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“Why don’t you go to bed. I can clean up down here,” Jasmine offered.
I gave her a weak smile. At least I had someone in my corner. That was something I could fight for. “You know what? It’ll still be here in the morning. How about we throw a frozen pizza in the oven and put on a movie?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I’m listening.”
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers?” I suggested.
“Original or remake?” she countered, working to put a very serious expression on her face.
“Original, of course,” I said. “I’m not a monster.”
Jasmine laughed as she looped her arm through mine. “I might even have some microwave popcorn in my place.”
“Sold,” I shouted dramatically. “Who needs a male when I have a best friend?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Jasmine said.
It didn’t take long for us to get comfortable on the threadbare couch in Jasmine’s apartment. She had the bigger television. It had been left behind by someone my dad had rented the place to between the time my mom passed and when I’d taken it over.
Settled in sweats with popcorn, cheap pizza, and a few cans of beer, I let myself finally take a deep breath. While watching the overwhelmed citizens in the black and white movie discover the alien invasion, I told myself that my life wasn’t so bad. I told myself that somehow, the whole Owen thing would get fixed. That everything was going to be okay.
I awoke to a room cast in an eerie blue glow from the television. Rubbing at my sore neck, I rose from the couch, blinking and shaking the haze of sleep. Jasmine was snoring softly on the other end, the popcorn bowl still in her lap. We’d put on the remake after the original but it hadn’t held our attention as well.
Creaking sounded from downstairs, and I tensed. Was that the building settling or was someone down there? It could be Mary, finally giving in, but it wasn’t quite cold enough for her yet.
Fuck.It was probably my dad, returning from wherever he’d been to lecture me about my behavior with Owen. I wondered if he’d been drinking. I hadn’t seen him in a drunken rage since I moved out, but if something was going to send him over the edge, it was my actions tonight.
I glanced at Jasmine to make sure she was still asleep before I crept to the door. If she woke and found me gone, she’d figure I’d returned to my room. That was better than her having to hide from my dad and worry about me.
Quietly, I left her apartment and headed to the stairs. The wood was rough and cold under my bare feet, but I was grateful I wasn’t in shoes so my steps were silent.
Sidestepping the creakiest parts of the steps, I made my way silently to the bar. As soon as I took the final step and could see the dining room clearly, I knew I’d made a mistake.
My dad wasn’t in the bar. Instead, there were four huge males I’d never seen before in my life. My eyes widened and fear shot through me like an electric current. I took a step backward, hoping to melt into the safety of the staircase, where I’d be away from view.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A huge male took a step toward me, his hazel eyes shining in the dim light in the way only a shifters’ could.
“Take whatever you want, I’m not going to stop you,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “Because we came here for you.”
“Like hell you did.” Where was my trusty baseball bat when I needed it? I raced toward the bar, knowing I had a huge knife I used to cut limes. And if not that, I had bottles I could throw. Of maybe I could do that cool thing they do in the movies where they slam the bottle on the edge to break the bottom off.
Someone grabbed me and I shoved my elbow back as hard as possible, resulting in a grunt and a curse and just enough of a release of their hold. I scrambled forward, desperate to reach any kind of weapon.
An arm snaked around my waist and squeezed. I stretched my fingers out, just barely grasping a rocks glass with a minimal amount of water on the bottom of it. I flung the water behind me, then slammed the glass back, hoping I could hit my attacker’s face.
With a grunt, the arm loosened, but as soon as I stepped out of his hold, I was grabbed again. The hazel-eyed male moved in front of me and I glared at him through gritted teeth. He was at least a foot taller than me and looked like he could bench press me for fun. His tan skin was dusted with dark stubble and his thick black hair hung nearly to his eyes. He raked a hand through it, pushing it back in a move that sent a little curl of desire tightening in my chest.
I narrowed my eyes, forcing myself to stay mad. This male attacked me and told me he intends to kidnap me. He is not allowed to be attractive. That’s just not right. I shoved the thoughts away. “If your plan is to use me to get to my father, you’re going to be disappointed. He won’t trade anything of value for my life.”
“Oh, we know that,” Handsome said with a knowing grin. The others chuckled as if they were sharing an inside joke.
“So let me go,” I said. “You can tell I have nothing of value. Unless you want my TV or something. It’s older than me, but it’s all yours.”
Those hazel eyes darted around the space, taking in every inch of my bar. I suddenly felt ashamed of Stella’s. I knew what it looked like to outsiders, but there was no way to explain exactly how important it was to me.
“This place makes it pretty obvious that you aren’t rolling in cash,” he said with a sneer.
