Page 22 of Fierce King (L.A. Ruthless 1)

‘Give my regards to your father,’ I heard someone snarl, but then there was a flurry of activity around me. The next thing I knew, the gun was gone and I looked up to see Alejandro wrestling a large bearded man to the ground.

‘Pull the car around,’ he barked to someone that I couldn’t see as two of his bodyguards rushed to his side. They picked the man up from the floor and Alejandro stood up and turned to me. I stared at him open-mouthed, my legs and hands trembling like autumn leaves in a storm.

He took one large stride towards me and then scooped me into his arms. I buried my head against his chest. I didn’t want to look at all of the faces of the diners who were staring at us.

He marched out of the restaurant, holding me close to him and barking at people to get out of his way.

The next time I looked up, we were in the safety of the car. He sat back against the leather seat, with me still in his arms.

‘Drive, Jacob,’ he ordered and the car sped away from the curbside.

It was only then that I felt brave enough to look at his face, and then I was sorry that I did. He was looking at me with such concern in his eyes that it made me want to cry.

He smoothed my hair from my face. ‘Are you okay, Alana?’ he asked softly.

I nodded. I was. Thanks to him.

But, this wasn’t right. He wasn’t the good guy here. He wasn’t nice. He didn’t care about me.

I started to edge my way off his lap but he held me tight to him. ‘Alana! You’re in shock. Just sit still!’

I didn’t resist him. I didn’t want to. I remained on his lap and he loosened his grip on me. Then he slid his phone out of his pocket and made a call to someone. Most of what he said was in Spanish, but despite that, I understood the nature of the call. I suspected that the man with the gun in the restaurant wouldn’t be breathing for much longer.

It was only when he ended the call, that I felt his muscles relax.

He ran his hand up the outside of my thigh and rested it on my hip. I felt the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of my dress, but despite that I shivered from his touch.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked again.

‘Yes,’ I whispered. ‘What was that about? He mentioned my father.’

Alejandro nodded. ‘I know. But don’t worry. He’ll be dealt with.’

‘But, what was it about?’

He tucked my hair behind my ear and looked into my eyes. ‘Your father and I have many enemies, Alana. I don’t know why that happened tonight, but I will find out. This is why I insist on you having a bodyguard whenever you leave the house. Do you understand why that’s so important now?’

‘Yes,’ I nodded. ‘But I never needed one in New York. If this is about my father …’

‘Just let me deal with it,’ he said softly. Then he reached forward, with me still on his lap, and took a bottle of whisky and a crystal tumbler from the drinks cabinet. He poured a generous measure into the glass and handed it to me.

‘Here. It will help with the shock,’ he said.

I took it from him and downed it in one. The strong liquor burned my throat and made me cough, but I handed the glass back to him.

‘More?’ he raised an eyebrow at me.

‘Yes, please.’

‘Okay,’ he said as he poured another. ‘Careful, princess. This is stronger stuff than you’ll be used to.’

I saw that as a challenge. ‘You think I can’t handle my liquor because I’m a feeble woman?’ I asked.

‘No,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I think you can’t handle fifty proof Scotch when you’re knocking it back like that.’

I knocked the second glass back too, just to prove my point.

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