There wasn’t time to pack anything.
There wasn’t time to grabanything.
I was lucky I had my wallet on me when I tore out of the apartment and ran down the stairs as fast as I could. The sound of Hudson screaming my name shot terror along my spine, but it faded as I pushed past the gate that led into the pool area and kept running.
I didn’t know if I could stop this time—I didn’t think I could come back.
I didn’t know what I was going to do.
I kept moving until the stitch in my side was painful and I couldn’t draw in enough breath to cry. The sobs that shook my body made me dizzy, and the dead-end alley I ducked into was probably as dangerous as the apartment I’d just fled, but it didn’t matter.
I couldn’t run anymore.
The only good thing was the silence behind me. Either he was too drunk, or he really didn’t give enough of a shit to chase me,but Hudson wasn’t there when I peeked in the direction I’d come from.
Small miracles, even if it didn’t mean much.
I had nowhere to go.
I hadno one.
I had nothing but my wallet and the tips I’d made this week dancing and…
“Fuck.” The word came out in another gasped whimper, and I let my shoulders hit the wet brick behind me.
I hadnothing.
At least that asshole who was following me could have killed me while I wasn’t looking. It might have been easier than all of this. It might have been easier than…
“You know, for a scared little rabbit, you’re not very good at running.”
The voice was cool, smooth and soft. My eyes darted to the end of the alley, but I already knew.
Fuck. I already knew.
The man stood there, and his lean, willowy body blocked my only exit. His head tilted so dark curls brushed against his slender shoulders.
“Who are you?”
Defense… I’d taken self-defense classes once upon a time, hadn’t I? Go for the nose… for the nuts. The shins?
“From the way you took off earlier, it seems like you know the answer to that, don’t you?”
No.
“No. I just…” I backed away as he stepped closer, but there wasn’t anywhere togo. I should have at least been smart enough to run into a convenience store or something before I collapsed, but no.
I was here.
In a damn alley.
Alone with… a predator.
A monster.
Straight from one danger into the arms of another.
I didn’t know how I knew it. He wasn’t angry and drunk like Hudson. He didn’tlookscary—he looked like a man. A handsome, ordinary man. Someone I could go on a date with, fall in love with.
