I could stay like this forever, with the heat of his palms encasing my ribs.
I want–
“Care if we watch?” A man’s voice croons from the other side of my car, and someone else snorts a laugh.
Jensen’s comforting body turns to stone in an instant before he spins me behind him. He did it so quickly that I would have stumbled if not for his arm keeping me plastered to his back.
I’m tucked between him and his SUV as he stares down the unperturbed guests. One of them is leaning against my passenger window, the other is standing a few feet off to his side.
“We’ve got nothing for you,” he says easily, but his voice isdeep with warning.
“We’ve been waiting for the pretty thing to get out of her fancy car and come pay her lot fee.” He chuckles to himself, spitting a toothpick out of his mouth onto the roof of my car.
“We were just leaving,” Jensen responds with a lot more patience than he had when we were teens. If I weren’t scared shitless right now, I’d commend him for his progress.
“Not til you pay.”
“Liv, get in my car.” His tone is low and controlled, blanketing me in security, but I can’t make my feet move. “Now,” he commands.
The guy leaning on my car huffs a laugh and leans back onto his feet, readying himself, but he only watches as I shadow Hayes and slink along the SUV.
As I climb inside the passenger seat, he taps the side coolly, signaling me to lock the doors, and I do immediately. Even though my window is up, I can hear them clearly.
“Take off,” Hayes warns again, but the calmness in his tone sends a chill down my spine.
“Hundred bucks,” the smaller guy lingering in the shadows pipes in with their apparent price.
Hayes laughs, and I do a double-take. He’s so nonchalant, but that’s not the Hayes that I know. “No cash, sorry.” He shrugs.
“We’ll see about that,” the main guy threatens, popping open a switchblade in his hand.
I want to call 911, but my phone is in my car, and I don’t know where Jensen’s phone is. He didn’t even flinch at seeing the knife.
He strolls out from between our cars into the open lot and just waits, summoning the guy forward with his uncaring.
It isn’t until the guy is within feet of him, slashing his knife in the air, that Hayes even uncrosses his arms.
He lunges, jabbing his blade towards his chest, but he’s too slow. Hayes’s hand shoots out, pinning the guy’s wrist in the air and snatching the knife away from him easily. “Get the fuck out of here,” he growls in his face, throwing his arm with enough force to knock the guy back a few steps.
“AHHH!” The guy lowers his head and barrels towards him like he might try to take him down, but Hayes is quicker, stepping to the side at the last second, forcing the guy to tumble onto the pavement.
Luckily, the sidekick is still hiding in the bushes as the big guy stands up sluggishly. Hayes looks at me through the windshield and blows an exaggerated breath out, shrugging at me with a premeditated apology.
Big guy takes one step towards him, and Jensen’s fist strikes the guy in the jaw, knocking him out cold.
I don’t have a chance to breathe before he turns on a dime, whipping the pocket knife out of his hand.
It lodges into the tree next to the sidekick.
A muffled noise of shock escapes my throat, and I clap my hands over my mouth. I watch with bug-eyes as Hayes drags the guy into the grass and pats his unconscious cheek, never taking his eyes off the other guy, who was never brave enough to join his partner.
He wipes his hands as he strolls casually to where I’m staring out the window. “All good now. Are you okay?”
I nod, but I’m not sure I’ve blinked.
“Drive my car to the gas station, I’ll drive yours.”
All I can do is nod again before shuffling over the middle console to the driver’s seat. I drive the two miles to the closestgas station in shock as my car’s headlights follow closely behind me.
