AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When she kissed me back, sliding her tongue into my mouth, I made a silent vow to do everything in my power to keep my brother from chasing her away again. Even if that meant finally putting Maddox in his place.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MAVEN
After spending the day working on a client’s social media profile, I abandoned my laptop and went out to dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen since I left the city. Catching up with old friends was one highlight of coming back and having to deal with Maddox. Seeing Wolfe and Ace again sure hadn’t been a bad thing.
Wolfe’s kiss had left my head spinning since last night. It had brought so many memories flooding back, good and bad. Mostly good as far as he was concerned. Being with him felt so right, so normal, I’d slipped up and mentioned the guy I’d stabbed in the bathroom back in Castle Grove. Thankfully Wolfe hadn’t dug any deeper. If any of the guys found out that I ran from the Crimson Thorns, they’d never leave my side.
Even though my reunion with Maddox had been shit, seeing Wolfe and Ace helped perk me up. They were still the lovable goofballs they’d always been, especially Ace. He’d earned himself a stern glower from my father when he pretended to dirty dance with Rumer. If my father only knew what that woman was up to in her spare time. It’s almost like he forgot we were grown ass women taught to defend ourselves.
“I told him that I had no interest in dating a colleague, but then we got drunk at the Christmas party, and one thing led to another. Now we’re engaged.” Faith held up her hand, showing off the large rock on her finger. “How about you? Meet anyone special while you were away?”
I scoffed and twirled my fork in the pasta alfredo on my plate. “That’s a hard no. I wasn’t looking though. There’s something to be said about the freedom of the single life.”
Faith frowned, pursing her lips in a sympathetic pout. “I’m sure you’ll find the right guy. Unless you plan to get back with Maddox. From what I hear he’s never had a serious relationship since you.”
Wincing, I stuffed a forkful of food in my mouth to avoid answering right away. Faith was a high school friend that I’d stayed in touch with. She was a fun person and a good listener, but she hadn’t been close enough to know everything about Maddox’s family or how I fit into it. While most people back then had known we were together, they didn’t all know how much deeper it went. I saw no reason to enlighten her now.
“Right now I’m focused on myself,” I said after swallowing. “Working on growing my business and settling back into the city. I’ll be too busy looking for a place to bother with Maddox or anyone else.”
“Are you renting or buying? My fiancé’s sister is a real estate agent. I can give you her number.” Faith prattled on about her soon to be in law, helping herself to a bite of my pasta.
I only half heard what she said. The back of my neck began to prickle, spreading until my body was covered in goosebumps. Slowly, I turned to scan the restaurant. It was busy with people out for dinner, most of them engaged in conversation, attention on their own tables. My gaze darted to the windows. Was someone out there watching me?
I’d learned long ago to trust my instincts. Forcing myself to focus on the conversation at my own table, I made my way through the rest of dinner without looking over my shoulder eighty times. It wasn’t easy.
When it was time to leave, I made an excuse about needing to use the restroom to avoid walking out with Faith. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was out there, waiting for me. I didn’t want her to become a target by association.
Once she was gone, I left the restaurant, scanning the parking lot. I saw nobody. Maybe coming back to River City had made me paranoid. That didn’t stop me from palming the blade hidden in my boot.
I hurried across the parking lot to my car. Other than a couple getting into their SUV on the other side of the lot, it was empty. Or so it appeared. The SUV drove away, leaving me alone. The sensation of being watched grew until my stride quickened. I broke into a run, choosing safe over sorry.
From between two vehicles emerged a man dressed all in black. He rushed me, slamming into me hard, bodychecking me off my feet. I hit the ground and rolled, the knife flying from my hand. The man who crashed into me almost fell from the impact, stumbling toward me. The nearby streetlight glinted off the gun in his hand. As he raised it, I brought a foot up, kicking the weapon from his grasp.
The gun skidded across the asphalt, sliding under a nearby car. As the man dove for it, I leapt to my feet. I brought my boot down hard on his arm, wrenching a pained shriek from him.
“You’re fucking dead, bitch,” the guy snarled, whirling to take a swing at me with the other fist. “Did you think we wouldn’t be able to find you?”
Son of a bitch. It hadn’t taken long for the Thorns to track me down. I dodged the blow, clipping his chin with a fist. My knife was just out of reach. If I turned my back to grab it, he’d go for the gun.
“Did you really think chasing me into Archer and Hale territory was a good idea? They’ll have your head if they find out you’re here.” I kept him at bay with a kick to the middle. He kept glancing toward the car where his gun had slid. I couldn’t let him get his hands on it.
“They won’t find out shit. You’ll be dead, and I’ll be gone before they ever know I was here.” He took a second kick to the middle, using the opportunity to grab for my throat.
I jerked out of reach, narrowly avoiding his grabby hand. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to avoid the punch he threw next. His heavy fist connected with the side of my face, stealing my breath and forcing me to work extra hard to keep my balance.
My vision swam, but that didn’t stop me from blocking the next blow while retaliating with a jab to his ribs that stole his breath. I saw an opening to go for a throat punch, and I took it. The hit was solid, sending him reeling back, clutching his throat while struggling for air. Moving fast, I snatched up my knife and rushed toward my car.
As I flung the door open, the man lunged after me, arms outstretched as he sought to keep me from escaping. He hadn’t had time to retrieve his gun. I lashed out with the blade, slicing him deep across the middle. He fell back with a shriek, and I slammed the door, locking it before I started the engine and threw the car into gear.
The absolute idiot ran behind the car as I backed out of my space, thinking that would somehow stop me from leaving. Pinning the gas pedal down, I slammed into him, watching in the mirror as he fell from the impact. Then I put the car in drive and fled without another glance back.
Knowing better than to head straight home to Rumer’s, I took a long route that led me well away from her neighborhood before circling back. When I was completely sure that I didn’t have a tail, I finally went home.
By the time I arrived my head was throbbing, and my body ached from the spill on the pavement. In the elevator on the way up to the fourth floor, I lifted my shirt, grimacing at the road rash decorating my ribs and back. It burned, but I’d had worse.
I stepped into the living room to find Rumer curled up on the couch in her fuzzy bath robe, eating a brownie while Akasha slept next to her. When she glanced up from the TV and took in the sight of my face, she leapt off the couch, tossing the brownie on the coffee table.
