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"Well…" I pulled her past the throng of people waiting for the bathrooms. "You're her sister, so now you’re my sister, and I need to protect you both. So it's me."
She blinked rapidly, her dark eyes welling up with tears. "Um, thanks. He wouldn't take no for an answer. And Atticus?—"
I could see her getting more agitated by the second.
"H-he knows where I live. And he said—" She dragged in a quick, sharp breath. "He said that I could play hard-to-get all I wanted, but he knew where I lived and he would come and see me."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "Well, he can try and see you all he wants, but you'll find that Park Tower is heavily guarded, and he won't make it past the lobby."
"Fuck, I don't live there. I live in the dorm."
"Not anymore, you don't."
Outside, Lance had the piece of shit up against the wall with his arm across his neck. The other guy took a swing, which Lance ducked easily.
"Goddamn it, Lance, let him go,” Morgan cried. “You're only going to get yourself hurt."
I had to drag Morgan back because she was trying to jump into the fray. Lance ignored her.
"Lakewood, that's enough."
"Oh, is that what you said when you found out about Bronson?" He released the guy. Then the kid tried to take a swipe at him, and Lakewood landed an uppercut that snapped his jaws together and cocked his head back like a fucking Pez dispenser.
I couldn't help it. My brows lifted, and I sucked in a short breath, because I knew that was going to hurt.
The dipshit stumbled and tried to brace himself against the wall, but Lance was behind him and put him in a chokehold as he growled low in his ear. "If I ever find you near her again, I swear to God, I will fucking kill you."
Beside me, Morgan sucked in a sharp gasp. I knew Gwen would be pissed if I let Lakewood kill someone. "Lakewood, ease up. We're not killing anyone today. It's a messy clean-up job. And then we have to worry about, you know, alibis and all that bullshit. I also don't know where the security camera is around here. So, you know, let's leave the murdering to another dark alley later where there are likely no cameras, okay?"
Next to me, Morgan breathed out his name. "Lance."
And his gaze skittered up, meeting hers.
She was the one who got through to him, and he slowly eased up on the guy's neck as dipshit sank to the ground, gasping for breath.
He gazed at Morgan, and I could see the obsession there. But then his gaze skittered to mine, which gave me a sense of satisfaction that he was aware of his surroundings again. And I hadn't even had to use my fists.
"You heard what he said, dipshit. He'll kill you. I, on the other hand, won't kill you if I see you again. I'll bury you somewhere, chained, and starving probably, and slowly torture you like the cruel sadistic bastard I am." I inclined my head to Lakewood. "Him, he's the nice one. He doesn't even like her, and that's what he's willing to do to you. Know that he's dead serious. To me, she's fucking family. If you come after her, you will pay. Not only with your life, but with your livelihood and your soul. She is mine to protect. Are we clear?"
He narrowed his gaze at me and then looked back to Morgan, but Lance stopped in his line of sight. "No, asshole, you don't even look at her. You look at him. When he’s finished ruining your life, you'll be begging for me to end it."
And then dipshit began scooting backward, jumped to his feet, and ran.
When I was sure he’d kept running, I turned to Morgan. "Are you okay, kid?"
She had her arms wrapped around her. "He's a psychopath. He'll come back, won't he?"
I wanted to tell her no. I wanted to tell her that we'd keep her safe, but I knew that wasn't the case. For now, she needed to feel safe. And then I would figure out a long-term plan for dipshit. "Look, for now, let's get you home to the penthouse. You'll spend the night. It'll give your sister peace of mind, so she'll actually sleep, and in the morning, we'll take you to the police station and file a report. A restraining order should do the trick. I will have Pierce and Micah deal with your tech. New number, new email, all that stuff. Okay?"
She nodded slowly, her eyes skittering back to Lance.
I turned to find him standing like a statuary, glowering into the darkness of the alley as if waiting for more trouble to come. "Lakewood, she's all right. Let's go."
He didn't turn to look at Morgan, but when he spoke, I knew he was talking to her. "Next time you see him, don't call your sister. You call me, do you understand?"
His voice was a low growl, and I swore I had never heard Lakewood sound like that ever about Gwen. He might not realize that he was into Morgan, which would be peace of mind for me and probably Gwen, but he was. And at some point, that was going to bubble over, and it was going to be messy, considering their volatility.
Her voice trembled. "Yeah, okay, I understand."
