Ugh. Pru was working her second job as a private investigator, which meant I'd have to risk disturbing her autistic and probably already-asleep teenage brother in the middle of the night if I wanted to crash on her couch.
Alright, so clearly, I needed to find a hotel room until Pru returned from her side hustle. That would be a little tricky, considering I still had to order a ride out of here, and I only had a debit card connected to whatever was left in my credit union account. My heart sank as I mentally calculated the balance. It wasn't much. Maybe just enough for a last-minute room at Sam's Town or another budget-friendly hotel with local discounts, so long as they didn't require a deposit hold.I opened a browser window on my phone to see what I could find....
Only to spot the big ol' roaming SOS at the top right-hand of my screen. And of course, my phone was down to a single-digit percent of battery..
Crap! Crap! Crap!I had zero bars of reception, which I suppose should come as zero surprise. Underground cage fights weren't especially concerned with Wi-Fi access or charging cords. But seriously, could this night get any worse?
"Hey, mami, where you goin’?" a voice called out behind me in seeming response to my question.
Another spew of mental craps as I started walking faster. I seriously had to learn to stop asking that question.
"Look at you, so pretty in that red dress. You need a date, mami? I got your date right here!"
I couldn't see who was talking, but whoever it was did a great job of signaling his intent. His tone explicitly conveyed an image of him grabbing his crotch.
"You like to party? I got the good stuff. I can host you in my car all night, mami."
More craps. This time because his voice was getting closer!
I redoubled my steps.
"Why you runnin’ away? Why you runnin’ away?" The voice was getting even closer. I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me, and I doubted he was wearing heels. "C'mon, mami, let's party. My car's right—hey, who’re you? What you try?—"
A hard smacking sound finally stopped the voice. And me in my tracks.
I'd been to enough fights with Tony to know what just happened, even before turning around to find a large guy with a gun in his waistband knocked out cold on the ground. Lying next to him? A hat that had a Nice Guy Mode OFF button and an Asshole Mode ON button. It had clearly fallen off his head when he collapsed unconscious onto the asphalt.
Courtesy of the man now standing over him.
Of course,of course, that man would be Coleridge "Triple Ice" Benton III.
Though he wasn't appearing so icy at the moment.
Actually, I'd never seen him look so furious.
CHAPTER20
Cole
She could have been hurt.
My eyes dropped to the gun sticking out of the waistband of the guy who'd been intending to "party" with Sunny, whether she accepted his invitation or not. There were no cameras at Lobo's warehouse. That made it the perfect place for men to take advantage—prey on the vulnerable.
I retrieved the gun out of the guy's waistband—a six-shooter with the serial number filed off. I emptied the bullet chamber, and as each round hit the asphalt with a hard plink, I thought of all the things that could have happened to Sunny if I hadn't shown up in time.
If I hadn't spotted her in the distance just as I was pulling my car onto the dirt field the venue called a parking lot.
He'd been chasing after her by the time I drove to her and exited the car.
He'd been reaching out to grab ahold of her arm when I ran up on him.
If I'd gotten there even a second later...
If I hadn't knocked him out before he could pull that gun to threaten her. Or worse.
I looked up from the now-empty bullet chamber to Sunny, who stood there in wide-eyed shock. Probably realizing all the things I just did.
That there are worse predators than me in this City of Sin.
