“You’re one of us now, kid. Better get used to it. Especially with him around,” he says, nodding to Spike.
I don’t need to look at him to know that his eyes are still trained on me. His attention makes my skin tingle with awareness.
Titch makes his way down the street before jumping into a car that he must have called for and disappears, leaving just the two of us.
My heart continues to race as I wait for what he’s going to do.
“Are you going to take his advice now and do as you’re told?”
I think of my options, and as much as I want to fight him, following him is probably the best option.
2
Spike
The image of finding him with his dirty hands all over her is burned into my brain, along with thoughts about what could have happened if I hadn’t walked around the corner when I did.
Everything about this is wrong. We should be standing here now, waiting for the police to turn up and drag his arse away, yet somehow I’ve listened to both Kas and Titch and I’m walking away without doing anything.
A shudder runs through my body as I reach out, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her into my side.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she barks, grinding to a halt.
“I’m sorry,” I say sarcastically. “I thought I was looking after you.”
Her body is rigid as she stares up at me. “I don’t need looking after.”
“Really?” I ask, my eyebrows lifting. “Because you totally had that under control back there.” I look down to where she’s holding her ruined top around herself.
“I’d have figured something out. I always have in the past.” She rolls her eyes like it’s not a big deal. Like fuck it’s not.
“This isn’t the first time something like that has happened?”
“Spike,” she says with a sigh. “My life is… different to yours. I know how to handle myself. I’ve had no choice but to learn to.”
“But he—”
“Nothing happened. There’s no point dwelling.” She takes a step and continues walking down the street.
“W-wait,” I call when she overshoots the entrance to my building.
She stops but doesn’t turn.
“This is me.”
She looks up at the building beside her before looking back to the club.
“You live next to a strip club.”
“Where else would London’s most eligible bachelor live?”
A laugh falls from her lips, and it does something to my insides. Thankfully, she doesn’t give me the time to think about why that might be because she turns and walks to the door.
“So, what are you waiting for? Show me to your lair.”
Shaking my head, I follow her before pulling my keys from my pocket and letting us both in.
Sadly, we don’t have a lift, so I guide her toward the staircase and we make our way to the top floor.
“Whoa, the penthouse too,” she mutters once we reach the top.
“Don’t get your hopes up, I’m not some secret millionaire.”
“It’s more than what I’m used to,” she says so quietly that I’m not sure if I’m meant to hear it or not.
Swinging open the door, I gesture for her to enter first.
I watch as she comes to a stop in the centre of the room and spins, taking everything in. I might have only met her a few times since she arrived, announcing that she was Zach’s half-sister, but tonight she’s different to what I expected. When I’ve seen her around her ‘family’ she’s been shy, nervous. But tonight, she’s confident, sure of herself, sassy.
I’m not quite sure how to handle it.
My flat isn’t much, a relatively small two bed, one bath that Titch and I have shared for a few years. It’s not exactly what you’d call a dream home, but it has everything we need, plus a bakery below and a strip club within stumbling distance. Life could be worse.
Dropping her bag to the kitchen counter, I pull the fridge open and grab a can of beer. The buzz I had from the whisky seemed to vanish the second I saw her up on stage, and I could really do with it back if I’m going to manage to rid myself of the images of him and what he was about to do to her, and the fact that I’ve allowed her to convince me to walk away.
The music I’d clearly forgotten to turn off before I left earlier plays away happily in the background.
“Do you want a drink?” I offer, but when she doesn’t answer, I turn and look at her.
She’s still looking about the place, her eyes wide.
“A-are you okay?”
She spins my way. “Why did you bring me here?” The shy girl I’ve previously met makes a momentary appearance.
“Because it was the right thing to do. You nearly just…” I trail off, not wanting to say the words out loud.
She stares at me, her face hard with her anger before she drops her eyes to my can.
“Do you have a real drink? One from a bottle.”
I want to refuse and get her a glass of water, but after what she’s been through tonight, I guess a decent drink is the least she deserves.
Spinning for the cupboard with the spirits, I pull it open and grab the bottle of vodka at the front.
I hold it up to her. She nods and releases one of her arms from around her body.
“Don’t you want a glass?”
“No.”
With a shrug, I pass the bottle over.
She opens her mouth to argue when she sees it’s an unopened bottle, but after a beat she just releases her ruined top and twists the cap.
I should look away, I know I should, but the second the fabric parts I’m unable to rip my eyes away from the strip of skin it reveals.
It’s no secret that she’s an ink fan. They’re visible when she’s clothed, but the fabric reveals more, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to find out what she was hiding. In more ways than one. She lifts the bottle to her lips and swallows a generous amount.
I know she’s aware that I’m staring at her. It’s impossible for her not to be, seeing as I’m only a few feet away, but still I’m unable to stop.
She’s one of my best friend’s sisters—my boss’ little sister. I shouldn’t be looking. Hell, I probably shouldn’t have even brought her here. She’s too young for me, too young for me to be looking at the way I am.
I lift my hand to my hair, sweeping it back from my face and tugging until it bites, punishment for everything I shouldn’t have done tonight.
She pops her hip, resting her free hand on her waist, waiting for me to get my fill.
“I need that job, Spike. You can’t just storm in and ruin it for me just because my brother won’t like it.” Thankfully, her words are enough to drag my eyes up.
“You don’t need that job,” I counter.
She lifts the bottle again and the fabric moves, revealing more of her skin.
“Ah,” she says, as if she’s figured something huge out. She lowers the bottle and stalks toward me. “This isn’t about rescuing me, is it? You’re not trying to be the big man, trying to protect me from myself.”
I swallow, her sweet scent hitting my nose as the heat of her petite body seeps into my front where she’s so close. “W-what do you mean?”