Page 31 of Just a Bit Guarded

Scott shrugged, more than a little annoyed. It felt like all they had talked about on this date was his cousin. “At leastever since he started living with us,” he replied reluctantly. “I remember him being different when his parents and siblings were alive. More open and quick to laugh.”

“Oh,” Gadiel said softly.

“Anyway, enough about my cousin,” Scott said. He knocked their shoulders together. “Let’s talk about us.”

“About us?”

“Yeah.” Scott looked around and tugged Gadiel into a dark alley.

“What are you doing?” Gadiel said with a startled laugh. “Scott, it’s not safe—”

“There’s no one around, don’t worry,” Scott said, pushing him against the building. “And it’s dark here, no one will see us.”

Itwasdark in the alley, so he couldn’t see Gadiel’s pretty face well. But that didn’t stop him from finding Gadiel’s soft, full lips in the dark.

Gadiel tensed up before suddenly pushing him away. “Don’t—I can hear someone!”

Scott scoffed and tried to pull him closer again. “Come on, there’s no one—”

He was shoved against the wall and something sharp and cold pressed into his nape. A knife. “Don’t move,” someone growled in accented English. “You got cash on you?”

Fuck. Muggers.

“Not much,” Scott said, his heart pounding.

“Credit card?”

“Y—yes.”

The man took his cash and credit card from his pocket. “The PIN,” he ground out, pressing the knife harder against his neck. It pricked Scott’s skin, making him gasp. “And you better not lie to us. Or I’ll gut you like a fish.”

Swallowing, Scott told him the PIN, and Gadiel did the same. The man said something in Arabic to his accomplices, and two dark shapes left toward the brighter street, likely to the ATM there. Only two thugs remained, presumablyto make good on their threat if Scott and Gadiel had lied to them.

Scott told himself the situation wasn’t all that bad. Sure, he’d lose some money, but it wouldn’t be much, since his card had a daily limit for withdrawals, and the ATM probably did, too. As long as they didn’t actually get stabbed, it would be okay. All they needed to do was stay calm and—

The lights in the building nearby turned on, and it illuminated the alley better. One of the remaining thugs suddenly said something in Arabic, and the man holding Scott at knifepoint tensed up and looked at Gadiel. He said something too, sounding excited. The only word Scott caught was Gadiel’s name.

They must have recognized him. They must have initially not recognized him in the dark, mistaking them for tourists.

“Dammit,” Gadiel whispered, his eyes flashing with fear.

Scott was at a loss. Didn’t that just mean that Gadiel would be held for ransom? Why did Gadiel suddenly seem so scared?

Before he could say anything, the man holding Gadiel barked something out. Scott could only watch helplessly as Gadiel was half-pushed, half-dragged away from him.

Just as Gadiel disappeared out of sight, there was the sound of footsteps from behind. Scott thought it was the other thugs returning from the ATM, but a moment later, the man holding him at knifepoint grunted in pain and fell to the ground.

“I’m never listening to you again,” Will said. “Where’s Gadiel?”

“The other guy took him that way,” Scott said, straightening up and pointing toward the dark alley. “They recognized him.”

Will swore under his breath and headed there, barking over his shoulder, “Go hide somewhere before their friends return.”

“I can help you!” Scott said, jogging after him. “I’m fit, I can throw a punch!”

Will ignored him, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

Scott eyed him warily, sensing how pissed off he was, but continued following him.Hewasfit. He could help.

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