“Hey, Adrian!” one of the topless girls calls.
Scowling in annoyance, he looks for her.
I feel in my pocket for my key. I’ll go out through the main door, get into the apartment through the street entrance. Then I can bolt the front door and keep Adrian out while I’m gathering up my stuff.
“Barrel needs changing,” she hollers. He takes a step toward her.
I turn andrun.
I’m there. My hand is curling around the brass doorhandle, a blast of freezing night air is pouring in, and…
A strong arm wraps around my waist. I smell Adrian’s breath as he pulls me back inside.
“No, you don’t.” His voice is low and sinister. Almost unrecognizable. “Now, quit making a scene and come with me. You have no idea who I really am, Blair.”
A whole glacier’s worth of ice shoots down my spine.Crap.Is he bluffing, or does he mean that? How was I so wrong about him? I thought my psycho radar was pretty good.
Apparently not.
Gooseflesh breaks out all over me as I go limp and allow him to turn me around and walk me back to the bar. My eyes dart everywhere, looking for help.
But no one’s paying us any attention, of course. The bar is packed, but the only thing the customers are looking at right now is tits.
“You’re gonna go out back, take off your top, and come back out and serve the drinks like a good girl,” Adrian snarls in my ear. If he’s trying to channel Kilgrave from Jessica Jones, he’s doing a damn good job.
Double fuck.
How the hell am I going to get out of this one?
He shoves me behind the bar, and through the narrow passage that leads to the back rooms.
I look out for one of the girls. Maybe I can get them to call the cops for me?
Who am I kidding? There’s no way I’m gonna get them in trouble with Psycho Eyes.
“Open the door,” he snarls. I fumble the handle on the door that leads to the office. The door swings open and…
There’s someone in there. A hulking, massive-shouldered guy in a leather jacket. He’s just standing there, feet wide apart, hands hanging loose at his sides. In a flash I take in longish salt-and-pepper hair, and a beard that covers the lower half of his face.
Gulp.What the hell is Adrian planning to do with me? I start to shake like crazy.
“Who the fuck are you?” Adrian demands, over my shoulder.
My heartbeat slows. Okay, not something Adrian had planned for me.
But who the heck is this giant?
“Get the hell off her,” he growls.
“Get the fuck out of my office!” Adrian retorts. Kinda brave, considering the guy is almost double his size.
The guy takes a step closer, pushes up the sleeves on his jacket. “I didn’t want to make a scene out there, upset all those poor girls.” He jerks his head toward the bar. “But that’s the only reason I’m being so patient with you.” He enunciates each word carefully. His voice is low, but threatening, and his face gets extra-hard and feral looking. He’s real powerful. Not psycho-scary, what-the-fuck-is-he-gonna-do-next powerful. But he radiates this awesome strength. I get the sense he could pulverize Adrian without even trying. “I won’t tell you again. Get your filthy hands off her.”
I stare at him in confusion. What does he want with me? Maybe Adrian owes him some money and he’s come to take me as payment in kind?
But no, that’s not right. There’s something familiar about him. Real familiar—
His hand shoots out and grabs Adrian’s shoulder.
