“You and me. Meeting up in a bar and running off to your apartment.”
“We seem like a good thing. You’re the hottest woman I’ve ever met and, yeah, if I can get you into my bed, I will.”
“Let me go,” she said, straining against his strong arms. But he wouldn’t release her. Instead, he gave her that damnable smirk, as if he knew every racy thought she had about him.
“Chrissy?” a masculine voice called. Damn. Marcus.
“Saks, you’ve got to let me go,” she whispered, panicking.
“Why? So, you can go running to big, tall, and dimwitted?”
Marcus absolutely would go ape-shit if he found Saks holding Chrissy. Or knew what they’d been doing. If there was one reliable thing about her sister’s boyfriend it was that he loved the enforcing part of his job a little too much. And with the shots Saks took at him in the bar, Marcus would take special delight in pounding Saks into the pavement.
“Chrissy? Are you okay?” Marcus called in the dark. His voice was closer, though she couldn’t see him yet. He was probably coming around the building any minute.
“Come on, Saks. You don’t understand,” Chrissy whispered urgently. “He’ll hurt you.”
“I’d like to see him try.”
“You’re a smug bastard,” she said, despite her paranoia.
“You seem to like it.”
“I. Do. Not. Let me go, you Neanderthal. Before I—”
“You’ll what? Scream?” He wouldn’t let go of her hand. He wasn’t gripping it painfully, but he held it with no intention of letting go. He grinned wickedly. Not the kind of grin to fear, but the kind that said he would love to bring her to the brink of screaming again. “I’ve heard you scream before, baby. And we both know you like it.”
She had to get back to the bar. This was only going to end up a big mess, and someone would get hurt if she stayed with Saks. Most likely him. At the hands of her family. She twisted suddenly in his arms and broke free. As she shifted her weight, she stepped on his foot accidentally...in her stiletto heels. While his thick biker boots protected his feet, she wasn’t as lucky and she stumbled. Her knee flew up to try to catch herself. It plowed into him, right in the family jewels. She caught herself as her leg came down. Saks wasn’t as lucky.
“Fuck,” he cursed. Pain punctuated his words, and he stumbled back.
“Chrissy!” Marcus rumbled. He was now just a few feet from them. “You okay?”
Saks bent over, trying to recover from the shock of Chrissy’s accidental shot to his groin.
“I’m fine,” she said as Marcus came into view. “He’s not.”
Saks shot her an angry glare. “Excuse me, princess,” he said. “Had I known you felt so strongly about the matter, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“You keep your mouth shut, shithead,” Marcus growled.
Saks straightened, though he winced in pain, and stared at Marcus. They both stood there, though Saks’ shoulders were slightly scrunched. They squared off, taking the measure of the other.
Chrissy was terrified this would turn out to be a serious knocking of heads. A stupid pissing contest.
“Saks,” another voice said.
Chrissy watched another person emerge from the darkness, a man who had stood with Saks in the bar.
“How you doin’, buddy?” the man asked. He wore a leather jacket like Saks, only his name patch said ‘Spade’.
“Okay, Luke. Just saying goodbye to the lady here.” Saks tipped an imaginary hat. “Good night to you, princess.”
Saks limped away, and Chrissy heard Luke say, “Let me help you back to the bar.”
Marcus and Chrissy slowly followed behind.
Gloria trotted up to her the minute she spotted them. “What happened? How’d it go with tall, dark, and handsome?”
“You mean Saks? Awful.” Chrissy could feel the burn spreading across her face and down her neck. Did her hair look mussed and her lips look kissed? What had she been thinking? Or not thinking was the better way to look at it.
“Why? What happened?”
“I did something horrible.”
“What,” Gloria broke out laughing. She jabbed in the direction of Saks holding his crotch, “did you do?”
She hadn’t meant to hurt Saks. Marcus stared at both women like they were crazy. “Shut up. I kneed him in the family jewels.”
Gloria found the news even more hilarious, and she shook with laughter. “Now that’s a story to tell the grandchildren.” Gloria broke out into another chorus of hiccupping laughter.
“Gloria!” Chrissy hissed. “It’s not funny. Not one bit.”
“Chrissy—” Marcus started in a warning voice, but Gloria elbowed him.
“Marcus,” Gloria said with a grin, “don’t spoil my fun now. I don’t often get juicy bits like this to use against my big sister.”
Chrissy glared at Gloria. “You’re an evil witch.”
“Hah, hah,” Gloria said, unconcerned with Chrissy’s insult. And Gloria was right. A story like this was bad. Chrissy had no business going off with a man she wasn’t there to meet. That Chrissy accidentally kneed him in the nuts might redeem her in a small manner, but the original offense was damning. Her sister’s enjoyment at having a bit of blackmail to use against her was just one more humiliation in a dreadful situation.