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“There are no battles for you to fight here, Liss. Besides, I’m doing Spike a favor by saving him from a broken nose.”
I grumbled and tossed my rag aside.
“I apologized for that.”
Gideon hummed a laugh.
“Actually, you didn’t, and I hope you never do. Keep that fight in your blood burning hot, but save it for when you really need it. In the meantime, Spike will mind his own goddamn business,” he added with a pointed look in Spike’s direction.
Spike backed away from the bar with a wink at me. I watched him herd the two women toward the door. Tattooed wings arched across his shoulders and down his muscular back. His hair was shaved into a mohawk, just long enough to be tuggable, which was probably intentional. Arrogant, cocky, and full of wiry sexual energy, he was the epitome of no strings attached.
But I didn’t want him, no matter how ready and willing he would be to bend me over the bar if I asked him to.
My gaze slid across the room to where Gideon was seated. Something about his presence made me feel safe in a way I’d never felt around a man before. If I wasn’t careful, I could end up getting my heart involved, and that would be messy.
Shaking my head, I gathered the dirty glasses and carried them to the kitchen. I nearly tripped over a haphazard stack of cardboard—stained, greasy takeout containers and beer boxes, mostly. After depositing the glasses in the sink, I gathered up the cardboard and pushed the back door open with my hip.
“Long time no see, Larissa.”
I froze at the sound of that voice.
Albie stepped away from the alley wall, emerging out of the shadows. He’d always been a scrawny bean pole with a nervous twitch ever since he started hanging around my brother when I was fifteen or sixteen. His baggy clothes sagged like a tent on his thin shoulders. It could only mean bad news that my brother’s snitch and errand boy had found me.
I did a quick scan of the area, but there was no sign of my brother in sight.
“What the hell are you doing here, Albie?” I demanded.
“Got a message for you,” he said. “From Ryan. He’s real upset you took off like that.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
Albie sniffed and scratched at his earlobe.
“He says you need to come home. You should listen to him.”
I turned away, moving on autopilot. One foot in front of the other. If only I hadn’t overslept. If only I hadn’t tried to steal that damn bike. I would have been far away by now.
“My brother can rot in hell for all I care.”
Albie grimaced, shifting in place. He shook his head, over and over.
“Ryan is going to be mad. You don’t want that, Larissa. Please. Just…do as you’re told.”
Now that Albie knew where I was, Ryan would be the next one to show up. It was a race against the clock to put some distance between myself and this town.
“Tell my brother to fuck off,” I said.
Albie practically whimpered.
“No way. That’s a message you have to deliver yourself. He’ll beat you for it, Larissa.”
Just as I reached for the door, it slid open and Gideon stood on the threshold. A muscle twitched in his jaw and his eyes were dark.
Shit. He’d definitely overheard enough to know he didn’t like what was going on.
“Is there a problem?” he demanded gruffly.
I glanced over my shoulder. Albie turned away, scrubbing the back of his head uneasily.
