Chapter 12
twelve
A FEW WEEKS AGO
LIZZY
Trivia Night tomorrow night at The Brew. You in?
Can’t. Got my last round of training this weekend. I’m in Portland.
LIZZY
Boo!
LIZZY
JK Stay safe.
My legs wobble, heels clicking against the pavement as I make my way down the street to my Airbnb. This weekend has been brutal, and I needed to let loose with Mia and Ari and have a few drinks.
We haven’t been able to hang out much in the past few months because I’ve been too busy training and moving to Lakeside.
Aside from that, I’ve managed to keep myself busy working part-time at Summit Studio, co-teaching yoga classes with Sasha. I also have my own aerial silk and pole dancing classes once a week. All while I gear up to start working at Lakeside Fire Search and Rescue next month.
I’m kind of freaking out. Mostly because Logan Cade is going to be the new captain. Not only that, I’ve recently come to the horrifying realization that the Iz from the text that made me run away like my hair was on fire, after my sex-filled weekend with him, was from Lizzy.
His twin sister and my new friend.
My friend, who just so happens to know I hooked up with her brother last year. She also doesn’t seem to give a shit about it either.
I cringe at the thought. Mentally kick myself for not sticking around to ask him about it. Now anytime I see him around town, I turn and head in the other direction, trying to avoid him at all costs.
But he’s not making it easy. Nope.
He comes to at least two yoga classes a week. But he never says a word to me. Just keeps on being his usual dark and broody self as he works his way through the poses, eyes tracking me as I walk the room.
Then there’s Brex.
When he showed up at Summit Studio to talk to Sasha about work out options for the firefighters, all I could do was stand there behind the welcome desk next to Noia trying not to lose my shit before ducking down behind the counter when I saw him shift to look in my direction.
Now, not only am I going to be working with Logan, but Brex, too.
Fucking figures.
I’m so up in my head, I don’t see the two men until they’re standing directly in front of me.
Stumbling to a stop, I mumble an apology before trying to sidestep around them.
But the taller one—a beefy guy with a buzz cut and a faded Seahawks jersey stretched tight across his gut—sidesteps to block me again. His buddy, who’s shorter and wider, with a scraggly beard and a trucker hat pulled low over his eyes, mirrors the move on my other side.
The sharp sting of whiskey and cheap beer hits my nose. Buzz Cut’s eyes are glassy and unfocused, a sloppy grin plastered across his face as he sways slightly on his feet. His buddy’s got a red flush creeping up his neck as he leers, his gaze roaming over me as he licks his fleshy lips.
“Whoa. Where you goin’ in such a hurry, sweetheart?” Buzz Cut slurs, holding his hands up. “Night’s still young.”
“Yeah,” his friend chimes in, voice thick. “We’re just headin’ back to our place. Got a whole case of beer and a killer sound system. You should come with.”
Pulse kicking up, I force a polite smile. “Thanks. I’m good.”
I try stepping around them again, but they both shift in unison. Almost as if they’ve done this before.
“Aw, c’mon.” Buzz Cut moves in even closer. So close now, I can smell the cigarette smoke clinging to his denim jacket. “Don’t be like that. We’re just tryna’ have some fun.”
“I said I’m good.” I sidestep again, angling toward the curb. “Have a nice night.”
I barely take two steps before his bearded friend lurches sideways, cutting off my path and grabbing my arm. “You sure?”
“Hey.” I yank my arm from his grasp, voice sharper now. “Back off.”
But they don’t. Instead, they close in.
Before I can pivot or duck around them, they’re herding me, using the sheer mass of their bodies to crowd into my personal space. My heels scrape against the sidewalk, and I stumble backward as I’m pushed around the corner into a narrow alley.
Darkness swallows me whole as my shoulder blades hit rough, unforgiving brick.
“Come on, relax!” Buzz Cut laughs. The harsh, raspy sound bounces off the narrow walls as he plants one hand beside my head, caging me in. “Jesus. We’re not gonna hurt ya. We just wanna have some fun, that’s all.”
“Yeah, babe.” Scraggly crowds in, so close I can see a yellow stain on one of his front teeth. “You’re gonna love what we got. Trust me. We know how to treat a lady.”
My heart is slamming so hard I can feel it in my throat. Frantically, my gaze bounces around, looking for any means of escape.
But the alley dead-ends.
A dumpster sits about twenty feet back, and a single flickering light casts eerie shadows across the pavement.
“Let me go.” My tone is firm as I try keeping my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my throat. “I’m not interested.”
Buzz Cut’s grin turns ugly. “That’s not what your dress is telling me.” His hand comes up, fingers digging painfully into my breast as he squeezes hard enough to make me gasp. “Damn, you’re a feisty one.”
“Get off me!” I shove at his chest, but it’s no different from the brick wall currently biting its way into my back. Solid and unforgiving.
“Goddammit! Help me hold ‘er still, D.” Using his other hand, he grabs the hem of my dress, yanking it up with a rough jerk. “Come on, baby. Show us what you got under there.”
D cackles, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above my head. “Hold still, sweetheart. We’re just getting started.”
Struggling in vain, I wobble on my heels as I try to knee Buzz Cut in the balls. But he’s too close, too strong, his weight crushing me against the wall as his fingers dig into my thigh.
“Please,” I gasp, hating the tremor in my voice. “Stop.”
Then, in a blur of motion, Buzz Cut is simply... gone.
One moment he’s on me, the next he’s flying backward. A dark shadow flashes across my vision right before the sound of a sickening thud assaults my ears when he smashes into the opposite wall, crumpling to the ground.
His friend shouts in alarm, releasing my wrists as he backs away. “What the—”
But I don’t see what happens next because my legs give out, and I slide down the wall, curling into myself when I hit the ground.
Arms wrapped tightly around my knees, I squeeze my eyes shut, retreating into that safe place inside my head where nothing can touch me.
My world narrows to the sound of my own ragged breaths and the distant thudding of my heart in my ears. Vaguely aware of the far-off noises of grunts and growls, and the wet, muffled sound of flesh hitting flesh, I tuck my face into my arms.
Finally, I hear scrambling feet, then a pair of frantic footsteps running away.
“Hey.” A deep voice, gentle but urgent, cuts through the fog in my brain. “Are you okay?”
It takes a second for the words to register, then another for me to process that they’re directed at me.
Slowly, I lift my head, blinking away the fog. It takes my brain a moment to catch up, to connect the face in front of me, but my heart stalls when I see who it is.
“Oh, shit.” Brex’s expression shifts from concern to shock as recognition dawns. “What the hell? Pretty?”
My throat tightens at the nickname, and I can’t speak, can’t do anything but stare up at him as he squats in front of me.
Face a mask of concern, his golden-brown eyes assess me for injuries. There’s a small cut on his full lower lip, and his knuckles are red and swollen, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
“Did they hurt you?” he asks, voice rough with anger. “Talk to me, Pretty. Are you hurt?”
Still unable to form words, I shake my head. My dress is twisted, hair falling in my face as the burn of tears threatens to spill over.
“Okay, okay.” He holds his hands up as if he’s attempting to soothe a wounded animal. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Safe. The word echoes in my head, and something inside me cracks. A sob escapes before I can stop it, and then another, until I’m shaking with the force of them.
“Hey, hey.” Brex leans in, hesitantly reaching out to brush my hair back from my face. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
And somehow, despite the fact he’s the last person I expected to see, despite the humiliation of what just happened—I believe him.
Mortification floods my cheeks as I look up at the man who just saved my life. The same one who tucked a twenty into my T-back while I was half naked on stage, then danced with me the next night at a club before handing me off to Logan, leaving with a woman on each arm.
His fingers flex against my cheek. “You gonna tell me your name?”
When I don’t answer, he huffs out a sigh.
Gently gripping my upper arms, he helps me to my feet.
Shifting uncomfortably under his intense gaze, I push against his chest—his solid. Warm. Muscular chest—before taking a step back.
“Come on.” He cocks his head with a grin. “I just saved your life. Least you can do is tell me your name, Pretty.”
“Why do you call me that?”
He shrugs. “Because Angel was already taken.”
Angel.
My heart trips.
Logan.
The fact that I’ve been living in Lakeside for the past few weeks, knowing Brex has been there and hasn’t seen me, boggles my mind. At least, he’s not acting like he knows we live in the same small-ish town.
Come to think of it. I haven’t actually seen him in a while.
“Hey,” he rumbles, cutting off the memories bouncing around in my head. “You sure you’re okay?”