Page 47 of Revenge & Ruin

I click my tongue. “I have people I needed to get away from. Just for a little while.”

“And you thought this would be the best place to hide?”

“Something like that. I have a bit of a stalker, actually.” I shoot him a smirk before helping myself to another shot. “Still up for the task?”

He returns the smile dangerously. “I know a few places to hide a body.”

I don’t let the cool trickle of fear that drips down my spine unnerve me. I’ve been around my fair share of criminals, after all. These people are no different.

“Well, aren’t you just my knight in shining armor?”

You’re playing with fire.

“You should know I don’t do anything for free.”

It’s not Luis who places his hand on my thigh. It’s the guy on my other side. Warning bells immediately start to sound off in my mind, but I sit back and pretend it doesn’t bother me.

“Now, now,” I scold the new guy. “There’s plenty of me to go around. At least, there will be when I’m less sober.”

I throw Luis a meaningful glance, and he thankfully seems to be taking the hint. “I’ll be right back,” he says before darting back over to the bar.

The new guy keeps his hand on my thigh, though, now thumbing the bare skin there clumsily.

You need to be more careful…I could have fucked you right there under the table.Teo’s words come back to me along with an involuntary shudder.

I swallow hard before looking up at the new guy. He’s decisively less handsome than Luis, with a scratchy-looking mustache hugging his upper lip.

“You know, it’s polite to ask first,” I begin, intent on charming him off me.

But before he can reply, there’s an almighty crash from the bar.

We all look up in unison and watch as Luis’ head gets smashed into an empty glass before he tumbles unceremoniously to the floor.

The men around me are on their feet in an instant, ready and raring to fight.

But my eyes are on his attacker. His back is turned to me, and he’s clothed head to toe in black. But there’s no mistaking him.

I fucking knew it. He’d come after me.

Now I need to get the hell out of here before I got myself in any more trouble.

I instantly stagger to my feet and push through the crowds in the opposite direction, realizing as my heel slips, that I’m slightly more intoxicated than I had thought.

As soon as I step outside, I beeline to the row of motorcycles parked outside. There’s no time to call a cab. From the sound of it, the fight in the bar only seems to be getting louder.

“Hey!” I call out to a guy wearing a helmet who looks like he’s about to ride off. “You wouldn’t mind giving a girl a ride, would you?”

For a moment, I think he might just ride off. But the almighty crash of smashing glass has us both glancing nervously back at the bar.

He jerks his head, beckoning me over, and I gratefully slide onto the seat behind him.

The engine revs, and I have just enough time to wrap my arms around him before we shoot off into the night.

It’s thrilling to watch the city flash by, and I’m so distracted that I don’t realize we’re heading over the Brooklyn Bridge until we’re halfway across.

“I was heading to Harlem,” I shout, but my voice is clearly lost in the wind because my savior just presses on.

Finally, the roar of the engine slows to a gentle purr, and I glance around to see that we’re pulling up into Bay Ridge.

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