Ah, shit.
Violet carried an air of innocence, as if the world’s cruelty had yet to tarnish her, and it made something dark in me stir. It made me want to ruin it. To stain that purity until it matched mine, which was a completely unhinged thought that would likely worry my therapist.
If I still had a therapist.
Good thing I was a master at impulse control.
“Hey, baby,” the man slurred, reaching over as if to touch her. “You sure can dance. And those legs… Fuck. I want them wrapped around my waist.”
“No, thank you,” she replied, turning away with her phone clutched to her chest. She peeked down the road, seeming to be waiting for something.
“Hey, I’m not done talking.” He went to grab her, but I was already there, shoving myself between them.
“Ryder?” Violet gasped, taking an unsteady step back.
“Fuck off, man, I was just getting to know her,” he snarled, and I simply reached down to grab his balls, dipping my head closer to his ear.
“You wanna try this again?” I squeezed, purposely blocking the exchange with my body. I released the fuckerwhen he whimpered like a bitch, worried he might piss his pants or something.
The man staggered away, hand clutched between his legs. Knowing he was no longer a threat, I turned to find Violet staring, her eyes wide.
“Are you okay?” I asked when she didn’t react.
“Ah… yeah. Thank you,” she whispered, blinking a few times. The adrenaline of the situation seemed to have sobered a little, at least enough to pay attention to her surroundings.
“You need any help getting home?”
“I… I have an Uber,” she said just as a car pulled up. “That’s me.”
I held the door open for her, intentionally positioning myself so her arm grazed my chest as she passed in a casual touch I could control. She paused, eyes lifting to meet mine as she turned, and I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, letting my touch linger just a moment too long before tracing my fingers lightly down her jaw.
Her pupils dilated, and her breath hitched even as I stepped back.
My smile grew, slow and deliberate. “I’ll see you around, blondie.”
Chapter 5
Ryder
Her gaze lingered on me until I turned the corner.
I didn’t bother rushing to my bike, not when I already knew exactly where she was headed. Violet Sonne was easy enough to follow, especially with her phone’s location services open for anyone to track.
Terrifying, really, how simple it had been to break into. That was the only reason I could follow her so effortlessly, which made my job so much fucking easier.
Pulling on my helmet, I revved my bike, having no intention of following Violet. And yet here I was, turning the corner to her place just to make sure the Uber got her home safely. The only reason I was here, obviously, was because if she got kidnapped, I’d lose my lead.
That’s it. Totally logical. Nothing weird about it at all.
Violet exited the car, waving to the driver, who didn’t wait to see whether she entered the tower block before leaving. Which was the bare fucking minimum. Seriously, I hope she gave him one star, but from my limited interactions I would guess she’d give him five stars because she’d feel guilty if she didn’t.
The area was shit, dangerous at this time of night and wasn’t much different than the shithole I grew up in. Except my neighbours were known drug dealers, sex workers, and addicts.
I didn’t care whether her neighbours were just as colourful, but just like my old tower block, there was zero security. I knew this because I’d already broken inside the building, and may have installed discreet motion detection cameras in the hallway outside her flat.
Unfortunately, thanks to the building’s lack of fucking signal, they wouldn’t record without erroring out. But they still worked for livestreaming… most of the time.
Pulling out my phone, I clicked the app that viewed said cameras, ignoring the surrounding chill as I waited for her to appear. After a few minutes she did, the footage grainy and a few seconds delayed, but clear enough for me to watch her enter even after a text message popped up.
