The Bad Boy's Dance (39 page)

              At this point, Asher got up and knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his. The feel of his skin on mine instantly soothed my frayed nerves and sent my pulse racing. He caressed my palm with his thumb and locked my gaze with his sincere one.

              “I never touched her, angel. You don’t know how much it tore me apart, not being able to reach you and knowing you thought I’d betrayed you that way. God, it was driving me crazy. And then when Dana…” he sucked in a shaky breath.

              When Dana compared him to Jared. I remembered the look of acute pain on his face and felt a spark of anger at my best friend, even though I knew she was only protecting me.

              “I don’t want Brenda. You’re the only one I want. You’re my angel, full of innocence and kindness and love. You call me up on my bullshit and don’t take any of my crap. You’re beautiful, honest, and way too good for me. Tell me you believe me.” He squeezed my hands tightly and kissed the fingertips, skewing my already muddled thoughts.

              A thousand doubts plagued my mind. The usual assortment of insecurity and paranoia. I’d seen Asher and Brenda together. They made a gorgeous couple from the outside. But from the inside…from the inside I knew Asher wasn’t a liar. He wasn’t a cheater. If he wanted to end our relationship, he’d do it outright. No pussyfooting around.

              Oh, who was I kidding? I believed him. Brenda Curtis was vindictive enough to do everything he’d just described, and better yet, I knew Asher. Something in my gut had told me there was something off, but my ever present insecurities had had a field day.

              My heart swelled, and I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. He really thought that highly of me?

              Not giving myself time to fret and analyze, I untangled his hands from mine and placed them on either sides of his face, the hopeful look on his face almost unraveling me.

              “I believe you,” I whispered, pressing my lips against his. I felt his smile against my lips and then his arms wound tightly around my waist, pressing me to his chest. He kissed my nose before exhaling deeply.

              “You scared the shit out of me, angel. I thought I’d lost you,” he murmured desolately.

              “And go through the trouble of finding a new dance partner this close to the NDT? I think not,” I teased, the swelling relief at knowing the truth leaving me feeling like I was on Cloud Nine.

              “Speaking of-why didn’t you compete in the National Dance Tournament earlier? I looked you up; you were –are- a phenomenal dancer, and you had a great chance of winning,” Asher inquired, trailing his lips across my cheek.

              Did he expect me to have any coherent thought when he was doing that?

              “By the time I was eligible to compete, my life had changed too drastically. Dancing was the last thing on my mind,” I mumbled.

              Asher’s eyebrows drew together. “No, it wasn’t. The jackass wouldn’t let you compete.”

              I shrugged a shoulder.

              Asher opened his mouth to say something but stopped. His entire countenance changed, becoming alert and tense at once. “Did you hear that?” he murmured quietly, releasing me.

              He reached for a drawer under the bar counter while I cocked my head, listening. The soft purr of the engine was barely there, a hush I wouldn’t have picked out if I wasn’t actively listening. What did it mean? Was someone here?

              Asher walked over to me briskly and folded a sleek black gun in my hand. He wrapped my fingers around it before I could protest. “You might need it,” he said.

              He handed me a small switchblade, which I pocketed. He had two guns holsters at his belt, and he made his way to the front door. Fear and anxiety edged out any reservations I had, and I grabbed Asher’s arm. “Listen, if there’s someone out there…remember what I said at the club? I’ve taken many different offensive and defensive classes, from Krav Maga to Tae Kwan Doe. So don’t waste time worrying about me.”

              Asher peered at me curiously, but before he could reply, the distinct sound of a car door slamming drew our attention. “Just in case, stay behind me,” he murmured and opened the door, a hand on the gun at his waist.

              My heartbeat kicked into gear, and my nails dung into my palm as I looked over Asher’s shoulder and saw our intruders.

              At least seven men stood at the edge of the clearing, guns pointed at the house. In their center, wearing a relaxed smile, was a disfigured man I’d hoped to never encounter again.

              Viktor Derevko smiled at Asher.

              “Will you leave me and my friends waiting out here, Grayson? It is most impolite,” Derevko said with an arched brow. He noticed me peeking and his smile grew wider. “Why, if it isn’t my new friend! Ivy Robello, have you come to join the fun?”

              Asher stiffened and started walking out of the cabin. When I made to follow him, he sent me a shot me a warning look that I ignored. Like hell I was throwing him to the wolves.

              We stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the porch, leaving the small expanse of the clearing between us. Derevko waved at his men lazily, and the guns were slowly lowered from us. “Tell me,” he said casually. “Did you really think the deal with Garibaldi would work? It was sweet of your girlfriend to try, but she shouldn’t have interfered. I’ll give Garibaldi this much, though.”

              He waited, and I knew the next words out of his mouth wouldn’t be good.

              “He and his men fought to the very end. I found no satisfaction in killing them, but they were an…example, to put it simply. I can’t have others thinking they can one-up me, and Trevor Garibaldi had overstepped his boundaries in promising you amnesty in exchange for her,” he nodded his head at me.

              “And now, I’m here to collect,” he finished with a malicious smile.

              Trevor…he’d killed Trevor? Sure, I was no fan of the man, but I hadn’t wanted him to
die.

And now
he wanted Asher.

          
Over my dead body!

          
I had never used all of the skills I’d learned during my training. Brenda had gotten a small taste, and the Plastics that defended her. I could help Asher, as long as he didn’t let himself be distracted by me.

          “Collect what? This business was between you and my father. I stepped up to the plate to protect my family, but it doesn’t mean I’m beholden to you in any way,” Asher’s voice had taken on a darker, stonier tone.

          Derevko released a laugh that seemed to echo around the clearing. “Your father was a fool. But you…you have potential. It would be a shame to kill you, but I won’t hesitate if you force my hand.”

          “I will never work for you,” Asher swore.

          A shadow passed over Derevko’s otherwise jovial face, and a chill swept down the length of my spine.

          “What a waste,” Derevko sighed. “Such potential.”

          Before I knew what was happening, Asher had run forward, and gunshots were firing around the clearing. I glimpsed Derevko slipping into the trees, disappearing from the battle.

          It didn’t take long for the men to abandon their guns. The clearing was too small to shoot accurately, and they were in danger of shooting one of their own. When I spotted Asher fighting, I ran towards him, but one of Derevko’s men stopped me.

          Grabbing my arm, he wrenched me back, but I was prepared. I used the momentum from his pull to twist, nailing him in the side with my foot. He hissed in surprise and released me. Taking advantage of the slip, I slammed my knee in his gut. He doubled over, and I slammed my fist against the base of his head, where I knew a pressure point lay.

          The guy was out for the count.

          Asher was gaping at me, but he only had a few seconds before he was fighting off two guys. His panic as three other guys came towards me was unmistakable. I considered using the switchblade in my pocket, but no. I’d never been good during weapon’s training. Before they could cage me in, I sprinted towards the man in the center and jumped on him.

          He reared back with surprise as my legs wound around his stomach. The perfect opportunity to perform the least expected offensive move. I pressed a finger at the base of his throat, under his Adam’s apple, at the same time smashed the curve of my foot into his crotch.

          As the guy crumpled to the floor in a wave of pain and disorientation, I used my crouch on the floor to sweep the legs of the two men out from under them. They were prepared for me this time though, and one of them punched me in the eye, knocking my head against the ground. The other was scrambling for his gun, so I launched myself at him, using my elbow to hit him in the face.

          “You bitch!” he hissed, shoving me to the floor. The other took the opportunity to kick me in the ribs. I ignored the burning pain in my chest and grabbed his leg, twisting him to the ground. At this point, the other man had found the gun and was pointing it straight at me, but I had the gun Asher had given me in my pocket too.

          “Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot him,” I threatened evenly, my gun pressed against the man’s temple.

          “You’re bluffing,” Gunman narrowed his eyes.

          “Am I?”

          “Honey, I don’t care one way or another if you shoot him. I have a job to finish.”

          The man in my hold gasped, and I shook my head in pity. Gunman shrugged at his companion, too busy blustering to realize I’d moved the gun slightly. He could have been warned, but the man in my hold didn’t so much as twitch.

          I shot Gunman in the thigh.

          He went down with a scream of agony, his gun falling to the ground. I released the other man, who scrambled away on all fours. “I’m done here,” he said, and disappeared behind the trees.

          “I’m going to fucking kill you,” Gunman snarled, grasping his bloody thigh.

          “You keep telling yourself that,” I smirked, and made sure he was watching when I twisted in the air, landing a solid kick to his face, and knocked him unconscious.

          With immediate threats out of the way, my attention traveled to Asher. He was fighting three burly men, two lay at his feet. I started to make my way over to him when an arm wound around my throat tightly, cutting off my air supply. I choked, clawing at the arm, and it loosened a little. That’s when I felt the unmistakable feel of a blade against my throat.

          “Best not to move, love. I don’t want to hurt you,” a familiar voice murmured in my hair, their breath tickling my cheek.

          Jared.

          He began to drag me backwards, and I spotted a nondescript sedan waiting behind the trees. Oh God, he was going to kidnap me. “Asher!” I screamed, but my voice was cut off when Jared closed his other hand over my mouth.

          Asher looked up, and terror overtook his expression. He started to run towards me, too frantic to notice that one of the men he’d thrown to the ground was crawling to his gun and pointing it at him.

          No! He wasn’t paying any attention to the gun trained at him, poised to fire. I dug my teeth into Jared’s palm, making him pull back with a yelp. “Watch out!” I managed to shriek at Asher before Jared opened the door of the car and threw me in, causing my head to smack against the opposite window.

          The last thing I heard as the world darkened around me was the unmistakable ringing of a gunshot. 

           
 
Chapter

Thirty-Two

Where it Began, So Shall it End

My eyes flew open, and I sat straight up.

              There was a thrumming at the side of my head, and I rubbed it as I dazedly took in my surroundings. I was in a bedroom I’d never seen before, but somehow…somehow it was eerily familiar. Where was I? What…

              I glanced down and noticed I was wearing a gray silk nightgown over my dirty and tattered clothes, as if the nightgowns elegance would somehow hide what was underneath.

              But why was there blood on my sleeve?

              As I stared, it slowly trickled into my fuzzy mind.

             
Asher’s confession and our moment in the cabin.

              Confronting Derevko and learning of Trevor’s murder at his hands.

              Fighting off Derevko’s goons, running to help Asher when a hand constricted my lungs and a blade was placed against my throat….

              Asher, running for me with nothing but blind panic, somehow recognizing Jared. A henchman sitting up, aiming his gun at Asher….

              And then everything went black.

             
I leaned over the side of the bed as I heaved, but nothing came up. The drowsiness had vanished to be replaced with raw panic. Where had Jared taken me? Surely Asher was alright…I refused to think anything else.