by Nana Malone
She leaned in and whispered something I couldn't understand, and Derrick stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost. Then he was pulling me through the crowd, but at the same time, someone announced that it was time for us to be seated and there was a surge in the crowd. The next thing I knew, my hand slipped out of Derrick's, and there were people between me and him.
I tapped my comm. "Trace, Tamsin, can you see him? The crowd is too thick."
Tamsin’s voice was clear, not panicked, but tense. "Nope. No vantage."
"None yet. Hold," Trace added
Fuck. Oh God, I need to get to him. I started shoving my way through the crowd, pushing, pushing, though even in my four-inch heels I was barely five-six. Many of the men were tall, and every single one of them in a black tuxedo. It was difficult to see and pinpoint my target. Trace’s voice was like a balm in my ear. "I have him. East exit with a tall brunette."
"Son of a bitch." I started shoving through the crowd. And when the people in front of me didn't move quickly enough, I started assisting them along. I had to get to him. I couldn't fail. Not again.
His life was on the line. And so was a little piece of my heart.
Theo…
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How are you going to get yourself out of this one Mr. Billionaire?
My heart raced as I tried to think my way through this. There was still a way out.
But is there a way out and a way to still protect Zia? They’d threatened to hurt her if I didn’t go with them.
And you think she needs saving?
Yes. No. Fuck, I didn’t know, but either way I had to protect her or at least try. I was too damn close. So much for keeping her at arm’s length.
You are two weeks too late for that.
Who the hell were these people?
The beautiful brunette who had come to say hi had leaned in as if she knew me. Or as if she knew Derrick. She gave me a standard double kiss as I tried to place her face with one of the names in the dossier. She hadn't immediately come to mind. I didn't know why. Her voice had been cool when she whispered. "Mr. Coleman, so fantastic to see you. I'm going to need you to let go of your girlfriend's hand and come with me. Mr. Arlington would like to speak to you."
There had been some small sliver of hope on my part that I was finally going to hear from Derrick and that he was here at the event. There had been a small flare of hope that we could just switch out and that with a snap of my fingers I could go back to my life. That I could tell Zia the truth. Would she still want me?
But something hadn’t felt right. As the brunette led me through the crowd and then filed in behind me, cutting me off from Zia, I knew. When I halted, she beamed up at me with a smile, the mask covering only a part of her eyes. Dark brown, but not warm and vibrant like Zia's. Hers were cold and flat.
"Mr. Coleman, I wouldn't do that if I were you, or you'll meet the same fate as Mr. Arlington. Keep walking."
"The hell I will." I tried to move back.
"Now, I'm not going to threaten you with violence. That would be so uncouth. But while I can tell you're wearing body armor, the very handy bulletproof vest you have on, I'm pretty sure that Miss Barnes isn't wearing any. I have men in the crowd right now, and they will kill her. Or maim her. They can get so inventive with acid these days."
My heart squeezed and then stopped.
I tried to turn my head back to find Zia, but the brunette tagged me along. "Uh-uh, come with me. You, Mr. Arlington, myself, and my associates need to have a very long chat."
"Screw that."
"Walk, or she's dead. Trust me, my friends in the crowd do love their knives. Her beautiful face and that body will be carved up. She's wearing black. No one will even be able to tell she’s bleeding until it’s too late. There will be no help for her. Walk."
So with a hard swallow, I started forward.
"Oh, thank you so much for listening and sparing me having to get my hands dirty. I'm wearing white, you know."
I scowled at her as we walked arm in arm through the east doors and then to the left. Down the hallway, there were far fewer people. Then we made a right into another darkened hallway lit only by a few ambient lights from lamps in the corners. "We're out of the crowd. Now what the fuck do you want?"
The smile she gave me was beautiful... beaming. As if I held the answers to the universe. "Walk through there."
I scowled at the double doors she was attempting to shove me toward. "I don't think so."
"Move."
I shook my head.
She tapped her ear and then muttered something in what sounded like Russian or something Eastern European, and then two big men emerged out of the far door. The kind of men that looked like Arnold in his old days. Hulking. Massive. Unrelenting and deadly.
"Fellas. I don't want to hurt you," I mumbled. I’d always believed a little bravado went a long way.
"You don't have a choice. You can go with them quietly, or they can drag you out of here. Then when they're done dragging you out of here, they'll go and find your friend. As dates go, she's okay. Pretty. Uncomplicated. But I feel like you can do better, Mr. Coleman.”
I scowled as the two hulking forms came forward.
The brunette headed back toward the ballroom and I called out after her. "Where are you going? You don't want to watch?"
She smiled. "Oh, don't worry. They will tell me when you're in the car and if you behaved like a good boy. Because if you don't, we will kill her."
She was right. I wasn't going to fight. Not if it meant keeping Zia safe. I turned back to the guys. "I don't suppose you want to tell me where we're going?"
They didn't even look at each other. They just came forward for me. Who were these people? Why did they know who I was? And for the love of God, what had they done to Arlington?
Stop being noble. Zia dispatched one of these guys all by her lonesome. She is badass and doesn’t need you to protect her.
As they got closer, I could see that the one on the left was the one from the wedding. Zia had dropped him like he was a bad habit. See, evidence she doesn’t need your protection. Not to mention her team is here. And low-cut neckline or not, there’s no way she’d leave the house without body armor.
I had to remember the things I knew about her. She was hyper about security. That wouldn’t just extend to her sister, but to me too. So, I could be an idiot and go with these guys, but then when she eventually found me, she’d kill me herself. Or I could fight.
And expose yourself.
At that point, there was no real option. It was fight or die in some horrible way later. I nodded at the familiar guy. "Hey man, good to see you again. How are you feeling after my girlfriend beat your ass?"
"When I’m done with you, I’ll finish her."
I stuffed the simmering rage down at his mention of hurting Zia. That was his bravado. She could take this twat. None of what he said mattered. What mattered was he looked like an ass, and it reminded me once again that Zia didn't need anyone to take care of her. She could take care of her damn self. Besides, she was my bodyguard. I wasn't hers. That meant she didn't need me trying to ride in on a fucking white horse and shit.
Put up a fight, asshole. That's what we're doing today.
"Guys look, I don't want to kick your ass. It seems unfair. We're not evenly weighted. Do you have another friend, maybe, that we could add to this?"
Oh yeah, taunt the Terminator rejects. That seems like a good idea.
But I knew what I had to do. I had always been mad at my mother when I was a teenager. She’d put me in everything from judo, to jiu jitsu, to Krav Maga. I had been more than a little wild, needing some kind of male influence in my life. I was bright but bored. And I had let the world know of my displeasure. My mother had found a way for me to channel that, and it was finally going to come to good use.
When they both stepped forward, I stepped to the right, avoiding the first blow and putting dumbass number two between me and dumbass number one, which
was good. I landed my first blow, sending him back only about half a step.
I knew the rules. When on the offensive, stay on the offensive. Keep moving. One opponent between you and the other. Unfortunately, the assholes attacked back at me. Knees. Elbows. Fists. Elbow number two landed right on his temple. It should have been lights out. Honestly, it should have felled the two hundred and twenty pound, six-foot-three giant.
He was big, but I was mean.
When he didn't go down, his friend tried to come around the other side. I shook my head. "Uh-uh, we're not going to do that. One at a time. Wait your turn."
The one I was fighting threw a wild punch, which I blocked, leaning into it and counter punching with a fist to the nose. The satisfying crunch was everything. And then, left arm still blocking his right one, I leaned in with an arm bar across his throat, my hand digging into the flesh of his shoulder and the other sliding under his suit jacket and into the cotton fabric of the shirt he'd been wearing. Then I dug in, making sure to grab not just shirt but flesh, bone, muscle, skin. Then I applied all the pressure I could on his throat. He coughed and choked and tried to remove me. But before he could, I landed a knee. Then another, dragging him forward even as I drove my hips forward. Knee. Land. Knee. Land. All the while using my arm to control his movements and placing him between me and the other guy, even as I delivered the blows.
Knee. Knee. Kick. Another elbow to the temple and an elbow down the back of his neck and he finally went down. I didn't give myself a chance to enjoy the victory. I hopped over him. "Opponent number one, I don't suppose you want to tell me what all this is about. Where have you put Arlington?"
"Arlington can't help you now," he muttered under his breath, and then he came forward, a wild swing coming. I lifted my right arm, bending it at the elbow and bringing my elbow all the way up past my head to block the blow.
These guys were more about brute strength than finesse. They probably spent most of their time battering their opponent as opposed to actually having to learn and fight. They were big. Bigger than me. I was tall but lean. Quicker. Deadlier, as it turned out. I landed a quick knee and was out of range again.
He came with another wild swing of combos, and one landed on the kidney, but I went with it, ignoring the searing pain slicing through my lower back and up my spine. When I stopped, I landed a front kick, which brought him forward, and then I launched myself at him. My thumbs pressed into his eye sockets. He tried to reach for me, but I kept pressing. As he clawed at me, he got one hand lose. Son of a bitch! So I started landing blows, elbows, hammer fists. I could feel the anger rising in me. The fury I kept buried was taking over and taking control.
Fury is not the answer. With fury, you have no control.
I could hear my old trainers beating that into me. I had to regain it because fighting like this wasn't going to work. When he finally stopped moving, I knew better than to take the moment to rest. I had to get the hell out of there. I had to get to Zia, but not before I patted them down.
No wallet. No identification. There was a gun though, which I took and shoved into the back of my pants. Honestly, that was the worst place to put it. Same with his partner. There were two weapons but no documents. I couldn't very well walk back into the ballroom with those, so I just took the magazines and the bullets, shoved them in the hidden pocket of my tuxedo, and then stood and turned.
Zia was at the end of the hallway, gun raised in one hand, fingers of the other pressed at her ear. As I approached, she stared at me. "Who the hell are you?"
Seventeen
Zia…
I had questions. All the questions.
Questions like, who the hell was he? What the hell had I just seen? Jesus Christ, how had he learned to fight like that? Those were at the top of the pile as my brain tried to make sense of all of it.
Theo had been exempted from military service because he was technically a British citizen, so he wouldn't have learned those moves in the Royal Army, despite being the king's cousin. Either way, he shouldn't have known how to do any of that. That was the stuff of serious time spent MMA fighting and training.
Whoever that woman was that took him out of the ballroom, and whatever the hell had happened there in that hallway, he should have been gone. Instead, he’d kicked all the ass, knocked out two giant men, and confiscated their weapons. If he could do that, then what the hell did he need me for?
I ran up to him as he stood slowly. "Are you okay?"
His eyes were glassy but slowly came into focus. "Yeah, are you?"
"I’m not the one that went all MMA on the tanks just now." I tapped my ear comm. "I have him. East exit. Let me know when you have the car." I couldn’t help but search him over with my hands.
He’s fine. Relax. Barely a scratch.
Not really true. There was blood on his knuckles, and he had a cut on his head. But mostly he was no worse for wear.
My eyes went wide when I saw the same guy from the reception pushing to his feet. His eyes were bloody, and his nose was broken. There was blood seeping out of his temple, but he was attempting to stand.
I did the only thing I knew to do. I shoved Theo behind me, and then I raised my gun. "Listen, jerkballs, I know you don't want any of this. I flattened your ass once. He has kicked your ass once. Walk away."
He gave me a toothy snarl and charged. I lowered my center of gravity and then hip checked Theo out of the way. It was the only way to get his big body to move.
As the asshole charged at me, I lowered even more, directing the full effects of my Taser straight to his groin. Once I made contact, I dug in despite his body looming over me, threatening to crush and pound me onto the ground. I held on to the Taser, delivering electric sperm scramblers, and didn’t let go.
Finally, he sagged to his knees shaking. I still didn't let go until he fell on his back, eyes rolling to the back of his head.
When I stood, Theo stared at me. "Fuck me. Where have you been hiding that thing? Also let me point out that I totally softened him up."
I pointed at my hair even as I rolled my eyes. "Up there. Come on."
In my ear, Tamsin’s voice was clear. "Car is here."
I went and took Theo's hand and tugged him over the two bodies. "Let's go."
I didn't have to fight him. He came easily, but he was quiet.
When we got outside, an SUV screeched to a halt. I opened the back door and grumbled, "Theo, get in." He shook his head. "I know. This isn't how it was supposed to go. I understand. But I need you to get in the car."
His gaze lifted to mine, and he nodded. "Okay." And then he slowly climbed in.
I hopped in the passenger seat, and Tamsin gave me a nod. "Let's go back to the penthouse." The roads were quiet, and Tamsin’s driving was as crazily reckless as ever, but she got us there in record time. Theo was able to walk in on his own, but his reflexes were sluggish and he didn’t say a word. Shock. It had to be.
We stepped in the private elevator to find Jax was already in position. He gave us both a nod and watched Theo warily. "Do you need help getting him in?"
I shook my head. “No, I have him.
Once we were inside the penthouse, he started toward his office. "Theo, I need to check you out. Or at least call in the doctor or something."
"I'm fine."
"You are not fine. The last thing you are is fine. Jesus, are you going to start listening to me now?"
He turned. "What do you want me to say? You were right? I shouldn't have gone tonight? Or maybe you want to ask me a slew of questions. Who are those people? I don't know. Why do they want me? I don't know. Why is this happening? I don't know."
I inhaled a deep breath. "I get it. You’ve just been through something traumatic. But let me do my job. Let my team do its job. If you fight me at every move, Theo, this only gets harder. You and me, we need to be a team. If we're a team, great! We can handle anything that comes our way. But your insistence on doing things the hard way and going off on your own has to stop. That
has to stop. Someone is trying to kill you. You have to understand that."
He swallowed hard and ran his hands through his hair. "I understand. I just—"
I frowned. "What? This is serious. Your life is in danger."
"This is the last thing I thought would happen."
I nodded slowly and suspected he wasn't talking about the kidnapping attempt. "Do you want a drink?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think a drink is in order."
I followed him to his office and grabbed two tumblers from the cabinet on the bookshelf. There were all kinds of liquor available. "What do you feel like? Scotch?"
He nodded again. "Yeah, scotch."
I grabbed a bottle of Lagavulin and poured. "You clearly knew how to handle those guys."
He shrugged. "I guess so."
I handed him his glass and watched him take a long sip. “Why, Theo? Why go with them? Does someone have something on you? Is there something you’re not—”
“You.”
I blinked. “What?”
He waved his glass in my general direction as he planted that very nice ass on his chaise lounge. “That woman, she said she had people in the crowd that could get to you. Hurt you. So I went with her.”
My heart rate ticked up, and I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat and threatening to cut off my air flow. “But why? I can take care of—”
He lifted his gaze, and stormy gray eyes met mine. “I finally remembered that. So I fought back.”
He was trying to protect me? But why? I wasn’t anything to him.
Lady parts: Don't be daft. He wants to do more than bone you.
He cleared his throat. “I remembered just in time that you don't need anyone to save you. You do the saving, so, yeah.”
