Chapter 5
Abject fear made my mind go blank. Two years of self-defense right out the window as my body went rigid with shock. My eyes watered from the hand tangled in my hair, sending pain along my scalp. It fell away, only to wrap me in a chokehold.
“Thought you could hide from me?” Luke’s hot breath fanned my ear.
“Luke, please,” I gasped, immediately falling into old habits, my scars ripped wide open. Dormant instincts screamed at me to submit, to make myself smaller.
Several more bodies materialized, reminding me to fight. Keeping my movements small, I slipped my phone into the side pocket of my pants. I needed to get back into the club. To Eaden.
“How’d you find me?” I managed, trying to distract him.
“Tony, you got the car ready?” Luke said, ignoring me. “Let’s get her out of here.”
He dragged me away from the back door.
Acid bubbled up into my throat. I couldn’t let him take me. I couldn’t go through this again.
I pressed my chin into his forearm, keeping ahold of it with both hands, then I stepped forward, pulling and shifting my weight. I kicked the heel of my foot up, hitting him in the groin. Just like I’d practiced a thousand times.
Luke grunted, bending forward. “Stupid bitch!”
A shot of triumph burst through me as I broke free, trying to get around him toward the door. For a second, I thought I made it.
“What the fuck?!” he hissed, darting forward. He grabbed my wrist and jerked me off balance. A crack reverberated through my hand. First, there was a moment of nothing, then searing pain shot up my arm. I screamed, stunned.
A loud roar filled my ears. A blur of movement and then a motorcycle skidded to a stop beside us. The rider removed his helmet, giving me an eyeful of black hair, piercings, and tattoos. Our eyes locked. It felt like a million years passed between us in a single heartbeat.
Then my heart took off in a gallop.
“Get on!” the goblin growled.
I pulled against Luke, trying to break free.
A dagger appeared in the goblin’s hand. Luke grunted as it sank into his chest. He stumbled back, releasing me. I gasped, blinking, then rushed forward, swinging my leg over the back of the bike. We were moving before I could fully position myself.
All I could do was cling to my rescuer.
Gunshots rang out from the end of the alley—Luke’s people. The goblin lifted a hand, waving it through the air. Bullets around us exploded into dust. We skidded out onto the main drag. I cried out, tightening my hold on him, as the pain in my wrist sent knives up my arm.
The goblin slowed, coming to a stop several streetlights down.
“Put this on,” he shouted over the roar of his bike.
A sleek helmet appeared in his hand. He held it over his left shoulder.
When I didn’t immediately grab it, he shook it to get my attention.
I released my uninjured arm and took it, shoving it over my head. It was a perfect fit.
“That’s better,” came the low voice in my ear. I jerked in surprise. There were mics and speakers in the helmets.
The goblin took off again, melting into traffic.
“Want to tell me what the fuck you were thinking, going outside like that?” His voice had morphed into the same asshole tone he’d used in the coffee shop.
“I…”
Tears clouded my vision. What had I been thinking? I knew better than to slip outside alone, even though the alley behind Vortex was—or had been—relatively safe in my experience. My coworkers often stepped back there for a smoke break or for peace and quiet. But most of them were supernaturals.
They didn’t have a dangerous ex hunting them. Just earlier, I’d thought it was Luke in the crowd, then chastised myself for being so paranoid. All it took was a panicked call—probably staged. I’d rushed right out into harm’s way.
“At least this time you walked into actual danger instead of just me,” the goblin muttered, as if reading my thoughts.
A tangled mess of emotions crashed over me. Anger, that after how hard I had worked, I’d barely managed to do anything against Luke. Humiliation, that I still needed rescuing. That my body barely responded and hadn’t been strong enough. That I had wasted precious moments panicking.
I was so tired of being weak—all because of him.
I took in a gulp of air, then another, and another, trying to blink away the tears from my vision. What was the point of the past two years, if I was going to freeze up when it mattered most?
I realized I was trembling, clenching my teeth to keep them from chattering as the adrenaline that flooded my system began to abate.
Traffic thinned and the bike picked up speed, surging forward.
Buildings streaked past. We were speeding through the city, weaving in and out of cars.
The bike handled the curves with ease, as did the goblin I was practically wrapped around.
I felt the bunch of his muscles as his body responded, leaning into each one.
“We have to go back,” I finally managed to say. I needed to tell Eaden what had happened, though he probably already knew. There were cameras on the back side of the building. My only hope was that he might protect me from Luke…somehow.
“Is that so?” purred the goblin.
“Please. I need to go back.”
“Don’t think so, sugar.”
“My name’s Rose,” I bit out.
We took a sharp turn and I tightened my grip on him. Pain shot up my arm and I whimpered. His muscles tensed beneath me, in response to the sound. “Are you hurt?” The question softened his voice.
“My wrist. I think… I think it’s broken.”
He made a growly sound in the back of his throat but said nothing else.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe. We’ll be there soon enough, then we can see to your wrist.” He revved the engine and we jumped forward, accelerating as if my admission had spurred him on.
High-rise buildings began to thin, replaced with smaller structures and warehouses.
Trying to distract myself from the pain, I said, “Why were you in the coffee shop today?”
“Hold on tight,” was all he said in answer. The road opened up. He put his bike into gear and we shot forward.
I sucked in a breath as my stomach lurched, pain making my nausea rise. “Going a little fast, don’t you think?”
“Not fast enough.”
“No one’s following us,” I bit out through clenched teeth. “Not at this speed. You might be a goblin—”
“So you do know.”
“—but I’m not. So, if we crash—”
“We’re not going to crash, sugar.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“No, but I can promise that if we did, I would keep you safe.”
Safe?
I didn’t remember what that felt like—to be safe. Not anymore. Not after Luke. Not after spending the last two years in a heightened state of paranoia.
“Trust me, yeah?”
“Fine,” I lied.
Eventually, larger houses dotted the landscape, half hidden by trees, as we passed into Kentwood.
A few minutes later the goblin veered off the road and up an asphalt drive.
Trees lined both sides, obscuring everything from view.
As they thinned, a house appeared, a massive craftsman with a light blue shingled exterior and white accents, a large porch, and huge windows that glowed with warmth.
It was stunning. Not like most houses on this street. Not loud and ostentatious, but also not the type of house I would have expected, assuming it was his.
That did all sorts of things to my curiosity, which I didn’t want to acknowledge.
We pulled into a sweeping circle drive and he parked in front.
“Off,” he barked.
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I couldn’t get off fast enough. Holding my injured wrist against my chest, I struggled with my other hand to remove the helmet. A pair of hands reached for me, sliding it free. My pink hair fell into place.
My rescuer stared down at me, his expression unreadable.
All it took was one blink, and a transparent image of his goblin form overlaid his human one, betraying his glamor.
I hated to admit it, but he was positively breathtaking even without glamor, even with skin the shade of gunmetal gray.
I blinked once more and his human appearance returned.
Both helmets disappeared into thin air.
“Give me your wrist,” he snapped, impatience lacing his tone. I ground my teeth together. “I’m not going to hurt you, little female. Let me see it.”
Setting my jaw, I offered it to him, wincing when he reached for it. I needn’t have worried. His touch was shockingly gentle. My eyes zeroed in on those beautifully masculine hands, on his ringed fingers as they assessed the swollen area. He pressed near the veins on the underside and I flinched.
“Ow,” I breathed.
He hummed, going still. “Broken, I think.”
“I think so, yes.”
“This will feel hot,” he warned right before his thumb stroked over the skin. Searing heat made me flinch. I turned guarded, every muscle locking up tight, but I didn’t pull away.
The heat disappeared almost as quickly. He glanced up, gauging my expression. Something in it made his jaw tighten. He looked down again, moving my wrist around, holding my hand with his and lacing our fingers together.
With smooth motions, he rolled my wrist around. I stared transfixed at his rings as they caught the light, the warm metal heating the skin between my fingers. I wanted to ask about them, suddenly curious about everything that had to do with this goblin, but I couldn’t form words.
“There.” He dropped my hand and stepped back. The loss was so abrupt, it felt like he’d taken my warmth with him. I moved my wrist around, then dropped my hand, looking up at him. He’d healed me. A goblin. I hadn’t even known it was possible.
“You going to gape at me all night, or shall we go inside?”
An incredulous huff fell from my lips. “That depends. Where are we?”
“Hm…” He continued looking me over, once again ignoring my question. Which he seemed to do a lot. “Where’s your phone?”
“My…” I frowned. “My phone?”
“Your phone—where is it?” He held out his hand, waiting.