Page 36 of Samson

He fought against old emotions and looked up the street, trying to clear his head. A woman was walking up the sidewalk with a man following several paces behind wearing a baseball cap pulled low.

“Oh,” Simone said low when she saw. “That girl’s in trouble.”

It was just the distraction he needed. “Not for long.”

Chapter 9

Delilah wrappedher arms around herself. It was a chilly night, but she wasn’t going to go far. She just needed a few minutes away from that place. If Luca was still involved with Marc, that meant his entire life and everything he’d worked so hard for could be destroyed if Marc felt like it.

“Why would you do that?” she muttered to herself. She knew how hard Luca had fought to get free of that world and make a life for himself. Why would he throw it all away?

Someone tapped her shoulder, and she spun around, lurching backward from a man wearing a baseball cap.

“I’ve had to wait almost a week to find you,” he said.

She swallowed hard. “I don’t have any money on me.”

“You think that’s what I’m after?”

Delilah tightened her hands into fists. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

“So you’re a coward when you don’t have backup?”

“Coward?” She wasn’t sure where the anger came from, but she welcomed it. “You’re a strange man threatening me at night on an empty street.”

“Strange man, huh? Is it strange to not want to be embarrassed in front of my friends?”

“What friends? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Now that you don’t have your bodyguard nearby.”

“Wait.” His face jumped into her memory. “Are you the guy with the medium rare steak?”

“So youdoremember.”

“I never asked Samson to interfere.” She took another step back, but he followed. “Have you been waiting outside the restaurant all week? Why? To scare me?”

“No. To teach you a lesson.”

He pulled something from his pocket, and she lifted her arms, knowing it would be useless against any kind of weapon.

“Hey!” a deep voice shouted from across the road.

The man looked, and Delilah took the opportunity to kick her attacker between his legs.

He grunted and dropped to the ground, and she looked at the man running toward her.

“Samson? What are you doing here?”

Her attention was drawn back to the man on the ground, who’d straightened and lifted his arm, pointing the can he was holding at Samson. He pulled the trigger, spraying red paint across Samson’s chest.

Samson didn’t flinch, but his eyes widened when he looked down at his shirt.

Delilah laughed when she realized it wasn’t a weapon and the threat was gone.

Samson wasn’t smiling. He took two steps to close the space between him and the man and right-hooked the guy in the face, knocking him out cold.

“What are you doing?” She dropped to her knee and checked for a pulse.

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