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The words came off cold, even callous. I could tell he didn’t mean them that way, though. He was merely thinking out loud. I recoiled a little, as his shoulders slumped in apology.
“Look, I know the man you’re talking about,” he said finally. His eyes squinted carefully my way. “I might even be able to hook you up with him. But before I even consider it—”
At that exact moment the door swung open and the man from the alley walked in, looking every bit the warrior he was last night. His piercing gaze settled on me almost immediately. I watched his brown eyes flare first with recognition, then with disappointment.
“Ah shit,” he swore, shaking his head with a sigh.
Five
BRYNNE
“TheLozanos?”
The shirtless fighter swore loudly as my hero explained last night’s events. He slammed his fist on the desk.
“You told me you got into a fight last night, but you didn’t say it was with one of the Lozanos!”
The ring-fighter I’d denied a shower was Santiago. He’d toweled off during my savior’s story, and was now finally pulling a T-shirt over his hulking form.
“Look, I didn’tmeanto fight anyone,” my hero announced. “What the hell was I supposed to do? Keep walking?”
“You’re supposed to mind your own business!” Santiago boomed. “Especially when it comes to—”
“Fuck all that.”
The man who’d saved me last night flicked his hand dismissively. It turned out his name was Silas. For the past five minutes the two men had been shouting back and forth, neither of them acknowledging my presence. It was almost like I wasn’t there.
“I saw three scumbags kicking the hell out of a woman in an alley,” Silas shouted back at him, “so I acted. Trust me, you would’ve done the same.”
Shaking his head, Santiago sighed. “Maybe,” he acknowledged begrudgingly. “But—”
“But nothing,” Silas countered. “Like I said, I didn’t realizewhoI was beating at the time. It sure felt good afterward, though.”
“It did, huh?” Santiago growled sarcastically. “Will it feel just as good when they show up here, looking for you?”
“They won’t find me.”
“Oh no?” he scoffed. “Shefound you.”
They turned in unison, and suddenly all the attention was back in my direction. Santiago was pointing at me awkwardly.
“I, uh… I just got lucky,” I told them.
“Really lucky,” Santiago laughed. “So lucky she showed up here less than a day afterward. She’s lady luck, this one. In fact—”
“Look, I found you because of your tattoo.”
Silas paused for a moment, looking back and forth from his tattoo to that of his friend. His demeanor changed.
“And it was one of the twins?” Santiago asked. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
“How badly did you beat him up?”
I thought of the man clutching his throat in the alley, choking as he rolled around in pain.
“He’s probably not going to be talking for a while,” guessed Silas.
