I know that sound. I’d know it anywhere. Leo is the one who taught me to shoot at our firing range at home, and I became a little too familiar with the sound of a silencer. Most people think it’s like the movies—that it’s just a soft hiss of air, but in reality, it’s enough to make my ears ring. Especially this close.
I manage to get my hands up to push myself off the ground, and then suddenly, I’m hauled to my feet and shoved against the wall. Panic sets in, and I start to fight, but the stranger grabs my wrist just as my vision starts to clear.
I see the red hair first and then the smirk, then those ice-blue eyes.
His tongue darts out, dragging over his lower lip. Then he smiles, and I’m not sure if I’m turned on or so scared I want to piss my pants.
“Thanks,” I breathe out. “You saved me.”
He says nothing, but he makes the smallest scoffing noise, which is mostly air.
I have to admit, as hot as he is, I’m totally unnerved. This is the second time I’ve been out and the second time he’s been there to pull my ass out of the fire. Which means someone put a target on me. Someone who knows what my father’s guards don’t.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
Instead of answering, he just lifts his chin, and I can see there’s a mess of scars across his throat. At some point in his past, he’d not only been ravaged from ear to ear, but he also has a scar telling me he had a trach.
“You can’t speak?” I ask.
He shrugs, then shakes his head like it’s no big fucking deal—and maybe it isn’t. He releases one of my wrists, and his fingers twist into a series of shapes I recognize as ASL, but I only ever learned the alphabet and a few random phrases, which I barely remember. He’s probably telling me his name—something with an A and an L. But that’s all I’ve got.
“Sorry,” I tell him.
His laughter is silent, but I can tell what it is from the breathy huff and the way his shoulders rise and fall. It’s not pleasant, though. It’s like a cat playing with a dying mouse. He might have saved me from this man, but I don’t think he’s any kind of hero.
“Are you going to let me go?”
He gives me a long, appraising look, then shoves his free hand into his pocket and brings out his phone. His thumb taps on the screen with lightning speed, and at first, I think maybe he’s typing out a message for me to read. But instead of showing it to me, he waits for it to buzz, and then he shoves it back into his pocket.
So, no answer, then. And he still hasn’t let go.
Turning my head to the side, I assess the distance between us and the mouth of the alley. It’s likely he’ll chase me, but I doubt he’ll grab me in front of all those strangers. It’s way too crowded, and he won’t want to draw attention.
I’ll have to call my father after this. I have no other choice. But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to survive in this world. I’ll just have to figure out another way to get free once the threat has passed.
I turn my gaze back to him, and I can see him smirking again. I do nothing. I relax in his grip and take a few breaths because I can’t let him read my intentions. I study his face for a long moment—each freckle that dots his pale skin and the sweep of his hair, which looks effortless, but his obvious vanity tells me he probably took his time with it. He’s wearing designer clothes and shoes, which I recognize from my cousins, and I’m pretty sure the symbol on his belt is Gucci.
So maybe he’s associated with the family.
His head cocks to the side after a beat, and he looks curious, like he’s studying me too.
And now’s my chance.
With the fastest reflexes I can muster, I bring my leg up to knee him in the balls. With his sharp huff of air, I slam my head forward, bashing his mouth, and I wait for his knees to buckle and his grip to release.
Except…it doesn’t.
Instead, his head snaps up, and through bloodied teeth, he grins at me before raising his finger and ticking it back and forth in my face.
No, no, no.
Then his grip tightens on my wrist so hard I feel something start to crack, and I let out a yelp of pain. That only makes him smile wider, and before I can open my mouth and scream for help, he shoves that cloth into it. There’s no escape now.
The chemical immediately permeates my senses, and my body goes limp. The darkness starts closing around me, and as I fall toward the ground, the last thing I see is headlights pulling into the alley.
Chapter6
ARIEL