Page 65 of Unmasked

Fear churns inside me as I respond.

ME: No, I don’t have anyone watching you. Tell me about this guy.

I suck in a deep breath as I wait for her reply, a sense of foreboding inside me. My eyes move to Delaney.

Fuck!A guy grabs her, shoving her against her car.

Horrified, I shove my phone in my pocket and sprint to her. He draws his fist back, but I grab it, yanking him away from her.

I take my worry and anger out on this asshole, beating the shit out of him. I know it’s my fault Delaney nearly got hurt. I was distracted.

Zayne’s going to fucking kill me for my mistake.

“Stryker.”

Speak of the devil.

I look up, the anger in Zayne’s eyes evident behind the Michael Myers mask. Every muscle in his body is taut as he stomps over to me. The look he gives me is clear I fucked up.

I shove the asshole toward him, letting him release some of his rage on the guy who manhandled his woman. I jog over to Delaney, feeling like shit that I allowed it to go this far. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. You intervened before he could hurt me.”

My head bows, the shame I’m feeling engulfing me. “He got to you, though. I let that happen.”

“Stryker. Is that your name?”

My masked face jerks up, my eyes searching hers. I nod, waiting for her to start screaming at me.

Delaney steps closer, putting her hand on my arm. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You stopped him from hurting me.”

I hear Zayne coming up behind me, and I brace myself for his wrath.

Surprisingly, Delaney steps between us, her hand landing on Zayne’s chest, fisting his hoodie. “Stop. He saved me.”

“He shouldn’t have let him get that close to you,” Zayne snarls, his rage palpable through his mask.

“He feels bad enough.”

“He fucking should. When I get my hands on him, he’ll feel worse.”

“Stop it. You can’t hurt him without hurting me.”

I stand there, stunned. Delaney barely knows me, yet she’s standing up for me. Not only that, her words resonate with me. My mom hit me plenty of times when I was a kid, and I’m getting a vibe from her that suggests she’s experienced child abuse, too.

“I’ve had enough violence in my life because someone made a simple mistake.” She steps into Zayne, pressing her body against his.

Brave, brave woman.

“Please let this go.”

Amazingly enough, Delaney calms Zayne. “Okay. But only because you begged.”

She links their fingers together and then nods in my direction. “Thank you. Let’s talk to him.Calmly and rationally.”

I brace myself as they turn, walking toward me.

Fuck, I hope he doesn’t fire me.