5
Alaric
Imake quick work of the two bastards who dragged her into the alley. I don't even use a gun. With a painful-sounding crunch, I break the first one's neck. His useless body drops to the ground, hitting it with a thud.
The other guy looks for a way to escape, but it's too fucking late. Before he can make a run for it, I grab him by the throat and slam him against the wall in the alley.
"Please, man," he grunts, his voice raspy since I'm squeezing his worthless throat so fucking hard. "Have mercy, I didn't know she was your girl."
"Too fucking late," I grind out, snapping his neck, too. His body falls to the ground like a useless, broken puppet. And now it's just me and Monroe, who's shivering behind me.
Slowly, I turn around to face her. At least there's no fucking blood. I leave the bodies there, grab her arm, and drag her out of the alley.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, her voice trembling. “I can’t believe you—"
"Shut up." I keep pulling her along until we're a street over. Then I drag her into another alley and press her back against the wall. "What the fuck are you doing, walking around alone like that?"
"Are you actually making this my fault right now?" she hisses, narrowing her eyes at me. "I was just trying to get home! And what the hell are you doing here, anyway?"
"Keeping an eye on you," I grunt. "Good thing I am, since you don't have a fucking clue how to look out for your own ass."
Her eyes burn with anger. "You killed them. Oh God, you fucking killed them."
"Shut up," I repeat. "You'll get us in trouble."
"Oh God, oh God, oh God." Her eyes are growing wider and wider, and her pupils have dilated so much her pretty eyes look nearly black. "I can't believe it. I just saw two men die. For nothing."
"They would've hurt you." I put my hand on the brick wall behind her, and she turns her head to the side, closing her eyes so she doesn't have to look at me. "They would've raped you. Or worse. Shouldn't you be fucking thanking me?"
"You're a monster." Her words are barely above a whisper now. "Fuck. They're dead because of me."
"They're dead because they were assaulting an innocent girl. There are rules at play here, sugar. They should never have touched you. Because you're mine."
"Just because you're stalking me doesn't make me your property." She punctuates her words by pushing a finger into my chest. "You're fucking crazy,A. I know you were in my apartment last night."
"Oh, you do?" I smirk at her. "Got any way to prove it?"
She peels her back away from the wall and advances on me, but I don't move. She seems intimidated, but she stands her ground. It's actually kind of fucking cute.
"Youcameon me, you pervert," she hisses. "I was covered in it this morning. And your message is still on my mirror."
"You have no way to prove it."
"I'm sure there are fingerprints all over my fucking room," she snaps, but all I do is flash her my hands in my signature black leather gloves. She pales, her bottom lip trembling. "You got nothing on me, sugar. But you're right about one thing. You've seen me kill now. You're a liability."
She looks shocked and afraid as I grab her forearm. "Don't kill me."
"Why shouldn't I?" I bark. Even though I have no intention of harming the barely legal waitress, this is giving me a hard-on. I love the fear in her eyes. It's fucking exciting.
"Because I..." She blanches, shakily tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I have to... I have to..."
"Great reasons, sugar," I hiss. "I'm not going to kill you. But you are coming with me."
"What? Where?" She resists. "Let me go."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, sugar. You fight me, I'll put a knife to your throat and walk you to my goddamn car. Or you can come willingly."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she spits out. "Don't you think someone will call the cops if you drag me through the street with a knife pressed to my neck?"