Page 109 of The Defender

“I’d only be jealous of someone I considered a threat, which he isn’t. He looks like a Chucky doll come to life.”

I couldn’t contain my laughter any longer. “No, he doesn’t.”

“You’re blinded by the nice guy act. Trust me, that guy is weird.”

Before I could respond, I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye. A woman nearby was staring at us, slack jawed.She nudged her partner, who looked over at Vincent and did a double take.

Shit. Vincent signing Mason’s shirt must’ve tipped them off.

“Uh-oh. I think your cover’s been blown. No, don’t look,” I whispered fiercely when Vincent turned his head. “We need to get out of here before you get mobbed.”

The partner tapped one of their friends on the shoulder. The friend also did a double take when he saw Vincent. The trio started barreling toward us with determined expressions.

“Yeah. Definitely time to go.” Vincent grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd.

I looked over my shoulder. “Oh my God, they’re following us!” We picked up our pace, nearly bowling over passersby in the process. “That’s unhinged.”

“People are unhinged, especially during the holidays.” Vincent followed my backward glance. “Jesus, they’re fast! What are they on, cocaine?”

“Probably,” I gasped. I hadn’t planned on cardio today, but I felt like I’d been dropped into the middle of an action movie as we broke into a flat-out run through the market.

“Vincent!” the woman screamed. “Vincent, we love you!”

It wasn’t funny, but the absurdity of the chase forced a giggle up my throat. Vincent’s lips twitched, but he held in his laugh better than I did.

After what felt like an eternity—but was in reality less than ten minutes—we finally made it out of the market and into a quiet alleyway. I didn’t hear the trio of fans screaming anymore, and when I peeked out around the corner, I didn’t see anyone except for an older lady with her dog and a teenage couple in matching beanies. “I think we lost them.”

I faced Vincent again, slowly catching my breath after our unexpected sprint.

That didn’t last long. It took only one look before we burst into full-bodied laughter at the situation. Getting chased and harassed by fans was a real problem for him, but fuck it, laughing was better than crying.

“Running away from overzealous fans together is a relationship milestone,” I said when we recovered our composure. I wiped a tear from my eye, my cheeks aching from how hard I’d laughed. “New couple goals unlocked.”

Vincent’s mouth curved again. “Couple,” he said. “I like the sound of that.”

My heart skid to a stop before beating in double time. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He framed my face with his hands and kissed me with slow, delicious thoroughness.

Just like that, I forgot about the chase, Mason, and even my mom.

I wound my arms around his neck and kissed him back, my body melting into his.

This might’ve been our second kiss in the streets after Budapest, but it was every bit as good as the first.

CHAPTER 29

VINCENT

“Come on, Blackcastle!”

“Let’s go!”

“We want a goal!”

The screams and chants from the stands blurred into background noise. Sweat dripped into my eyes. My lungs burned, but I was still going strong compared to half the players on the pitch.

It was Boxing Day, the day of our first post-break match, and we were playing at home. That should’ve given us an advantage against Newcastle, but we were still tied zero-zero in the second half with ten minutes to go, not including extra time.