Page 216 of Dark Love

“Dead.”

She stops moving and almost falls off my back. Payne scoops her up into his arms. I slowly inch away.

Should I walk away and give them some privacy?

Sudden movements might set her off again.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I attacked you.”

That was a very poor attempt, but admirable considering her weakened state.

“I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

Payne laughs. “You’d need a sledgehammer to hurt Vex. He’s built like a tank.”

Imogene couldn’t even pick up one, let alone swing it in a way that would hurt me, but we can pretend.

“Are you sure?” She stares at me.

“Positive. No harm done. But we can change that.”

“Huh?”

“Payne and I could teach you how to protect yourself.” After she puts a little muscle on her bones or else we’ll end up hurting her more than helping her.

She shakes her head at us. “Doesn’t work. I already took self-defense classes. Almost every woman living alone in Urbium takes them. They didn’t help.”

Payne grunts.

“What? You don’t think I can defend myself?”

“Vex wasn’t offering you a ‘self-defense’ class. He was offering to train you to fight. Those are two very different things.”

“Huh?” Her eyes move between the two of us like we’re speaking a foreign language.

“Self-defense classes teach you basic techniques to scare off an attacker. Vex taught me all the dirty tricks to survive a street fight.”

“Dirty tricks?”

“The dirtiest.” Payne nods.

“I’d like to learn. Maybe next time—”

“There won’t be a next time, Immie. No one is ever going to hurt you again. No one.”

“You can’t protect me all the time.”

Payne pulls her in closer. “I can and I will.”

And that’s my cue to leave them alone.

My phone alerts me that there’s a message from Dahlia as I walk into the bathroom of the gym.

Dahlia: Sitting by the pool missing you.

She sends me a photo of her by the pool in a dress, grinning at the camera.

Only Dahlia would be fully clothed by the pool. I smile down at her.

---