I smile at the man, almost as if nothing had happened, and state calmly, “She didn’t want you to touch her.”
“She wasn’t saying no,” he shouts.
“That’s a lie. I told him to go away. He wouldn’t.” Raven’s voice comes crashing through the loud music. It is beautiful, even with the hint of anger laced in it. She sounds angelic, perfect. I didn’t even know a sound like that was possible.
“I’m gonna call the police. You can’t just break my wrist.”
“Go ahead. Please make sure you mention my name. Vance Matthew sends his regards. If I leave you alive by morning.”
Upon hearing my name, the man’s eyes round, his head drops, and his eyes only look at the lights shining on the marble floor. So my instinct was right. He is scum. People who react like that to my name are those who know exactly who I am, what kind of work I really do. They are the ones who fear the monster most because it was previously unleashed on them, knowing what I am capable of. Fearing my name means you have something to fear.
My guys come up from behind, pulling his arms back and making him humble. I smile as Rock tosses me the man’s wallet. “Kevin Muller, 505 West Conrad Street.” The man’s eyes widened as I read his name and address. “Kevin, I suggest you never forget two things that happened this evening. Make sure you brand them into your mind so you never forget. First, if a woman says no, listen. Second, if you ever fuck with me or this young lady, I will hunt you down as if you’re a rabid dog and put you down.” I toss the wallet to Kevin. It hits his chest and bounces onto the floor. “Pick it up.”
Kevin hesitates, so I walk up closer to him, looking him directly in the eyes. “Pick it up.”
He stumbles as he bends over. My knee connects right to his face. “You missed your wallet.”
Kevin grabs the wallet, and my boys hold him up. His eyes are wild with fear. The trail of blood is now falling down his face, crimson drops hitting the white marble floor. Around us, patrons are staring. I don’t care. All sense of reason has somehow vanished from my brain. I want him to pay, thinking he could breathe the same air as the raven, let alone touch her. “Kevin. You’re gonna go home and never step foot near her or this club again. If I ever see you again, I will cut you from navel to nose like a goddamn fish. Got it?”
Kevin shakes his head, his body trembling.
“Kevin, I need to hear you say it, so there’s no confusion. Do-you-got-it?”
“Yes,” he whimpers. He stumbles as my boys release him before getting up and practically running out of my sight.
I turn to the crowd, smiling as I adjust my suit. “Drinks on the house,” I say loudly and watch as the crowd cheers, forgetting what they witnessed moments ago. “Just let them know today is the Vance special.”
I turn to the raven and nod before walking away, moving back to the balcony. I continue to survey her beauty.
It looks like Kevin and I aren’t the only ones whose attention she’d caught throughout the night. Men approach her, but when she waves them off, they leave without a hassle. One guy glances up. I glare, enough of a deterrent for him to mind his own business. Raven turns to where the man looked, before she falters and trips, landing on her hands. I sprint down the stairs, moving to her, desperate to reach her as if my life depends on it.
Chapter Two
CLARISSA
“You alright?” the crazy guy from earlier asks.
I feel like a sane person would fear him, but I don’t. I’d been around enough predators in my life to know that even though this guy was crazy, he wouldn’t hurt me. The way he’d come down like a ton of bricks on that perv from earlier told me as much.
“Yes, I think I twisted my ankle or something.”
His arms sweep under me, lifting me as if I weigh nothing more than a feather or a cotton ball. He cradles me in his arms, rushing us away from a crowd down a small, dank-looking corridor. This would probably be the part where I got chopped up into tiny pieces and left for the vultures in a horror movie.
We reach a black steel door. He places me gently on the ground, still holding me up with one arm while he punches in a code, causing the door to open.
“Whoa, this is a pretty lush-lookin’ office,” I say, taking in the brick walls, dark mahogany table, rich brown leather furniture.
He shrugs, placing me on the large leather sofa. “I like to be comfortable here. It’s where I spend most of my time.”