Chapter One
When his limo came around a corner, Darian caught sight of something that stopped his heart. A young woman stood surrounded by three guys. Right away, he could tell the girl was drunk, confused, and terrified.
“Hicks, stop the car!” Darian yelled and jumped out before it came to a full stop. He spun the first man around and shoved his knee into his groin, effectively taking care of him. His right hook flattened the next guy. The last guy yelled and ran, leaving his injured friends behind to wither on the sidewalk.
Darian pointed to the men on the ground. “Watch them while I get her taken care of.”
Hicks had come around the car with a tire iron as backup. He nodded and slammed the metal against his palm in a threatening manner.
Darian made it to the girl as her legs gave out. “I’ve got you.”
She stared up at the stranger as she seemed to try to understand what just happened. “Who are you?”
“My name is Darian, baby. You’re safe with me. Just relax.”
“I didn’t mean it,” she whimpered and laid her head on his chest. “I don’t want to cause problems.”
Darian kept his arms around her and pulled her tighter against him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, love.”
She nodded. “I did. I always do.”
He nuzzled the side of her head and looked up as two girls came racing around the corner.
“Jesus, Larkin, you almost gave us a heart attack,” one of the women said.
The other one caught sight of the men on the ground and pressed a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God. What happened?”
“Three men were accosting your friend here.”
“Oh, God, Larkin.” The tall one gasped.
Darian narrowed his eyes. “Where were you guys?”
Both women turned red at the accusing expression on his face. The shorter one cleared her throat. “We were in the bar around the corner. We turned around for a second, and she was gone. The minute we saw that, we raced through the bar and then out here when we couldn’t find her.”
“So, you’re her friends?” Darian asked and raised a single eyebrow.
The tall one crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, I mean, we haven’t known each other long, but we met when she started working with us.”
“What are your names?”
“I’m Monica,” the tall one said. “This is Laura, and you’re holding Larkin.”
“I’ll need your phone numbers, and I’ll give you my information and have her call you in the morning.”
“Wait! What?” Laura burst out. “You can’t take her. We’ll take care of her.”
Darian shook his head. “From the way you look, you both have had a few drinks. Correct?”
Both women nodded.
“She is highly intoxicated and should be watched all night. Are you going to be able to stay awake and take care of her?”
Both women glanced at each other. “She’s only had a few beers. We didn’t know she’d react to alcohol like this.”
“Now that you see it does, how would you handle the situation?” he asked Monica.
“We’ll call someone to come over,” Monica said.
Darian looked over his shoulder. “Hicks, will you get a business card for them and write my number on it?”
Hicks nodded and took a look at the men on the ground, as though making sure they couldn’t cause trouble. “Yes, sir.” Within a minute, the driver handed Monica the card.
“That has all my information…”
Laura shook her head and started to take a step toward them but stopped at the look in his eyes. “Listen, we can’t let you take our friend. We don’t know if you’re a good guy.”
Darian sighed. He commended them for fighting for her, but he just wanted to get her home. “What would ease your minds?”
Monica looked at Laura then back at him. “For starters, someone to confirm who you are.”
“Hicks, will you go into the bar they were in and have the manager come out?”
“Sure thing.” His driver disappeared around the corner.
Darian took more of her weight when her legs wouldn’t stop shaking and he had a hard time holding herself up.
“Are you sure she’s only had a few beers? Is there a chance someone slid something into her glass?”
Laura shook her head. “No chance. We don’t trust anyone but each other, so we pay close attention to the people around us.”
“It could have been the bartender,” he suggested.
Monica shook her head. “We only order bottles of beer, and we have our own bottle opener. A friend of ours was drugged a few years ago, so we’re cautious.”
Darian nodded. “Why do you think she’s like this now?”
“She never drinks. We told her she didn’t have to drink to come with us,” Monica explained. “But she said she wanted off the porch for once.”