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Another light turned red in front of me, but I slammed my foot onto the gas, peeling across the junction then taking the first right. I was less than a minute away now.
“You don’t have the fucking balls,” the guy taunted.
“I mean it!” she shouted.
“She lives on the second floor,” Jared said over my car speakers. “Apartment 204.”
“Got it,” I told him, snapping my steering wheel as I spotted the apartment complex. I squealed to a stop, leaving Ronnie’s phone in my car as I flung the door open and made it to the main door. A piece of wood was sticking between the door and the closure. I had no idea how he’d made his way in, but he certainly had made sure he wouldn’t get stuck inside.
I took the stairs directly in front of me two at a time, needing to get up there as quickly as possible. But as soon as I got to her broken apartment door, a gunshot rang out.
“Lena!” I shouted, my pulse throbbing even faster. I had no idea why I had this insatiable need to get to her, but it wasn’t anything I had the time to think about right then.
“I’m in here,” her small voice rang out.
I ran toward it, halting as soon as I stepped inside her bedroom. Her bedding was on the floor, a light and books strewn all over the place. But that wasn’t what had me formulating a plan in my head. No, it was the man slumped in the doorway to her bedroom, blood flowing from his shoulder as Lena stood there, her arms still outstretched with her gun in her hand.
“Lena,” I murmured, raising my hands in the air to show her that I was here to help. “It’s okay now.” I took two steps forward. “Put the gun down.”
“He’s not dead,” she whipped out, her eyes widening as she looked up at me. “I need…” She shook her head. “I need to get out of here.”
I held my hand out to her. “Put the gun down and I’ll help you.”
She blinked, her gaze moving from the gun then back to me again. “Why are you here?” She slowly lowered it, clicking the safety on as she did. It was clear she knew how to handle a weapon.
“You called Ronnie,” I told her. “He left his phone at the club.” I took another step toward her, urging her out of the bathroom. The man between us was knocked out cold, and I wondered if she’d pistol whipped him at some point. “Come on, Lena.” I stepped over him. “You need to get cleaned up.” I turned back to face the man. “And it’s not safe for you here right now.”
“I know,” she whispered, sadness and frustration echoing in her tone.
I moved my attention back to her, smiling gently. “Let me help you, Lena.”
She stared at me, long enough to make me feel like she was looking deep down into my soul. She wouldn’t find anything but blackness there. I wasn’t the man who saved someone, I was the man who put people in danger. Which was why she was in this position in the first place.
Finally, she nodded and moved toward me, taking my hand in the process. My large one engulfed her small palm, yet…I couldn’t help but notice how it fit perfectly.
Fuck. I didn’t have time for thoughts like that right then. I had to get her out of there and somewhere safe. Somewhere that no one would dare try to penetrate.
There was only one place…my apartment.
It wasn’t a good idea, I knew that, but it was my only option.
I glanced down at our hands, giving myself two seconds to push my thoughts aside, then led her out of the bathroom, out of the apartment, and down to my car.
The engine was still running, the driver’s door was still open. I could have let her hand go, but I didn’t. I kept it firmly placed in mine until I opened up the passenger door for her.
Once she was belted in, I jogged around the front of the car and slipped inside, then peeled out of the apartment parking lot. The center console was still lit up, Jared’s name and a phone icon displayed clearly. “We need a clean up at the apartment.”
“On it,” Jared replied. “I’ll get two of the guys to help me.”
“Thanks, J,” I murmured, then clicked one of the buttons on my steering wheel to end the call.
Chapter Five
LENA
“I thought I was going to die,” I whispered, holding the gun on my lap with one hand while my other hand was glued to my chest, making sure I was still breathing. I didn’t know what possessed me to make that admission to him, but I couldn't keep it bottled up inside.
He was silent for a beat. “You’re safe now,” Theo murmured from next to me.
