Vicious Seduction

33

I flashed a smug smirk, then followed her, only to pull up short when I saw Lina standing stock-still. A man in a ski mask held a knife to her chest. In a heartbeat’s time, he spun her back to his front and had his arm around her neck, positioning her between us. “Don’t f*****g move, man. Just give me your cash and shut the f**k up.” His dark eyes darted over my shoulder, then back to me. Behind us, the door to the club slammed shut, the deadbolt clicking over. f*****g coward. Charles Brooks had bailed. Not that I needed his help. I held up my hands to calm the masked man. “No problem. Let me just get my wallet out.” “Don’t try anything stupid. I’ll stick this blade between her f*****g ribs so fast…” He was young—had a man’s body, but his voice still had a ring of youth to it. Immaturity and desperation were a nasty combo. Made people impulsive. I wasn’t going to underestimate him. I met Lina’s wide, terrified eyes with a reassuring look. The poor woman couldn’t catch a f*****g break. It pissed me off, but I kept that s**t buried deep. I couldn’t afford to show anything but perfect calm. “I have a couple of hundred here. Take it.” I slid my wallet from my back pocket and unfolded the expensive leather. I could understand why he’d chosen us. We wore nice clothes on a dark, unoccupied street. Using a woman as leverage. We made an excellent mark, but the problem was, my looks were deceiving. I wasn’t the same as the other men who came and went from this building. I wasn’t about to run and hide. “Just give me the whole thing,” the guy demanded. I stopped pulling out the bills, then closed the wallet and held it up. “We’re going to trade. I’ll hand you the wallet; you give me the girl.” He nodded, eyes locked on the prize. Definitely young. Anyone who’d spent time on the streets knew you never swapped. Always have the wallet tossed to the ground nearby. Good news for me. Not so much for him. I held the wallet between two fingers, my other hand held up in surrender until I was close enough to slowly reach toward Lina. Just as the thug’s hand reached for the wallet, I let it drop, timing it perfectly to look like I’d misjudged where his hand had been. When he moved to pick it up, I grabbed Lina away from him, shoving her behind me, then stepped on the guy’s hand. He screamed out in pain. “You f*****g—” His words were cut off when he tried to s***h at me with the knife in his other hand. Expecting the move, I dodged the blade, then pounded my fist down into his cheek. I never even worked up a sweat, and the thing was over. The kid collapsed unconscious into a heap on the frozen sidewalk. I thought about giving him a boot to the gut for good measure, but he was just a dumbass punk. I picked up my wallet and his switchblade, closing it and putting both items in my pocket. When I peered over my shoulder at Lina, she rushed over and wrapped her trembling body around mine. “Shh, baby. It’s okay. I’m here.” I held her for several seconds, enjoying the feel of my fingers woven in her silky hair. I didn’t even want to examine how incredible it felt to have her run to me for comfort. I felt ten f*****g feet tall. “Let’s get you home,” I said gruffly, annoyed that I had to separate from her, but it was cold as balls out. I needed to get her someplace warm. My mood soured as I thought of taking her back to her place. Then don’t. She’s in no condition to be left alone. I peered down at the asshole who’d scared her half to death after she’d already had a s**t night. I gave him that kick to the gut I’d been considering. A whoosh of hair wheezed passed his lips, and his body reflexively curled in on itself, though he never fully woke. Satisfied, I pulled Lina to my side and led her to the car. I was ready to get the f**k out of there. I never got the chance to see Wellington—the whole point of dinner at the club—but I couldn’t seem to care. What the hell was happening to me? Didn’t I care about punishing him for letting traffickers have easy access to our city? He’d killed Darina and given that poor Russian woman to his sick son to torture. He had to pay for what he’d done. My knuckles ached from my bruising grip on the steering wheel. When I thought about it all, I got so damn pissed, but all it took was one brief glance at the beautiful pale face sitting next to me to know I was doing the right thing. Someone had to protect her, and helping her didn’t mean I had to give up my campaign for justice. I just had to divide my time between the two. When Wellington goes down, and the engagement’s over, what then? Shut the f**k up, that was what. I zipped around a car in frustration and tried not to think the rest of the way home. Lina must have been lost in her own thoughts because she didn’t notice we hadn’t gone to her place until we pulled into the parking garage at my building. “Where are we?” she asked dazedly, looking around. “Home.” Her eyes followed me as I turned off the car and unclicked my seat belt. The argument I half expected never came. The fight in her seemingly all spent, she let me help her from the car. Our silence continued in the elevator, though the buzz of unsaid words grew louder in the air around us. The confined space seemed to amplify the chatter. Maybe it was just me. My gaze lifted to hers, and I found she was already watching me. “Why am I here, Oran?” she asked quietly. After everything that had happened tonight, she still looked stunning in the red dress peeking out from beneath her black coat. Her hair was a bit mussed but in a sexy way. And the elevator lighting highlighted the multifaceted shades of blue in her eyes. “Because this is where you need to be tonight.” This is where I need you to be. That was the truth of the matter, but I could hardly say it. I’d had the woman arrested for drug possession, then blackmailed her into ditching the guy she was dating. She was probably scared of me already. She'd think I was unhinged if she knew how obsessed I’d become. I sighed heavily, then held open the elevator doors for her. Mine was the only apartment on the floor. Lina looked around the landing before realizing there was only one door. Her lips thinned. Was that resignation? Frustration? Why did it matter to her if I had a floor all to myself? Most women welcomed signs of wealth, but I got the sense it made her uncomfortable. Just another mystery to add to the pile. I let us inside, flipping on the lights as I went.