He halted as the leader trained the gun on him. He quickly put himselfbetween his soulmate and the weapon. “What? You have what you wanted.”
“What’s the rush? I need to make sure it’s enough.”
Malcolm waited until the man’s gaze moved to investigate the wallet. Then he pushed Blair behind a commercial trash receptacle.
“What the fux?” The leader looked up at him and glared. “You’re a fuxing Watchman.”
The two other miscreants’ eyes widened before a growl issuedfrom one and a yell from the other.
He dropped to the ground and rolled to grab up a metal pipe that had missed getting into the trash. As he rose, the first man was on him. He let the pipe precede him straight into the big man’s jaw, sending him flying backwards to land flat on his back.
But the other muscle man swung, so he ducked. Unfortunately, wrestling must have been the criminal’s pastimeif the strength of his choke hold was any indication. As a Watchman, Malcolm had been assigned to end the underground fighting ring, which no doubt had this muscle man as a member.
But he wasn’t a Watchman in just looks. Grasping the big man’s arm around his throat, he bent forward, dropping to his knees, and sent the man over him, the arm loosening enough for him to twist the wrist and escapethe hold. He slammed his elbow into the man’s face before jumping up to defend against the kick of the first man.
He grabbed the booted foot heading for his mouth and twisted hard. The man fell to the ground moaning.
With the two biggest threats reduced, he turned to find the leader.
“Malcolm!”
Blair’s scream chilled his heart. He raced toward the sound to find the leader dragging her towardthe end of the alley almost to the opening to street above. If the man reached the main road, Malcolm would lose her. He raced toward them.
Hecouldn’tlose her. She was his life.
His heart squeezed at the realization he wouldn’t reach her in time. With nothing to lose, he yelled. “Halt or be eliminated!”
The Watchman cry had the desired effect. The leader stopped, losing his advantage.
Malcolm caught up.
The leader’s furtive movements made it clear that without his muscle, he was like a cornered rat. “Stop or I’ll kill her.” The gun in his hand, pointed at Blair, shook.
Malcolm slowed to a stop. A hostage situation he could handle. “Let her go, and I’ll let you go.”
The fearful chuckle the man gave was telling. “I’m not stupid.” He nodded toward the alley where the two othermen still lay. “I know what a Watchman can do. I let her go and I end up with a slow death. Uh-uh, no thanks. She’s my lifeline.”
He’d just have to sweeten the pot. “You’re smarter than I thought. I should have known the way you set up that ambush. I’ll not only agree to let you go if you return her to me, but I’ll never bring you in, even if I see you again. You’ll look pretty impressive toyour competition then.”
Malcolm paused, watching the play of emotion on the man’s face. He was definitely interested. “In fact, if you want to eliminate some of your competition, you can find me and give me their whereabouts. That way we both win. All you have to do is let her go.”
The small man’s face took on a clever gleam. “She must mean a lot to you.”
Schitz. He’d made the deal too good.He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s more that I’m supposed to be protecting her, and it won’t look good on my record if I lose her.”
“Aw, poor Watchman screwed up, out gunned by a criminal. That does sound sweet.” The man’s excitement at that prospect was too real.
“As good as that would feel for you, think of all the territory and followers you could gain if you take my deal.”
The small man wiggledhis brows. “That would be nice.”
“Hand her over and it’s all yours.”
The man licked his lips. “It’s tempting. Almost as tempting as she is.” He looked at Blair, the gleam in his eye telling Malcolm a second too late that it wasn’t going to work.
The gun went off and the man shoved Blair at him.
He caught her as his breath clogged in his lungs.
