Page 26 of Seducer

“Jerry, you need to go home.”

“I think I’ll stay. Do you have any idea who I am?”

Was he kidding me? I couldn’t care less who he was. But I knew what he was. A complete asshole.

“Jerry, remember? Don’t you have a wife?” I’d taught myself to be extremely observant over the years, noticing the man’s wedding ring a few visits earlier. I willed my hand to stop shaking so I could slide it into the locking mechanism.

While he didn’t stop me, I sensed he’d crept even closer.

Unfortunately, he had me pinned in. Running would mean being forced to go around him. I feared I’d never be allowed to do that.

He laughed and my skin crawled. “She’ll wait. Bitches always do. You’re not hiding from anyone. I hope you understand that.”

Hiding? Was he talking about the mask? He was inching even closer.

“What the fuck do you want?” The heat of his body indicated he was so close I’d never be able to open my car door. I carried mace. I had a pocketknife. I’d gone to self-defense classes, although that had been years before. Why did I have such a terrible feeling I’d never be able to defend myself with any of those methods?

Not a single vehicle had passed by on the road since I’d left the building. This time of night, the club was the last thing left open after ten. Even if I screamed, I doubted anyone was going to hear me. The building had thick soundproofing due to the loud music and city ordinances, no residences within walking distance. I would never have believed Jerry would turn out to be a creeper.

“I’m just issuing a warning. Nothing more. Your days are numbered. But since you were such a bitch, I thought we’d have a little fun afterwards. Just you and me. I’ll call it a perk.”

“Just give me the warning and go away. I need to get home and take care of my sick brother.” As if that would work. Now my voice was shaking. I could tell by his chuckle of amusement he was having a good time with my heightened fear.

I elbowed the jerk and he was much stronger than I’d originally thought, spinning me around and snapping his hand around my throat. When he squeezed, I did what I could to knee him in the groin.

“I’m going to fuck you like?—”

The bastard never got a chance to finish what he’d started before inside the bar.

The whooshing sound was like something heard straight out of an action flick, the hard thud following a clear indication damage had been done to a human body. I slowly turned, wishing I could feel sorry for Jerry as he lay crumpled in a huge lump against the side of the brick building. But that would just be another lie.

The moment was frozen in time as the man I’d lightly called my hero stood over Jerry, giving the creep his full attention. He was calm, something that struck me even more strangely thanhow the events had unfolded. I could easily tell Zach was saying something to the downed man although I couldn’t hear the words.

And Jerry was paying close attention, looking up at him as if the man was a god. Maybe he was. Zachariah was certainly powerful enough. That much had been captured by dozens of internet articles and glossy magazine spreads. Zach was a celebrity in his own right just like his two brothers.

It didn’t hurt that there’d always been an air of danger surrounding the trio.

If I was a smart girl, I’d slide into my car, start the engine, and leave. But it felt as if I was watching a train wreck, Jerry even pushing himself against the wall as if praying the bricks would give way and swallow him whole.

Very slowly, Zach turned in my direction, his eyes finding mine. He stood still, only the light breeze flowing through his disheveled strands of hair creating any movement. I was thankful I was still wearing the garish makeup I always used even when wearing a mask. I’d had a single customer rip off my mask during a performance, exposing my face. Thank God, the man controlling the lighting had shut down the lights, a bouncer grabbing my mask from the unwanted customer and tossing him out.

But I’d wondered from that moment if I’d been exposed. I had my reasons for being concerned even though I’d taken great steps to become someone else. That was hard to do when holding so much responsibility in caring for another human.

While my brother was now considered an adult, the connection to my former life and that of my parents remained. No one’sidentities were invisible in this day and age. Maybe it would take some serious digging to learn our heritage, but it was still possible.

At least I felt a limited sense of protection against a man wielding so much power.

There was such a sense of knowing, yet seeing him without his mask was more spectacular than the few times he’d walked through the admin pool on his way to a meeting. He was so confident, capable of handling anything and anyone if he so chose.

Truth be told, I’d had very dark fantasies with him as a star player from the first week of employment. The fact my heart was fluttering was a clear indication nothing had changed.

He acted as if he was going to walk away, allowing me to escape without my identity being discovered. But something caught my line of sight. It appeared Jerry had reached for a weapon. I had no idea how Zach could tell something was wrong other than I’d opened my eyes even wider, but he spun around, wrapping one hand around Jerry’s throat and lifting him completely off the ground.

With the other, he yanked whatever Jerry was holding, shoving it into his pocket. I was pretty certain I heard a primal growl before Zach issued four hard, rapid punches against Jerry’s face before tossing him aside. A few more words were spoken before Zach stepped over the man.

And he was headed in my direction.

Jerry moaned, the agonizing sound providing a hint of glee. Maybe I wasn’t the nice girl I liked to portray after all.

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