Page 55 of Connor's Claim

Piers groaned and wheeled away. “You fucking slut. Was that a log?”

My mouth fell open in delight at an idea. If I could let him come to me again and get another hit in, I’d let him think it was Everly. Give her some small revenge for whatever shitty evening they’d had. Dark amusement sank power into my next hit. An uppercut. Piers rose from the floor then dropped like a stone.

I shook out and flexed my hand.

He didn’t get up.

“Oh, come on.” I exited the trees and stood over his prone body on the neat lawn. His head lolled to the side, his mouth open and bleeding. A sharp kick to the ribs brought a crunch of cracked bone but no reaction.

Disappointment rode my entertainment. That was far too easy. “Two hits, and you’re down. Never had a fight in your life?” I asked the body. “Come on, Piers. Fucking get up.”

I booted him again, this time in the head.

In the distance, more sirens wailed. I scowled and remembered what I was doing. Not a beatdown for an ugly fuck of a man, but an extraction of my woman.

Returning to Everly, I shouldered her bag and carefully brought her back into my arms, dusting a dried leaf from her hair. Then I sprinted. Down the edge of the neighbours’ garden on the access track with the broken light.

Thank fuck, it still didn’t work. At the corner, I edged around until I could see the front of Everly’s neighbours’ mansion. The driveway was at the other side of the house, and two police cars lit with blue blocked the entrance, a collection of people beyond. They weren’t moving yet or making any attempts to explore. Far enough away for me to slip off in the other direction, so long as no one looked our way.

A wail of sirens came from our right.

For fuck’s sake.

I tracked them coming up the road, their timing shocking. Drawing every fucking eye our way. The end of the track had a low gate, closed, but it was only made of spindly railing. No real cover if the new cops glanced over as they passed.

Maybe they’d even park this side of the building.

There was no time to change the plan. Nowhere else to go.

With a curse, I crouched, huddling over Everly to hide our hands and faces, me all in black and her in a torn purple evening gown.

I held my breath. For her, I’d make this work. I didn’t know how, but failure was impossible. Having her go back into that house with Piers, whose fault it was that we were seconds late from being safe and whom I really should’ve hit a few more times, wasn’t happening.

Together, we waited in the dark alley, the faint blue from the police cars up the road mixing with the lights from the incoming ones. They climbed the walls, the sirens filling the air.

They reached us. Slowed.

The siren abruptly cut out.

My damn heart beat so fast that all I could hear was my blood rushing in my ears.

Then they moved on. Lifting my head, I sighted the clear end of the alley. Then I crept to the corner, checking up the road. All eyes were on the new cops.

We had the smallest opportunity, but I’d make it work.

I lifted Everly and slunk low down the front garden to clear the gate, then took a risk, rounding my car to enter from the other side so anyone glancing down the pavement wouldn’t see a shadow.

The door’s clunk sounded a hundred times louder than it should’ve. I slid Everly onto the back seat, setting her bag down in the footwell, then I shut her in and waited.

Nothing happened. No shout came.

I took a breath. Opened the front passenger door. Eased inside, over the central console, and into my seat. In my rearview, the cops were climbing out to join their buddies. Thirty seconds on and they’d be surrounding the place.

Time to go.

I gunned the electric engine and glided out of the space, unseen, and kidnapped the mayor’s daughter, again.

Or, from my point of view, driving my lass to safety.