locked it. She jammed the key in the lock so hard, Vax wouldnât have been surprised if the key snapped off inside. In the distance, he could hear another car, but he didnât bother blurring his presence this time. She came striding down the walk.
The moment she saw him, she froze. Only for a second, though. Her eyes narrowed, and she started towards him. There was a shadowed bruise on her jawline. Didnât look like sheâd even bothered to try to cover it.
He looked away from it in time to see her fist flying towards his face. He could have moved. She was quick for a mortal, but not quick enough. Vax didnât bother, though. Her fist clipped him on the side of his face, and his head snapped to the side with the impact. If he hadnât had his weight braced, he probably would have toppled off the bike.
âPretty damn strong for such a skinny thing,â he said, turning his head and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the pavement. With his tongue, he touched the cut on the inside of his mouth.
âWell, Iâd feel better if Iâd knocked you unconscious, you son of a bitch.â
âIâm sure you would.â
Her chin went up, and Vax wouldnât have been surprised if she decided to slug him again. Instead she just curled her lip and sneered at him. âDidnât I tell you to leave me the hell alone?â
âIf Iâd left you alone to begin with, youâd be dead.â He said it in a flat, cold voice, but if he expected it to slow her down or cool her fury, he was expecting too much. Most people tended to try to backpedal a little if they heard the word dead .
Not her. She just tossed her head and propped her hands on her hips. âSo?â
The way she snapped out the short, simple word sent a cold, chilly finger down his spine. âSo. You donât care if you live or die?â
âYes, I care. Iâd prefer death, thank you. I just want one thing before it happens, and you interfered tonight. Donât do it again.â She jabbed her finger into his chest with each of the last words. She spun away on her heel.
Hell. Tough little cookie, arenât you? He couldnât help smiling a little. âMiz Warrenâ¦It is Miz Warren, right?â
She didnât even slow down. Jessica Warren continued right on walking across the street, her shoulders back, the shiny blonde locks bouncing up and down with each step.
âWhat happens if they kill you before you do that one thing?â
At his words, she came to an abrupt stop, her shoulders slumped. Vax threw his leg over the bike and dismounted, moving up on her cautiously. He lowered his shields again and tried once again to pick something up from her. There was nothing more than a distant sort of despair.
Â
I F I die before I make William Masters pay for what he did to Randi â¦It wasnât something Jess had allowed herself to think. Destroying Masters was all she had left, and she wasnât going to fail.
But Nate hadnât been planning on taking her for a walk in the park. Her gut told her that there had been more than bulky, muscle-bound bouncers waiting for her, wherever the hell heâd been taking her. In her gut, she knew there was more than just a beating waiting for her.
âI wonât let that happen,â she said, her voice low and steady.
âSometimes things outside your control happen.â His voice was low, sexyâand oddly comforting. It was the kind of voice that made a woman feel safe, the kind a woman would want to hear if she rolled over in the middle of the night after a bad dreamâlistening to that voice as she curled up against a hard, strong body while big warm hands stroked her back.
But at the same time, it was the kind of voice that made a woman think of doing all sorts of unsafe things. Like jumping tall, sexy strangers with deep, sexy voices.
Jess smiled bitterly. Jumping sexy strangers. Yeah, like that was going to
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