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“What’s gotten into you, D—”
“Just go home,” I tell her, harsher than necessary. I try to soften the blow with a quickly placed smile. “It’s supposed to rain soon. I don’t want any of you getting soaked, ok?”
Tabitha furrows her brows, casting her friends a confused glance before nodding. I can tell I’ve upset her, but right now, keeping my cover comes first.
“Alright, fine,” Tabitha mumbles. “It was nice meeting you, Luka. Try not to keep her out too late.”
Luka offers the smallest of smiles. “It was nice meeting you, too, Tabitha.”
Tabitha and her friends leave, passing by Luka with poorly concealed interest. I can’t exactly blame them and their silly schoolgirl brains. He’s incredibly easy on the eyes, and his mysterious air only adds to his allure.
We stand there on the sidewalk, gyros entirely forgotten. I don’t know what to say or do, but I have to be quick. My priority is damage control.
“Sorry about them,” I say with as light a laugh as I can manage.
The corner of his lip tugs up into a grin. “I thought you said you didn’t have siblings.”
I take a deep breath.Come on, Dani. Think!“I’m really protective of my sister,” I lie through gritted teeth. “For obvious reasons. My last boyfriend… Well, that was a really long time ago, but… She got super attached to him. Broke her heart when we went our separate ways.”
The strange thing is I’m telling him the truth, pulling from a past experience I had long since thought I’d forgotten. An old college boyfriend. He was sweet and considerate, but things unfortunately fizzled out. He was great with Tabitha, which was probably why it took me so long to break things off with him. Peter would bring her gifts, take her out for ice cream, and never made her feel like the third wheel. I felt a little guilty because my sister thought the world of him.
Much to my relief, Luka seems to buy it.
“That makes sense. I’m protective of my brothers, too.”
“You get it, then.”
There’s an awkward tension in the air. I think I’m losing my grip on him. Shit, maybe Ihaveto seal the deal with him tonight; otherwise I’ll risk Luka slipping away. What if I’ve spooked him? If he goes back into hiding, there will be nothing I can do.
“Is that offer to go back to your place still on the table?”
“Depends, do you—” He stops suddenly, glaring at something over my shoulder.
No, not something. Someone. The creepy stalker from the club.
Luka takes my hand and gives my fingers a squeeze. “Let’s go.”
“Who is he?” I ask. Judging by the tension in Luka’s shoulders, I no longer believe the man is with him.
“I don’t know. Stay close to me.”
I’m trained in at least three different versions of self-defense and am skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but I don’t question the gravity in Luka’s voice. His unease washes through me, our concern rising as the man steps off the street curb and starts to cross the road. He gets within a yard of us. At first, I thought his sick interest was with me, but now that we’re up close…
He’s watchingLuka, his ugly snarl exposing his yellow teeth and chapped lips.
“What do you want?” Luka demands.
“Konstantin peredayet privet,” our stalker hisses, as he reaches into his pocket to pull out a weapon.
Chapter 12
Luka
“Konstantin says hello,” the man says in Russian before pulling a knife. He lunges at us, the glint of the blade catching the lights of the city around us.
My body moves purely on instinct, turning to shield Dani from the worst of it. I grimace as I feel the knife pierce through my jacket, shirt, and break skin. I thank God for the adrenaline rush; otherwise, I’d be in too much pain to fight back.
I strike back, using the point of my elbow to hit him in the face. His nose crunches, a satisfying sound. My attacker stumbles back, cupping his bloodied face. I ball my hands up into tight fists, ready to knock him on his ass—
