Heavy footsteps approached me from behind. Ahead, a single figure appeared among the throngs of moving people. Dark gray hair stood out as he emerged. The air between us surged with an electrical charge.
Ryder Callahan approached me with fury lighting his eyes. He reached out. I wished I could move out of his way, but Harvey’s command still gripped me. Trapped between two strong shifters, I pressed my eyes shut and waited for my punishment.
The plan to lay low in a public setting hadn’t played out as well as I’d hoped. Instead, I’d found myself trapped between two shifters. I tensed, waiting for the blow that never came.
When I finally summoned a bit of courage, I cracked open an eye and found Ryder staring past me. I followed the line of his arm over my shoulder. He held Harvey by the wrist, keeping the Alpha’s son from touching me.
Harvey’s command had worn off. I breathed a sigh of relief and sidled out from between the two shifters. Ryder’s attention followed me.
“Are you all right?” His voice was deep and rough all at the same time, like the reverberation of thunder among the clouds.
I caught myself gaping at him and forced my jaw back into place so I could nod and not look like an absolute fool. Though I knew there would be hell to pay later, I stole a glance at Harvey and soaked in the man’s expression of terror and fury.
Harvey, eyes ever so slightly too wide, glared at Ryder’s grasp. Harvey clenched his fist and pulled, but he couldn’t break the hold.
Ryder gave Harvey a pathetic look. “Don’t use your voice to hurt others.”
When Ryder released Harvey, he stumbled back. Connor and the others grouped together, off to the side. I guessed they were trying to stay out of Ryder’s view. Harvey lifted his chin, like he wanted to fight back.
People had begun to stop and stare. Harvey’s eyes darted all around. I watched the gears finally start to turn as he realized he was surrounded by humans. Had this happened somewhere in Lakesedge, he wouldn’t have hesitated to start a fight. Here, Alvin would beat his ass raw for causing a scene.
“I won’t forget you,” Harvey growled as he backed away.
Ryder lifted both brows and chuckled. “Sure, buddy.”
The words ignited a new fury in Harvey. I could tell because I’d done the same several times over. It was in the way Harvey’s head lifted and his shoulders tensed, in the clench of his jaw and the growl behind it.
Haylee touched Harvey’s arm. He jerked away from her, making her flinch. My own growl escaped me. Before I could take a step toward Haylee and Harvey, someone stopped me. Snarling, I spun on Ryder.
He sighed and tugged me along by my upper arm. When we were far away from the gaggle of humans that’d gathered in the food court, I yanked my arm out of his grip. Sparks lit the air between us and gave me pause.
“It wouldn’t have done you any good to jump back into that fight,” Ryder said.
With my adrenaline fading, I pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes and groaned. He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. That whole interaction had been a mess. Harvey would go to his father now and tell him about the stranger who’d come to my rescue.
“You should have minded your own business,” I said, letting my hands fall back down to my sides.
Ryder cocked his head. The look he gave me asked if I was crazy. “There’s no shame in asking for help.”
My lip curled. “This isn’t any of your business. You aren’t from around here. You don’t know about me. I’m cursed. Getting involved with me will only make things worse for me.”
He put his hands up in the air between us. “I’m not trying to get involved with you.”
Though, as he said it, his gaze ran down my body and back up again. His attention lingered on my breasts and hips.
My cheeks warmed. I leaned forward and hissed, “That’s not what I meant!”
He stopped, peered around, and pulled me into the hall that led into the Canyon wing of the mall. We emerged from the dark hallway and into a bright walkway with the open canyon far ahead. The smell of coffee in the distance beckoned me. I broke away from Ryder and chucked Connor’s stupid peace offering into the trash.
I still didn’t understand why he’d bothered talking to me. If he’d just kept on walking by, none of this would have ever happened. Connor was too dumb for his own good.
“Where the hell are you going?” Ryder didn’t have to jog to catch up. His long legs carried him toward me with ease.
I grumbled under my breath. There would be no losing this guy. He would always be one step ahead of me with those powerful legs.
“If you would just slow down for a moment and tell me what’s going on, then maybe I can help.”
I heard the unspoken part of that sentence in the way his words hung unfinished. He had more that he wanted to say, but he’d trailed off before he added the other part of this deal. I stole a glance in his direction and noticed the scars peeking out from under the collar of his shirt. They reached up the muscles around his neck.