Page 21 of The Stolen Dagger

CHAPTER NINETEEN

KATHERINE

W arm lips and soft breaths against my neck lured me from a dreamless sleep the next morning.

“Mornin’, baby,” Drew’s deep voice rumbled beside me before he placed another kiss on my collarbone.

I shifted closer to the sensation, my leg tangling with his, and moaned at the soreness that radiated from the area between them. A smile pulled at my lips as I recalled the reason.

“From that sweet smile on your face,” Drew teased, “I can assume you slept well?”

With my eyes still closed, I moaned my answer, not yet ready to wake up. “Five more minutes,” I mumbled and snuggled closer to his warmth.

Drew chuckled lightly in my arms. “Five more minutes of what?” he asked playfully. “Five more minutes of sleeping or other more stimulating activities?”

Before I could question what he meant by “stimulating activities,” his sultry mouth latched onto my breast as his hand on my back moved down to cup and squeeze my ass.

I squeaked in surprise, definitely liking his version of how to spend five more minutes.

Who needs sleep anyway?

I moaned and finally opened my eyes.

The morning sun filtered in through the windows on either side of the bed and cast the room in a yellowish glow.

Drew’s hair was messy as I threaded my fingers through it. The scruff on his face rubbed against my bare skin and caused my body to erupt in goosebumps.

And his eyes. Fuck. His mesmerizing green eyes were full of mischief as his mouth and tongue teased my hardening nipple.

“I meant five more minutes of sleep,” I said and immediately regretted those words, “but could be convinced otherwise.”

His mouth swallowed my giggle as his lips collided with mine in a bruising kiss. Just as my body was getting desperate for more, he pulled back.

“Actually, I need to get ready for work,” he said, but his tone was teasing.

“Oh, really?” I asked, not believing him for a second at the feel of his hard cock against my leg. “Then who will take care of this?”

Feeling bold, I reached down and gave him a few quick pumps with my hand.

Drew clenched his jaw, holding in a moan. “Maybe I do have some time after all.”

Suddenly, Drew picked me up by the hips like I didn’t weigh a damn thing and deposited me onto him. As I straddled his lap, his cock nudged my pussy.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to be on top?” he asked, his gaze heated.

After some “stimulating activities” in bed that continued on into the shower, Drew reluctantly left for work.

“Promise me you’ll stay inside today,” he said just before he walked out the door. “I don’t want to give this guy another chance of getting close to you. You’ll be safer if you stay here.”

I didn’t like the idea of hiding inside all day but knew there was still a chance of being attacked again if I didn’t. I just hoped the man in the hoodie wasn’t biding his time until I stepped out that door. That possibility made me shiver.

“I just want you to be safe,” Drew added.

I agreed to stay inside, knowing it was for the best. With one last longing look and a kiss that almost made me want to pull him back to bed, Drew reluctantly left for work.

With him gone, the day passed by much slower than usual.

As I settled onto the plush couch and attempted to do some of my assignments on my laptop, my mind kept drifting back to Drew and the night we shared.

Maybe I didn’t deserve it, but I was happy for the first time in years, and it was all because of Drew. These last few days being around him, confiding in him, the connection between us had grown stronger.

I didn’t regret sleeping with him. It felt like we were two stars caught in a gravitational pull. We’d finally collided in sparks of light and stardust, reviving a part of me I thought had been lost forever.

Mom would be proud.

For a small, fleeting moment, I felt like my old self again.

I felt like the woman I had been before Adrian.

The one who didn’t have to worry about gangs or stalkers or losing anyone close to her.

I desperately wanted to hold on to that feeling— that girl—that Drew brought out with every touch, kiss, and caress.

But the timing couldn’t have been worse. My mind spiraled like a vortex of doubt.

I wanted more with Drew. I wanted a future with him, but it was hard to see one beyond the ever-looming shadow of my past.

I sighed, wishing I could talk to Leah. She would know just what to say. She would hug and praise me for having dirty, passionate sex. She would cringe that it was with her brother, but she’d be happy for us.

I spent the rest of the day in Drew’s apartment, thinking of a solution to the stalker and Adrian. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that Jerry called, asking if I could come into work to cover for Sarah, who had called in sick.

I knew Drew said to stay inside, but the bar was a public place. I’d be surrounded by people, and Drew could meet me there after work. Thinking it would provide the perfect distraction, I agreed. Stalker be damned.

I sent a quick text to Drew, who didn’t like the idea but approved only if I stayed behind the bar the entire time until he could get off work and meet me there.

It wasn’t too long after that I stood behind the bar at Jerry’s, trying to forget my problems from the last few days and focus on work. My dark hair was pulled up into a half up-down hairdo that left my bangs out of my face.

I spent most of my shift cleaning behind the counter and restocking the liquor shelves.

A few regulars trickled in as the day turned to evening, and a local rock band called Punching Monkeys played on the stage at the back of the room.

It was still a little early, but for a Friday night there were still plenty of people in the bar.

My phone vibrated for the third time inside my apron. I peeked at the screen. Drew’s name was displayed in bold letters.

Drew:

Got caught up at work. Be there in 15. Xo

As I read his text, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered and bounced off my ribs anxiously.

It had been so long since I’d felt this way about someone. Since I’d allowed myself to be happy.

I smiled to myself and replied with my own sequence of X’s and O’s before I shoved my phone back into my pocket.

Out of the corner of my eye, someone approached the bar and sat at a stool directly in front of me.

“What can I get for ...” I looked up into familiar, harsh blue eyes. Fear gripped me like an unforgiving clutch, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

No.

I dropped the hand towel I’d been holding and stumbled as far back as the bar would allow as Hunter, Adrian’s second-in-command, leaned forward with his elbows on the bar top.

“It’s so nice to see such a familiar face in this shitty town,” Hunter said.

His dark blond hair was shaved closely to his head. He wore a black hoodie that did nothing to hide his wide chest and even wider arms. I glanced between the two scars on his face—one across his upper lip, and one that slashed through his left eyebrow.

“Did you get any of my notes , Emilia?” He rubbed a hand across his closely shaved stubble.

My legs shook with fear and my breathing turned erratic.

Notes?

Then everything clicked. It had been him this whole time. He left those notes from Adrian. He trashed my apartment. He wanted the dagger, and he was here to collect.

But he wasn’t the stalker. I would have known it was him or recognized his voice. So, who was that other man? He wasn’t working with Hunter, was he?

Trying not to show how his presence affected me, I bit into my bottom lip hard enough to taste blood.

“How—how did you find me?” I asked and frantically looked around the bar, hoping to catch someone’s attention, but the crowd had diminished and most of my coworkers were busy with their tables. “Where’s Adrian?”

“Adrian had some other business to attend to, so he sent me.” A smirk formed on Hunter’s stern face. “He was so upset when you ran away. You know, he’s been looking for you this whole time. He went crazy after you left.”

I should’ve known it was Hunter. Adrian would have shown his face that first night, not hide behind a hood. He would have wanted to see the fear in my eyes up close after all this time.

Even though the bar separated us, Hunter stood well over a foot taller than me.

“When we found out your sweet neighbor Pearl helped you escape that night, it didn’t take us long to figure out where you were.”

At the mention of Pearl, heat fueled my body and traveled up my neck. “You better not have hurt her!”

Hunter chuckled, and it sent chills down my spine. “I could have taken you that first night I arrived in town, but after I turned your shitty little apartment inside out, I thought I’d have some fun with you instead. Maybe play with you a little before Adrian gets his hands on you.”

I stood my ground and narrowed my eyes. “I’m not going back to him. ”

Hunter tilted his head down slightly and grinned. “We’ll see about that, cupcake.”

I didn’t wait to see what he said or did next. I turned and ran toward the back offices of the bar. I had to get out of here.

Pushing through a crowd of customers, I spotted Jenny, another server. She balanced a tray on her hip and took orders from a few customers at a table to the right of the hall.

“Jenny!” I approached her. “There’s been an emergency. I have to leave.”

“What are you talking about?” Jenny pushed her black bangs out of her eyes. “You can’t just leave. We’re already short-staffed.”

I glanced back at Hunter, who stalked me through the bar. He pushed his way through a small crowd, closing the distance between us. His grin widened into a sneer.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “You have to cover for me.”

Jenny sighed. “Fine, but you owe me.”

“Thank you,” I said, already running to the back hall and into the breakroom where my purse and keys were. I stuffed my keys into the pocket of my apron and continued toward the back door.

My sneakers shuffled across the concrete floors. I pumped my arms, nearing the exit door, but a large hand palmed the back of my head and yanked me backward by my hair. My scalp burned as I stumbled back into a hard chest.

“Caught you,” Hunter said mockingly right into my ear.

Suddenly, he flipped me around, wrapped his hand around my throat, and slammed me against the closest wall.

I gasped at having the air knocked out of me.

Hunter laughed as I struggled against his hold, kicking and scratching, trying to get free, until something sharp poked me in the stomach, and my body went rigid .

I chanced a glance between us to see his pocketknife aimed right below my ribs.

Shit.

“Did you really think you could get away from us that easily?” Hunter asked and laughed again. “Adrian owns you. He always has. You can’t escape him.”

My body heated at his words as the fear I had felt quickly turned to rage.

I’m not some useless object. Adrian doesn’t own me.

“I’m not Adrian’s property,” I said, my voice strained from his fist around my throat. “I never was, but you, on the other hand,” I scoffed, “you always did whatever you were told, like a good little dog.”

“Bitch!” His eyes flared with anger.

I was only offered a little reprieve from the pressure around my neck before his palm connected with my cheek. My head whipped to the side from the force, and a stinging pain exploded across my face. My lip throbbed like it had been split open, and when I flicked my tongue out, I tasted blood.

Hunter’s hand returned to its place around my neck and kept me pinned against the wall.

“Just wait until I get you back to Adrian. I don’t think he’ll be too happy to know who you’ve been fucking. Didn’t he tell you not to go to the police? Maybe I’ll pay your little boyfriend a visit next, or maybe that hot piece of ass he calls a sister. That’ll teach you some obedience.”

No! I struggled against his grip that crushed my throat.

“Tell me where the dagger is,” Hunter spat in my face and released his hand just enough for me to answer.

“I don’t have it,” I rasped.

Hunter choked me harder, slamming my head against the concrete wall behind me, and I saw stars.

“Stop lying! Adrian gave it to you. We know you have it. If you don’t tell me now, I’ll have to use other ways of persuasion.”

I gasped for breath and clawed at his hand, desperate to get away. I didn’t want to know what those other ways were.

“Or maybe I’ll just beat it out of you,” Hunter added.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded down the hallway. Hunter turned toward the person who approached us, hiding the knife behind his back.

“Hey! What are you doing to her? Security!” Jenny yelled, then ran out of sight.

With my head still spinning and Hunter still distracted, I gathered my strength, threw my fist into his face, and kneed him between his legs. Hunter groaned and bent at the waist. Relief flooded me when he went down hard and fast.

I didn’t wait another second before I sidestepped him, picked up my purse from when I dropped it on the floor, and sprinted out the back door.

I took the stairs two at a time to Drew’s apartment. Panting heavily up the steps, my heart raced. I looked over my shoulder, paranoid that Hunter followed me.

I fumbled with the key Drew gave me for a few seconds and finally unlocked the door. Pushing it open, I stumbled inside and slammed the door shut. Leaning back against the cool, hard surface, I tried to catch my breath.

Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out.

Drew’s place was dark. He wasn’t here yet. That’s when I remembered he was supposed to meet me at the bar.

When he sees I’m not there, he’ll call me and come home. But what if Hunter followed me? He could hurt Drew.

I can’t let that happen. I have to leave. I have to draw Hunter away .

I ran into Drew’s bedroom and quickly found my bag. I gathered my things as fast as I could when my phone vibrated in the pocket of the apron I still had on. I pulled out my cell and Drew’s name flashed on the screen.

Shit.

I couldn’t talk to him right now. I was too shaken up to lie. Even if I told him what happened, he would want to track down Hunter himself.

I didn’t want to put him in any more danger. If Adrian got to Pearl, then he could get to Leah and Drew. I had to leave now so that Hunter would follow me.

The click of a latch echoed throughout the apartment.

I stilled.

Hunter. He followed me.