A delivery truck is parked at this end of the street, blocking a good portion of the alley from view. A few dumpsters line the street to my right, and I also take note of a few metal doors leading into the abandoned warehouse that stretches tall over the alleyway.
The turn to the next street is too far away. I was too close for her to get away, so I start walking slowly down the road, the sound of my boots echoing in the late-night quiet. She’s somewhere nearby.
“Might as well come out now, Briar Rose,” I call out, eyeing the dumpsters to the right, craning my neck to see if I can get a look in them before moving deeper into the alley. “There’s no escaping me, love.”
My words are met with silence, and I sigh.
“Your choice, remember.”
That’s when I strike. One second I’m on my feet, and the next, I’m chest-down on the pavement, arm outstretched underneath the truck, my hand closing around a slender, delicateankle.
I yank hard, and Briar screams as I drag her out from under the truck. She fights me, clawing the ground in desperation, trying to find something to grab ahold of. Her attempts to kick me away are futile.
“Stop.”
Swapping out her ankle for an arm, I haul her up while she thrashes against me, her fists flying, falling uselessly against my chest. Once she’s on her feet, she does everything she can to twist out of my grip.
In a shock to me, she actually manages to slip out of it. Her eyes widen when she realizes she’s free. She barely makes it two steps before my hand closes around her wrist again and she yelps when she meets resistance. Whirling her around, her back hits the brick wall of the alley, and I pin her there. Yet she still doesn’t relent.
“Let me go!” she screeches, attempting to drop out from under me, but I reach down, wrapping a hand around each wrist, forcing them up over her head and pinning them there against the brick. At the same time, I lean in, using the weight and size of my body to cage her in until she has nowhere left to go. By the time her eyes meet mine again, my forearm is pressed firmly against her throat—threatening but not yet cutting off air—just letting her know ifI wanted to, I could.
“Stop. Running. Away. From. Me.”
She finally goes still, blue eyes alight with fury.
I cock my head to the side as I look down at her, finding her rage at being caught amusing. “You done?”
She struggles again, bringing our attention to just howcloseour bodies are. How I’m pressed up against her. She makes an attempt to free her hands, but I tighten my grip and watch as the rage and fury in her eyes fall away to reveal sheer panic and utter terror, before she releases a low whimper. Her entire body trembles beneath me.
At first, her reaction confuses me, but then—realization. “Fuck, I’m not—I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”
My grip on her loosens slightly, but I don’t let go. I don’t trust her. I keep her pinned in place.
“Youboughtme.” Her voice comes out cracked, full of broken accusation.
I let out a sigh. “I know, but?—”
“I heard what you said in there about…”breaking her, she doesn’t say it. Trailing off, her gaze darts to the right, flinching violently at the appearance of my brothers.
I move my forearm off her neck, holding up a hand to ward them off. They freeze a couple feet away, watching me and waiting on my next order.
“Please let me go.Please, Koen,” Briar begs. Falling apart now, tears rim her blue eyes as she stares up at me, pleading with me to let her walk away from this.
Something cracks deep inside me at the sight—and the way she saysmy name—but I only tighten my grip.
“No.”
Her eyes once again fill with panic, and she trembles against me.
I rub my free hand down my face. “Shit. Look, it’s not—it’s not what it seems. I just… need you to trust me. I can explain, but not here.” I release her hands, taking hold of her arm again as I ease my weight off of her, guiding her in the direction of the street, but she resists. “If you’ll just get back in the car and?—”
“I don’t know you.” She cuts me off, trying to watch both me and my brothers behind me at the same time.
I stop. Looking down at her.
“No, you don’t.” In all fairness, we’d spent one night together, nearly five years ago, and all I’ve done since then is threaten her.
“Alright, I get it, this is… a lot. But if you get back in the car with me, I promise, no one will hurt you. I’ll take you back to your apartment. And we can talk.”
