Page 23 of Ruthless Bonds

His phone rang, and he pulled it out, snapped at the person on the other end. God, even his voice was sexy. He could read to me from the dictionary, and I’d enjoy it.

I tried to listen to what he was saying, but itwas hard to understand. I thought he was speaking in Russian, but I couldn’t be sure. But what I was sure of was that he was so focused on his phone that he hadn’t noticed the dark figure standing in the doorway behind him.

The menacing figure took a step forward, reaching his gloved hand into his pocket. Everything about him felt wrong: the black sunglasses even though it was dark; the mask that covered the lower portion of his face; the black leather gloves that blended in with the rest of his dark attire.

I pleaded in my head for the sexy guy to turn around and see him.

But he didn’t.

Not when Creepy Guy was only two feet behind him.

And not when he pulled a gun from his jacket.

I didn’t know why I did what I did next. It wasn’t like I was the “I save strangers” kind of person. When I stood up from my hiding spot behind the dumpster, the sexy guy’s eyes widened, and his hand reached down to the waist of his pants.

“Behind you,” I yelled and pointed over his head.

He pulled his gun, twisted around in a blink of an eye, and shot the man directly in the middle of his forehead. My jaw fell open as his body tumbled to the ground with a thud and rolled down the stairs.

Sexy Guy pointed his gun at me, and I raised my hands in the air. “Don’t,” I shouted and squeezed my eyes shut.

OK, I didn’t think this guy was a rich guy in the wrong part of town. I was pretty sure this guy was a bad guy on the right side of town.

And now he was pointing a gun at me.

Just freaking great. Ray had screwed me over and abandoned me out here. Now the guy I’d just saved was going to shoot me in the head.

A sense of dread washed over me. I was going to die tonight. And die a virgin.

“What?” His deep voice carried over to me, and I opened one eye to peer at him. “What did you just say?”

Oh, my God, did I say that out loud?

“I, uh…” I opened both eyes but kept my hands raised. “I was praying to, um, the Virgin Mary.”

“Did she answer you?” He took a step closer to me, the gun still pointed at me.

“I don’t know yet.” I glanced at the gun, then into his eyes. They were so dark blue, they almost looked black. A chill ran down my spine at the intensity of them.

“You have five seconds to explain what the fuck you’re doing back here with him.”

“Whoa.” I held my hands up again. “He was on his own. Or at least I hope he was.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one else was going to pop out.

“Four seconds.”

My stomach churned at the threat in his voice. “OK, OK. I’m trying to hide from the cops, and I picked the wrong damn alley to walk down.”

“Why are you hiding from the cops?”

I nibbled on my bottom lip as I contemplated my answer. It wasn’t like he was going to turn me in. I’d just watched him murder a guy. Well, I mean, it was self-defense, but still—

“Three seconds,kotic.”

“My stepdad forced me to help him stealsomething, then left me to take the fall when the cops showed up. But I got away and have been running for twenty minutes trying not to get caught,” I said in one breath, my hands shaking.

He lowered his gun and slid it back into his pants, covering it with his suit jacket. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen. It’s actually my birthday.” I didn’t know why I’d said that. Like he cared it was my birthday. Maybe I was grateful he hadn’t just shot me in the head. I’d never take my life for granted again.

---