Page 57 of 4-Ever

Ronin nodded. Before I could say anything else, he stood up and took off. Instead of sitting around feeling unsettled, I went in search of Brodie and Holls. They were with their men and chatting up Evert and Jesse.

“Where’s Ronin?” Holls asked.

“He went to find Ciara.”

“Is she all right?” Van asked. “I saw her walking by and she looked upset.”

That anxious feeling wouldn’t leave my gut and I couldn’t let it go this time. “I don’t know. She’s been acting odd lately, not contacting Ro for weeks at a time. And her boyfriend said some pretty shitty things to her. Disturbing things. I’m gonna go look for them.”

Before anyone could say otherwise, before I could even tell my protective detail I was leaving, I headed for the door. Whatever, the place was crawling with security and I was just going to pop outside for a moment.

Averell stopped me on the way out. “You ready for that drink now?”

An hour ago, I would’ve said sure. And fuck knows, I needed to get my mind off Ronin. But there were more important things than my dick.

“Sorry, but I’ve changed my mind.” I shook my head.

Averell gave me a knowing look and nodded, pursing his pouty lips.

“What about tomorrow?”

My silence to Averell’s question said everything. He knew, I knew, fuck, everyone probably knew that all I wanted was Ronin. Well, everyone except the man himself.

“If you change your mind, give me a call,” Averell offered with a flirty smile, then he walked away.

I kept walking out of the venue and into the spring night and looked around. No sign of Ro or Ciara. No one, in fact. I turned around to head back inside but then I heard a shout.

“Let her go!”

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. I followed the sound around the corner of the building to the alleyway and peered around to find Dallas with his hand around Ciara’s neck, Ronin standing across from them, his arms raised.

What the fuck was happening?

Dallas shifted and it was only then that I noticed the broken beer bottle in his free hand. It was aimed at Ronin. I could’ve sworn my heart stopped beating, but thankfully, the rest of my body was working.

Pulling out my phone with shaky hands, I texted Lennie our emergency code and then cautiously slipped around the corner, trying not to startle Dallas.

“Hey,” I whispered as quiet as I could, walking up to stand beside Ronin.

Dallas startled and aimed the bottle at me. I held my hands up in surrender. “Put that down, man, there’s no need for that. Come on. Please. Put it down. Let’s talk it out.”

Ciara’s face was wet with tears, her hands frantically pulling at Dallas’s tight grip on her neck.

Dallas shook his head, then shoved the bottle closer to Ronin again. “Coming here was a mistake. I heard what you said to her. You told her to dump me! But that won’t happen. She belongs to me. To me! She does what I say! You get that?”

“Okay, all right,” Ronin whispered, his voice cracking. “I get it. I was in the wrong. Just calm down and let her breathe, please.”

“I’m always calm, that’s what makes me a great cop!” Dallas snapped and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. She didn’t listen to me and now look what’s happened!”

This guy was fucking crazy.

I glanced at Ronin, and I’d never seen him so fearful. My stomach pitched and I willed myself to hold on.

“You can walk away,” Ronin pleaded. “Just don’t hurt her, please.”

“Hurt her? What are you talking about? I love her!” Dallas shouted. “But she needs to do as I tell her! I know what’s best.”

“Yes, okay, you do,” Ronin repeated, his voice wavering. “Faise and I are going to step away, all right? You can put the bottle down now. We’re going to back away.”

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