he grabbed her elbow.
“You’re not staying here. You’re coming back to my hotel with me, and you will not argue with me.”
She was still too stunned to put up a fight, so she didn’t say anything as he guided her back to the street. Waving down a taxi, he remained silent, too, as he opened the door.
“I’ve never been mugged before,” she muttered. The warm, fuzzy wine-induced feelings from earlier were gone, and she felt cold, even as she wrapped her jacket tightly around her. “I thought that they would just take my purse and go.”
“I think that they had more than a mugging in mind,” he said gruffly. “What’s with the bear?”
“What?” Absently, she looked up at him and immediately regretted it. There was a storm brewing in his eyes, and he stared at her coldly. She shrank back into the seat, and he immediately softened his expression.
“The bear, Maria. The teddy bear you didn’t want the men to take.”
“Oh.” Swallowing hard, she tucked the bear back into her bag. “I saw it on the way to the bus, and I wanted to add it to the crates of toys. It looked like it needed a good home. I can’t really explain it. You’re very fast.”
“Yes, I am,” he agreed.
“Why?”
The question was blunt, but she found that she really wanted to know the answer. How did he learn to fight like that? Why?
“I have two brothers,” he answered shortly. “We don’t always get along.” The taxi stopped, and he smiled tightly. “We’re here. Come on.”
Maria immediately stepped out of his grasp and clutched her tote bag. Where her hotel had been some rundown building in a working-class neighborhood, Jarik’s hotel looked like a palace. There was a gorgeous sparkling fountain in the front, beautifully sculpted plants decorated in fairy lights, and a doorman standing at the entrance.
She half expected someone to roll out the red carpet when they stepped up to the door.
The doorman nodded and opened the door. He reached for Maria’s tote bag, but she clutched it and shook her head vehemently.
Rather than stopping at the counter to get a key, Jarik guided her straight to the elevator. “What?” she muttered. “What are you doing? Don’t you have to check in?”
