Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

S he was being followed. And she’d just sauntered straight into the ladies without paying any attention to the man lingering outside the doors.

He hadn’t done much to hide himself either. His eyes had been trained on her, his hands juggling something in his pockets.

When she’d splashed some water on her face and snapped out of her alcohol haze, she’d recalled his face. Shah.

How many times would she let him trap her in a fucking loo? And how many times would she need to plan her escape?

Her mind pointed out the few benefits this time – she wasn’t in an airport. That meant the security wasn’t as tight. So perhaps she could slip out between two people, given how busy the loo was. Or maybe she could raise the alarm and escape before anyone got there.

But she knew none of these tactics would work. She’d got the better of him last time, but this time, Nina was sure he’d come prepared. And the fact that security was lax meant he would have an arsenal of tactics and weapons to use on her.

Urgh! She also needed to figure out why he was after her. And how the hell he’d found her!

Nina studied the stalls, all of which were occupied. A woman waited to wash her hands. Someone was applying lipstick and puffing up her hair.

Even if Shah was standing by the doors, there was still a chance she could escape him. If she waited in here, she’d just be a sitting duck.

Nina wiped her hands, affixed her purse on her shoulder and ascended the stairs to the ground floor. The dark brown corridors were narrow. If he tried using this route to come down to the ladies, she was toast.

But no one came down the stairs, and Nina made her way towards the door that led back into the pub. A voice stopped her cold.

‘Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside.’

It was him, the man she’d been drinking with.

Shah grunted out, ‘Why?’

Nina tiptoed closer to the door and peered out.

Just beside the bar and the doorway to the loos stood two men – Shah and the sexy man. Fear crawled up her chest. Were they in cahoots with each other? Had she walked into their trap?

The sexy man pointed to the exit. ‘I’m asking you to step away before I call my colleagues.’

Shah tilted his head. ‘Why?’

‘You’re carrying a knife with you. That’s illegal.’

Shah shrugged. ‘I was eating here.’

‘Why’s the knife tucked in your belt? Please step away from the door and hold your hands where I can see them.’

Shah crossed his arms instead. ‘What’s it to you? Piss off.’

‘I can’t, sir.’ Sexy Man kept a steady tone, as if trying to lull Shah into a deep yogic meditation. His stance wasn’t aggressive, just alert. If Shah truly had a knife, how could Sexy Man be so calm? Unless he’d done this a few times before.

Who had she been drinking with? Somewhere along their conversation, he’d probably hinted at it. Had he? Hell, she couldn’t remember. All her mind conjured were those really, really, really kissable lips. Not to mention that hint of skin visible near his collarbone and chest, boasting a perfect smattering of dark blond hair and muscles – perfectly corded muscles – she yearned to trace with her tongue.

Nina banged her head against the door to snap out of that haze and reprimanded herself. She could’ve easily plonked right into Shah’s arms a minute ago. Wet dreams had to wait!

‘Is there a problem here?’ a third voice chimed in.

Her heart picked up a beat. She strained to look at this third man, but if she leaned any further, she would make herself clearly visible. Nina took a step back and used her listening skills instead.

The third voice was male and also calm, yet in charge. Had her new drinking buddy been trying to extract information from her? Was he here with a colleague looking for something?

Hell, this had all been a massive mistake. She had to get away, not just from Shah but from her drinking buddy too. She couldn’t trust people, couldn’t just go talking to strangers and drinking with them. She’d never done it before, except when interviewing people for a story, and now definitely wasn’t the time to start.

‘Excuse me,’ a female voice said from behind Nina.

She jumped and swivelled.

The woman looked Nina up and down then spotted the men outside. ‘You okay, hun?’

‘Yeah, yeah… just, um, waiting for a friend.’

Still frowning, the woman studied the three men outside, nodded and left, her heels thudding on the floor.

Nina exhaled a breath and returned her attention to the men.

‘Step away, no?—’

That comment ended on a high octave that had Nina sticking her head out another inch.

All conversations in the pub seized as everyone stared.

‘Oomph!’

Nina’s eyes widened at that interjection. The two men had tackled Shah to the ground then pounced on him, as if he was a criminal and they…

‘You’re under arrest for possession of an offensive weapon!’ one of the men grunted.

Oh hell! Coppers ?

The man Nina had been drinking with rolled away from the other two. His gaze caught Nina’s, and he opened his mouth to say something when the police officer said, ‘Call for backup, Rob.’

Rob? Like Robin Hood? He might’ve been because in the same moment he popped off the floor, he whipped his phone out and was calling someone.

Now’s the moment, Nina!

She hated it. For the first time in her life, she hated running away. She’d met men before, dated a few times knowing she didn’t want the relationship to progress any further, and she hadn’t even known this man’s name, not until a few minutes ago, and she certainly wasn’t looking for a relationship. But as she’d committed his body and face to memory, stored the lull of his voice inside her, she’d felt… something. He made her feel safe and…

He’s a police officer – of course you feel safe with him!

The scuffle halted, and Rob’s colleague was now sitting on top of Shah, the knife Shah had carried discarded in the corner.

Rob turned to face them as he spoke on the phone. ‘Aye, a man in the bar. He had a knife. Josh says he’s also got a lot of cash on him. Uh-huh…. uh-huh.’

Nina took a deep breath and let it out. It was lust, infatuation. She’d get over it. She had overcome much worse, after all.

With the little will she could muster, Nina put one foot in front of the other, skirting past the police officer, Shah, Rob – and then she ran.

Her feet carried her through the crowd of people recording the goings-on and staring awestruck, then she ducked through the other entrance door – thankful she’d at least had the sense to take her purse along – and leapt into the fresh air of freedom.