Chapter 21
LARK
Icrept through the shadows, watching the old Cadillac drive slowly down the street.
The street was empty. The shops were all locked up for the night. There was probably life here during the day, but at this time of night, it was the perfect place for an evil killer to prey on prostitutes.
The car parked on the side of the road, and I could barely make out the shadows moving inside.
Was this guy the Red Ribbon Killer? Did he kill happy families one day and then down-on-their-luck sex workers the next?
I’d gotten a text message from Sondra, one of the sex workers in my little informant network, about a creepy guy she said had beaten up her friend. She also suspected he might have killed another woman who used to work the Blade but had been missing for a week.
Getting the text had been exactly what I needed. I’d needed to get out of the Avernus and clear my head. It had taken all my skills to slip out without Bastian’s security team spotting me.
He would be pissed, but I’d deal with him later.
I shivered and wished I’d thought to grab a jacket before I’d left. I’d been too focused on getting here as fast as I could. I’d snuck out of the Avernus, then jogged most of the way. It was only about half a mile.
My hand flexed. I wanted the guy in the car to be the RRK. I wanted to know what his connection to Ed was.
Whether this man was or wasn’t the killer I was looking for, he wasn’t hurting anyone tonight.
Suddenly, the passenger door flew open. A woman stumbled out, her short skirt askew. She was tall, with long legs and dark skin. Her black hair was curly, and she had a long, elegant neck.
She’d barely taken two steps on her ridiculously high heels when the guy leaped out of the car. I got the impression of height and bulk.
He grabbed her and she screamed.
But there was no one around to hear her.
Except for me.
I moved closer, making no sound and sticking to the deepest shadows.
“Let me go, asshole!” the woman spat.
He pinned her to the car. He was tall and thick, like he’d once been in shape but had since gone to fat. He pulled a large knife from under his jacket.
The woman froze.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He had a surprisingly high-pitched voice for such a big man. “I want to see how red your blood is.”
I’d seen enough.
As the woman screamed again, I ran forward. My hard chop hit his kidney, then I lunged low and landed a kick to his left knee.
The guy let out a choked curse and stumbled sideways. The woman broke free.
She stared at me, wide-eyed. “Wren—”
“Go!” I yelled.
The guy was already straightening, the knife still in his hand.
The woman spun and ran.
He turned to face me. He was way bigger than me and he had a look in his eye that wasn’t entirely rational. He let out a low growl and charged at me.
I ducked the swing of the knife and landed a quick one-two punch to his soft gut.
“Little bitch,” he yelled.
His arm swung again, the knife aimed at me.
I darted to the side, and felt a sting on my arm. I spun and rammed my knee up between his legs. I didn’t quite hit my target, but there was enough power to force him back a step.
“I’m going to stab you!” he spat. “Fifty times. A hundred times.”
I snorted. “No, you’re not. I’m not an easy victim. Come and try me.”
He made another angry sound. He reared over me, raising the knife above his head. I tensed, ready to block him.
But his arm never moved down.
I watched a dark shadow emerge from out of nowhere. A hand grabbed the back of the man’s neck, and another one gripped his wrist.
I’d never get tired of watching the Reaper in action. Appearing out of nowhere like a ghost.
Bastian’s face looked carved from stone. He squeezed the man’s wrist until the knife fell to the pavement.
“How’s it feel when you’re the smaller target?” Bastian murmured to the attacker.
The man let out a pained noise.
“I had things under control,” I snapped.
Bastian’s black gaze flicked to my face. “Really?”
Oh yes, he was pissed.
I cocked my hip. “I’ve lived this long, depending only on myself. You think I can’t deal with scum like this?”
The man made a low grunt. “I’ll fucking kill you both. I’ll make you watch while I stab her, asshole.”
Oh, you idiot.
Bastian’s mouth flattened into a grim line. He increased the pressure on the man’s neck and the killer fell to his knees. Bastian grabbed the side of the man’s head and twisted.
There was a dry crack as the man’s neck broke. His body dropped into an ungainly pile on the dirty sidewalk.
Bastian’s gaze moved to my arm. “Are you okay? Did he stab you?”
I shook my head, then touched the slice on my shirt. “It’s just a cut.” There was blood on the fabric, but it wasn’t anything bad. It wouldn’t even rate any stitches or glue. “This was one of my favorite shirts, though.”
He shrugged out of his suit jacket. “Put this one. Why the hell didn’t you wear a jacket?”
“I’m fine—”
“Now is not the time to argue with me, Lark.”
I slipped into the jacket and was immediately wrapped in his sandalwood scent. His lingering body heat warmed me.
“Come on.” He took my hand, his voice tight.
He kept to the shadows, towing me down the street. I noted that he avoided the security camera I’d clocked earlier on a nearby building.
“You’re angry.”
“I told you to stay in the penthouse. Then I find you gone, stalking a killer in a shitty part of the city, all while another killer is after you.”
“I got a tip. One of the girls that works the street here called me and gave me a heads-up about this guy. And I’m not a dog, Bastian. I don’t stay put when ordered.”
He spun me around and backed me up against the wall of the nearest store.
“You were already stabbed once this week.”
“I was about to take him down. I wasn’t in danger. I thought he could have been the Red Ribbon Killer, but he wasn’t.”
“He definitely wasn’t.”
“I know that now.”
Bastian leaned in. “You put yourself at risk. You could be dead, bleeding in a dirty alley.”
I stared at his face. God, he’d been…worried about me. “Bastian.” I pressed a hand to his cheek. “I’m okay.”
He blew out a breath. “You make me crazy.”
Then his mouth was on mine. The kiss was fast, hard, furious.
“Everyone all right?”
The deep voice made me jolt. I saw Cole emerge from the darkness.
“Yes,” Bastian said. “I found her.”
“I see that.” Cole sounded amused.
“Yes, he swept in like a knight in shining Armani to save the day,” I snapped.
Cole cleared his throat, and I suspected the big man was trying not to laugh. “Then I’ll head off. Leave you to it.”
His footsteps were a faint echo as he disappeared.
Bastian’s dark gaze burned into mine. “I don’t want you sneaking out. Let me know if you need to go somewhere.”
“I’m…I’m not used to someone worrying, or telling anyone about my movements.”
“Get used to it. I should spank that ass of yours.”
I gasped. Mostly because I didn’t hate that thought. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
A thought occurred to me. “How did you find me?”
He straightened. “My amazing powers of deduction.”
“I put extra effort into avoiding CCTV, so it couldn’t have been—” I sucked in a breath. “You put a tracker on me!” My gaze dropped. “In my bracelet.” I touched the pretty pearls, then the clasp.
“It’s for your safety.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re the one who deserves a spanking.”
He shot me a sharp smile. “You’re welcome to try.”
I pressed my hands to the hard wall of his chest. “My God, you’re an arrogant ass who—”
He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.
“Bastian!”
“Is your wound okay?”
His worried comment took some of the anger out of my sails. “It’s fine.” His shoulder wasn’t pressing on it.
He smacked my ass. “We’re going home.”