Page 21 of Never and Always
My captor spun me and slammed my back to the brick wall.
I saw his face, cloaked by the shadows, and my stomach clenched. He had a puckered scar on his cheek that had healed badly. His dark hair was buzzed very short, and his pale eyes looked like chips of ice. My guess was that he was in his late thirties or early forties.
He shoved me again, and all I tasted was terror.
Then he lifted something, and I whimpered. A knife. He pressed the blade to the side of my neck.
“Be still or I’ll cut you.”
I felt the sting of it on my skin.
“I dropped my purse,” I pushed out. “I have some cash.”
“I don’t want your cash.”
His words sent a chill through me and I swallowed against the lump in my throat. God, was he going to rape me?
I shifted and the knife pushed harder against my skin. I felt the slide of blood down my neck and my fear skyrocketed.
I didn’t want to be raped and murdered.
He shoved me again. “I want you to give your brother a warning.”
My brother?My brain short-circuited, I couldn’t make sense of his words.
“You tell Ellis to get what he owes to my boss, or I’ll carve a pretty little chunk out of you—” the knife pinched deeper and I cried out “—and him. Got it?”
“I…” My chest was too tight for me to get any words out.
“Hey! Get the fuck off her.”
Suddenly, a big shadow loomed over us, and then my attacker was ripped away from me. My legs turned to Jello, and I slid down the wall, my butt hitting wet snow.
There was a scuffle and a low grunt.
That’s when I saw Everett.
Everett like I’d never seen him before. His face was set in hard lines, and he swung a fist at my attacker. It connected with a hard thud, and I saw the knife hit the ground.
The men rammed into each other again.
Then, the asshole with the scarred face took two steps backward, spat on the ground, then turned and ran. His black coat flapped behind him.
I sucked in a breath, trying to calm my fear.
Everett crouched in front of me. “You okay, big city?” His gaze ran over me, then snagged on my neck. He cursed.
I swallowed. My throat felt like it was the size of a baseball. “I-I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not, but you will be.” He slid an arm around me and hauled me up. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”
I bobbed my head. “He came out of nowhere, I—” My voice hitched.
“Hey, you’re okay. Deep breath.” With his strong arm around my body, he led me out of the alley. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you now.”
I sniffed, hot prickles behind my eyes.
“Hold it together, Piper. Can you do that?”
