Lifting my head, I look up to find captivating dark blue eyes beaming down at me. The man’s graying hair is combed back from his face. While it is clear he is a good twenty years older than my twenty-eight, that does nothing to deny just how attractive he is.
He has this rough, stern look about him. Like he has seen plenty of shit in his life.
Three frown lines sit between his dark brows. They seem highlighted even more thanks to the concerned look he is giving me.
A short beard covers the lower half of his face. Something inside of me is desperate to run my fingers through it but I refuse to move my hand from where it grips the front of his suit jacket.
Letting go of him, I scramble from his arms, doing my best to find my feet again as I stand up.
The man stands to his full height and I gulp taking in his sheer size. I know I am not tall by any means. My five-foot-five being stood over by the taller population regularly, but damn.
He has a good foot on me, most likely more if I was to break out a tape measure.
We both stand rooted in spot for a moment looking at each other, waiting for the other to do or say something.
He seems to take the lead, dropping his shoulders as if an attempt to look less threatening.
“You are safe now, sweetheart. He won’t bother you any longer.”
At his words, I finally allow my eyes to leave his as I look in the direction of the grunting and occasional muffled yell.
Two men stand over Mr. CEO, beating him within an inch of his life. Blood sprays through the alleyway, adding the already foul decor.
I know that I should be terrified. That I should be pulling out my already busted cell and call 911.
But I can’t.
Instead, I turn back to the man in front of me. I nod at him once before turning and making a run for the exit of the alleyway.
The guy shouts after me telling me to wait but I don’t listen.
Why would I when he and his friends are Alphas too?
Chapter Two
Ifinally slow down as I reach the front of my apartment building but I refuse to stop completely until the elevator doors open in front of me. It's a struggle to catch my breath but I eventually do, slumping against the elevator wall.
It's only seconds before the doors open, spilling out into the quiet corridor.
I quietly unlock the front door, unable to stop myself from checking behind myself a dozen times before stumbling inside.
“Valentina, are you okay?” The gentle voice of Mrs. Perry instantly settles my raised nerves.
I swallow down the panic that claws at me and nod, even though it is a lie.
“Yeah, Mrs. Perry. Sorry about banging around in here so late. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She shakes her head, getting up from the couch and makes her way towards me. The older lady smiles at me and a piece of my heart shatters, the way it always does when she looks at me the way she does.
“Don’t you be sorry, girl. Those silly TV show games always put me to sleep.”
We both chuckle knowing it's true. The only thing that doesn’t seem to put her to sleep are the late night telenovellas she is addicted to. I have to admit, there have been many nights I have turned them on and sobbed into a tub of caramel ice cream.
With a quick goodbye, Mrs. Perry takes the few steps back to her apartment, leaving me alone again.
Setting my bag down on my bed, I don’t linger too long, instead I quietly open the door to my daughter’s room.
The princess night-light casts shapes around her room, helping to lighten the dark corners like I know she likes. I thank myself that she is still so little that we are able to share a twin bed without much fuss.
