He laughs airily. “True. Uh, alright, um, stay here, and text me when Ledge arrives, okay?”
“I promise.”
He squeezes my left hand and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead, then heads off in search of Timothy.
I rub a hand up and down my arm when I feel a chill pricking my skin, and hold onto my clutch a little tighter with the other. A few upper classes move closer to where I am – too focused on their conversation to notice that they’ve shifted away from the main hall – so I step back further into a corner. My thoughts are too fuzzy right now for me to eventryhaving a proper one-on-one with anyone, let alone one of these guests. For me, the mostreasonable option is to keep my distance from them, at least for now.
But, in my haste of staying hidden, I, for the second time tonight, somehow manage to tangle my dress underneath my heels. This time, however, I’m afraid it’s more than just a stumble; I’m about to fuckingfall. My body propels at the suddenness of my lost balance, and just when I’m about to hit the floor and mortify myself in front of complete strangers, the estate’s back door opens, and a tall figure grabs me by the waist before I can fully descend.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I say in a rush, then hold onto their forearm so that I can steady myself. “I swear the universe is out to get me tonight.”
“That’s alright,” he responds in a thick accent. “I’m just glad I caught you in time, Miss Adler.”
Surprised, I look up, and find a man I’ve never met before, smiling down at me.
He’s got a broad frame, brown skin, a buzzed head of hair, and thick stubble. He’s wearing a black suit and a white shirt, which would seem pretty standard, given the occasion, were it not for the earpiece in his right ear, and the rectangular golden badge pinned to the left side of his chest. Printed on this badge are the words ‘SECURITY SERVICE’, and below that is a name, engraved in bold italics.
“I’m Haroon,” the man states. “I am part of the backup security team for the gala. Mr. Lutkus had informed us of your arrival, but to be able to see you in person? Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that to happen.” He smiles again, and even though his comment seems genuinely sweet, it’s the look on his face that forms a knot in my stomach. It immediately puts me on alert, despite my brain being a bit foggy.
I straighten and let go of his forearm. “That’s, uh, very nice of you to say. Thank you so much – both for saving me from thefall, and for the kind words.” I make to move away from him, but feel a wave of dizziness hit me like a slap. I once again lose my balance, and my back ends up hitting the wall behind me.
“Careful, there.” He steps closer, and on instinct, I press myself further against the cold wall. I look to where the upper classes had been standing just now, and find that they’re no longer there.
Fuck.
I swallow and face Haroon again, and because I’m currently hyper-aware of his presence, I notice the smell of sweat permeating off of him, and a subtle twitch – kind of like a spasm – that he tries to hide every time it triggers the muscles of his neck, making it jerk side-to-side. I’ve seen, and met worse people than him, and yet, I feel vulnerable standing before him. Why? Because I’m not fully coherent right now, and that’s not the kind of state I wanna be in, especially because I have no idea what this guy is capable of. I could create a commotion, but there’s a slim chance anyone would hear me, since the music in here is too loud. I could run, but I’m positive I wouldn’t get too far. I could use my gun on him, but if someone were to see me with a weapon, it would cause a ruckus, and Aras would have to abruptly end the gala without Dorran having executed the kills.
“You seem on edge, Miss Adler,” Haroon observes, and if I’m not mistaken, I notice a pinch of humor in his eyes. “If you let me, I can help you relax a little.” One of his hands cups the side of my waist, and when I try shoving him, he erases the distance between us and pushes his groin against my stomach. He’s close –tooclose. His breath is stale, and when he leans in, I move my face away from his, which causes him to laugh.
“I didn’t even know who you were until my sister showed me one of your videos a few months ago,” he starts. “I don’t know why she did it, but she said I should see how pretty you are, and fuck, I’msoglad I did.” He brings his nose to my hair andinhales, then groans as he lets go of a breath. “I’ve been jerking off to your photos and vlogs for so long, but now you’re here, and I don’t know what to do with myself.”
My chest feels constricted; my mouth is now dry. My vision blurs, and I’m so scared of passing out that a sob hitches out of me. I can’t lose consciousness right now. I justcan’t.
I try pushing him again, but he grabs my wrists, making my clutch fall to the floor, and turns me around before pinning my hands to my back.
“Let go of me!” I grit out, struggling against his hold, but it’s futile. “Fucking let me go!”
“Every time I see one of your videos, all I can think about is kissing those beautiful lips of yours.” He pulls me against him, then brings his face next to the side of my neck. “Of shoving my cock so deep down your delicate throat that you choke on me until you can’t anymore. And this body…” His free hand glides over my stomach, and when I recoil at his touch, he just laughs.
“It’s an amazing coincidence that I was on CCTV duty right now, and saw that you finally didn’t have your stupid boy-toy with you. I couldn’t resist; I justhadto come see you in person.”
“I don’t know what you think is going to happen here, but there’s something I do know for certain: you’re not going to leave this estate alive tonight, youscumbag.” I try forcing my hands out of his grasp, but he doesn’t budge.
“Oh, how your confidence makes me want to break you in half by fucking your sweet little cunt, just to prove a point.” He drives his groin forward, and I use all my strength to loosen his grip, but he just digs his fingers into my skin, making me hiss.
“You’re a dead fucking man,” I spit out. “Let me go now and I swear I’ll end things quickly for you.”
He laughs again. “Empty threats don’t suit you, baby girl.” He brings his face close to my hair again, and I clench my jaw because I hate how helpless I feel right now.
“You smell sogood…” he says hoarsely. “Almost divine, if I do s–”
One second he’s behind me, and the next, the weight of his body is all but hauled away from me.
I suck in a breath and turn around, just as Dorran shoves Haroon against the opposite wall, rattling the vintage-looking frames hung on it, and punches him square in the face.
12.
I’m so fucking livid that I can barely see straight. If I’d gotten to her sooner, then this lowlife wouldn’t have dared to come close to her. If I’d reached her a few moments ago, this dickwad wouldn’t have laid his filthy fucking hands on her. But the minute I left Aras in search of Cignette, an upper class cornered me and asked if I’d take on a kill for tonight. He obviously knew of me, and offered to pay twice as much as Aras, just to take one life. It took a lot of patience, and a few vigorous handshakes for me to convince him to excuse me, and to assure him that I’ll take him on as a client, just not tonight.
