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  As I turned to go, he grabbed my arm and then tugged me back hard, his arm a steel bar around my waist as he whispered in my ear.

  "Just where the fuck do you think you're going?"

  Chapter Five

  Lachlan

  Where did she go?

  I was watching the door like a hawk… an obsessed hawk. Her mate, the one she'd pointed out, was still snogging some bloke in the corner, so she had to still be here somewhere.

  Maybe she just doesn't like dancing with you.

  That was bullshit. I felt it. That locked gaze, that connection, that wasn't just me. That was a real thing that had been happening.

  So where did she go?

  I didn't want to be that bloke, that creep who insisted on holding onto her. That was clingy. But here, I was… waiting. Like a twat. Like a fool. Like a complete and total wanker.

  I sighed as I watched the door. She’d be back. I hadn’t imagined that moment.

  Or maybe you’re out of practice.

  My phone buzzed with a message from Felix telling me he’d fucked off with the blonde from earlier.

  I clamped my jaw shut. Wanker. Of course, he dragged me out then ditched me for some girl. Bullshit.

  I stole another glance toward the door before finally making a move.

  The girl, the one with all the curves and the big green eyes, I'd just ask her a simple question.

  When I cleared my throat, she pulled herself away from her snogging session abruptly.

  She flicked me a glance and then squinted. "Can I help you?"

  "I'm looking for your mate. We were dancing and she pointed you out. Said she was going to take a phone call."

  The woman glanced around. "Gorgeous black woman, the kind of face that probably belonged to Nefertiti?"

  "Yeah, that's her."

  She smirked. "Who are you?"

  I had to laugh at that. The look she was giving me said she would sever me permanently from my balls if I did anything untoward to her mate. "My friends call me Lock."

  "Lock, like lock and key?"

  "Lachlan."

  "Right. Of course, your name would be Lachlan." She eyed me up and down. "Broody. Stupid good looks. If you're mean to my mate, I promise you I'm more than capable of being very unpleasant toward you."

  I laughed at that. "Noted. Any idea where she went?"

  She shook her head and glanced down at her phone. "It says she's right outside the club."

  "You have a locator on your mate?"

  She laughed. "Yeah, you know, us girls got to stick together."

  I pondered that for a moment. "Yeah, actually, that’s probably really wise."

  "Do you want me to go get her? Did you upset her or something?"

  I shook my head. "No, she had a phone call."

  She looked down at the phone again. "Oh shit, yeah, I know exactly who called her."

  I frowned at that. Not that it mattered. He’d clearly been lacking as a boyfriend if he wasn’t out with her. Not to mention, she didn’t touch me like a woman with a boyfriend. "Does she have someone special?"

  She grinned and shook her head. "Smitten, are you?"

  "Do people say that still?"

  She shrugged. "I say it. And I have a ridiculous love of romantic period pieces, the whole thing. So yeah, I say smitten.”

  "She's all right. Smart, gorgeous, obviously, but a little locked away. But when she shows you part of her, it's like you're seeing her for the first time.”

  She grinned at me. "Oh, you'll do nicely."

  I rubbed the back of my neck. "Right. So I'm just going to go check on her. Make sure she's good."

  "Yeah, you do that. Remember what I said about those balls of yours. Do you like them where they are? Be nice to my mate."

  "Is there something about me that screams not nice?"

  Maybe she can see your black heart.

  She laughed at that, showing perfectly even white teeth. She was beautiful. But there was something obvious about her. Like what you saw was what you got. And while some blokes might like that, I liked a bit of mystery.

  I'd always loved puzzles. Cracking them. Unraveling them.

  I was probably coming on too strong, but I couldn't let go of the feeling that I needed to see her and confirm that she was okay. I had zero explanation for it. Hell, all we'd done was dance. It wasn't like she'd shared her whole life story with me. But that look she'd given me, the shy smile but blatantly honest gaze... It was hard to ignore. It was like she had seen straight into my soul.

  There was no looking away, no hiding who I was, and no pretending that everything was fine, that everything was perfect. It was like she could see me. And that should have fucking terrified me, but all it did was make me want her more.

  We're just going to see if she's okay.

  That's what I told myself. That I was just going to have a quick look. What could it hurt?

  Shoving through the crowd, I made a point to ask the bouncer, "Mate, have you seen a woman come through here? Black, total stunner, long braids?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, she went out to the right. Do you want me to check the security cam for you?"

  I shook my head. "She wouldn't leave without her mate. Thanks."

  He nodded as he checked the ID of the girl who was eyeing me up and down. She gave me a warm and inviting smile.

  I ignored her and pushed at the doors, nodding at a mate of mine as he was coming through the door. "Hey, Lock, what are you doing here?"

  "Just heading out."

  "Oh, come on, mate. I'm sure it's wicked inside."

  "Sorry, I can't."

  When I rounded the corner, I froze. All it took was a solid two seconds before the injection of rage into my blood sparked to life. And I released the anger I kept so tightly concealed. That motherfucker was trying to hurt her, and I was going to kill him.

  Today was a perfect day for him to die.

  Chapter Six

  Saffron

  I put my hands up in front of me as if I could ward off any impending assholery with my palms. If only I had magic or something. I could still remember me at eleven, Gabe at sixteen, teasing me about how I still loved Harry Potter and how all that fantasy bullshit wasn’t real. I'd never forgiven him for that actually.

  "Look, I understand that you're upset." I backed up an inch. I'd walked too far from the light. Would anyone even hear me if I started screaming? I’d already put my phone away, so I couldn’t send a quick text without being obvious.

  I could just turn and run. The question was, how fast was he? And how fast was I in my heels?

  "You were a right cunt to me in there."

  I licked my lips nervously. "To be fair, you were a little handsy. But you know, we're going to let bygones be bygones, okay mate?"

  If it was strict hand-to-hand, I wouldn't be worried. But did he have a weapon?

  He started moving forward slowly. "You are going to apologize for how you talked to me in there."

  My toxic trait was clearly that I had zero intention of apologizing to pompous twats. The problem was that toxic trait was going to get me killed one day. So I really needed to learn to shove it down or go to therapy and take care of it.

  "To be fair, you were being a twat." Who the hell said that? Was that me?

  Yup, you. So smart.

  He narrowed his gaze at me. "I’m going to teach you a fucking lesson."

  "You don't want to do that. And honestly, I'm thinking with your safety in mind here."

  "You're a cunt. You're not even that pretty. You're only mildly attractive for a Black girl. You certainly don’t hold a candle to your fucking mate."

  I swallowed hard at the insult and forced myself to smile beatifically. "Ow, again. If you're going to do this, I insist that you start with some fresh insults, but you're probably not that bright, are you? Are those the only ones you found on the internet and you're trying them out?"

  Way to lay low, Saff. Way to not antagonize the twatwaffle. Way to play it s
afe. Now we're going to get into a fight. Gabe is never letting you out of his sight again.

  The rush of anger in my veins was unexpected. The fact that because of this arsehole, Gabe was going to ground me, and likely, he'd make sure that from now on wherever I went I had an armed escort.

  "I promise you that you don't want to do this, because if you do, I'm going to be forced to kick your arse. And then when I do, you know, police will get involved, and my brother will be quite cross. So let's walk away from this, okay?"

  "You? The only thing you are going to do is to lie beneath me and show me just how sorry you are. Even better, use your mouth. There is one good thing about Black girls; your lips always look like you're ready to suck."

  I didn't even think about it. The jab landed fast, quick, and effortless. As if I'd been trained to do it my whole goddamn life.

  He growled at me and launched. I side-stepped, kicked my foot up just so that my boot planted, and tripped him.

  He screamed as he scrambled for purchase then hit the ground face first. The problem was he was between me and the exit to the alley now.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  “Sure you are, and that’s why you are on the ground and I’m—"

  He kicked out his foot and clipped just the edge of my boot, putting me off kilter. Then he rolled over, grabbing for me, climbing on top of me, and I was in that position. The one they warn you about in every single self-defense class, in every single training class.

  Never ever, ever get on the ground.

  The cold fear paralyzes you. The wicked doubt will have you ready to bargain.

  Luckily, Gabe had been working with me on this scenario all my life. But I had to say, all those times he'd wrestled me when I was getting a little too big-headed, thinking that I knew how to fight, he was being gentle.

  This geezer was not. He was pawing at me, trying to lick my neck. I shoved the bile down by swallowing hard.

  Finally, I lifted my hips with a sharp thrust and rolled over to one side, delivering my elbow to his temple as he went down.

  He howled in pain. And then I rolled to the other side, stepped one foot under my bent knee, and pushed myself to my feet.

  I tasted blood. He'd bitten me. Jesus Christ. Fucking hell, human bites were the worst. They were more likely to get infected than dog bites.

  Also, I touched the top of my head, and wiped away blood. I hoped to God it wasn't mine. It was going to be extra difficult to hide injuries from my brother. The bloke on the ground howled, "You're a fucking cunt."

  "Says the idiot on the ground. You're going to stay there. I'm going to call 999. Get you some help and phone the police. You tried to assault me."

  He spat, "Do you think anyone's going to believe you?" I frowned at that, because he had a point. "First of all, a girl outside a club, wearing leather pants, and basically a sequenced handkerchief for a top, yeah."

  But I had to believe that sometimes people like to do the right thing. And besides maybe this would make him think twice about attacking the next girl.

  I moved past him quickly toward the exit, and then he grabbed for me again.

  He was faster than I thought, quick on his feet. He slammed me up against the wall, and I could feel the pinpoint of a knife against my neck. The howling fear began to attack my mental functionality.

  "Oh my God."

  "You're not so smart anymore, are you?"

  I swallowed hard. "You don't want to go to jail tonight. Are you really going to kill me?"

  His eyes were full of rage, having gone completely dark. "I'm not a murderer. I don't hurt women."

  "Then what the fuck do you call this?"

  "This is your fault. If you'd just been nice..."

  I clamped my jaw shut. Do not antagonize him. This was bad. This was very bad. And I could feel the press of his erection against me, hard, insistent. I wanted to vomit, but I wasn't going to get that luxury today.

  He leaned in. "If you were just fucking nice. I was being nice to you. Of all the women in there, you had my attention and you threw it away like I was nothing." He leaned even closer. I could smell the stench of liquor on his breath and his sweat. It was bitter, acrid, and it was swirling around me, trying to invade like some kind of alien parasite.

  "Be nice now and I'll make it not hurt."

  I waited until he was close enough as he leaned in, inhaling at my neck, and a shudder of revulsion snaked up my entire body. Closer. Closer.

  And then I bit his ear, clamped down tight and held. He tried to yank it back, making his own ear tear, and he growled, clapping his hand over it. I held on and he dug the knife just a little tighter on my neck.

  With his body trying to angle away, I had a little room. I delivered a knee strike. Sharp. Insistent. Deadly. When he didn't fully drop, I delivered another one followed by an elbow drive up under his chin. And this time after I delivered my blow, I twisted and snaked my arm around his neck, held him there, and delivered two knees to his groin. It was only then he sank down, the knife clattering on the cobblestone pavement. I inhaled sharply, stumbling away.

  Was he dead? He groaned on the ground, and I got my confirmation he was still breathing. And as I stumbled toward the opening of the alley, a shadow of a man appeared.

  With a yell, I staggered backward, nearly falling down.

  "I see you rendered me useless.”

  Then I realized it was him from the bar. Lock.

  "I— He— Th-that guy…"

  Suddenly, Lock was on me. His enormous hands wrapped around my upper arms, gently but firm enough to keep me standing. "Fuck, you're bleeding."

  And then he looked past me to the arsehole on the ground. "I'm going to fucking kill him."

  I wrapped my hand into the front of his shirt. "He's already down. I just need to call 999."

  "Fuck, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you come out here by yourself."

  "No, I— Oh God, I just need to find my mate so I can leave."

  He studied me closely. "You're not okay."

  "No, I'm fine. It's just a little blood."

  "It's not fine. He needs to pay for this."

  I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the asshole's wallet. “I have his name. I can report him.”

  Lock gave me an unusual mile. His gaze still burning hot and intense, he looked desperate to stride over to Adam Paul's still prone body.

  I tugged on his shirt, forcing his attention back on me. "I'm okay. I'm okay, all right? Please."

  “I’m just going to have a brief chat with him,” he growled.

  I tugged him to me. “No. Leave him. He’s not worth it.”

  “He put his hands on you. I promise, killing him is worth it.”

  “Look, do we want to spend time together or fuck with him?”

  With a sigh, he nodded. "Okay, we need to get you cleaned up."

  "It can't be that bad." I felt fine, but I did notice the trickle of blood.

  "It is. You're bleeding." And then he examined my neck. "You're bleeding from the neck too. Did he do that?"

  "He got fancy with a knife.”

  “Fucking hell. I’ll kill him."

  Fury surged in his eyes when he glanced at the idiot on the ground, and I stopped him again. "I'm fine, Lock, I just… I can't go inside. I need to text Tabs and tell her to meet me."

  "Come on, you're coming with me."

  I hesitated for a moment, pulling back. "No, I— Tabs, I want to go to her and get cleaned up. Spend the night.”

  "I'm going to get you somewhere safe. We're going to clean you up, and then we're going to text Tabs. That's her name?"

  I nodded. “Tabatha.”

  "Good, then we'll text her and tell her where you are, okay?"

  I shifted on my feet. This was not the plan. Then again, getting jumped in an alley outside the club was not the plan, and Tabs was having fun. And all my instincts told me Lock was not like that bloke, so I nodded. "Where are we going?"

  "I live
not far from here."

  "Oh, of course, your place."

  He released me briefly to pull out his wallet and then he pulled out his license. "Here you go. Text Tabatha now. Tell her you're with me, yeah? That way she’ll know where you are and you’ll feel a little safer."

  I lifted my gaze and studied him. "You really are a good bloke, yeah?"

  He shrugged. "Well, that’s debatable, but right now I'm trying to get you taken care of."

  "You know I can take care of myself, right?"

  He laughed. "Yes, you have rendered me useless in defending you. But please allow me to be of some service. My ego can only takes so much."

  I had to laugh at that. "Fine.” I took a photo of his license and sent it to Tabs.

  Saff: I’ll explain later. I’m fine.

  And then I handed him back his ID.

  "Excellent. Now, can you walk?"

  I frowned at him. "Of course, I can walk.” That was the truth. Mostly the truth, because I hadn't exactly accounted for the adrenaline flooding my veins. I took a step forward, and in the heels I may have wobbled slightly.

  Lock's firm hands wrapped around my upper arms again. "That's what I thought."

  And then the giant oaf bent down, picked me up, and the threw me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing.

  “You’re coming with me,”

  Chapter Seven

  Saffron

  "So, is this the serial killer den?"

  Lock laughed as he eased me down just outside his door so he could pull out his keys. He slid the heavy steel door on its track and then stepped aside. "Ladies first. Or can you not walk?"

  I shook my head. "I can walk. You didn't have to carry me all the way here."

  "It's only three streets over."

  "You know what I mean."

  I liked his loft. It fit him somehow. I barely knew this bloke, but I knew that his place somehow fit. The trim was a mix of wood and steel, some chrome, but there were eclectic pieces of art from what looked like all over the world. A mismatch of paintings and artwork on every surface. A couch that looked comfortable and lived in.