“Quick bathroom break,” I murmur to Triss as I skirt past her and head out of our stall.
I don’t look at him again, but I sense his presence all the same. He’s on me, following, hunting. I push through the dense crowd, bumping roughly into bodies as I pass, frantically looking for a place to hide. The entire area is lit up like a damn Christmas tree. Dazzling light displays border vendor booths, flashing brightly at me and the mobs of people gathering in front of the carnival games, illuminating every face, every inch of ground.
There are no dark corners, not here.
Fear and panic mount with every step. I look back, and when I see he’s gained ground, dread swamps me. I twist around and pick up the pace, only to slam chest first into a hard and unmoveable mass.
“Shit. Watch it,” I snap, peering up at the offending obstacle.
Like the universe is conspiring against me, I’m met with amber eyes and Decker’s stupid, hot face.
“Linc,” I breathe. “What are you doing here?”
He quirks a brow and points to his uniform. “My job?”
“Oh… right.” I glance over my shoulder, and when I don’t quickly locate Keegan, I spin around. Shit.Shit. My head is on a swivel as I search the area around the food stalls, over the crowds of tourists, the game booths, behind Decker towards the Ferris wheel. The guy is a giant. Where the hell did he go?
“You’ve been ignoring my texts,” Decker growls, pulling my attention back to myotherproblem. “Not avoiding me, are you?”
I let out a huff. My pulse is a loud drum in my ears, my body practically buzzing with adrenaline. “Of course I’m avoiding you. You almost shot me,” I say, unable to keep the shake from my voice.
“If I wanted to shoot you, I’d have done it. And you shot at me first.” Head tilted, he does a slow scan down my body, attention stopping briefly on my chest before dropping lower and then snapping back up to my face. “What’s wrong with you? What’s got you all… fidgety?”
“You. Obviously,” I hiss. “Look, I don’t have time to deal with your shit right now.”
Decker folds his arms across his chest and scowls. “Deal with my shit? You think you’re easy to deal with? I’ve vacuumed my entire house a hundred times, and I’m still finding glass in my fucking carpet because ofyourshit.”
With a roll of my eyes, I push past him.
He grabs my arm roughly. “Gracie,” he warns.
“Let go.” I tug sharply, but his fingers are a vise digging into my flesh. “I’ll make a scene.”
“I’ll arrest you.”
I inhale sharply. There’s an idea. A jail cell isn’t exactly what I’d call pleasant, especially given what I experienced the first and only time I found myself in one, but it’s definitely preferable to anything the Raiders’ enforcer may have in store for me.
Raising a brow, I step into him. Chest to chest. Another test, another stand-off.
Do it. I dare you.
“Careful,” he murmurs, angling closer.
I swallow as I stare up at his chiseled, scowling face. He’s freshly shaved, none of that scruff creeping up from his jawline. His dark hair is a little damp, and he smells clean, like shampoo and Old Spice. Like maybe he just got out of the shower. Decker in the shower? Not a bad visual. If I wasn’t about to goad him into putting me in handcuffs, I’d sit on that thought for a second. Skimming my hands over those muscles. His wet skin. The scar. That trail of hair. What waits at the end of it.
God. I’d bet a naked Lincoln Decker would be a hell of a thing to look at. So it’s a shame, what I’m about to do.
With a smirk, I tilt up my chin, ready to defy the warning he’s about to throw at me.
“If it’s a fight you’re looking for tonight, Grace,” he rasps. “I assure you, you’ll find one. Don’t test me.”
“I’ve always loved a good fight. And youknowI’ve got a mean right hook.” I grin. “Where would you like me to hit you this time, Linc?”
Decker lets out a deep chuckle. “Much as I love the foreplay, you throw a punch at me, and I will put you in the darkest, dirtiest cell the PD has and leave you there to rot.”
Even as unease swirls in my gut, I force a smile. “Sounds good to me.”
Steadying my footing, I take a small step back, ball my fist, wind up, and swing.
