Page 16 of Keep Her from Them

The photographer lunged at Dori and this time caught his wrist. He yanked hard, and Dori crashed down to the table. The two men wrestled for the camera, and a punch was thrown.Someone screamed. The bouncer rushed in and grabbed Dori by the ankle.

In an instant, this had turned ugly.

My heart skipped a beat. “We need to help him.”

“We have to go.”

He was right, except I couldn’t just run. “I won’t leave my friend.”

Raphael muttered a string of swear words then tore his gaze back to mine. “Listen to me. This is becoming a brawl, and we need to get out of here before it gets worse. We’ll move fast and get ye to the car outside. Once in there, you’ll lock the doors and I’ll come back for your friend.”

The photographer pulled an elbow back, his fist raised.

I squeaked in distress. “Dori had bad news tonight. He isn’t thinking straight.”

“I’ll help him. I promise. Please, Alex. Come with me.”

I put my hand in his and my faith in his direction. Raphael kept me close, body blocking me past the fight which now had two bouncers wading in. I couldn’t see Dori to know that he was okay. I stumbled down the steps and nearly fell. Raphael tucked me under his arm to finish the descent. At the bottom of the steps, he half carried me, sprinting around the edge of the club so people had to move out of our way. It was chaos down here as well, with a hunt going on for the celebrity Dori claimed was present and people slipping on ice.

I closed my eyes and tapped my forehead to Raphael’s shoulder. My mask was askew and my nerves on the very edge. What had started as funny had turned horrible. I was scared for Dori, and the warm hug of alcohol was quickly shifting into a headache and nausea.

Cool air ghosted over me, and I opened my eyes to the steps outside the club and the street. I wobbled down the first, clutching hard on my bodyguard’s arm wrapped tight around meand under my breasts. A car waited. Raphael snapped open the door and guided me onto a leather seat, barking something at the driver. The man made a quick promise, his wide-eyed gaze skipping over me. Huddled in the seat, I shuffled my skirt down my thighs, straightened my wig, and watched Raphael run back inside.

Dori and I had been in escapades in the past. He was six feet tall and strong from all the sports he did, but he was a lover, not a fighter. Words he’d used to describe himself when provoked by punchy guys who didn’t like his pretty style or expensive clothes.

If he got hurt because I’d decided that dancing and drinking our emotions away was a great idea, I’d never forgive myself.

Over all that was another concern.

That my bodyguard might get injured, too.

My thoughts were interrupted by a bright flash of light. A lens hit my window, the shutter clicking. Another photographer had been lying in wait. And I was caught in their trap.

Chapter 7

Raphael

Leaving Alex in the car went against every single one of my instincts, but when I made promises, I kept them. Inside the club, the scene had taken a shift to dark and dangerous. Still, the music played, but a fight had broken out near the DJ’s stage, and a crowd formed a tight circle around it, clubgoers hooting at the action.

I threaded my way to the VIP area steps. Halfway down, Dori struggled under the grip of two bouncers, his arms restrained behind his back.

Fuck. I jogged the rest of the distance, spotting an older man in a suit waiting for the party to descend. Had to be the club’s manager.

I whipped out my ID. “Bodyguard service. I’ll take him from here.”

The older man scowled. “Too little, too late. The police are on their way.”

I resisted the urge to close my eyes in frustration. I wasn’t sure who Alex’s friend was, but it was a safe bet that he was of the same social set as her, and an arrest made bad headlines. I needed to resolve this fast. “I sincerely hope you don’t mean to detain my client for defending himself?”

The man’s eyes widened in incredulity. “Your client assaulted another patron and damaged my furniture.”

“My client disarmed a photographer your staff took a bribe from. I’m happy to tell that to the police when they get here. I’m sure your patrons will love hearing how ye give zero fucks about their privacy.”

The two bouncers escorting Dori reached the bottom of the steps. Alex’s friend glared at them from under a floppy blond fringe. His shirt was torn and missing buttons, and sweat gleamed on his chest, his black mask around his throat. For fuck’s sake. He was the very picture of a spoiled playboy. I needed another incentive.

Tightening my jaw, I came back to the club manager. “If the prince is arrested, ye can kiss goodbye to any of his friends or associates coming here again.”

The man’s hostile expression dialled back a degree. “He’s a prince?”

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