A sudden crack of thunder made me jump and I grasped Stasia’s arm without thinking. Strangely, I could argue with a man like Remo yet a simple thing like thunder scared me.Swallowing my fear, I called on my inner badass. “No,” came out in a disappointing squeak.Traitor, I internally reproached her.
“He wouldn’t get out of that warm car and get himself all wet, would he?” Brandi hissed out the side of her mouth.
Thankfully, the approaching bus tooted for Remo to move. We all sighed in relief. However, our moment of victory was short-lived. The driver’s side door of the car opened, and Remo stepped out.
“Oh no,” I grumbled, watching him stride around the front of the car, ignore the horn of the bus and approach us.
Stasia stepped in front of me like a big mama bear and I laughed aloud in panic. My gaze clashed with Remo’s over her shoulder. He pierced me with a look so intense; I almost rocked back on my heels. A sudden flash highlighted the icy hue of his eyes, their turbulence no match for that second strike of lightning. Clearly, this man was a power onto his own.
In full black, his thick dark hair glistened against the rain, water rolling down the angular lines of his face, only seemed to make him more mesmerizing unlike the drenched chickens we resembled. He dragged both hands through his wet hair and the action tugged my gaze to the tattoos covering his neck and chest now visible between the three open buttons of his shirt. All I saw was a skull before he stepped back, leaned his ass against the car and folded his arms over his chest bunching his brawny biceps in the process.
“What the…” my words were cut off by another toot of a horn.
Like some freaking model, Remo merely turned his head to look at the driver. Rule on the road was the driver wouldn’t open his door unless he was parked in front of the shelter and why we hadn’t run to the bus. The driver wouldn’t open, even if we begged and Remo’s fancy black car, combined with his relaxed pose, didn’t preface him as a potential threat. A split second later, the bus pulled away from behind the car and left.
“Oh shit,” Brandi squealed.
“The next one isn’t for another hour,” Trixie complained.
“We could call the police,” Brandi suggested.
“What good will that do?” Stasia scoffed.
Feeling bad for putting them in this situation, I stepped around Stasia, gave her a reassuring nod when she opened her mouth to protest and neared Remo. “Do you plan on staying here all night?” I grumbled.
One of his dark brows lifted. “I’m a persistent fuck.”
Huffing out a breath, I swallowed my pride. “Please, they need to get home.” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “If they miss the next bus…” I trailed off, leaving him to decide the course of action.
He straightened, bringing him closer to me. I maintained my composure when he slid a surprisingly warm finger under my chin and tilted until I was looking at him. “Get in my car and your friends will go home. Defy me and my men will welcome free pussy tonight.”
“Oh, my God,” I choked on a gasp, jerking back. Would he really harm my friends? My heart threatened to claw its way into my throat before anger took over. “You wouldn’t,” I hissed, clenching my fists and trying with all my might to glare at him.
It was unfair just how lazily that single brow went up again, his challenging smirk pissing me off. “Try me, little fox.”
The longer I stared at him, the colder I got and mentally cursed myself for not continuing my martial arts classes. The little skill I’d demonstrated that first time we met, already proved futile against him.
Persistent fuck indeed.
“Fine,” I muttered, turning to look at my friends. “I’ll go with him.”
“Are you sure?” Stasia asked, her worried gaze flicking to Remo who I now noticed was on the phone.
“I’ll be fine.” I forced a smile, not prepared to think about the ensuing consequences. “If I don’t go, you’re all going to freeze your asses in this rain.”
“I can call my son,” Stasia offered. Her home was a good forty-five-minute drive from the hospital, longer if the weather didn’t improve.
I shook my head. “A taxi will be quicker.”
“Okay, be safe.” Stasia squeezed my arm.
Biting back a nervous laugh, I turned to find Remo opening his car door for me. “Such a gentleman,” I scoffed, earning a simple lift of his brow yet the devilish twitch to his lips said a whole lot more I figured my ears probably weren’t experienced to hear.
Sliding awkwardly into the low seat, I was beyond caring that I didn’t come across as a lady. My bones were frozen, to say nothing of my growling stomach. He closed the door, and my senses were immediately overpowered by the smell of leather mixed with a scent that was distinctly Remo. Sandalwood and minty musk. A skull, similar to the one I’d glimpsed tattooed on his chest, hung from a silver chain draped around the rearview mirror, taunting me with its slow side to side dance.
I could’ve sworn I heard the words, “welcome to hell, little fox.”
With a resolute roll of my eyes, I looked out the window. Frowning, I watched Remo walk to the rear of the vehicle and glanced over my shoulder to see a black SUV pull up behind us. My eyes trailed him as he chatted to the driver, walked up to my friends, spoke to them for a second or so before escorting all three of them to the vehicle.
