WHEN HE CHOOSE HER

Chapter 3: Trapped

Grace's POV

My purse connected with his skull but the bastard barely flinched. Sophia's scream cut through the air as he yanked her hair so hard I thought he might actually rip it from her scalp. Her whole body arched backward, neck exposed, and I saw the panic flooding her eyes.

"Let her go, you piece of s**t!" The words tore out of my throat but my voice sounded small and useless against the sound of their laughter.

"What're you gonna do about it, princess?" His breath washed over me, thick with cheap whiskey and something sour that made my stomach turn. "Gonna tickle me with that little purse again?"

The other three were climbing out of the car now, taking their time like they were enjoying this. Like we were entertainment. Gold Tooth stepped closer and the streetlight caught his smile, predatory and hungry. My skin crawled.

"We're just trying to be friendly, baby." His eyes hadn't left my chest once, not even to blink. "You walk around wearing something like that, what do you expect? You're practically begging for attention."

I kept backing up until tree bark bit into my shoulders through the thin fabric of my dress. No more room. Nowhere to go. My heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my throat.

"I want you to release my friend and crawl back into whatever hole you came from."

The man with the baseball cap laughed, this ugly sound that made my skin prickle. He was shorter but built like a tank, shoulders straining his shirt. "Oh man, I love the mouthy ones. They always put up the best fight before they give in."

Gold Tooth reached out and his fingers brushed my bare arm. I slapped his hand away so hard my palm stung.

"Don't you dare touch me!"

"Ooh, playing hard to get. That's okay, I like a challenge." He moved in closer, trapping me against the tree with his body. I could feel the heat coming off him and everything in me screamed to run but there was nowhere to run to. "Makes it more satisfying when you finally stop fighting."

"Grace, please, just run!" Sophia was still struggling, her voice breaking with tears and terror. "Leave me, just go!"

"I'm not abandoning you." My eyes darted everywhere, desperate for something, anything I could use as a weapon. A branch. A rock. But there was nothing except darkness and these men were closing in.

Gold Tooth pressed himself against me, shoving me harder into the tree. One hand slammed beside my head and I felt bark scratch my cheek. "Neither of you is going anywhere, sweetheart. We're gonna have a real good time tonight." His other hand came up toward my breast and bile rose in my throat. "I have been watching them bounce all night. Time to find out if they're real."

I drove my knee up with everything I had, aiming for his groin, but he twisted at the last second and my knee glanced off his inner thigh instead.

"You little b***h!" His hand clamped around my wrist like a vice, grinding the bones together until white-hot pain shot up my arm and I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped my lips.

Headlights flooded the street out of nowhere, so bright I had to squint. Tires squealed against asphalt as another car came to an abrupt stop just feet away. The engine cut off. The car door opened and slammed shut.

"Is there a problem here?" The voice that cut through the darkness wasn't loud, but it carried weight and authority. The kind of voice that expected to be obeyed.

A man stepped into the halo of a distant streetlight and even in my panic I recognized every detail. He is tall, easily over six feet. He was wearing an expensive suit that fit him like it was custom-made. He moved toward us with this controlled precision, each step deliberate and confident, like he'd assessed the entire situation in a single glance and already knew how it would end.

"Back off, man. This doesn't concern you." Gold Tooth's words were tough but I felt his grip on my wrist loosen just slightly, uncertainty creeping into his bravado.

He moved closer and my breath caught in my chest. Even with the crappy lighting, recognition slammed into me like a freight train. Henderson Mike. My boss's boss's boss. The goddamn CEO of Mike Industries, where I'd spent the last eight months busting my ass as a junior marketing executive.

"I'm pretty sure these ladies asked you to leave them alone," he said, and his voice had this quality to it, quiet, almost conversational, but with an edge sharp enough to cut. "You should probably listen."

Gold Tooth let out this cocky sneer. "Yeah? What're you planning to do about it? Four against one, fancy man."

Henderson's expression didn't change. Didn't even blink. "You're right about the numbers. But I've already got police on the way. Pretty sure they'll be very interested in four drunk assholes assaulting two women on a public street."

Tribal Tattoo finally let go of Sophia's hair, shoving her forward hard enough that she stumbled. "Whatever, dude. These bitches aren't worth the hassle anyway."

Sophia crashed into me and I grabbed her, wrapping my arms around her tight.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded but her hands were shaking as she touched her scalp. "That son of a b***h nearly scalped me."

Gold Tooth puffed up his chest, taking a step toward Henderson like he still had something to prove. "You think you're some kind of hero? Standing there in your expensive suit, rich boy playing savior?"

Henderson just looked at him. He didn't move a muscle. "I think I'm someone who's tired of watching drunk idiots harass women. You can walk away right now, or you can explain yourselves to the cops when they get here. Ball's in your court."

For a second I genuinely thought Gold Tooth might take a swing at him. The tension stretched out, suffocating. Then he spat on the ground right next to Alexander's pristine shoes.

"Come on," he muttered to his friends. "These sluts aren't worth catching a case over."

They stumbled back to their beat-up convertible, engine roaring to life. Gold Tooth gunned it hard, tires squealing as they tore off down the street.

Henderson turned to face us. "You two alright?"

Up close, he was even more imposing than he seemed in the office. Tall, sharp-featured, those piercing gray eyes that always seemed to see straight through whatever corporate bullshit people tried to feed him. His face belonged on magazine covers, which it frequently did. Even at this hour, his dark hair looked perfectly styled, every strand exactly where it should be.

"We're fine," I said, suddenly hyper-aware of how I must look, hair a disaster, makeup probably streaked down my face from crying earlier, and this stupid dress that now felt more like a costume than clothing. "Thank you for stopping."

"Need a lift somewhere?" he asked, and his eyes flicked down to my chest for just a fraction of a second before returning to my face.

"Our cab bailed on us," Sophia said, still massaging her scalp. "And my boyfriend's not picking up his phone."

Henderson gestured toward his car, this sleek black sedan that probably cost more than I'd make in five years. "I can drive you both wherever you need to go."

I hesitated, my mind racing. This was Henderson Mike. The guy who signed my paychecks. The man whose name was literally on the building where I worked. He had a reputation for being ruthless in business, cold and calculating. The absolute last thing I needed was for him to see me like this, to recognize me as one of his employees looking like a complete mess after what was clearly a disaster of a night.

"That's really generous of you," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully, "but we don't want to put you out.”

"You're not putting me out. I'd be an asshole to drive off and leave you two stranded after what just went down."

Sophia whipped her head toward me, eyes huge. The look on her face basically screamed: "What is wrong with you? Hot rich guy offering us a ride? TAKE IT."

"Okay. If you really don't mind."

"I wouldn't have offered it if I minded." He walked to the back door and held it open. "Come on."

I slid into the backseat and the smell hit me first. Leather. New leather. And whatever cologne he wore, something woody and obscenely expensive. The whole interior looked like it belonged in a showroom. Everything is polished and perfect. My head felt floaty, disconnected. Probably the adrenaline is finally dying down.

"Henderson Mike," he said once he got behind the wheel.

"Grace." I left it at that. No last name. Praying he wouldn't make the connection. "And this is Sophia."

"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." He started the car, barely made a sound, just this low purr. "Where to?"

Sophia gave her address. Then I mumbled mine.

"So what happened tonight?" he asked. Just casual, trying to make a conversation.

Sophia didn't hesitate. "Birthday party from hell. Grace caught her boyfriend balls-deep in the birthday girl."

My face went nuclear. "Oh my god, Sophia!"

His eyes caught mine in the mirror. He held them for a second. "That's brutal. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I wanted to disappear. I wanted the seat to swallow me whole.

"She should worry about it," Sophia said. "Bryan's a walking STD who deserves testicular cancer."

The tiniest smile crossed Henderson's face. "Bryan's the boyfriend? Or the ex-boyfriend?"

"Very ex. Like ten-minutes-ago ex," I said, still wondering what possessed me to let this happen. My boss. My actual boss. Hearing about my disastrous love life while I looked like something dragged through a hedge backward.

"Sounds like you dodged a bullet," he said. His eyes flicked to the mirror again. "The guy is clearly an idiot.”