Page 108 of Falcon's Prey

When he set me down, Ren left with the guy without another word to me. My heart was pounding to the beat of his steps. Each step he took farther away from me was one I could breathe and freak out about what had happened. As soon as he was gone, Gideon threw a hand over my shoulder and led me to the bar as Pam trailed behind us.

“Stay close. I don’t need your man to be distracted.”

“Yeah, protect her and let me die,” Pam murmured.

“This is neutral grounds. If there’s any place you’re safe, it’s here. If they come to get you here, it would start a war with the Estacados, and that would be plain stupid.”

“How long until the fight?” I asked.

It was close to nine, so it wasn’t that early, and there were people but not enough for it to be considered packed.

“His fight is at eleven. Other ones are starter fights to satiate the hunger.”

There were a few stools in the bar. Gideon sat me in one as he put his arms on either side of me, protecting me.

“Barkeep.” He signaled for the bartender and got himself an old-fashioned and me some water. “Sorry, sweet cheeks. Lover boy said no drugs and no alcohol for you.”

That was when I noticed the men who were walking around carrying trays. And when G raised his hand, one came over. He had a plethora of drugs—dime bags of coke, Cubans, cigarettes, blunts, pills. Old me would have loved the shit out of this place.

Gideon paid for a blunt and then pulled a stack of money from inside his jacket. “Four grand.”

With hungry eyes, I watched the bookie-dealer take down Gideon’s information. Drugs were right there, and I was not going to lie and say my mouth didn’t water. It would be easy to take one, but then in the back of my mind, I heard Ren say he was proud of me, and that…that gave me the strength to look away.

“You need a new addiction,” Gideon said. “Something else that gives you the same high.”

There was no judgment in his voice, which made me grateful. I wondered if I was that obvious or if Ren had told him.

“What’s yours?”

“Adrenaline, blood, and petals,” he answered in a heartbeat.

Before I could ask what the hell that meant, there was a voice that spoke our way. I recognized the husky tone with a hint of an accent. It was a voice I hadn’t heard since the night I’d given myself to him to fuck with Silas.

“What is the lone wolf doing so far away from home?” He came to the left side of Gideon.

Pam craned her neck with interest. Oh boy, was the world tiny sometimes.

“I’m hunting.”

“You’re not going to introduce me to your girl?”

Gideon’s arm had blocked me from view, and if Gideon was nervous, it didn’t show. I took a deep breath and peeked my head behind G’s arm.

“Enzo,” I said leisurely. He was still handsome, dark, and alluring. Sharp nose, neatly trimmed beard, and wearing a suit. “Long time, no see.”

A slow grin took place, showing me those white teeth. “La Principessa dei Diamanti.”

“Where’s your boyfriend?” I asked him, referring to his best friend, Ashton Hill, whose family owned the building I lived in—or had lived in.

“Not his scene. I didn’t think it was yours either,” he drawled. Then he turned to look at Gideon and Pam.

Gideon was taking a sip of his drink while Pam looked as she always did—pissed off at me.

“You two know each other?” Pam bit out.

Enzo smirked at Gideon when he answered. “Last time I saw her, she was squirming under me.”

Pam let out a snort, whispering, “Whore.”

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