Her first instinct was to pull away, to scream, to tell him to get his hands off her.Everything in her screamedstranger, danger, wrong.However, her instincts told her he was telling the truth.Elena wrenched her arm free and went to the window.
She parted the curtain just enough to see the street.A black SUV rolled to a stop beneath the flickering streetlight.Another pulled in behind it, blocking the road.Doors opened in practiced unison.
Three men stepped out.They wore black.Jackets zipped high despite the heat.One of them cradled something long and unmistakable under his arm.Another scanned the building with predatory calm.They were armed.The world narrowed to a single, terrible point.
“Oh, my God,” Elena whispered.
Her legs went weak.If Reaper hadn’t been there, she would’ve sunk to the floor.
“That’s them,” he said quietly behind her.“You decide.Now.”
Her mind raced, panic clawing at the edges of her thoughts.Trust the biker enforcer who claimed he was here to protect her.Or stay and wait for the men who clearly meant to kill her.
She thought of the ER, of the man’s hand clutching hers.Of the oath she’d taken as a medical professional and all the nights she’d walked home alone and told herself she was strong enough to handle whatever came.
She didn’t want to die.She turned, meeting Reaper’s eyes.
“If I go with you ...am I safe?”Elena had to ask.
“As safe as I can make you,” he said.“I won’t let them touch you.”
Elena still had a dozen questions, of course.Like, why her?She meant nothing to Reaper, but now wasn’t the right moment to ask him that.
She nodded once.“Okay,” she finally said.
Reaper didn’t waste a second.“Go.”
Elena moved on instinct, adrenaline cutting through fear.She grabbed her overnight bag from the hall closet, hands shaking as she stuffed in clothes, toiletries, her phone charger.She hesitated only long enough to shove her wallet into the side pocket.
The sound of boots echoed faintly from outside now.Voices, low and sharp.
“I’m ready,” she said, breathless.
Reaper took the bag from her, slung it over his shoulder with ease.“Stay close to me.Do exactly what I say.”
Her throat tightened.“If this is a mistake—”
“It’s not,” he said, already guiding her toward the door.“Staying would be.”
As he opened it and ushered her into the hallway, Elena’s heart thundered with fear and a strange, fragile resolve.She didn’t know if she could trust him, but she knew she wanted to live.
****
The hallway felt toonarrow the moment Elena stepped into it.The air was thick with old carpet and someone’s burned dinner, the familiar smells of her building suddenly hostile.
Reaper moved ahead of her like a shadow given shape, quiet despite his size, one hand already at the small of her back as if guiding her without really touching.
“Stay behind me,” he murmured.“Eyes forward.”
Her heart hammered so loudly she was sure it could be heard through the walls.They took the stairs instead of the elevator.Reaper didn’t even slow, taking them two at a time, boots landing soft and precise.
Elena struggled to keep up.She clenched the strap of her bag tightly, every step echoing too loudly in her ears.Halfway down the first flight, a door on the floor below creaked open.Reaper froze and so did she.
Voices drifted up, low and foreign, the cadence wrong for casual conversation.A laugh followed, sharp and humorless.Reaper swore under his breath.He turned, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back up the stairs just as footsteps hit the landing below.
“Move,” he hissed.
They burst back onto her floor, Reaper already scanning.He yanked open the door to the maintenance stairwell at the end of the hall and shoved her inside.
