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His grin widens. “Woman after my own heart.” When the bartender comes closer, he orders, then winks at me as we wait. When the guy hands them over, he palms the top of them both before handing mine over and offering his own glass out. “Cheers?”
I tap my glass to his. He sips first, a twinkle in his eye, and just as I raise mine to my lips, there’s a firm grip on my elbow.
I can’t move. My breath catches in my chest, and I feel panic as a tall, imposing presence looms behind me. Then a hard chest presses against my back. “Put the drink down, love,” a man rumbles with a soft English accent.
I obey almost like I can’t help it. The glass hits the bar with a thud, and my heart starts to hammer in my ears. I can’t see the man behind me, but I still know who it is. The dark-haired man from the booth. It’s confirmed when, a second later, his redhead friend casually swings an arm around Mike’s shoulders.
“Why don’t you tell our new friend here what you just did?” the guy behind me rumbles. His tone might seem friendly, but I know better than that. I was raised around people who could make the sweetest compliments the most dangerous threats.
My eyes widen as I stare at Mike, who at first just looks defiant. Then the redhead shifts his body just slightly, and Mike lets out a startled gasp. “Okay,” he says in a rush. “Okay, fuck. I only put a drop in her drink, alright? It wouldn’t have done much—” He cuts off with a pained gasp, and then suddenly, he’s pulled off the stool by the redhead. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
But his pleas are no use because the redhead drags him into the crowd, and after a second, he’s gone. My heart’s still hammering, and it gets even worse when the dark-haired stranger drops onto Mike’s now-empty stool.
Up close, he’s even more terrifying—and somehow more gorgeous. I can also see this close that he’s missing his left arm. It was hidden from view while he was at the booth, but he has a stump sticking out a few inches below his shoulder, and I can see gnarled, thick scars at the end of it.
He catches me staring. “Shark attack,” he says, but I know he’s lying.
I don’t say anything, but I do roll my eyes, which makes him laugh.
The sound of that low, rumbling chuckle sets fear sparking in the pit of my stomach. This man is dangerous. He might have saved me from something awful, but I already know I can’t trust him.
“Would you like another drink, darling?”
I bristle. “What did you call me?”
He just laughs and shrugs, leaning back in the chair. His hand is on his thigh, his fingers thick, and I can see scars there too, like he’s done some rough work. When I glance up at his face, he drags his tongue over his lower lip, and I see a flash of silver.
A tongue piercing?
Jesus.
We lock eyes for eternal seconds, and then he leans forward, startling me out of my daze. He breathes in deeply like he’s taking my scent and then jolts, and I see him fumble in his back pocket. He comes out with his phone, then glances up again. “Saved by the bell, darling. You’d better run along home.”
I don’t need to be told twice. There’s no way in hell I’m staying now. For the first time ever, I realize I’m regretting not letting my little watchmen in on where I am. Grabbing my purse, I take two steps away before a hand grabs me, and I don’t need to look behind me to know it’s him.
“Just to be clear, love,” he murmurs, “when I said run, I meantrun.”
And for the first time in a long while—maybe in my entire life—I obey an order without question.
Chapter3
JAMES
“…and?”
I bristle slightly, annoyed because Kane’s voice has zero emotion in it, but somehow, I know he’s questioning my competence. And maybe a little bit my ability to follow rules.
To be fair, Ariel and I did exactly as we were instructed. We watched the girl, we made sure nothing happened to her, and because we had to make contact, we kept it minimal.
Kane said nothing about Ari bringing home a little plaything, so he had no qualms knocking the would-be rapist out and throwing him in the back of my truck, and I know he’s in his playroom now. The screams haven’t started, but it’s still early.
I’m just about done giving Kane my rundown of the situation because a college date rapist wasn’t exactly on the agenda. We know Alice Romano is a target for both the extended Walsh family as well as a few others in the city, but I don’t think Kane took into consideration that more than just men from our world would be looking to get a piece of her.
“And she’s fine. I drove by her dorm after we were done, and we saw her climbing back up the fire escape.”
That evokes the slightest snort from Kane, who drags his fingers through his dark hair. He looks every bit the Greek god of the dead right now, which has earned him the nickname Hades from the people who have gotten on his bad side.
Of course, very few people piss him off and live to tell the tale. I annoy him, but Kane has only ever been truly angry at me once. My single, real fuckup since he brought me here. And it was out of his feelings for me that he chose to teach me a lesson. It left lasting scars on my body and on my soul, but it also taught me that his rules exist for a reason. And I’ve never been tempted to break them again.
