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The guy heard me, but it was too late for him to react. I brought the stick down with all the strength I had, clubbing him over the head. He swayed, and Rafe rushed forward and put him in a headlock of some sort. The seconds ticked by, and the guy slowly slumped, landing in a crumpled pile.
Rafe stepped over the body and grabbed my arm. “Come on. We have to get out of here.” He wasn’t giving me much choice, so even though I was still in shock, my feet had to move to keep up with him, otherwise I would have been dragged. Finally I managed to find my voice.
“Who was that?”
Rafe didn’t even look at me. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter? I just killed a guy. Oh my God, I think I just killed somebody.”
“I promise all you did was stun him.” We’d gotten back to Grand Street, and Rafe held up his hand to hail a cab. One stopped immediately. He fixed me with an intense look. “Don’t say anything until we’re back at home. Got it?”
I nodded numbly as we climbed into the cab.
He had his phone out in a second and made a call. “You tracking him?”
I couldn’t hear the other end of the line, and it was killing me.
“There was a complication, but the muscle he hired is incapacitated.” More talking I couldn’t hear. He added, “Not what you think. I need to take Diana home, then I’ll come in for debrief.” Again silence, before he slid his gaze over me. “Not sure yet, but I’m going to find out.”
His dark gaze stripped me bare in the back of the cab. There was a part of me that wished he could see through me. Then he could unmask all the lies and just see me.
Once we arrived outside Rafe’s place, he handed over money for the taxi and then tugged my arm. We didn’t speak on the elevator ride up either. But as soon as we crossed the threshold, I jumped on the offensive. Better to strike first, right?
“What the hell was that?”
Rafe sighed and leaned on the mantel. “Oskar needed me.”
“Oskar? The guy who works for your brother-in-law? Viking-looking dude who flirted with me?”
“Yes, him.” He paused for a second and then scowled. “You think he looks like a Viking?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s what you’re focusing on?”
“He’s my partner. Sometimes. Someone we need to get off the street finally showed his face. He took off running and Oskar went after him. I stayed to deal with his muscle.” His gaze narrowed a hair. “And then you showed up. I would love to hear the story of how that happened.”
Rafe DeMarco was a hard son of a bitch to read. He looked calm. Composed even. There was no tension around his lips. Even his voice was low and soothing.
But my instincts told me I needed to play this as close to the truth as I dared. My life might depend on it.
I held up my bag. “I was shopping. They didn’t have my size at the store on Second Place, so I grabbed a cab and went to the one on West Thames.”
It was a calculated risk. Bootsman Shoes was on practically every other block.
“I was coming out when I saw you turn into that alley. Well, at least I thought it was you. I wasn’t sure until I saw you fighting with that guy.”
I didn’t have to fake the trembling in my hands. Adrenaline and fear still coursed through me.
“I mean, he had a knife. And I—”
My brain replayed every action I’d taken. The concern that I’d hurt the guy was real. The fear. It was the first time since I’d started this whole thing that I was terrified I was making a mistake. I was playing in a sandbox with actual killers.
“What in the world possessed you to follow me down an alley? Didn’t you realize you could have been hurt?”
“Well, excuse me for saving your ass. Next time I’ll let the random thug slice you into sashimi!” He was mad at me for helping him? Asshole. “And what about you? You think traipsing down dark alleys after people who want to hurt you is a good idea?”
“It would have been fine. That was nothing but a workout.”
I blinked. “A workout? He had a knife! Seriously, what is wrong with you? Where would you have been if I hadn’t come after you?”
