Page 22 of Brutal Sin
To her credit, she didn’t slink away. She stopped, faced one of the men with a jut of her chin, and announced loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m not interested.”
He could’ve laughed at the parallels of their earlier situation. Then again, it made him think of the differences, too.
Her position contained vulnerability. His hadn’t.
She needed to use aggression to get them to back off. He’d merely done it to cause a scene.
The men took the rejection, chuckling to themselves as they made their way to the end of the cab line. Bryan slowed, waiting to overhear a derogatory comment, a snide remark, anything to give him the justification to break a nose or crack ajaw.
Nothingcame.
The men were harmless as well as tactless.
Ella continued along the building, her heels tapping with her sure stride. Once she turned the corner of the building she’d be out of sight from club security. From anyone. Except those who thought it might be a good idea to follow a gorgeous woman into a private parking lot in the early hours of the morning.
With a quick glance over her shoulder, she took a hard left and disappeared fromview.
She hadn’t seen him. Hadn’t paid enough attention to her surroundings to notice he’d followed. Her main focus was on the cab line and the men who had approachedher.
Big mistake.
She needed to pay more attention.
He increased his pace, wanting to make sure nobody waited in the darkness. Once he turned the corner, his feet hit the gravel of the parking lot. The crunch beneath his soles was unmistakable.
She heard it, too, if the way she gripped her handbag and riffled through the contents was any indication.
Fuck.
If she turned, he’d have to talk to her. And if she didn’t, he’d be stuck with the guilt of knowing he’d unintentionally scared her. Maybe he should call out. Say a quick, “Hey, you fucking idiot, why didn’t you use the otherexit?”
But he didn’t want to speak to her again tonight. Or anyone else, for that matter. The thought of socializing had the appeal of a drug-free circumcision. Not that the feeling was a stretch from any other moment when he had to be chatty.
He ignored the crunch of his footsteps and followed, closing in on her. His pace hadn’t increased. Hers had slowed. Why the hell had she slowed?
He was about to announce his presence in an effort to ease her fears, when she swung around, raising a pocket knife in his direction.
Her lips parted at the sight of him, the determined squint of her eyes changing to a widened stare of confusion.
“You plan on using that?” He focused on the knife, the blade barely long enough to cause significant damage. Didn’t stop her from squinting at him as if planning the best way to slash and dash. “The Vault has an exit to the parking lot for a reason. You shouldn’t be out here on yourown.”
Her cheeks darkened, in embarrassment or anger, he wasn’t sure. But she kept wielding that knife like she had every intention of using it. “You followed me all this way to give me a lecture?”
“I followed you to make sure you got to your car safely.”
She scoffed, closing the knife with a confident flick before throwing it back into her handbag. “Chivalry doesn’t suit you. It doesn’t even make sense, seeing as though you’re the reason I felt too humiliated to walk back through the Vault.”
The pang in his chest wasn’t appreciated.
“Go back inside.” She swiveled on the toes of her shiny black shoes and continued along the building. “I don’t need yourhelp.”
She walked away from him, striding in the opposite direction when every other woman seemed to salivate over the ability to have a conversation with him. Maybe Shay was right. This woman might not be a leech afterall.
“That wasn’t the case two weeks ago.” His retort came from left-field. An unscripted retaliation he didn’t see coming.
She kept walking. One step. Two. Then she gifted him with another swirl, rounding on him, spitting contempt in his direction. “You know what?” She snapped her lips closed.
“What? Let me have it.” He shouldn’t have found her fury humorous. “Get it off your chest, princess.”
