“Shit. Boss,” Torrin hisses. I look at Paulie, expecting to see his wound suddenly spurting like a geyser or something. When I don’t see anything different, I turn my focus to Torrin. Only his attention is over my shoulder at the entrance to the alley. My head whips to the side.
A figure stands at the end of the alley. She’s clearly taken a few steps in and is now staring. The moment I lock eyes with her, she gasps.
Just what I fucking need today.
SEVEN
Donovan
Andre holds the hysterical Paulie down as Torrin and I take off toward the end of the alley for the woman. No clue what I’m going to do when I catch her, but I’ll worry about that later. I just have to get her. She’s seen too much.
“No!” she yells as she takes two slow steps backward.
“Astra?” a strained voice calls from behind her. A second later, I see an older woman step into view. Her eyes go wide.
“Run,” the younger woman—Astra, I assume—calls out as she spins around.
I’m nearly on her now.
My arm loops around her midsection, and her legs kick wildly as I lift her up and pull her deeper into the alley. Torrin shoots past me, and I know he’s going after the older woman.
“Let me go.” Her voice is stern. She doesn’t sound scared. I’m a little thrown off by that. So thrown off that she nearly wriggles out of my hold. I tighten my arm around her and clamp my free hand over her mouth. She goes still in my hold, dropping like dead weight and forcing me to bend over to keep from losing my hold on her.
She’s a controlled and smart fighter. It makes me wonder if she’s been in a situation like this before or if she’s just prepared for something like this for whatever reason.
The sweet scent of wild roses fills my nose. I spin her around and slam her against the brick wall, my hand going to her throat to keep her in place. She freezes instantly.
The moment we lock eyes, I’m struck with a fresh memory.
The little masquerade beauty.
Those eyes, dark and doe-like. Yeah, I’ll never forget those eyes.
Her chest heaves, and I shamelessly drop my gaze to her breasts. The mounds peek up at me from the scoop of her sweater, which has been pulled down one shoulder in our struggle. Damn, I wish I’d spent more time getting to know her body that night.
“I lost her,” Torrin says as he steps back into the alleyway. “She darted into the crowd in the market. Then she was gone. I’m sorry.”
I hear his words but ignore him.
Shehas stolen all of my attention.
Her throat strains against my palm as she swallows. A strange sensation washes over me, and I loosen my grip. Her chest heaves again as she takes in a deep, steady breath. Her eyes never leave mine, and I find myself unable to look away from her.
“We meet again,” I say and grin.
Surprise flickers across her face, but it’s gone in a flash. I’m intrigued by her. The way she’s reacted to everything that’s happened in the last few minutes is so unexpected, and I don’t know what to make of her. All I know is I can’t let her walk away. She’s seen too much. And… I’m a bastard who wants to see how many ways I can break her.
“I don’t know what you mean. I’ve never seen you before,” she says. Her eyes slide to the side, and Itskher with a shake of my head.
“Lies do not become such a beauty as you. No, sweetAstra, you know me like you’ve never known any other man before.”
I’m sure I’m right about that. I just need her to confirm it, and there’s no better way to get her to do that than to be bold with my statement.
She gasps, her cheeks turning pink. I can’t tell if her expression is showing her embarrassment or her anger at my words.
My dick pushes against the zipper of my pants when her brows dip and she scowls at me.
“Let me go,” she says.
