“Leave me alone!” I yelled, kneeing him in the stomach. Through my tangled hair, I saw him fly backward and hit the pavement.
Dang, I guess I’m stronger than I thought.
“Beck!” Enola yelped.
I straightened. Beck was standing over Kaden, who was groaning on the ground.
Or not.
“He tried to kidnap Tess,” Enola said shrilly. “He wants to take her to his compound.”
“Good lord,” I mumbled, suddenly feeling humiliated. “I had it under control.”
“No, you didn’t,” he snarled at me.
I shrank back.
Beck loomed over Kaden.
“She’s my girlfriend,” my stalker wheezed. “We were just having a lovers’ spat.”
“We only went on two dates. We are not dating. I do not date, understand? You need to leave me alone,” I shrieked.
“Just come—”
“No,” Beck hissed, grabbing Kaden by the collar. “She is not going anywhere with you.”
“This is a free country!”
“It is,” Beck said, voice going eerily calm. “But you know what’s not a free country? Somalia. And if you ever come near Tess again, I’m going to have you kidnapped, put on a plane, and dumped in the middle of Mogadishu with no passport, no ID, no nothing.”
“You can’t do that. You’re just some spoiled rich kid.”
Beck gave him a toothy smile. “Believe me, I’m not some soft trust fund kid. I grew up in the middle of a compound in the desert fighting for food. I built my company out of nothing. And I am the son of one of the evillest men in the country, and don’t think for a minute that I didn’t inherit enough from my father to just let you and your bullshit slide.”
My boss released Kaden, and he stumbled to the ground.
“So go ahead and try me,” Beck said, tone almost pleasant. “Take one step closer to Tess and see what happens.”
Kaden looked between me and Beck and the alley entrance.
“You’re missing out,” he told me.
Beck grabbed him roughly by the collar. “Don’t talk to her,” he said softly. “Don’t even think about her. My company runs the traffic camera system in this city, and don’t think I won’t be watching your every move.”
Kaden sulked out of the alley.
Beck turned back to us, gray eyes dark.
I tried to smooth down my clothes, suddenly conscious of how much of a mess I looked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked harshly.
Dang, I guess a firing is incoming.
“I’m sorry, Beck,” I blurted. “I didn’t think he was that dangerous. I’m so sorry I put the girls in harm’s way.”
But instead of firing me, Beck took me in his arms.
