The guy I’d run into touched my elbow, and I nearly leapt out of my skin. My pulse galloped, and I sucked in a sharp breath of fright before catching myself.
Instead of looking freaked out, he just scowled and ran his gaze over me. “You’re running from someone,” he observed. It was a statement, not a question. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, too shaken to even try and lie. “No, I’m fine,” I replied in a whisper. “I just need to hide for a minute.”
He frowned deeper, staring down at me. Then he gave a short nod. “You’re freezing; come inside.” He tipped his head to the fire escape door slightly further down the alleyway. A beer bottle was wedged in the door, holding it from latching, and music trickled from inside.
I shook my head. “N-no, I’m fine. Thanks.”
The guy's brows shot up in surprise. I guess with that face he didn’t hearnovery often from girls. I bet he had a body to match, too. This wasso incrediblynot the time to be flirting with a cute guy in an alleyway; maybe I’d hit my head when I fainted.
“You’re not fine,” he disagreed. “You’re cold, terrified, and covered in blood.”
“I’m what?” I peered down at myself, then let out a small scream. There was blood all over the side of my arm and now that I was paying attention I realized my tank top was wet. Wet and sticky. I had no idea if any of the blood was mine after the fall from the window, but I knew for sure some was Liz’s. Frantic, I went into panic mode, tearing the stained fabric off my body in revulsion, leaving myself just in a black bra, as I triedreallyhard not to pass out again. Scrubbing the fabric down my arm, the shaking in my body grew stronger.
“Oh my god,” I gasped over and over. “Oh my god. Oh my—” Bile rose up in my throat. “I’m going to be sick.” I leaned over, bracing my hands on my knees as my stomach lurched. Nothing came up, though. Thankfuck.
“Here.” My new friend shrugged off his leather jacket, then pulled his t-shirt off. Before I could voice a protest, he’d tugged the shirt over my head, and I pushed my arms through the sleeves on autopilot. The fabric was still warm from his body, and smelled of smoke and cologne.
Through the fog in my panicked mind, I finally realized what I’d done. “What? No, I can’t take your t-shirt!” I protested, straightening up and pushing my hair out of my face. Oh shit, he really did have a body to match his face—slim but well-built, with washboard abs, andcoveredin tattoos. Was that a piercing in his nipple? That and the lip had me wondering where else he might be pierced.
Billie, no!
His grin was pure confidence as he put his jacket back on and left it open. “Sure you can. You can’t go walking around in just a bra and skirt, no matter how hot you look. You’d freeze.”
My lips parted, but I had no comeback. My brain wasn’t functioning as fast as it should be.
“Besides, the leather jacket over bare chest is totally rock and roll, no one will question me.” He flashed another disarming smile and backed up a couple of steps. His fingers wrapped around the door handle of the fire exit, and he tugged it open. “You coming or what?”
I bit the side of my lip, confused as fuck.Noshould be my response. Surely, I’d already been hiding long enough that Angelo’s thug had gone. But even if he had… where was I going? I had nothing. My bag—with my clothes and all my money—was back in the restaurant.
So I found myself nodding. If nothing else, maybe I could steal someone’s jacket to keep me warm on the streets tonight.
The cute guy held the door open wider for me to pass by, then gently touched a hand to my lower back as he followed me inside.
“Come on, I’ll get you a drink,” he said in my ear as the music got louder. “You look like you need it.”
If that wasn’t the truest statement I’d ever heard.
Angelo was a murderer… and now he wantedmedead.
I really did need a drink.
three
RHETT
The club was loud, packed, sweaty. I’d been suffocating under the attention earlier, hence why I’d slipped out the fire escape for a cigarette. I’d just needed a fucking secondalone. Now, though, I was glad for the crush of patrons that gave me an excuse to reach down and link my fingers through hers.
I was oddly pleased with how loud everything was, meaning I needed to lean down so close my lips brushed her ear as I directed her to the VIP area.
She lookedso hotin my t-shirt I could barely keep my thoughts straight. Fuck, I didn’t even know her name. But better yet… she didn’t seem to knowmine.
I needed to get a fucking grip, though. She’d been running from someone, probably an abusive boyfriend. She’d been totally fucking terrified out there in the alleyway, shivering and small, looking up at me like a kicked puppy. The last thing she needed was for me to hump her fucking leg right now.
There was no point staying in the main part of the dance floor; I’d be mobbed in seconds, and I sensed that would send the skittish chick running for the hills. For some reason that bothered me. Reasons I wouldn’t be examining tonight.
Making my way toward the VIP section, I kept her close, and it didn’t escape my attention that she kept obsessively checking our surroundings. Violence against women was a trigger for me, and I half hoped that whatever fuckbag was after her showed his damn face tonight.
