Page 6 of Lock Up the Darkness

It couldn’t be further from the truth these days.

The night he’d been taken from me had seen to that.

And it had driven me here to this creepy town.

Specifically, to the Infidels.

A notorious pack of bloodthirsty rich shits who were more animal than men, ruling Hexwood with an iron fist that dripped blood and terror.

Asher Monroe. The Chameleon. The guy nobody could get a proper read on because he never showed his true face, never expressed his wants and needs, never showed his hand.

Jonah Keller. The Savage. The guy who got off on violence and bloodletting.

Killian Carmichael. The Prince. The guy with the boy-next-door charm, most eligible bachelor type, the flawless golden boy who everyone either wanted to be, or to be with.

Years of intel gathering had finally pointed me somewhere concrete.

To them.

They had the answers I’d been seeking for the last three years.

Answers I would stop at nothing to obtain.

I scrubbed my hand over my face and pushed out of the stall.

I took a second to fix my messy ponytail, then pushed out of the bathroom and back into the heart of the pub.

Liza had left the bar and I tracked her quickly to a table in the center that was now occupied by four guys in cheap suits. Four rowdy and very obviously drunk guys in their thirties who, judging by Liza’s expression, were giving her a hard time.

She was explaining that it was so near closing that we didn’t have any of Fusion’s famed cheesy fries left with the kitchen now closed, but that we could still serve them nachos and a few other bar foods.

The guy who seemed to be the leader of the bunch rose from his chair and staggered up to her. “Come on, sugar. I’m sure you’re up for accommodating us.”

Her eyes dropped submissively. “Just pick anything else off the menu and I’ll have it seen to.”

“How about you?”

“What?” she eked out.

“Are you on the menu, sugar tits?”

Urgh. Gag.

I started forward. This was bullshit. There was no way I was gonna let it continue.

Hell, it shouldn’t have fucking well started.

“No,” she choked out. “Just… just take some time and call me when you’re ready,” she said, turning to go.

As she did, I watched his eyes flash dangerously as he ground out. “Never say never.”

I was just a few feet out when his hand shot out and grabbed her ass.

She squealed and spun around.

But I was there in the next second, yanking on his tie and using it as leverage to jerk him down, spin him around, then slam him face-first down on the table in front of his buddies.

I had one hand fisted in his hair and my elbow driving into his spine, pinning him there.

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