I suck in a breath, trying not to let myself fall under his spell. This is dangerous, Daisy, get in the car. Now. But I don’t, I keep gazing up at him, my butterflies taking flight throughout my stomach.
Out of nowhere, a dark shape whizzes by my face and slams into Asher’s head. He flies back onto the unforgiving asphalt, knocked out cold, blood flying from the side of his face.
A scream of pure terror rips from my lips, but before it can fully form, a hand clamps firmly over my mouth and pulls me back into a hard chest. “You should have taken the money when you had the chance,” he barks, his breath laced with the stale stench of way too much scotch. He kicks at Asher’s unconscious body.
He remains motionless, and I scream again, my voice swallowed by the coarse hand clamping tightly over it. Oh my God, Asher, he’s hurt really badly.
“Some bodyguard,” the man mutters.
Instant tears well in my eyes. My poor Asher was just trying to get me home safely, and now blood is trickling from his face. I shriek through my tears, trying to make some noise that might wake him up. Or alert someone else to us being in trouble.
The man’s breath dusts over my ear. “He can’t save you now, Princess.”
Sickness churns in my stomach, and I go all clammy. The man I gave my first lap dance to—it’s his voice I hear. “Let me go,” I whimper, trying to buck out of his grip on me.
He pulls me in closer to him, so close I can feel how hard he is. A shiver runs down my spine, and sickness fills me. “Not until you give me what I came here for tonight.” He drags me to the back of the car and swings open the door.
I sink my teeth into his hand, trying anything I can to make him release me while he’s distracted. I’m not getting in there with him. Noway in hell he’s getting what he wants from me. I bite so damn hard I taste the metallic tang of his blood; it’s disgusting and makes me gag.
He releases his hand from my mouth, grabbing me around the throat instead. “You little bitch,” he roars in my ear as he slams me into the car, the force knocking the air from my lungs and jarring my whole right side.
Pain radiates through me, and tears stream down my face, but I don’t give up. I can’t give up. Asher needs help. He could be bleeding to death right now, all because of me. I bring my elbow back into his gut as hard as I can, trying to twist out of his hold. I fight with everything I have, scratching at him and kicking. For his age, he’s surprisingly strong, and I know I’m no match for him, but I have to try.
His grip around my throat tightens as he forces me inside the back seat of Asher’s car. I shriek, but it comes out hoarse and with no power. My front is squished into the car’s back seat, his full weight clamping around me from behind so I can’t move.
I try to breathe, but my face is forced so far into the seat he’s almost smothering me. I’m dizzy from the way his fingers are crushing my airway. I twist and turn in his grip, trying to gasp for air.
My head spins as I try to focus and find something in the car to use as a weapon. My hand searching, I flail around on the carpeted floor well for anything I can use to fight him off with. I reach up under the passenger-side seat, hoping to God he has something stashed here. Asher’s a thug, surely he has a weapon stashed in his car.
I nearly squeal when I land on a handle and keep feeling down till I get to solid metal with a sharp edge, a blade. Thank the Lord.
From behind, I feel as he shoves my skirt up and reefs my panties down my legs, cool air chilling my bare skin. “I’m going to really fuckyou up, girlie, make sure that prick boyfriend of yours knows this was his fault.” He chuckles sinisterly.
I grip the handle of the blade tighter, knowing I have one chance at this. It’s the last thing I want to do, but I have no choice. I close my eyes up tight and swing my arm backwards as hard as I can. The blade cuts through his shirt and sinks deep into his back. So deep it makes me want to puke at the noise it makes.
A gasp of pain escapes him, and I feel his weight, once pressing my body firmly into the seat, suddenly recoil.
I scramble out from under him, quickly tugging my dress down and my panties up, my body trembling all over as I find blood on my fingers.
He stumbles back, his eyes wild and crazy. “What did you do?” His hand shakes as he looks down at the blood dripping from it.
My head spins, and I grab hold of the car to stop from going over. So much blood. Fuck, I don’t feel well. Asher’s blurry figure moves, holding his head as he glances at me. “Asher,” I cry, knowing what’s about to happen. There is too much blood. My vision goes blurry, and I’m falling.
A gunshot goes off, then another one. I clamber onto the solid ground below. Then nothing.
Strong arms cradle me, holding me close, warm and comforting like a blanket. “Ash,” I whisper, blinking a few times to get my eyes to focus properly. “Cruz?” His dark blue eyes draw me out of the fog and back into reality. Where did he come from?
“Are you okay, little darlin’?” he says, his voice hoarse, his eyes filled with concern.
“I think so.” And then I remember what just happened, and my heart races in panic all over again. “Asher got hit,” I splutter.
“I’m right here.” His voice comes from behind me, sounding groggy and out of it, but it’s definitely him. Thank God.
I glance over my shoulder to find him propped up against the brick wall of the club, out back in the parking lot, an ice pack resting on the side of his face. Sloane fusses over him with a wet cloth as she wipes away blood. The sight of his bruised face makes me shiver because it looks so terrible.
“He’s okay, Daisy,” Cruz tries to assure me, but he doesn’t look okay, and all I can see when I look at him is that thing swinging at his face and the deafening crunch as it took him to the ground. It must have been a plank of solid wood or a baseball bat, something hard.
Next to him is my attacker. Very dead, with two bullet holes in him, one in his head, the other in his chest. There is so much blood. My head spins again, and my stomach lurches. “Oh, God,” I mutter quickly, looking away, but it’s too late. I scramble out of Cruz’s hold on me and empty the contents of my stomach in a rush.
