AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Whoa, buddy, easy,” one of the guys says, moving aside.
The circle widens.
Kat and the other guy in the center and turn toward me.
Some guys are still in their security uniforms. Others wear pants and tanks. All of them are buff, some three times my size.
It’s a brief thought—if someone really wanted to, he could’ve taken me out right here. I have no gun on me. And though I can take several guys, some of these guys are killing machines. Slate insists on escorting me anywhere outside Ayana. Inside is a safe haven. Or supposed to be.
“You lost, buddy?” the guy in the center, who was just playing with Kat, asks with a cocky smirk on his face.
Kat stares at me without a word.
“Mr. Crone, how are you?” one of the guys says—the one who has the brains to know who I am—and the rest exchange uneasy glances and mouth something to each other, taking slow steps back.
The cocky asshole’s expression changes. “Sorry, boss. She came on her own.”
I lock eyes with Kat, whose scorching gaze can melt steel.
“What do you think you are doing?” I ask calmly, not paying attention to the rest, who start dispersing, walking away, and disappearing into the buildings. Whispers come from the balcony above.
“Sharpening my skills,” she says calmly and takes a step closer.
The quarters are suddenly too quiet. But I know there are eyes and ears everywhere.
“Next time you decide to do that, you clear it with me,” I say sharply, my hands holding the handlebars so firmly they turn white.
I have no business in this shithole and shouldn’t be here on my own. Especially chasing a girl.
Kat takes another step toward me, slow and laidback, her chin tipping up. “I wasn’t aware I need to consult you on how I spend my free time.”
I scan the buildings around us, noticing faces here and there staring with curiosity. “This is your idea of spending free time?”
“Maybe?”
“Chasing adrenalin? Because there are better ways.”
“Which are?”
“Get on the bike.”
“What, you gonna—”
“I said get. On. The bike, Kat.”
She does, and we leave the Diggs. But a minute into the ride, I stop in the middle of the dirt road in the jungle, before it veers into the main Ayana area, and kill the engine.
“Number one,” I say coldly, trying to subdue my irritation, turning my head sideways so she can hear. “Ayana residents don’t fraternize with staff.”
She is quiet, but I hear a little puff of annoyance.
“Number two, if you came here to look for friends, you can go back to the mainland. Last time I checked, you have a job to do.”
“Iwasdoing my job, Archer. Stop being a control freak.”
“Number three. These guys are notfriendly. Their backgrounds and lifestyle leave much to be desired. No girl should be out there on her own. Chasing an adrenalin high,” I add bitterly.
I feel her lean into me, her lips next to my ear when she whispers, “You have better ideas for entertainment?”
